So we finally got around to watching "Lost," which we taped while watching another program last Wednesday. (I have to say, I'm not sure how Wednesday every year is this frickin' clusterbomb of all the shows I want to watch while other nights there's not a damned thing on I want to see.)
In any event, I'm wishing that "Lost" was on cable so it could have a more appropriate title...
...such as "F*cked." Seriously. Gilligan and the Skipper were lost on an island. Will and the Robot were lost in space. Bill and Scarlett were lost in translation. Being lost is one thing. These people are stuck on an island with a woman who looks like she's about to give birth to a Volkswagen, some guy with a gun, a rock and roll Hobbit who was, I dunno, hiding drugs in the airplane bathroom, an Asian couple who have something going on with them, and apparently King Kong's less friendly brother is skulking around in the forest...all while the rescue planes, if there are any, are searching for them a thousand miles away. The guy who got sucked into the jet engine? He had a good day. The pilot who lived just long enough to deliver valuable exposition and then leaned out his window while I kept shouting, "I really wouldn't be doing that if I were you", that guy? Got off lucky. The rest of them...they're beyond lost. They're f*cked.
There's a buttload of characters to try and get a handle on, and what with this being a show by J.J. Abrams, I think we can all safely assume that no one there is who or what they appear to be. Which is fine, except I'm not exactly sure who most of them are yet, much less what else they might be. But that's fine. Right now we've got a situation being set up and what drives the compelling pilot episode is seeing how they react to their utterly f*cked situation. (You almost wish Bill Paxton could be there reacting to the distant roaring of whatever it is stalking them with a terrified, "Game over, man, game over!")
One is forced to admire Jack who spends a quarter hour running around tending to everybody else while, unbeknownst to us, he's losing blood by the liter. Kate remains a cypher, albeit a determined and supportive cypher, and everybody else is just big question marks. This was a premiere where I really wouldn't have minded if it had been two hours because, after all, if you don't care about the characters, the intrigue of their situation isn't going to matter. But given it's only an hour, Abrams wisely zeroes in on just three folks and makes them, at the very least, watchable, while whetting our appetite to learn about the others. A solid first episode and I'll definitely be back for more (although I couldn't help but consider the poor actress playing Kate, thinking, "Jennifer Garner gets fun outfits, wigs, gets to kick ass...me, I get to be terrified in the rain.")
PAD
Technically, I think it is two hours. From what I've read, it sure sounds like it was filmed as a single two hour pilot, and it's going to be shown back to back on Saturday (with the second hour shown solo first on Wednesday).
At least the wound did give some explanation for my big opening gripe. Namely, you're on a tropical island. Why the heck are you running around in a suit coat for such a long period, and if you do insist on doing so, why aren't you sweating like a pig? One could at least conclude that the jacket showed the blood a lot less than his white shirt.
I read also that the whole pilot is running on Oct. 2, so anyone that missed it on either Wednesday can see it that Sat. And curse you Hurricane Ivan for even more then the things you did! Our power was out and our local UPN showed Veronica Mars twice, twice, dammit (Fri and Sun) and I missed it both times. But, I am also greatful for my family and home safe and the returned power...
Wow, do I have hurricane fatigue, I meant "Jeanne", sheesh! Though, Charles, Francis, Ivan and now Jeanne gave the Tampa Bay area some grief...
His name escapes me, but I feel sorry for the actor who played the Hobbit. I mean, all I see is a Hobbit. He is like Mark Hamil to me now..."Hey, its Luke Skywalker!"
Anyways, I enjoyed "Lost" a lot more than I thought I would. The begining with the guy laying in the calm forest and then discovering the mess on the beach was neat. Whats up with the dog? That Asian couple seem pretty suspicious to me. How do pregnant women keep falling on their bellies in movies but nothing ever happens to the babies? Would you be worried about painting your toe nails or getting fat from eating a candy bar if you were in their shoes. Would you steal a dead guy's shoes?
Real slow burner, maybe too slow at times. But I'll stick with it just to A) see where they're going and B) it'll probably be cancelled by December anyway.
I don't think they're being terroized by dinosaurs. That's wayyyyy too easy. They're screwing with you. If its dinosaurs, I'll eat this thread personally.
Best moment of the whole show was the cockpit sequence. I loved when he banged on the door and the body of the co-pilot came out. I saw the pilot getting sucked out the window comming from about a mile away, though.
