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Feature

“Lost”-The complete 1st season

G. M. Shafayet Ullah

Nothing can be compared to the experience of watching a handful of DVDs over the summer holidays! Especially if it's a rainy day and there's time to kill. Couple of weeks ago, I got my hands on the 7-DVD pack of ABC's hit series “Lost”, the 1st season. The series won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards. After I was done watching it, the series left me mesmerized, puzzled with questions, wanting to see more of the series and thus I became a new fan of- “Lost”.

The pilot of the series starts with a horrifying plane crash, leaving a group of survivors stranded in an uncharted island. The plane - Oceanic Flight 815 was going from Sydney, Australia to Los angels, America. The plane broke off in 3 parts before crashing into a seemingly deserted tropical island. The group of survivors is full of people, having different attitudes, background, and interestingly- different story of their own; some of them are dark, some are heroic. Among the survivors there is one doctor- Jack Shepherd, a beautiful stranger- Kate, one prisoner (see the season to find out who it really is!) escorted to US by a marshal, a con man- Sawyer, a multimillion dollar lottery winner- Hurley, a father and son- Michael and Walt, two siblings- Shannon and Boone. There's also a Korean Couple- Jin and Sun, a one time hit rock star- Charlie, a young pregnant woman- Claire, former Iraqi Republican guard- Sayed and a man with a mysterious past and present- John Locke.

Almost each episode of the first season starts with a close-up shot of a lead character's eye, and then zooming out- revealing the character. Throughout the episode the present situation of the characters on the island and life prior to the crash is switched. Various references to popular theories, literary and philosophical contexts have been made throughout the series, such as- Alice in wonderland, black and white etc. The ever growing collision between science and faith is present here; some episodes will puzzle you, which side you are really on?

Immediately after the crash, Jack is thrust into the position of a leader. Because he is a doctor, he has the experience of crisis- he is best fit for the job. But survival is the first priority, and it's not an easy job. Jack cannot do it all alone. Adding to his trouble is sawyer, keeping anything he can find from the wreckage for himself, Locke bringing a box full of 400 knives; Kate finding a briefcase full of bullets and guns and so on.

Along with the diverse range of survivors, the island itself is full of mysteries. A mysterious shadowlike creature roars in the jungle, taking lives of anything in its path. Even the compasses behave abnormally in the island. The island healed some people. People having paralyzed legs prior to the plane crash can walk. Most of the survivors barely got scratches and bruises; surviving a plane crash such as this itself seems to be a miracle to themselves. Some of the survivors are not that lucky, dying due to lack of medicines despite of the relentless efforts by Jack. There is a radio transmission that is being played on a loop for 16 years- by a mysterious French woman. Besides the survivors, there is a mysterious group of people on the island- The Others. They are strong, fast, expert in jungles, have secret agenda of their own. And there is the mystery of “The Numbers”- 4 8 15 16 23 42. These numbers appear throughout the entire season, individually or collectively. Hurley, one of the survivors, believes them to be cursed, judging from the events in his life regarding the same numbers. Halfway in the season, when Boone and Locke search the jungle for abducted Claire, they found a metal “Hatch” buried on the ground- a hatch without any handle or opening outside. Various attempts of opening this hatch by Locke and Boone fail. But at the end of the season, the survivors are successful in opening it.

Also at the end of the season a raft is built by Michael. He, along with few other survivors starts a journey- hoping to find rescue in the ocean by getting into any shipping lines. But their raft comes under attack by “The Others” in the deep sea, Sawyer is shot, Walt has been taken, the rest are left to die.

Altogether, it might seem a recreation of “Mysterious Island” by Jules Verne, in a modern setting. But once you start watching this series, you definitely would want to watch it all at once- it is that much addictive! The 7-disc DVD pack of “Lost” contains all the episodes of the first season. On the bonus disc season 1 DVD set there is a documentary that shows how the Lost producers purchased and cut up an old un-used airplane for the film.

At the end of the season you are left with some intriguing questions- what is inside of “The Hatch”? What happened to the passengers of the raft? What happened to the rest of the survivors? To find out, you must watch the second season- the review of which I will hopefully submit in weeks to come! The location, the direction, the gripping storyline, the interesting characters, everything will keep you glued to your seat, so you better be prepared with supply of snacks to watch it in your summer holidays- with your family and friends. Enjoy- “Lost”.

(East West University)