(NBC) |
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Mystery,
Thriller
Creators: Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams, Damon
Lindelof
Country of origin: United States
Running time: 42 mins. (approx) per episode
Original channel: ABC
Started: September 22, 2004
Status: Running
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Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe
award-winning serial drama television series that
follows the lives of a group of plane crash survivors
on a mysterious tropical island, somewhere in the
South Pacific. The show was created by J. J. Abrams
and Damon Lindelof, the show runner, and is filmed
primarily on location in Oahu, Hawaii. The pilot
episode was first broadcast on September 22, 2004.
Since then, two seasons have aired and a third began
on October 4, 2006. The show is produced by ABC
Television Studio (formerly Touchstone Television),
Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions
and airs on the ABC Network in the U.S. Its incidental
music is composed by Michael Giacchino. The current
executive producers are J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof,
Carlton Cuse, Jack Bender, Jeff Pinkner and Bryan
Burk. Because of its large ensemble cast and the
cost of filming in Hawaii, the series is one of
the most expensive on television.
A critical and popular success, Lost garnered an
average of 15.5 million viewers per episode on ABC
during its first year, and won numerous industry
awards including the Emmy Award for outstanding
drama series in 2005 and best American import at
the British Academy Television Awards also in 2005.
Reflecting its devoted fan base, the show has become
a staple of popular culture with references to the
story and its elements appearing in other television
shows, commercials, comic books, webcomics, humor
magazines and song lyrics. The show's fictional
universe has also been explored through tie-in novels,
board and video games, and an alternate reality
game, The Lost Experience.
Conception
The series began development in January 2004,
when Lloyd Braun, head of ABC at the time, ordered
an initial script based on his concept of a cross
between the movie Cast Away and the popular reality
show Survivor. Unhappy with the result and a subsequent
re-write, Braun contacted J.J. Abrams, creator of
the TV series Alias, to write a new pilot script.
Although initially hesitant, Abrams warmed up to
it, and eventually collaborated with Damon Lindelof
to create the series' style and characters.The development
of the show was constrained by tight deadlines,
as it had been commissioned late in the 2004 season's
development cycle. Despite the short schedule, the
creative team remained flexible enough to modify
or create characters to fit actors they wished to
cast.
Lost's two-part pilot episode was the most expensive
in the network's history, reportedly costing between
US $10 and US $14 million, compared to the average
cost of an hour-long pilot in 2005 of US $4 million.
The show, which debuted on September 22, 2004, became
one of the biggest critical and commercial successes
of the 2004 television season. Along with fellow
new series Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy,
Lost helped to reverse the flagging fortunes of
ABC. Yet, before it had even aired, Lloyd Braun
was fired by executives at ABC's parent company,
Disney, because he had greenlighted such an expensive
and risky project.
The world premiere of the pilot episode was screened
at Comic-Con International's 2004 event in San Diego.
Episode format
Lost's title cardEpisodes have a distinct structure:
following a recap of events relevant to the upcoming
narrative, each show begins with a cold open. Often
a close up of a character's eye will follow. At
a dramatic juncture, the screen cuts to black and
the title graphic, slightly out-of-focus, glides
towards the viewer accompanied by an ominous, discordant
sound. The opening credits generally appear alphabetically
by last name over the scenes that immediately follow.
While there is a progressive story arc, each episode
relates events concurrently with pre-island flashbacks
centered on a particular character. The majority
of episodes end with a suspenseful twist or cliffhanger,
revealed just seconds before a smash cut to black
and the title graphic. Others, following a plot
resolution, will finish with a reflective closing
scene which precedes a simple fade out.
Music
Lost features incidental music performed by the
Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra and composed
by Michael Giacchino, whose score is primarily orchestral,
incorporating several recurring themes for events
and characters. In the official Lost Podcast, Giacchino
revealed that he achieved some of the sounds for
the score using unusual instruments, such as striking
suspended pieces of the plane's fuselage.
On March 21, 2006, the record label Varèse
Sarabande released the original television soundtrack
for Lost's first season. The soundtrack included
select full-length versions of the most popular
themes of the season and the main title which was
composed by series creator J.J. Abrams. Varèse
Sarabande released a soundtrack featuring music
from the second season of Lost on October 3, 2006.
