by Damon Martin

The line that gave everyone the first clue that “Lost” wasn’t your average every day television drama. Sure, it started out looking like a typical TV show as a man woke up in a jungle, not knowing exactly what happened, and as he wanders through the trees and brush, he discovers that the plane he was riding on just minutes before had crash landed on an island He rushes to the scene to see all of his fellow passengers terrified of what they’ve just endured, and he immediately starts to help and lead those hurt and injured away from the burning debris.

In that moment, J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Jeffrey Lieber had captured an audience and many of those same people would follow the tragedy and triumph of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 as they found themselves on an island that was anything but a normal tropical paradise for the next six years.



September 22, 2004 was the debut of the popular ABC drama “Lost” and up until the May 23, 2010 date in which the show ended, fans were enthralled in the mystery and intrigue that the creators, along with executive producer and eventual co-show runner Carlton Cuse, encompassed on an island that was one part drama, one part science fiction, one part love story, and ultimately a battle between good and evil.

Co-creator Damon Lindelof stated in several interviews as the show moved along throughout six seasons that the people that started the process on “Lost” always had a grand scheme in which the show would pay off, and while a great many fans were left wanting more when the final episode aired, the people behind the wildly popular cult hit got exactly what they wanted out of the show.

Of course, Lindelof wasn’t completely correct about the show’s course always going in one direction.

Dr. Jack Shephard, as played by former “Party of Five” actor Matthew Fox, was the lead in the show and the character that woke up in the previously mentioned scene as he rushed in to save his fellow passengers when they found themselves stranded as a result of a plane crash. In the original script for the show, Shephard (as played by Michael Keaton, who the creators had discussed coming on for a short run on the new show) was the person who would originally be sacrificed to the island in a dramatic scene just 60 minutes into the show’s debut episode.



Eventually, Keaton didn’t end up taking the part because as ABC executives read over the script they realized that the character of Dr. Jack Shephard would simply be too important to get rid of after only an hour on the show, and thus Keaton turned down the role and it was passed along to Matthew Fox.

At the core of “Lost” was a cast of characters, all of them flawed in one way or another, but somehow they came together to stay alive on this island that they all ended up on.

John Locke, a paraplegic, who regains the ability to walk when he lands on this mystical place, and has an odd connection to the forces that the island possesses. He is, as in the dialogue above, a man of faith. He believes that the island is something greater than just a random place that the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 landed on. He knows there is something greater out there, and he’s determined to find out what it is.

On the other side of the coin is Dr. Jack Shephard, the so-called “Man of Science”. A neurosurgeon by trade, Shephard is a realist and doesn’t see the island as anything more than just an island. He takes over leadership of the group as he moves from plans of rescue, to plans of survival.

Fans fell in love with Charlie Pace, a struggling musician and heroin addict, who continuously looks for redemption on the island, all the while falling for pregnant and alone Australian Claire Littleton. Kate Austen, a fugitive from the law, who becomes the lead female character on the show. Sawyer, a grifter, who is as mistrustful as he is conniving, but becomes one of the most popular characters during the show’s six-year run.

Sayid Jarrah, a former Iraqi Republican guard member and interrogator, Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, a lottery winner, who believes he’s cursed, Jin and Sun Kwon, a Korean couple stranded on the island with no way to communicate with others due to an obvious language barrier, and all the way to Benjamin Linus, who may go down as one of the best characters in TV history as a savoir one day and a devious, diabolical mind behind much of the misery of these crash landed survivors.

Many more characters were featured throughout the series, and they all played an integral part in the mythology and revelation that happened throughout the show’s 121 episodes.

As the show carried on there were a few things that were evidently clear all along, but only discovered in small passages. Every person on this island had a connection to someone else that was on the plane, and everyone was haunted by something in their past that led them to Oceanic Flight 815, and eventually to the island that they would call home for the next several weeks.

Lindelof and Cuse had always said the show was about the characters, and not about the backdrop, which was the island in which they crash landed. The emotions that these people are torn through over the course of six seasons is really what the heart of “Lost” was all about. Birth, life, death, and every emotion possible in between. They were all major components in what “Lost” captured in every episode, and ultimately what made people truly care about the characters they were watching in the show.

The creativity in which Lindelof and Cuse, along with other writers on the show once Abrams exited, was brilliant in the sense of how they created a completely new mythology in and around this island, in and around these characters, and rarely did anyone get a clear cut answer, but everyone tuned back in week after week to find out exactly what in the world was going on.

