by Pa Rock
TV Junkie
The ABC television series "Lost" ran in prime time from September of 2004 until May of 2010. During its six full seasons on the air - and 120 episodes - the show won critical acclaim and garnered many prestigious awards - including an Emmy for Best Drama Series, Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for the same achievement, as well as a dramatic writing award from the Screen Writer's Guild. It was a big hit that brought in millions of new viewers to the once-struggling American Broadcasting Company. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) ranked "Lost" as the number one television series of the last ten years.
I heard about "Lost" back at the time it first aired on television, but that was a transitional time in my life, one in which I managed to reside in three different states in a twelve-month period - not an ideal situation for becoming hooked on a particular program. But the people I knew who were watching it raved.
Now that I am retired and finally dropped anchor, I determined to go back and work my way through the "Lost" collection that is available through Netflix. I began the process last summer, and most evenings managed to view one episode. Last evening I finished the effort, and, as with most extended projects, I am feeling a sense of loss now that it has ended.
"Lost" is the story of the survivors of Oceanic 815, a fictional airline flight that was enroute to Los Angeles from Sydney, Australia. The plane encountered difficulty over the South Pacific and had to turn around an head toward Fiji. Unfortunately, the plane's radio went on the fritz and no one on the ground knew that the aircraft had altered course. Then it broke up in the air and many of the passengers came to on what seemed to be a deserted tropical island.
The first few episodes were updates of Robinson Crusoe or The Swiss Family Robinson, people learning to survive in a new and exotic environment while building and maintaining signal fires on the beach in an attempt to bring about their rescue. It wasn't too far into the series, however, when things began to get weird: strange radio transmissions, a gigantic racing and deadly column of smoke, the discovery of other people on the island, and even polar bears.
The main characters - the survivors - were carefully introduced in the early episodes through in-depth flashbacks, scenes of their lives before they boarded the ill-fated flight. As the story progressed, the flashbacks became flash-forwards allowing viewers to see the impact that the time spent on the island would have on the lives of the survivors once they had returned to their regular lives. Then, toward the end of the series, the flash scenes led to an oblique world in which the characters, though basically the same, were cast in different roles. Sawyer, a professional conman, for instance, was suddenly a cop in Los Angeles, and Hugo, once a mental patient, transformed into a very wealthy business executive.
And while all of that sounds confusing, it did add another layer of understanding to each of the characters and served to expand their humanity.
There was also a second group of individuals living on the island, referred to as the "Others" who were remnants of an earlier group of researchers who lived on the island and studied its strange powers and qualities. The show had a couple of minor villains, and one super-villain, a billionaire who had discovered the island during World War II and who wanted to harness its powers for his own nefarious ends. There was also a god-like figure who maintained the island's myths and powers.
"Lost"is a very well written and complex program that explores human faults and emotions on a variety of levels. It is a show that demands focus, but it is so well done that it would be hard not to stay focused. It is smart, and clever, and very enjoyable.
About the only thing that I did not eventually understand was the polar bears!
But I will give this one three thumbs up anyway!
TV Junkie
The ABC television series "Lost" ran in prime time from September of 2004 until May of 2010. During its six full seasons on the air - and 120 episodes - the show won critical acclaim and garnered many prestigious awards - including an Emmy for Best Drama Series, Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for the same achievement, as well as a dramatic writing award from the Screen Writer's Guild. It was a big hit that brought in millions of new viewers to the once-struggling American Broadcasting Company. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) ranked "Lost" as the number one television series of the last ten years.
I heard about "Lost" back at the time it first aired on television, but that was a transitional time in my life, one in which I managed to reside in three different states in a twelve-month period - not an ideal situation for becoming hooked on a particular program. But the people I knew who were watching it raved.
Now that I am retired and finally dropped anchor, I determined to go back and work my way through the "Lost" collection that is available through Netflix. I began the process last summer, and most evenings managed to view one episode. Last evening I finished the effort, and, as with most extended projects, I am feeling a sense of loss now that it has ended.
"Lost" is the story of the survivors of Oceanic 815, a fictional airline flight that was enroute to Los Angeles from Sydney, Australia. The plane encountered difficulty over the South Pacific and had to turn around an head toward Fiji. Unfortunately, the plane's radio went on the fritz and no one on the ground knew that the aircraft had altered course. Then it broke up in the air and many of the passengers came to on what seemed to be a deserted tropical island.
The first few episodes were updates of Robinson Crusoe or The Swiss Family Robinson, people learning to survive in a new and exotic environment while building and maintaining signal fires on the beach in an attempt to bring about their rescue. It wasn't too far into the series, however, when things began to get weird: strange radio transmissions, a gigantic racing and deadly column of smoke, the discovery of other people on the island, and even polar bears.
The main characters - the survivors - were carefully introduced in the early episodes through in-depth flashbacks, scenes of their lives before they boarded the ill-fated flight. As the story progressed, the flashbacks became flash-forwards allowing viewers to see the impact that the time spent on the island would have on the lives of the survivors once they had returned to their regular lives. Then, toward the end of the series, the flash scenes led to an oblique world in which the characters, though basically the same, were cast in different roles. Sawyer, a professional conman, for instance, was suddenly a cop in Los Angeles, and Hugo, once a mental patient, transformed into a very wealthy business executive.
And while all of that sounds confusing, it did add another layer of understanding to each of the characters and served to expand their humanity.
There was also a second group of individuals living on the island, referred to as the "Others" who were remnants of an earlier group of researchers who lived on the island and studied its strange powers and qualities. The show had a couple of minor villains, and one super-villain, a billionaire who had discovered the island during World War II and who wanted to harness its powers for his own nefarious ends. There was also a god-like figure who maintained the island's myths and powers.
"Lost"is a very well written and complex program that explores human faults and emotions on a variety of levels. It is a show that demands focus, but it is so well done that it would be hard not to stay focused. It is smart, and clever, and very enjoyable.
About the only thing that I did not eventually understand was the polar bears!
But I will give this one three thumbs up anyway!
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