Lost - Series 1-2 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)

...lot of people will watch Lost and wonder what the fuss is about, but it's true that half the quality of the show is actually the anticipation of what is going to rear its ugly head next. Search the internet for Lost and you will find so many theories it will make your head explode, and some people even question if the creator (JJ Abrams) knows where he is going with all this. Lost is now on to its third season for those who follow on Sky One, although ...
...program.

Lost premiered on American television on the 22nd September 2004, however it wouldn't be until Summer 2005 that Channel 4 picked up the rights to the American smash-hit and I remember it as though it was yesterday. Big Brother mid-week eviction night, and between the two programs they shoved in Lost, because clearly they thought it would be a good way to get ratings. I watched it and I was really taken back by how well the ... more

A lot of people will watch Lost and wonder what the fuss is about, but it's true that half the quality of the show is actually the anticipation of what is going to rear its ugly head next. Search the internet for Lost and you will find so many theories it will make your head explode, and some people even question if the creator (JJ Abrams) knows where he is going with all this. Lost is now on to its third season for those who follow on Sky One, although for those who have never seen it before, this boxset works as the catch-up program.

Lost premiered on American television on the 22nd September 2004, however it wouldn't be until Summer 2005 that Channel 4 picked up the rights to the American smash-hit and I remember it as though it was yesterday. Big Brother mid-week eviction night, and between the two programs they shoved in Lost, because clearly they thought it would be a good way to get ratings. I watched it and I was really taken back by how well the plane crash and everything was put together, but if you think Lost is just about a plane crash on an island you're very much mistaken. I never could have expected to be taken in like I was.

On this night they were showing the second Lost episode after the second Big Brother show, so I couldn't wait for them to rush Craig out of the house so I could see what was going to happen next. I had never heard of Lost before and the fact that I hardly remember Ch4 advertising it surprises me because many of you must know what a massive hit it is now. I had been grabbed like no TV show had ever grabbed me before, and I wouldn't be the only one.

Each series of Lost is made up of 24 episodes, although usually you find the first two episodes are shown together and then the last two are shown together as though it is one feature length episode. Each episode has a name that is pretty much just some reference to something in the episode.

Series one contains; Pilot (1), Pilot (2), Tabula Rasa, Walkabout, White Rabbit, House of the Rising Sun, The Moth, Confidence Man, Solitary, Raised by Another, All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues, Whatever the Case May Be, Hearts and Minds, Special, Homecoming, Outlaws, ...In Translation, Numbers, Deus Ex Machina, Do No Harm, The Greater Good (aka Sides), Born to Run, Exodus 1 and Exodus 2.

Series two contains; Man of Science, Man of Faith, Adrift, Orientation, Everybody Hates Hugo, ...And Found, Abandoned, The Other 48 Days, Collision (aka Old Habits), What Kate Did, The 23rd Psalm, The Hunting Party, Fire + Water, The Long Con, One of Them, Maternity Leave, The Whole Truth, Lockdown, Dave, SOS, Two for the Road, ?, Three Minutes and Live Together, Die Alone (parts 1 and 2).

If I'm telling you Lost is about more than just a plane crash on an island and the people who survived, what else could it be about right? Well just for starts there are strange noises coming from the jungle, and when they try to rescue the pilot of the plane he is taken by some creature - immediate impressions were a dinosaur, and pretty much all the rumours on the internet were, "Oh the islands just some testing ground, nothing new here." And whilst it seems like that could be along the lines of the plot, there is still so much left to learn. I do not believe that even scratches the surface of the real mystery.

There is also strange occurances like finding polar bears in a climate they don't belong in, and big clouds of black smoke seemingly following people (many people call this 'Smokey' and say they see it all the time but the directors try and hide it, it's all rumours really). When Lost was first created apparently it was said that there is nothing super natural and fantasy about the plot of the show, that gets more and more hard to believe as the show goes on although I look forward to the day when they try to answer these questions with answers that make sense.

The strangest discovery is the one that ends up taking over series one as the main plot, and that is when John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) discover a metal door in the middle of the jungle that later becomes known as 'the hatch'. You just can't wait til it's opened, but with Lost you will find everything is dragged out over a long period of time.. not that there isn't a backdrop to keep you entertained. Before going further into the other stories, I think it's about time I introduced the characters.

DR JACK SHEPHERD (Matthew Fox) - Jack is very much the lead character, in that the show begins with him, and he is constantly leading the group and they look to him for advice. Jack never really asked for this position, although it was thrust upon him, what with him being the one with the medical background.

JOHN LOCKE - As I mentioned, his main storyline is to do with the hatch, although Locke is generally the alternative pick as favourite character for those who don't like Jack. The pair get along, although they don't really speak that much as Locke fancies himself as a leader rather than a follower. Locke's a hunter and a believer in that the island brought him there for a reason. Also you discover he was previously paralyzed, although somehow the island 'fixed' him.

SAYID JERRAH (Naveen Andrews) - One of the foreign 'Losties' is Sayid who was formerly a torturer in the Iraqi army. Sayid immediately comes into play as well as he tries to fix the planes radio so that they can make contact with the World, although there is no luck. Very good at telling what people are really like.

HURLEY (Jorge Garcia) - An instantly loveable character in that he's a large fella with the added humour. For a lot of the beginning his character only served as comic relief and as the sidekick to Jack, although as his backstory comes into play and reveals he was in a mental institution and is also a millionaire lottery winner, we discover Hurley is a key character, especially when it comes to the 'numbers'.