Pop culture songs have been used sparingly in the
series, given the mainly orchestral score. When
such songs are featured, they usually originate
from a diegetic source, meaning that they are usually
generated by an action of one of the characters.
Examples are the various songs played on Hurley's
portable CD player throughout the first season or
the use of the record player, which included Cass
Elliot's "Make Your Own Kind of Music"
in the second season premiere and Petula Clark's
"Downtown" in the third season premiere.
The only pop song that has ever been used without
a source is Ann-Margret's "Slowly," in
the episode I Do.
In some international broadcasts, alternate music
is utilized. For instance, in the Japanese broadcast
of Lost, Season 1's theme song is "Here I Am"
by Chemistry and Season 2's theme song is "Losin'"
by Yuna Ito.
Filming locations
Lost is filmed in 35mm, on Panavision cameras,
almost entirely on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
The original island scenes for the pilot were filmed
at Mokule?ia Beach, near the northwest tip of the
island. Later beach scenes take place in secluded
spots of the famous North Shore. Cave scenes in
the first season were filmed on a sound stage built
at a Xerox parts warehouse, which had been empty
since an employee mass shooting took place there
in 1999. The soundstage and production offices have
since moved to the Hawaii Film Office-operated Hawaii
Film Studio, at which the sets depicting Season
2's "Swan station" and Season 3's "Hydra
station" interiors were built. Various urban
areas in and around Honolulu are used as stand-ins
for locations around the world, including Los Angeles,
New York, Iowa, Miami, South Korea, Iraq, Nigeria,
England, France and Australia. For example, scenes
set in a Sydney airport were filmed at the Hawaii
Convention Center, while a World War II-era bunker
was used as an Iraqi Republican Guard installation.
Extensive archives of filming locations are tracked
at a repository at Lostvirtualtour.com.
Online distribution
In addition to traditional terrestrial and satellite
broadcasting, Lost has been at the forefront of
new television distribution methods. It was one
of the first series issued through Apple's iTunes
Store service for playback on an iPod or within
the iTunes software. Since October 2005, new episodes,
without commercials, have been available for download
the day after they air on ABC, to American audiences
only (restricted based on IP address).
In April 2006, Disney announced that Lost would
be available for free online in streaming format,
with advertising, on ABC's website, as part of a
two-month experiment of future distribution strategies.
The trial, which ran from May to June 2006, caused
a stir among network affiliates who were afraid
of being cut out of advertising revenue. The streaming
of Lost episodes direct from ABC's website was only
available to viewers in the United States due to
international licensing agreements.
The UK's Channel 4 has also allowed access to the
series online. Both parts of "Pilot" were
available to watch for free, and other episodes
cost GB£0.99 each. Season two installments
are made available two weeks after their Channel
4 debut, and the episodes expire after several months.
Due to licensing agreements, the service is only
accessible in the UK. Channel 4 have now teamed
up with Virgin Media's On Demand function which
allows the viewer to watch episodes at any time
in HD from Season One and Season two which are available
to view for 24 hour rental for £0.99. They
are also available in Standard Definition as part
of a subscription to the TV Choice on Demand Service.
As of third quarter, 2006, France's TF1 has allowed
online access to the French version of season two;
episodes cost €1.99.[27] Each episode is issued
online just after being broadcast.
[ CAST
]
The opening season featured sixteen regular speaking
roles, making it the second largest cast in American
primetime television behind
Desperate Housewives. While a large cast makes
Lost more expensive to produce, the show's writers
benefit from more flexibility in story decisions.
According to series executive producer Bryan Burk,
"You can have more interactions between characters
and create more diverse characters, more back stories,
more love triangles."
Lost cast |
|
The initial season had fourteen major roles getting
star billing. Naveen Andrews portrayed former Iraqi
Republican guard Sayid Jarrah. Emilie de Ravin played
the pregnant Australian Claire Littleton. Matthew
Fox acted as the troubled surgeon and lead role
Jack Shephard. Jorge Garcia portrayed Hugo "Hurley"
Reyes, an unlucky lotto winner. Maggie Grace played
Shannon Rutherford, a former dance teacher. Josh
Holloway acted as con man James "Sawyer"
Ford. Yunjin Kim played Sun-Hwa Kwon, the daughter
of a powerful Korean businessman and mobster, with
Daniel Dae Kim as her husband Jin-Soo Kwon. Evangeline
Lilly portrayed fugitive Kate Austen. Dominic Monaghan
acted as an ex-rock star drug addict Charlie Pace.
