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Lost (TV series)

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Lost
File:Lost DVD Cover.jpg
Created byJ.J. Abrams
Damon Lindelof
Jeffrey Lieber
StarringSee Cast & characters below
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes26 (plus two specials)
Production
Running time42 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 22, 2004 –
present

Lost is an American drama/adventure television series set in the aftermath of a plane crash on a mysterious tropical island somewhere in the South Pacific.

Overview

The series was developed exclusively by ABC: former studio executive Lloyd Braun pitched an idea about a plane crashing on a remote island to series creator J.J. Abrams in January 2004, after most of the new series for the 2004 fall season had already been selected and begun production. Under significant time pressure from the start, Abrams collaborated with Damon Lindelof to create the show’s unique style and characters, occasionally even creating characters to fit an actor they wished to cast. From this difficult beginning, which included the filming of the most expensive pilot in television history, came one of the biggest critical and commercial successes of the 2004 television season, and Lost, along with fellow freshman series Desperate Housewives, helped reverse the fortunes of the underperforming ABC. In September 2005, Lost won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.

The series uniquely tracks two major, interconnected themes: first, the struggles of the 48 survivors of the crash as they cope with living together on the strange island and second, the lives of the 14 main characters before the crash, retold through flashbacks. In most episodes, the primary focus of the action is on a specific character and includes flashbacks from that character’s point of view, explaining why they were on the plane and providing insight to the viewer about the character’s secrets and motivations. The exceptions to this are the pilot and season 1 finale episodes, in which flashbacks from several characters are featured and depiction of action on the island takes a much more general approach.

The show is produced by Bad Robot Production and Touchstone Television. The music is composed by Michael Giacchino.

Cast & characters

Main article: Characters of Lost

Season Synopses

Template:Spoiler

Season 1: 2004-2005

Main article: Episodes of Lost (Season 1)

A plane crash strands the surviving passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 on a seemingly deserted tropical island, forcing the group of strangers to work together to stay alive. However, their survival may also ultimately depend on unraveling the mysteries of the island, including the contents of a hatch buried in the ground, the origins of an enormous creature that roams the jungle, and motives of the unknown "others" who may also inhabit the island.

Season 2: 2005-2006

Main article: Episodes of Lost (Season 2)

Season two began airing September 21 2005. Several new characters have appeared (and will appear) in the new season.

Themes

There are several recurring themes on Lost, which drive central plot points and the development of the survivors as they try to live on the island.

Black & White

The colors black and white, which traditionally reflect good or positive forces versus evil or negative forces, have featured a number times, particularly in regards to John Locke. In "Pilot", Locke shows Walt a black and a white backgammon piece and says "two players, two sides, one is light, one is dark." In "House of the Rising Sun", Jack finds a pouch on a pair of mummified corpses, nicknamed "Adam and Eve" by the survivors, containing one white stone and one black stone, which he then hides from Locke. In the opening sequence of "Raised by Another", Claire has a nightmare in which Locke has one black eyeball and one white eyeball. In the opening sequence of "Man of Science, Man of Faith", the yin-yang symbol appears several times, which contains white and black.

Fathers

Most of the major characters have fathers who are or were either absent, reluctant, or destructive. Thus far, the father issues of Locke, Jack, Sawyer and Walt have been the most well explored, with Locke in particular being the victim of a wretched betrayal in "Deus Ex Machina". These characters are not alone, however: Aaron was abandoned by his father (Claire's boyfriend Thomas), Claire's past with her father has been alluded to, Kate's father is possibly dead, Hurley's father is absent, and Sun's father is a particularly destructive force. In contrast to this prevalence of father issues, the only main character whose father seems to have been a positive force is Jin's. In this instance it was Jin's shame at his father's poverty that led him to tell Sun and others his father was dead. Additionally, though previously absent, Michael is working diligently at being a good father to Walt. Finally, there has been little to no mention of the fathers of Sayid, Shannon, Boone or Charlie.

The Numbers

In the episode "Numbers", the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, are revealed to be significant. This string of numbers was broadcast from the island's radio transmitter as far back as World War II, and it was this message that drew Rousseau's expedition to the island. Though she later changed the message after the deaths of her team, the numbers had also been heard by others, eventually making their way to Hurley, who used them to win the lottery. However, after his win, a series of misfortunes begin to happen to those around Hurley, leading him to believe the numbers are cursed. His search for answers leads him to Australia and, through the crash, to the original source of the numbers, the island itself, where he ultimately discovers the numbers engraved on the hatch. Significantly, these numbers frequently appear throughout the lives of the survivors, both before and after the crash. The sum of these numbers, 108, was recently shown to be important in "Man of Science, Man of Faith".

Redemption

Some of the characters in one way or another are finding redemption and second chances as a result of being on the island. This refers to Kate most of all (given her past), but it can also refer to Charlie, Jin, Sun, Claire, Sawyer, Shannon and Walt. Locke, who has been given an amazing second chance of his own, seems to be the one who is drawing everyone else into this theme.

Philosophy

John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for whom the characters John Locke and Danielle Rousseau are named, were both famous social contract philosophers who dealt with the relationship between nature and civilization. Locke believed that, in the state of nature, all men had equal right to punish transgressors; to ensure fair judgment for all, governments were formed to better administrate the laws. Rousseau, on the other hand, argued that man was born weak and ignorant, but virtuous. Only after man develops society does he become wicked. This is paralleled by the characters on Lost: Locke embraces both nature and the need for organization among the survivors, while Rousseau prefers nature and appears to abhor joining the survivors in their village.

Syndication

Lost is syndicated worldwide, being broadcast in the following countries in order of date of first broadcast:

See also

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Official sites
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