From Jacob to the numbers to the Dharma Initiative to the Others to the Man in Black to Richard Alpert to time traveling bunnies, “Lost” had a way of simply sucking everyone in, confusing the hell out of them, and yet they always came back for more.

To try to explain “Lost” to someone that had never watched the show would be like trying to teach someone how to play Mozart on the piano in one lesson. The complexity of “Lost” is what made the show so great, and so addictive.



When history talks about the greatest programs to ever be on television, shows like “The Sopranos” and “M.A.S.H.” will always be mentioned, but now with the show wrapped and finished for good “Lost” will likely occupy a similar slot among the best ever.

Sure, people complained about the ending, and even more people complained about questions that were never answered, but didn’t just about everyone wonder what happened to Tony Soprano as he ate onion rings and Journey blasted in the background, and then the show simply went to black?

The mystery of “Lost” is what made the show so great, and as the sixth and final season are released on DVD, and the complete 37 disc edition of “Lost” are compiled into one collection, everyone that used to watch the show will likely go back and watch again, and a whole new generation of fans will sit down and get enthralled like the masses did back in 2004.

Why did we get Lost in the first place? So that we could get lost again, and again, and again. It’s a show that will be ageless because all great storytelling is ageless. A great story has the ability to draw you in, and that’s exactly what “Lost” accomplished. It’s a rare feat in television, but this show surely did that.

Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season and Lost: The Complete Collection are available everywhere now.

I’ve been a film fan my entire life. For me, the television was always a way for me to view my favorite films on home video. But lately I find myself hooked on a number of amazing television series that not only exceed my expectations, but provide a more satisfying experience than actually going to the movies. Over the last year or so, I’ve seen shows like Heroes and Entourage and Flight of the Conchords and Battlestar Galactica on HD in my makeshift home theater and the odds that I’ll have a good time are much better than taking a risk on the latest multiplex offerings. Sometimes the joy in seeing a bad movie is in picking apart that movie, but films of late have seemed so out of touch, so less-than-spectacular, so meh, that I’d rather just check my Tivo or rent a season of television on DVD, and settle into my couch to continue to make that reverse impression of my behind.

This is not just the Golden Age, we might as well rename this period marked by a plethora of quality television as the "Platinum Age of TV."

This shift in my media consumption has led me to the conclusion that currently the best television programs are much better than the best movies. There, I said it. And it’s a tough thing for me to admit being a lifelong movie guy. I know this will spark much debate, but I’d like to present my case with the following evidence.

The theatrical experience is miserable while home theaters are affordable.
Fact: Rude jackasses talking during movies was only the beginning, now more people are treating the movie theater like their living rooms. Cell phone use has virtually destroyed the enjoyment of experiencing a movie on the big screen. There are only a few movie theaters in Los Angeles that have no tolerance policies toward those bright lights that pop up as people mindlessly take calls or text during films. When one considers the cost of an evening at the movies (ticket prices, refreshments, parking, babysitter if needed), it makes the cost of a home theater system seem within reach. If the average movie night costs about $80, you need to stay home only nine times to save enough to buy a 37” widescreen HD TV for about $700.

The cell phone has practically killed the movie theater experience... while home theaters are more affordable than ever.

TV on DVD currently outsell hit movies on DVD.
Fact: Visiting the shelves of video stores, as a category, the television section has grown beyond one aisle. And you’ll find even the most obscure old series available in boxed sets with tons of extras. And you may even find yourself interested in checking out what’s on the special features for The Beverly Hillbillies Ultimate Collection Volume 1 & 2 which includes unedited episodes, commercial promos, rare behind-the-scenes, and the pilot that never aired. Or not, but that’s just an example of the lengths to which television is being repurposed on DVD. Video business trade publications support this, but one need only check Amazon.com to observe that of the top 10 selling DVDs, eight are television shows and the top four consist of Grey's Anatomy - The Complete Third Season, The Office - Season Three, Heroes - Season One, and Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season.

Which group of heroes would you prefer to watch? The movies' Fantastic Four or televisions' Heroes?

Movies have become formulaic while TV is original.
Fact: The summer movie season is known for its batch of both good and bad films, but all of them consist of either sequels, remakes, TV shows made into movies, comic books or generally films based on previously known properties and/or franchises. So, if it’s not going to be familiar with a wide audience, studios are reluctant to back films that are original. Conversely, television is now the place where originality thrives.

Televisions' Battlestar Galactica proves that science fiction can be intelligent. When was the last time a sci-fi movie was able to explore serious issues?

