Lost: A Review

Written by: Matt

WARNING: This article WILL spoil everything upto the most recent episode shown in America and the UK. (And maybe Canada as well, I just don't know about you guys.)

How I found LOST

Very few television programmes get me going, and those that do are generally a little more obscure than your standard cult-drama series, and interest has sparked up in it again due to the launch of Series 3, currently only shown in America. On a school trip to Italy, I stumbled across an omnibus of episodes from Series One, and despite not knowing a word of Italian (beyond "vorrei una granita de pesca" - I would like a peach ice cream, I believe) I was hooked. I gathered that some sort of hunter and some sort of really attractive guy were walking through a jungle throwing a torch to each other, and discovering a metal... thing beneath them. I know it sounds vague (and to hardcore Lost fans will now there is stuff missing, and incorrect, in that description) but I enjoyed it. Of course, I realise you don't want a History lesson, you want a television review.

Let us begin...

In the beginning, was the word. And the word was "Lost" and the word was with "Lost" and a big aeroplane crashed on an island where madmen lived, and where even more were about to live. A doctor, a clinical psychologist, a faded rock star addicted to heroine and an Australian pregnant women were on Oceanic Flight 815 as it crashed. Lost is excellent in its non-chronological time scale. That is, although we don't know it now, we will later find out that this is due to a man called Desmond Hume failing to enter buttons because he was killing Kelvin; and we find out even more about it as we enter the third series. This is just one of many examples which show how to make a mysterious television show. By starting things of vaguely "There is something metal on the ground," when we are shown arbitrary events later on we can figure out how to expand this ourselves, not being forcefed ideas.

Of course, not concentrated on purely the story sets Lost in a league above other dramas. having seen one or two episodes of Prison Break, I feel I know nothing about the main character; yet if you were to ask me about some side character on Lost, for example, Rose, I could tell you about her terminal illness; how she found her husband; why she is happy on the island; why she went on her honeymoon. I could guess at her emotions and feelings. It's this perfect balance between character and story-advancing that gives Lost it's excellent pace and it's throne above other dramas of its type.

Is it ALL good?

My one criticism of Lost is not making rash decisions that don't add to the plot. The one key example of this is killing of main characters, up to now my biggest "Why did you do that!!??" moment is the killing of Libby (and to a lesser extent Ana Lucia). Now, I'm not the kind of brainless zombie who's "Oh my God... sexy doctor... must drool..." so I'm not a big fan of Jack like every one else. I like the subtle characters: Charlie, Shannon and I loved Libby. Libby, to me, represented what was normal on the island. Everyone else was just slightly... unnerving. A 'perfect' doctor who kills everyone he operates on, a man with 200 knives and a convicted felon are the show's headliners: these more normal people make me feel very comfortable, as I can associate with them.

Of course, if I were cynical, I'd mention the Drink-Driving influence of the actresses who play her and Ana-Lucia slightly before they died.

Series 3...

My question, to introduce my closing paragraphs, is this: Has the third series of Lost jumped the shark, that is, has it finally lost its popular appeal? The third series has been dubbed by many as the last chance of Lost, as each episode is getting more and more ludicrous, they say that it is time to give us answers; not just more and more questions.

My answer to them: By watching Lost, you know you are not going to get a serious drama. Halfway through the first episode, we see the monster in the trees. This pseudo-fantasy (I do not call it fantasy, because, we have been assured that by the end of the series everything will be explained rationally) is something which is uinque to Lost. If you do not enjoy the fact that you, the viewer will be expected to think and question what you have seen, then Lost is not for you: That is what 24, CSI and numerable other similar dramas are for.

To be frank, I must admit that I am slightly biased about the third series of Lost, because it began with perhaps my favourite song ever: Downtown by Petula Clark. A mysterious person turns on the music, burns themselves and hosts a book club. Most normal person would think that we're starting with flashbacks of one of the others, or perhaps a new crash survivor but the biggest shock of the new season so far is the revalation when Juliet steps out of her appartment. The camera pans up, and we see Oceanic Flight 815 crash to the ground and Henry Gale, now called Ben. This is like a punch in the stomach: up to now we thought it was an uninhabited island. Sure, a mysterious and spooky uninhabited island but this idea of a village on the island is admittedly unexpected. I do not intend to give you a summary just for that; I wanted to emphasise why I found Lost so great: Just when you think things are the same as they have been, they just turn the corner and it just totally opens your eyes.

Also, now we are further in to the third series, we have definitely been given answers. The most recent episode when I wrote this article was about Juliet, and, since most of you haven't seen it, I won't tell you what it is: but we hear something that suddenly makes a lot more sense. Just like Mr. Eko's death, we hear a fact and suddenly we can go back through the show's history and tick off box's being able to explain more and more facts. This is the perfect way to build up this sense of a tapestry of events and fascinating scenes. So, to those who beg for answers, I think that they must feel satisfied. They now know enough to be able to explain things, but questions still lurk in the show: It wouldn't be Lost without them.

The Conclusion

This leaves me with just enough space in my self-imposed word limit to create a judgemental paragraph. And here it is: Lost is severely underrated, being judged against the likes of serious, hard-hitting dramas such as 24 and Prison Break and thus criticised at its floundering about in the waters of unbelievability. That is not what Lost is. Lost excels in its complicated, fantastic plot which stretch the boundaries of reality, and to be frank, this is why I like it. It gives me a chance to think and to escape from the world of real world problems for an hour a week.

This is one (admittedly underqualified) journalist who thinks Lost needs another series or two. At least.