The opening crash sequence was very visercal and immediate. Anytime some poor fucker gets sucked into the engine of jetplane = quality entertainment in my book. the acting was, I found, uh, TV quality acting. ie. servicable if a bit over-earnest. ("I counted to FIVE and then I wasn't scared anymore!")
Dom Monaghan was pretty cool, but I also thought he'd be able and just live off phat LOTR royality cheques for the rest of his life.
Personally I was waiting for him to yell out "Treebeard! Help me!" and then Treebeard comes out and starts kicking ass.
If the monster turns out to be a giant spider, I'm bailing. Though it could be kind of funny - use footage of Sam fighting the spider from "Return of the King" and cut back to reactions of the LOST cast on the beach. "Go get him, Sam!" etc. etc. It'd save some money too.
"Whats up with the dog? That Asian couple seem pretty suspicious to me. How do pregnant women keep falling on their bellies in movies but nothing ever happens to the babies? Would you be worried about painting your toe nails or getting fat from eating a candy bar if you were in their shoes. Would you steal a dead guy's shoes?"
Responding in order: (1) Not sure. Either the dog was riding in the cargo bay and survived the crash, or it was already on the island, thus prompting otehr questions. (2) Yeah, they seemed that way to me as well. (3) While I wouldn't want to roll odds if a pregnant woman took a baseball bat to the stomach, nature provides a lot of amniotic fluid to protect the fetus in utero, so a simple fall wouldn't necessarily rupture the sac or injure the baby. (4) That was to underscore the girl's firm belief that they were going to be rescued shortly and this was nothing more than a mild setback. (5) I think under the circumstances it would hardly qualify as stealing. Besides, maybe she just borrowed them.
PAD
Having never seen any of the LOTR films (long story - son't ask) - I'll assume
folks are speaking of the actor who did such a good job on the British
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates shows prior to LOTR.
Suspension of disbelief aside, major quibbles with the Lost were that no one,
in shock (or more rational), had the presence
of mind to get one of the first aid kits out of the plane.
Or the removable seat cushions (to use to make beds).
Or every available container of any volume to use for fresh water storage.
May have to watch the first part again, as still have no explanation for
how the engine was (a) still running, and (b) occasionally increasing in speed.
Predictions? The Japanese woman is the key to solving the mystery of their location and the unseen monster.
Why? Is it because she’s Japanese? “Look! Gojira! Run!” :-)
Peter David: In any event, I'm wishing that "Lost" was on cable so it could have a more appropriate title...
...such as "F*cked."
Luigi Novi: LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aw, Peter. This is why I just love your stuff. Thanks for the best laugh I’ve had in a while. The “rock and roll Hobbit,” “He had a good day,” and “Bill Paxton” remarks were just priceless. :-)
James Tichy: His name escapes me, but I feel sorry for the actor who played the Hobbit.
Luigi Novi: Dominic Monaghan. Check the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com for future reference. :-)
Having watched the second episode, which as many of you have already pointed out, is really the second hour of the pilot (ABC should have aired it complete the first time around) I must say that you are the ones LOST.
Big surprises coming up tomorrow (though the previews gave away too much. Don't watch the previews)
Anyway, great show. Abrams knows how to make a compelling show.
They're Korean, not Japanese...and unless my "Angel" radar is completely off...wasn't the guy one of the Wolfram & Hart associates?
Yep, that's Daniel Dae Kim from Angel and Crusade.
I'm just waiting for someone to point at someone else and realize that they weren't on the plane. The main candidate for that is the weird bald guy on the beach.
The dog seems to be the kid's. When they first hear the noise, the kid asks his father, "Is that Vincent?" It still could be a dog that was already there, though. The dog could also tie into whatever the heck is going on.
I think we're going to piece together what happened on the plane retroactively. We'll probably get another nugget every episode or so to fill us in on who the guy was running to the cockpit...and what happened.
As for the pilot. He was doomed the minute he set down the transceiver. Forget about sticking his head out the window...something would have happened to him regardless once he let go of that plot device. ;-)
D. Eric Carpenter
I also had the thought while watching the episode...a geek thought...
Wouldn't it be cool if they crashed into 'The Land of the Lost?' The original...not the nineties one.
Yeah, I was a big fan of that when I was a kid.
No chance of that, however. ;-)
D. Eric Carpenter
My mini-review: I'll watch the second episode.
Real curious about the giant dinosaur/gorilla/mime. Other than that, and the opening sequence on the beach, I thought it was pretty standard fare.
Anyone else flashback to the ending of the movie DEEP RISING?