Terry O'Quinn played the mysterious John Locke.
Harold Perrineau portrayed construction worker Michael
Dawson, while child actor Malcolm David Kelley acted
as his young son, Walt Lloyd. Ian Somerhalder played
Boone Carlyle, chief operating officer of his mother's
wedding business and step brother of Shannon.
During the first two seasons, some characters were
written out to make room for new characters with
new stories. Boone Carlyle was the first major character
to be written out in season one. Malcolm David Kelley
became a guest star after the events of the first
season's finale, making rare appearances throughout
season two. Maggie Grace's departure six episodes
into season two made way for newcomers Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
as Nigerian Catholic priest and former criminal
Eko, Michelle Rodriguez as airport security guard
and former police officer Ana Lucia Cortez, and
Cynthia Watros portraying the purported clinical
psychologist Libby. Ana Lucia and Libby were written
out of the series toward the end of season two,
as were Michael and Walt.
In season three, Henry Ian Cusick received star
billing as former Scottish soldier Desmond David
Hume, as did Michael Emerson in the role of Benjamin
Linus (formerly known as Henry Gale), a high ranking
member of the "Others." In addition, three
new actors joined the regular cast: Elizabeth Mitchell,
as Dr. Juliet Burke and Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo
Santoro as couple Nikki Fernandez and Paulo. Mr.
Eko was written out early in the season; Nikki and
Paulo were killed mid-season in their first flashback
episode.
Numerous supporting characters have been given
expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive
storyline. In the second season, Rose Henderson
played by L. Scott Caldwell and tail section survivor
Bernard Nadler played by Sam Anderson, were featured
in a flashback episode after being reunited. Mira
Furlan as Danielle Rousseau, the shipwrecked Frenchwoman,
appears throughout the series. Some of the "Others,"
including M.C. Gainey as Tom, Michael Bowen as Danny
Pickett, William Mapother as Ethan Rom and Tania
Raymonde as Alex Rousseau have been shown in both
flashbacks and the ongoing story. Similarly, Jack's
father Christian Shephard (John Terry), flight attendant
Cindy Chandler (Kimberley Joseph) and marshall Edward
Mars (Fredric Lane) have appeared in multiple flashbacks,
as well as on the island.
[
SYNOPSES ]
Season 1:
Season 1 began airing in the United States on September
22, 2004 and featured 24 episodes that aired Wednesdays
at 8:00. 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 is threatened
by mysterious entities including polar bears, an
unseen creature that roams the jungle, and the island's
malevolent inhabitants known as the "Others."
They encounter a Frenchwoman who was shipwrecked
on the island over sixteen years earlier and find
a mysterious metal hatch buried in the ground. An
attempt is made to leave the island on a raft.
Season 2:
Season 2 began airing in the United States and Canada
on September 21, 2005 and featured 23 episodes airing
on Wednesdays at 9:00. Most of the story, which
continues 45 days after the crash, focuses on the
growing conflict between the survivors and the Others,
with the continued clash between faith and science
being thematic in certain episodes. While some mysteries
are resolved, new questions are raised. New characters
are introduced, including the tail-section survivors
and other island inhabitants. More island mythologies
and insights into the survivors' pasts are divulged.
The hatch is explored and the existence of The DHARMA
Initiative and its benefactor, The Hanso Foundation,
are revealed. As the truth about the mysterious
Others begins to unfold, one of the crash survivors
betrays the other castaways, and the cause of the
plane crash is revealed.
Season 3:
Season 3 will feature 22 episodes that began airing
in the United States and Canada on October 4, 2006.
After a hiatus, the remaining episodes continued
on February 7, 2007 and are scheduled to finish
on May 23, 2007. The episodes were broadcast on
Wednesdays at 9:00 pm prior to the hiatus and at
10:00 pm following it. The story continues 67 days
after the crash. New crash survivors and Others
are introduced, as the crash survivors learn about
the Others and their history on the island. According
to executive producer Carlton Cuse the season finale
will feature a showdown between Jack and Locke.