SAWYER (Josh Holloway) - Every show needs its bad guy, although you see Sawyer's bad guy persona drop every now and again. In his backstory we see that his real name is James and that he took the name Sawyer because he was the man who split up his parents. Sawyer is full of hate, although he's not devoid of love. A con man by his old profession, taking poor saps for everything they were worth.

JIN KWON (Daniel Dae Kim) - Jin is one half of the married couple of the island, with his wife being Sun. Jin was a poor man back in his home country although his marriage to Sun saw him take a job working for Sun's dad as a hitman.

SUN KWON (Yunjin Kim) - Sun's marriage to Jin was in tatters in their old life, and she was planning on leaving him. She also learnt English behind his back, but after ups and downs they have been brought back together.

KATE AUSTEN (Evangeline Lilly) - Kate is without a doubt the lead woman of the show and is a convict. Besides from that she has her heart in the right place, and it's always interesting learning more and more about her through the flashbacks. A love triangle forms between her, Jack and Sawyer.

CHARLIE PACE (Dominic Monaghan) - No longer a Hobbit, now in a real-life relationship with Evangeline Lilly, Charlie got a role of a lifetime as a Brit by managing to get a big part in what happens on Lost. Charlie struggles with a drug addiction, that Locke tries to help him through.

CLAIRE LITTLETON (Emilie de Ravin) - When she comes to the island she is pregnant, and this somehow puts her in great danger as Ethan (someone who infiltrated the planes survivors but wasn't actually on it) kidnaps her. What happened to her when she was kidnapped becomes one of the most interesting and diverse flashbacks in the second season, although when she does give birth her love interest in Charlie strengthens.

SHANNON RUTHERFIELD (Maggie Grace) - Shannon is stranded on the island with her step-brother Boone, and there is rather awkwardly a sexual history between the two. Shannon has a relationship with Sayid.

MICHAEL DAWSON (Harold Perrineau) - Michael was on the plane with his son, Walt, who he has only just received back after the death of Walt's mother. Walt was taken away from him when he was just a baby as Michael's relationship with his mother broke down. Michael will do anything to get Walt off the island, including building a raft.

WALT LLOYD (Malcolm David Kelley) - Walt is very interesting in that when he gets angry bad things seem to happen and that makes him of great interest to the 'Others'. His pet dog Vincent is also on the island.

DANIELLE ROUSSEAU (Mira Furlan) - One of the first characters the survivors meet who wasn't actually on the plane, Danielle has been on the island for years after her boat crashed. The French speaking woman is a question mark, although plays a big part in the show.

Ok, so in those character descriptions I've probably said a few things that are going to make you wonder what I'm talking about. Flashbacks? Yes, every episode there is a flashback on a set characters previous life. Generally the most interesting flashbacks are on Hurley, Claire and new characters. Almost ironically I find Jack's flashbacks a bit diappointing, as well as Sun's.

But more importantly, who are these Others that kidnapped Claire? Well you don't learn all that much about them in the first series, they almost seem like these jungle people with super human strength. As time goes on though you see the Others have a boat and seem to be putting up some sort of act to the Losties, as though they're not actually what they want people to believe they are. A lot of this you can and sometimes have to put together for yourself, and half the fun is discussing these sort of things. That is why Lost is such a massive cult success with people downloading on the internet and massive forum communitys discussing what will happen next.

Also there are these numbers that seem to bring with them bad luck. 4 8 15 16 23 42. Ever since Hurley used them to win the lottery he has had nothing but bad luck, and just before they explode open the hatch he sees them on it and tries to stop it from happening. He's too late obviously. The first series was outstanding, but aside from Claire's kidnapping and the numbers it's all just learning little things about the island, the people on the island, and their lives before the island. Michael, Sawyer, Jin and Walt also set off on a raft to get help on the first seasons finale.

For me the second series was even better, because whilst you were standing to know some new stuff, they chucked a whole new load of stuff out there. You also find out what it is in the hatch after the horrible cliffhanger of series one making you wait MONTHS to find out what was actually inside. Series two also brought some interesting new characters. Ana Lucia, Mr Eko, 'Henry Gale'...

It's amazing how a whole series can aim towards finding out what's in some metal hatch, and then the next series can aim all towards finding out what happens when a button doesn't get pressed. Afterall, in the hatch there is a computer where they have to enter Hurley's evil numbers or something bad will happen. That's one thing about Lost, there seems to be A LOT of filler, whilst other shows like Prison Break will have something happening all the time. Lost was still really good for the first two seasons though.

Revelations like there is a series of hatches, and then finding one that leads Locke to believe the button is all just one experiment to test peoples will power, and the outstanding finale - probably the best final episode of anything, ever, is what makes Lost series two even better for me. It's just a shame that the third series of Lost is struggling to keep up with the pace.

Lost is a show that isn't afraid to kill off its characters, and for the most part the ones they have killed off haven't been all that missed. I think Lost can appeal to many, and although some DVD certificates for Lost are only 12 I don't think 12 year olds would really get the best out of Lost. My older brother in his 20's and my mum in her 40's love it though, so there must be a wide spread appeal. I would not recommend this particular boxset, because I think you'd be better off buying the whole set when it's all said and done in some collectors format. For me watching an hour every week isn't just to see what happens next, it's because I know that when it finally does end it will blow my mind.  

...less