"NOW what?"
I thought LOST was great. There was a level of tension to this first episode that you usually don't get on network tv.
Anyone else notice that it was Greg Grunberg (Weiss on ALIAS) as the pilot? This makes him 3 for 3 when it comes to appearing on JJ Abrams shows.
I'm mostly curious about whats up with Terry O'Quinn's character because he seemed stranegly calm considering the circumstances.
I hope this show makes it long enough to be shown on Sky or E4 here in Ireland, I've heard a lot of good about it.
Dominic Monaghan and Tery O'Quinn are there? Cool.
I went to the Lost presentation at the San Diego Comic Con, and it was stated that the mysterious monster will not be a dinosaur, and will be within the realm of science (which doesn't really mean much, 'cause after all travelling faster than light is within the realm of science, but actually doing it 'slightly' harder). I've been stoked for this show all summer.
Actually, I thought the fate of the pilot (definitely seen as soon as he set down the transceiver) gave us all a good life lesson.
To wit: If you're ever in a tough situation, never, and I repeat, never let go of the plot device. You'll live a lot longer that way.
Speaking of “Land of the Lost” (the _good_ original version, not the 90’s version), season 2 is out on DVD today.
As to “Lost” itself, as I said on the main Cowboy Pete thread, I flipped back and forth between it and “Smallville”, but will try to set aside time on Saturday to re-watch it, and to give it my full attention.
I like the idea of having a large cast that will gradually be whittled down to a smaller group, and we’re not sure who’s going to make it. As I understand it, some people who we think are going to be among the leads will be killed off, and the guy who initially appeared to be Extra #37 suddenly emerges as the lead.
One of the reasons I like that is because I think its interesting to watch how a group dynamic changes when the group’s make-up changes (both in real life and in fiction). That may be one of the reasons “Doctor Who” lasted so long. Every now and again, a new companion and/or new Doctor came in and took things in a new direction.
Similarly on M*A*S*H, the introduction of Major Charles E. Winchester III changed the group dynamic among the denizens of the Swamp. Before it was Hawkeye and Trapper and later Hawkeye and B.J. vs. Frank. With the advent of Winchester, however, we sometimes saw Hawkeye and B.J. vs. Charles; and sometimes it was Hawkeye and Charles vs. B.J. or vice versa. In some ways, they became like battling siblings.
I’ve also done some sudden changes to a group of characters in my own writing, because it’s interesting to see how the other characters react to these changes.
So, from that point of view alone, “Lost” has piqued my interest. Of course, if people start dying off in really stupid ways, and the characters are nothing more than cardboard cut-outs, my interest will quickly wane.
Rick
P.S. The dog is native to the Island, and in a great ironic twist, it turns out they're all on the far side of a popular resort island, but no one ever bothers to see what's on the other side of the mountains.
*To wit: If you're ever in a tough situation, never, and I repeat, never let go of the plot device. You'll live a lot longer that way.*
And my unofficial guide note: When weird noises are outside, keep your head *inside* the enclosure...
FYI - Veronica Mars will re-run on MTV on the following Tuesdays at 7pm. So the pilot episode will run tonight at 7 and then the new episode will run on UPN at 8. So you can still catch that episode (and future ones).
Loved Lost, love that there are shows out there (thanks JJ) that take some real thinking power to watch and figure out.
Carl:
**To wit: If you're ever in a tough situation, never, and I repeat, never let go of the plot device. You'll live a lot longer that way.*
>And my unofficial guide note: When weird noises are outside, keep your head *inside* the enclosure...
Huh, here I figured that it was quite simply that if you have a supporting role in a hit action series and you appear halfway through a new series premiere, covered in blood, battered and half dead...... get out as much informational dialoguing as you can, while looking occassionally at your watch in anticipation of the 5 minute countdown until you are killed horribly, being put out of your misery. (Although, I'm told that I sometimes read a bit too much into these things. :) )
"Anyone else flashback to the ending of the movie DEEP RISING?
"NOW what?""
Yes! Thank you! THAT'S the name of the Treat Williams film I was wracking my brains to remember. I tried to check at imdb.com before I wrote my review and for some reason it wouldn't boot up. Where at the end they land on an island, you think they're safe...and then the exact same effect with the crunching forest coming toward them occurs. And I thought, Damn, what a shame Treat Williams is over on "Everwood" because they could have him show up to make it an unofficial sequel.
What an underrated little monster film that was.
