September 22, 2004 was an important day for my parents, as it marked
their 25th wedding anniversary. It was also a significant date for
America, since it signaled the beginning of a cultural phenomenon,
whispered about on the air waves for weeks: LOST. This first
episode had to deliver all the drama and mystery promised by those
haunting advertisements. It had to make viewers believe that 40 or so
people could survive a plane wreck on an island thousands of miles from
the nearest continent and that even with today's modern technology, they
would not be quickly found. It had to make us care about this diverse
group of individuals even though we were likely to go into over-load
with so many major characters to keep track of. It had to be something
really special. It was.
It begins with the opening of an eye. A
man is lying in the jungle. He pulls himself to his feet and struggles
toward the beach, catching a glimpse of a yellow lab along the way. The
scene awaiting him at the shore is chaotic, with plane wreckage strewn
about and survivors screaming. He springs into action, rousing those in
the most immediate danger, healing wounds wherever possible, for he is a
doctor and, whether he intended it or not, a leader. His name is Jack
Shephard (Matthew Fox), and this is his story.
But it's also
the story of Charlie Pace (Dom Monaghan), a well-intentioned but mostly
incompetent rock star whose primary preoccupation is initially how to
get his hands on the heroin he was snorting in the plane's bathroom.
It's the story of Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin), an innocent and
very pregnant Aussie. It's the story of Hurley Reyes (Jorge Garcia), a
squeamish, gentle giant whose easy-going nature allows him to make
friends quickly. It's the story of Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), a
kind-hearted renegade who doesn't want her fellow survivors to find out
what she was doing on that plane, and Sawyer Ford (Josh Holloway), whose
antagonism and opportunism cast him in an unfavorable light.
It's the story of Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), once a communications
officer for the Iraqi Republican Guard and now their best hope of
finding a way off the island, and John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), a
mysterious sage who may be their best hope of surviving until that
happens. It's the story of Rose (L. Scott Caldwell), a serene woman
whose husband was in the tail section of the plane when it crashed.
It's the story of Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim), a
Korean couple who keep themselves set apart from the rest, from whom
they are already separated by a language barrier, of Boone Carlyle (Ian
Somerhalder) and Shannon Rutherford (Maggie Grace), siblings who snipe
at one another constantly and seem ill-equipped to prove themselves
useful, and of Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) and his estranged young
son Walt Lloyd (Malcolm David Kelley). It's even the story of Walt's
dog Vincent (Madison), whose disappearance further strains Michael's
relationship with his son.
Yes, that's a lot of stories to
keep track of, but we meet the characters gradually enough that we're
not completely overwhelmed. Because most of these people have never met
before, there are plenty of introductions to be made, and we catch
glimpses of each character's personality that will be built upon later.
There are wonderfully revealing little moments in the midst of the
high-octane disaster and the ensuing attempts to settle in safely until
they can find a way of contacting civilization, not to mention in the
flashbacks to the fateful plane ride itself. We know, as these dazed
individuals do not, that they're in it for the long haul and are going
to have to work together if they're going to make it. And as if being
stranded in the middle of the ocean weren't bad enough, this island
boasts several mysteries right here in the pilot: Man-eating monster!
Polar bear! Distress call running on a loop for 16 years! Just what kind
of place is this, anyway?
LOST presented viewers with
an opening chapter so epic and a cast of characters so engaging, it's no
wonder legions of fans were born. Now that the third season is wrapping
up, the events surrounding the initial crash seem so simple. No Others,
no hatch, no evil numbers to worry about... Just a bunch of world-weary
folks emerging shakily from a traumatic event, propping each other up
and managing to survive until the next set of challenges arises. Truly
television at its best.
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