Lost is the best show on television. Okay, okay… it is the only show I watch on television. But that doesn’t make my statement any less true from my perspective. But I’m a total Lost-o-phile. I truly groan for the completion of this masterfully told epic sci-fi tale. The talent on display here is in a different league than any other TV show I’ve ever seen. Creator JJ Abrams is equally at home on the small and big screen. The writing is fabulous, the acting is top notch across the board, and even the cinematography trumps any other TV show I’ve ever experienced.
Season 4 does not disappoint us longtime fans. And let’s be honest… if you are a fan at all, you are a long-time one. Hear this now: You can’t start watching Lost ANYWHERE but from the very first episode. This show is the definition of serialized entertainment. Stand-alone episodes would be confusing and nonsensical if not viewed in context of the whole series. With that in mind, this review will be pretty free with spoilers, as most of us reading are already fans who are “caught up.” Or should I say “pent up” waiting for Season 5 to begin…
We join our favorite castaways after the season finale where they make contact with a freighter that can bring them safely home. But all is not as it seems. And the season wraps up with only “The Oceanic 6″ truly returning home. And the island itself DISAPPEARING! Along the way we learn more about the people on the freighter, a mysterious cabin with an invisible man inside, time bending, perpetual youth, and tons and tons of angst. Great stuff.
In my mind, Lost distinguishes itself and defines itself by its investment in its characters. My fiancé got me into the show, and she can’t stand sci-fi. Huh? How would someone who hates sci-fi fall in love with a show this “out there”? I believe it is the characters combined with the precision scripts featured in each episode. Sure, there are polar bears and smoke monsters and ghosts… but each is revealed in a believable fashion. And our characters are ALWAYS central to the sci-fi. The flashbacks (and flash forwards) deepen our investment in each character, and richly illuminate events happening on the island.
In a way, getting to know Lost is a lot like getting to know anyone. We as humans have rich and complicated pasts. We are all fascinating characters, really. We’re full of flaws, foibles, and triumphs. If one were able to take in pieces and vignettes of a friends’ life… we might come to believe something about that person which ANOTHER event might upend. And we will never truly come to know anyone else on this world as deeply as the Lord knows each of us. Lost capitalizes on the fascinating nature of complex people in extreme situations, and we’re all blessed by the thrilling process.
Special Features
I didn’t have time to check out every single feature before having to get this review cranked out, but I watched two GREAT features for fans like me. One was a “conspiracy theory” program calling to question the many inconsistencies in the “Oceanic 6″’s story of survival. This was an awesome featurette because it gives voice to all of the same questions that skeptics of Lost might have. “How do they shave?” “How many outfits do they have?” Fans and critics alike ask questions like these as we watch on, and this fun “documentary” takes these questions and spins them to Lost’s ingenious advantage.
Another chunk of special features I really enjoyed were a series of added scenes throughout the previous four seasons: less so “deleted scenes,” and more isolated moments and interactions that have happened on the island over the seasons that we never saw on camera. Each vignette offers some interesting insight to the characters involved and gives fans a more full sense of what is going on around the island at times of lower drama. Really great stuff for fans.
The special features here show that Lost’s creators really have their fingers on the pulse of the fans. They are working hard to draw us more deeply into their world, and they are succeeding!
