Review of Lost, Season One

As one of the hottest shows on television, Lost has won over fans for its intrigues, unexpected plot twists, and sensational character development. The one thing, though, that makes Lost stand out from every other show on television is the way its over-arcing mystery, i.e. the island's relationship with the powerful and secretive Hanso foundation, as well as the secret of the "numbers", is not isolated to the crash incident, but seems to permeate all the characters' lives, and has even become an internet phenomenon.

Lost is a show to be viewed carefully. Watch it on a DVR or rent the seasons, because these episodes need to be rewound. For example, in a flashback scene (presented as having taken place years earlier) of Locke standing casually in a driveway, you can look across the street and see a real estate agent...look carefully and you will see a fellow islander. The characters continually appear in one another's previous lives...often in the background. The numbers do as well: watch for them in unexpected places, like on the backs of the jerseys of a soccer team in the airport. Nothing is coincidence. Also watch for names of companies. Much of the "conspiracy" aspect of Lost stems from the island's involvement with what appears to be a scientific research project, known as the Dharma Initiative, connected with the aforementioned Hanso Foundation. This aspect of the show connects the island with the outside, and with a larger purpose. Doing so makes the characters and action less isolated - no "Gilligan's Island" here!

The sense of isolation is also lessened to a great degree by the flashbacks, which really serve to develop the strong characters of Lost. Through their memories and dreams, we learn about their previous lives and loves...and begin to suspect they were not on that plane by coincidence. There is a sense of their being "chosen", and the viewer must decide by whom or what - a secret organization, or a Higher Power? Throughout the seasons the characters are tested by the island, which is actually a character itself. Even besides the strange physical entities which live there, such as polar bears, there is a life force with the capability to be benign or malevolent, healing or wounding. The show ties together science and faith, and gives the viewer real insight into the innermost workings of the characters' minds and spiritual beliefs.

The one thing that to me makes this show unlike any other is the way the writers have extended the Hanso mystery to an internet game. They created a site, www.thehansofoundation.org, representative of the actual (fictional) entity, that has developed over time. Boasting beautiful, professional graphic design, the website first extolled the merits of the company's progressive yet controversial research, and included biographies of its top members. Clues were hidden in this site and in others, the purpose of which was to "unlock" a secret message concerning the illegal activities of the organization, purportedly placed by a hacker interested in exposing this crime. The creators of Lost and the internet forum site, thefuselage.com, made this into an amazingly complex game that added depth to the Lost experience.

Now for a bit of criticism. Lost is a rich and complex program, with so many plot threads being woven at once that it is hard to keep track of all of them, and in places I think the writers have done that. The Hanso mystery, for example, seems to have been relegated entirely to the internet; a revelation was made at the end of the last season that has not even been mentioned again as of now, 2-23-07. If a viewer does not have the time or energy to invest in hunting down these online clues, a good deal of information concerning the Hanso foundation is lost, which is a shame because to me it is one of the most interesting aspects of the show. There are a few other interesting plot threads that have been dropped as well, sometimes giving the impression that the storyline is progressing week by week without a strong sense of continuity.

I hope this has been helpful in some way, especially if you are thinking of getting season one and becoming a Lostie...trust me, you will need to carve two or three days out of your schedule and be prepared to be glued to your screen for hours and hours (and hours) on end because this show is ADDICTIVE.