PAD
Thanks Xoph!!! Wow, I have a use for MTV since "Dead At 21" went off. Deus ex Mteevee... :D
Did anyone else think Terry O'Q looked very, very evil when he opened his mouth and had the orange slice in it?
jambohemie:
>Did anyone else think Terry O'Q looked very, very evil when he opened his mouth and had the orange slice in it?
I did. When that image showed up and palyed out onscreen, I had an immediate David Lynch/Twin Peaks association pop into my head. Very vivid scene.... I wonder if anything will come of it.
Suspicions (only seen Pilot pt. 1, so some or all might already be disproven)
Our hero's some kind of secret agent: he's a doctor, knows everything about planes, is immune to pain, ignores fear, and has a strange illuminati tattoo.
The crash wasn't an accident. Possibly hero dude had something to do with it, or whatever bunch he used to belong to did.
English 80s rocker hobbit guy wasn't getting his drugs, but something else embarrassing but not illegal. (I think the networks won't let you have a sympathetic character who uses drugs)
I really can't see how this can be a regular series; once you have the big reveal of what's on the island (and the show will get stale unless the reveal comes by ep 4 or 5 at the most), is there much left other than Survivor where you get eaten instead of voted off? (My single suggestion to make Survivor a watchable show, actually)
It was a bizarre scheduling decision (yes, 'cos THOSE are so rare!) that must have split the pilot into two episodes.
I had the chance to see the full pilot at one go and it works SUPERBLY at full-length, but probably comes off as far too slow if divided in two. Spme of your questions will get answered next week, but - naturally - they raise a few more too.
PAD et al - if and when you get the chance, please do watch the full pilot all in one go. It makes ALL the difference.
John
Paul...
Good news: I'm reliably informed Channel 4 / E4 have bought it for the UK.
Bad news: Probably means they'll schedule it at 5:00pm.
John
Let's see... a jungle island, a title called "Lost", some giant non-dinosaur monster.
I'm presuming that this is Lost Island, and it's King Kong (or a relative) in the jungle. Look for a familiar native temple, a stockade of logs, a log over a crevasse, or a ship called Venture by episode 4, and all the above by episode 10.
PAD writes (re: DEEP RISING)
"What an underrated little monster film that was."
Absolutely. Sure, the CGI was bit dodgy at times but the monsters are cool, the characters are well written enough that the body count actually means something (I STILL can't get over the fact that one of the girls get's offed) and a character named Mulligan gets eaten, regurgetated, and eaten again by a giant squid.
If that's not entertainment I'd damn well like to know what is.
The director later went on to direct VAN HELSING which had no giant squids or characters named Mulligan and wasn't very good. I say no more.
"Would you steal a dead guy's shoes?"
Sure. I would thank his family later if I survived.
Now explaining to his family who ate his feet...
"She sure had good taste..." Thank you, Harlan Elison...
My guess is that the bald guy with the scar down his face will turn out to be either a child molester, someone who's been on the island before, or both.
Was anyone else thinking, the first time the "beast" walked by, that some poor sap in a red shirt would go to investigate it?
Interestingly, when "Land of the Lost" ran on my station...both of them (the updated one too) we called it "Land of the Losers."
Which they were. They made Gilligan look like McGyver by comparison. And I'm sure this show will be the same.
Do you recall the theory that the Gilligan posse was sent to the Island by God, in punishment for their sins...and that every one of them represented one of the Seven Deadly Sins? One person figured out that one of the people had doubled up on sins, and that Satan was there on the island...as Gilligan.
Well saw the first part of Lost last night and I must say..I think this is BETTER than Alias and Felicity (shows J.J. Abrams created)....I too am wondering about the "monster" oh and a little trivia think Greg Grunberg was there since he's known J.J. since they were kids..(which is why he was/is also in Felicity and Alias). Anyways on another note caught the tail end of Veronica Mars on MTV last night...HOPEFULLY I'll be able to see it since it looks really interesting to me.
I caught most of Veronica Mars as well. Surprisingly good, overall. In many ways, she's the type of person that I wish I was in high school. I'm referring specifically to her ability to handle bullies who I had way too many problems with.
However, as the local Cable Company stopped carrying in UPN channel about three years ago, I'm not likely to be able to watch this show. Does anyone know if MTV is planning on rebroadcasting it every week or if this was just a one-time thing?
Think its every week since they picked up the repurposing rights to it. The same thing they did with FOX's Fastlane
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=newswire&id=6742
Starting at the beginning: I liked the opening credit: just the title, out of focus, rotating slowly as the camera zooms in, in black and white. both a Lynch/Peaks vibe and a Serling/Twilight Zone twinge at the same time. Cool way to begin.