Season 4:
ABC announced on March 21, 2007 that Lost has been
renewed for a fourth season. It has been said that
the show will take on a different season format,
similar to that of 24, in which it will play uninterrupted
from January to May
[ AWARDS
]
In the past few years, Lost has been one of the
most critically acclaimed and awarded shows on television.
Capping its successful first season, Lost won the
Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and J. J.
Abrams was awarded an Emmy in September 2005 for
his work as the director of "The Pilot."
Terry O'Quinn and Naveen Andrews were nominated
in the supporting actor category, but did not win.
Lost swept the guild awards in 2005, winning the
2005 Writers Guild of America award for outstanding
achievement in writing for a dramatic television
series, the 2005 Producers Guild Award for best
production, the 2005 Director's Guild Award for
best direction of a dramatic television program,
and the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Award for best
ensemble cast. It has been nominated for a Golden
Globe Award for best drama series every year it
has been eligible, and won the award in 2006. In
2005, Matthew Fox and Naveen Andrews received Golden
Globe nominations for Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting
Actor in a Drama Series respectively, and in 2007,
Evangeline Lilly received a nomination in the Best
Lead Actress category, but none of the three won.
Lost did win the 2005 British Academy of Film and
Television Award for Best American Import. In 2006,
Jorge Garcia and Michelle Rodriguez took home ALMA
Awards for best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively,
in a television series. It won the Saturn Award
for Best Television Series in both 2005 and 2006.
In, 2005 Terry O'Quinn won a Saturn Award for Best
Supporting Actor in a television series, and in
2006, Matthew Fox won for Best Lead Actor. Lost
won consecutive Television Critics Association Awards
for Outstanding Achievement in Drama, for both its
first and second seasons. Consecutively as well,
it won in 2005 and 2006 the Visual Effects Society
Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects
in a Broadcast Program. Malcolm David Kelley won
a Young Artist Award for his performance as Walt
in 2006. In 2005, Lost was voted Entertainment Weekly's
Entertainer of the Year. The show won a 2005 Prism
Award for Charlie's drug storyline in the episodes
Pilot, House of the Rising Sun, and The Moth. Further,
Lost was nominated for but did not win a Writer's
Guild Award and Producer's Guild Award again in
2007.
[ POPULAR
CULTURE ]
Like other cult television shows, Lost has generated
a dedicated and thriving international fan community.
Lost fans, sometimes dubbed Lostaways or Losties,
have gathered at Comic-Con International and conventions
organized by ABC, but have also been active in developing
a large number of fan websites, including Lostpedia,
and forums dedicated to the program and its related
incarnations. Because of the show's elaborate mythology,
its fansites have focused on speculation and theorizing
about the island's mysteries, as well as on more
typical fan activities such as producing fan fiction
and videos, compiling episode transcripts, shipping
characters, and collecting memorabilia.
Anticipating fan interest and trying to keep its
audience engrossed, ABC embarked on various cross-media
endeavors, often using new media. Fans of Lost have
been able to explore ABC-produced tie-in websites,
tie-in novels, an official forum sponsored by the
creative team behind Lost ("The Fuselage"),
"mobisodes," podcasts by the producers,
an official magazine, and an alternate reality game
(ARG) "The Lost Experience." An official
fanclub was launched in the summer of 2005 through
Creation Entertainment.
Due to the show's popularity, references to the
series and elements from its story have appeared
in parody and popular culture usage. These include
appearances on television, such as on the series
Veronica Mars, Will & Grace, Bo Selecta, My
Wife And Kids and The Office; as well as on the
cartoons Family Guy, American Dad!, South Park,
and Venture Brothers; and even on a commercial for
KFC Hawaii. Comic books, such as Catwoman and The
Thing, daily strips Monty and Over the Hedge, web
comics Piled Higher and Deeper and Penny Arcade,
and humor magazine Mad have all incorporated Lost
references. Similarly, rock bands Moneen, Senses
Fail, and Gatsbys American Dream have published
songs whose themes and titles were derived from
the series.
