1.03.2008

Lost Appeal

I still don't have cable and my next movie review (Persepolis) is still percolating in my brain, but ABC has finally given me something to write about by putting all 3 seasons of Lost on their network website.

I know as much about the series as anyone can without watching more than twenty minutes or doing a single Google search and even with my cobbled-together expectations I was still impressed with the pilot episode (part 1 at least -- I haven't seen part 2 yet).

I can see why Lost was such a phenomenon; this is a show that takes a unique premise and owns it. Primal themes like death, survival, and compassion are eloquently put into a visual language that is startlingly original. I know Lost has been written about and theorized to death so I won't go into that, but this show doesn't resemble anything I've ever seen. You can't say that about very many programs these days.

A couple of scenes stood out for me and neatly exemplify what I find so appealing about the show. The first was when Kate slips a dead passenger's shoes off to wear into the island's jungle. She does so almost reverently and, as a viewer, the experience goes from "Cool, they're stuck on an island" to "Holy sh*t, she's stealing shoes from a dead guy to survive." I love those small human touches that add a huge measure of authenticity. That particular scene gets even better when Kate glances at Locke's grim face and he smiles around an orange peel in an attempt to cheer her up. Except Kate isn't a little girl that such a gesture would work on, and both lapse into dark moods that are even more somber than before as a result of Locke's clumsy gesture. Just one more example of superb storytelling.

The jury is still out on Matthew Fox in the lead role of Jack. His absolute lack of charisma could be calculated since he seems like the "everyman" type of guy that viewers are supposed to relate to. Or he's just not that interesting a guy. On the one hand, I loved his character's introduction and how long it took him to snap out of his airplane-crash fugue before helping the other survivors. During his initial hazy march you had to wonder if he was just going to ignore his fellow survivors and take care of himself first. You could literally watch his character and personality take shape right before your eyes in the most immediate and definitive manner. I just hope he becomes a more complicated character down the road.

I generally prefer watching serial shows like Lost on dvd but ABC.com's arrangement is nearly as convenient. It's only the first (half of the first) episode, but consider me hooked.

5 comments:

Fletch said...

Are you gonna try and hammer out all three seasons before the end of January? Is that possible?

I hope so, and if you do, you're in for a wild ride full of ups and downs. We've got the first 2 seasons on DVD (we were playing catchup until season 3) and I could watch them again. Season 3? Not so much (though the finale redeemed it all).

Sarah said...

Season 3 really pissed me off actually. But the show is still incredibile none the less. You are in for an interesting journey watching the seasons on DVD!

Sheamus the... said...

LOST changes my life...ha

Fletch. I watched two seasons in less than two weeks. I failed a class though. But yes...it is possible.

Matt said...

fletch - I'm not sure if I can manage all three seasons by February but I bet I can make it through the first season. I successfully ignored this show for three years so doing it again for couple months while I catch up should be easy as diabetes.

sarah - I've heard a lot of complaints about the show. The good thing about zipping through the series is that the bad parts go by quickly.

sheamus - The question is will Lost change my life for the better the way Ferris Bueller's Day Off did?

Sadie said...

If you can't get it all in before Season 4 starts, it might be easier cause then you can watch season 4 back to back if you get a few weeks behind.

Season 3 was disappointing, but not enough to make me quit watching. Season 1 & especially 2 just completely screwed with my head.

I have hated Jack since day 1, but I think that's a result of my own personal issues about the popular kids and the in-crowd (I was a band geek, you know).

Also Sawyer hardly ever wears a shirt, and that's nice.