The movie audience is shrinking.
Fact: Television continues to thrive as consumers either watch TV, Tivo TV, download TV or buy TV on DVD. And while the Nielson ratings support that the pie continues to break down into smaller pieces, when one includes other ways in which viewers get their TV fix, the audience is growing. The reverse is true when it comes to movie-going. George Lucas visited the campus of USC last year for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in which he pointed out that the movie audience is indeed shrinking. While the studios make bold statements regarding bigger and bigger box-office numbers, when one adjusts for inflation, fewer people are going to the movies each year.

Televisions' Jack Bauer from 24 and Jason Bourne from the Bourne film series both deliver compelling action.

Movies are made by committee. While television remains a writers’ medium which leads to better storytelling.
Fact: Film scripts written by screenwriters who toiled for years are bought by studios who quickly fire the original writer and hire a new one to rewrite the script, and this process of rewrites continues with notes coming from all departments of the studio including marketing. And worse, a screenwriter who gets a film made every three years should be considered lucky, some wait as long as seven years or more to see their work on the big screen. Useful feedback from audiences in the form of box-office or reviews, which can contribute toward developing a talented screenwriter, comes too late in the process to be of any value. While television writers are also subjected to studio notes, the original writers are part of a writing staff that oversees the integrity of the script. The goal is that there be consistent storytelling, which is especially important for any episodic series. The writing process for television leads to a healthier development environment resulting in better programming all around. Simply, writers get respect on TV and that means the shows are better.

TV Producers are the new Hollywood movie success stories.
Fact: Because TV writer/producers exercise their writing muscles on a regular basis by producing hundreds of hours of content, they develop into much better writers. By getting constant feedback from regular viewing audiences in the form of ratings and inevitable forum rants, their quality creative output increases. The stories of successful television-to-film crossovers include writer/producers such as J.J. Abrams (Mission Impossible III) to Judd Apatow (40 Year-Old Virgin, Superbad, Knocked Up) to Joss Whedon (Serenity). In fact, they’ve become the most sought after by the studios to deliver the latest summer movie epics such as J.J. Abrams upcoming reinvention of Star Trek.

While most would agree that the movie-going experience has deteriorated, would you pay $10 to watch two hours of Lost?

There remains one big question: Would you pay money to see TV at the movie theater? As an experiment, I’d love to see a special episode of Heroes or Lost open in theaters while still showing on TV. Imagine this scenario: The season finale of Lost will screen unedited in a limited number of movie theaters across the country for one week before that episode actually airs on television. It would be a great way to connect with fellow fans in the audience. For me, knowing the fate of the Lost cast, if only for a week, would be worth the price of admission.

Would you pay to see TV at the movies? If you paid to see The Simpsons Movie, then the answer must be "yes."

Gore gone.

Chris_Gore will return after these messages. And you can watch more of this debate, ironically, on television.

When I was around nine years old, I somehow got it in me to devour every Gary Paulsen novel that I could get my little hands on. Each one was a flurry of snow dogs and wolves and canoes and starvation and just fighting alone against the elements in general. I loved them for the same reason I scared myself senseless watching Alive! before going on a plane ride: part of the entertainment value was that, as incredible and far-removed as the stories were from my own life, they are just true and real enough to prompt that little voice in your head that says “one misstep, and this could be you.”

Of course, the chances of surviving a charter plane crash and scavenging in brutal mountainous conditions for weeks on end are extremely slim, but no one ever said anything about situations slightly less extreme. Besides, it has to happen to someone or such stories would never be told, right? When it happened to 12-year-old Michael Auberry this past week, it was just a good thing he’d done his homework.

In case you’ve never read it, Hatchet is about this kid named Brian who’s flying in a little charter plane to visit his dad in Canada when the pilot keels over and dies at the controls. The plane crashes in a lake the middle of the wilderness, and Brian, having swum to relative safety, has to live by his wits, windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present. By staying calm and contemplative, learning quickly to hunt and fish, finding fresh water, and building a shelter, the boy survives for 54 days before being rescued. 54 days is a long time, but the book is extreme and fiction. In real life, the four days that Michael Auberry was lost were long enough for potential tragedy.

Gary Paulsen was reached for comment, and I was pleased to find out that he’s keeping it real by living amongst the Siberian Huskies in the middle of Alaskan tundra, instead of a posh beach house somewhere.

Now every preteen boy reading Pokemon manga feels like a total sucker. +5 ice resistance in the Viridian Forest Battledome only goes so far when you’re at half-health and it’s freezing outside and you can’t just press reset.



(Doff o' the Cap to Media Bistro's Galleycat )