I'm a rare creature; an unapologising complete and total Lost fanboy. There aren't many of us left in the wild, but we exist. For those who don't know, Lost was an American drama/mystery show that aired on ABC in the US. There haven't been many shows that have been so divisive amongst their fanbase, but Lost is one of them thanks to it's somewhat controversial ending. This isn't controversy of the political or philosophical kind, it just managed to piss off a large part of it's loyal audience, but more on that later.
Lost followed the story of a commercial jet airliner crash on a mysterious tropical island that appears to be somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean. It featured both supernatural and science-fiction elements, blended with well-developed characters and a heavy dose of mystery. The show was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, who share story writing credits for the pilot episode, which Abrams directed. After that, Lindelof and Carlton Cuse served as showrunners and head writers, working together with a large number of other executive producers and writers.
Lost was one of the most expensive television shows ever produced at the time too, largely down to the fact it had a large ensemble cast and was filmed on location in Hawaii. These expenses definitely paid off though, as the varied cast gave the writers a lot of legroom when it came to developing back stories and character arcs. The show is just beautifully shot, with the dramatic backdrop of Oahu leaving the viewer in awe. Then there were technical things, like I believe Lost was one of the first shows to feature the brief title card that we are now so used to with big budget shows (Breaking Bad for example).
The thing about this show was the mystery, it was everywhere. What were the numbers about? Who are The Others? What is the purpose of the Dharma Initiative? What is the smoke monster? Why is there a sodding polar bear on the island?! So many questions, and we only got answers to a few of them but that, as we now know, is what you can expect from Abrams, he loves his mystery box.
One of the biggest draws for me, and the part that most fascinated me about the show was the Dharma Initiative. They were a group of individuals who came to the island in the Seventies to study its unique properties through their various research stations. We are first introduced to Dharma via the hatch Locke and Boone locate in season one. Multiple other hatches are found throughout the series, all with different functions. The season one finale, and season two premiere will both be forever ingrained into my memory. The overwhelming feeling that I had to know what was inside that damned hatch was too much, and then the reveal was perfectly executed.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a limited release of the blu-ray copy of Season 5, which you can see to the left. It's in the form of the Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit, and comes complete with VHS Orientation Tape and the literal manual for being a member. I don't know what it is, but the 70s aesthetic coupled with the science-fiction of the Dharma Initiative just captivates me completely.
Enough gushing, time to talk about that finale. If you haven't seen the show yet, and I strongly recommend you do, you might wanna skip this paragraph. The finale is intercut between events on the island and an alternate timeline described as the "flash-sideways," a nether world in which the survivors (who are now dead) become aware of their former lives on the island. Together, congregated in a church, they can move on from the purgatorial setting to... well, as Jack's dad puts it, to "whatever comes next".
At the time, many fans didn't know what to make of this, and some even believed it meant the entire show was a sort of purgatory with them all being dead all along. That isn't the case, but after such near-perfection for almost six seasons, there was something about the ending that left a hole inside. This is an issue with many stories though, for example The Prisoner (which I've previously written about here) had an even more confusing and bizarre ending, but it worked (for me atleast).
As I've already said, if you haven't watched this show yet, bump it to the top of your viewing list. I have no idea which streaming service has it these days, maybe Netflix, maybe Amazon but you can pick up the DVD box sets for peanuts now. I've heard rumours of a possible revival of the show, but I neither want to get my hopes up nor be massively disappointed by an obvious cash-grab. Only time will tell...
Did you watch Lost? If so, what did you make of the ending? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down in the comments and as always, make sure to follow me for the latest Cryptocurrency, Technology, Internet and Pop Culture updates. If you're a fan of strange YouTube videos, you might want to follow me on Twitter.
Oh, and as a side note, I'm trying to get a new tag started; #tvdiscovery so if you write posts about shows you enjoy and others might too, then add the #tvdiscovery tag to your posts. I often find the #TV tag to be a bit cluttered. Until we meet again, take it easy!
Sources:
Lost on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_(TV_series))
Dharma Initiative Logo (https://www.socwall.com/desktop-wallpaper/12561/dharma-initiative-logo-from-lost-by-kyle-p/)
Lost: all the mysteries explained (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11084320/Lost-10-years-on-all-the-mysteries-explained.html)
Lost Trailer (Season 1) ()