Would have been funny if he drank those little bottles of booze, passed out on the plane, woke up in the jungle. a real "I've gotta stop drinking" moment.
When the doc came around the bend in the beach, I was so hoping for the statue of liberty buried in the sand.
"Did you ever hear anything like that?" "Yes." "Where are you from?" "The Bronx." based on that exchange someone at AICN theorized a shipment of... something... or multiple somethings... being shipped to the Bronx Zoo had also beached on the island. So it could be anything(s). Though why animals being delivered to the Bronx Zoo would be a thousand miles from Fiji... Well, they have to come from somewhere.
I'm just hoping it isn't 1. a raptor, 2. a Sleestak, 3. a physical embodiment of the collective id, 4. M. Night trying to scare the villagers or 5. A Wilson soccerball.
This show has the best music written for a TV show since Xena.
Terry O'Quinn was incredible in "The Stepfather" and great in everything he's done since. Love the Alice Cooper scar above and below the eye. How do you make an orange creepy? He did it.
I hope this was worth letting Alias season three go downhill, and I hope this survives when Abrams moves on to X3.
Forty-eight survivors, one goes into the jet engine, now it's forty-seven. "It's allways the brother goes first."
Why does everyone seem to think Charlie the bass player was getting something (drugs or something else) out of the bathroom? I assumed he was, well, you know, using the bathroom.
Started at the beginning, stop in the middle, that's all I've seen so far. Looking forward to episode one part two. This was better than I was expecting.
Though between this and CSI:NY, that's an awful lot of gray for one night.
Charlie was rushing to go potty right before the crash. Doubt he'd have held it that long. There was SOMETHING he really wanted in the can.
(Drugs, Groupie's lacy panties, HIS OWN lacy panties?)
Okay, so Hobbit Charlie's on drugs. Of some kind. Yellowish, looked like pills but he was rubbing his nose like it was a powder. Fast acting, whatever; as soon as he swallows it he's grinning at leaves.
Baby's alive, polar bear (?!?) dead, dog's lost, and who thought we'd be rooting for the shrapnel guy to not survive?
did anyone else think the "Where are we?" question at he end followed by the "LOST" logo had unintentionally funny "ask a silly question, get a silly answer" implications?
"What is that thing?" "Lost." "Where's Vincent?" ":Lost." "How'd your backgammon game with the orange clown guy go?" "Lost."You'll believe a man can fly out the back of a plane.
Really liked the first episode and I’ll definitely stick around for the duration.
Actually, when I first read the premise for the show, my memory immediately flashed to a show that aired on ABC when I was a kid in 1969 called “The New People”. Anybody else here remember it? Here’s a link to TV Tome with a description of it:
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-74/
It was only a couple of years or so after “Gilligan’s Island” was cancelled, and it ran for only 17 episodes. I remember specifically because it was a 45 minute show, one of the few prime-time shows in history to air at that length. It involved a planeload of young exchange students traveling back from a trip to Asia who crashed on a deserted island. As explained on the TV Tome site, the island just “happened” to be one formerly used by the Atomic Energy Commission as a test site, and had provisions to sustain them for the long run. I did only watch a few of the shows (with only one TV in the house it was a choice between that and “Gunsmoke”), but apparently it had a really stereotypical portrayal of 1960s American youth overall. The show ended without any resolution to the plight of the characters.
Major props to the writers if they could pull off a rhetorical question that could be answered by "LOST" every commercial break, then flash the series title.
Much love for Veronica Mars too, though describing it as "Nancy Drew meets 90210" hasn't quite convinced anybody yet. Was totally fooled by the Paris Hilton red herring too. Thought she did it, on the grounds she couldn't possibly be a series regular, could she?
Got to see Veronica Mars 1 and 2. Damned good show so far. Man, was it me or was Paris Hilton so made up she looked like "grandma" trying to fit in with the 17 year olds? Creepy...
Well, I watched the rerun Saturday of both hours of the pilot back to back. I liked it. The characters are interesting, and the situation with the certain animal being on an island where it has no business being could be interesting.
I just hope the explanation for the animal's presence doesn't turn out to be something hokey. You know, some modern-day Dr. Moreau deal.
That concern aside, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the storylines in "Lost" play out. Looks like I'll be watching "Lost" and taping "Smallville" to watch later.
Rick