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''Lost'' is an American Drama - Adventure Television Series concerning the survivors of a Plane Crash on a mysterious tropical island. It was created by Jeffrey Lieber , J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof , is produced by Bad Robot Productions and Touchstone Television , and airs on the ABC network in the US. (For worldwide broadcast details, see Airdates Of ''Lost'' .) The Music is composed by Michael Giacchino . BACKGROUND ''Lost'' began development in January 2004, when then-head of ABC s, as it had been commissioned late in the 2004 season's development cycle. Despite the short schedule, the creative team remained flexible enough that they did not hesitate to modify or create characters to fit actors they wished to cast. Abrams, J. J and Lloyd Braun, ''Lost Season 1 DVD'' (extras), Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 6 September, 2005. ''Lost'''s and, along with fellow new series '' Desperate Housewives '', helped to reverse the flagging fortunes of ABC. Bianco, Robert. "A good season, with reason" ''USA Today'' , 26 April, 2005. Capping its successful first season, ''Lost'' won the Emmy Award For Outstanding Drama Series and Abrams was awarded an Emmy in September 2005 for his work as director of the pilot. In January 2006 it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama. EPISODE AND SERIES STRUCTURE Each episode begins with a Cold Open , preceded by a recap of events that have a bearing on the upcoming Narrative . At a dramatic juncture, the screen cuts to black and the show's title Graphic is depicted slightly out-of-focus, gliding towards the viewer, accompanied by an ominous, discordant sound. The Opening Credits are then shown over the scenes that immediately follow. As usual for television shows, the script is structured around commercial breaks, and will usually incorporate a minor Cliff-hanger just before each. While there is an overall continuing Story Arc , events on the island are interspersed, often with parallel storylines, by flashbacks that expand the history of particular characters. Some episodes end with a suspenseful Twist , revealed just seconds before a smash cut to black. Others, which include a plot resolution, finish with a reflective closing scene that precedes a simple Fade To Black . FILMING LOCATION CAST AND CHARACTERS See Also: Characters of Lost Main Characters
SEASON SYNOPSES See Also: List of Lost episodes Season one: 2004–2005 See Also: Episodes of Lost (season 1) Season one began airing in the United States on September 22 , 2004 and featured 24 episodes. A plane crash strands the surviving passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 on a seemingly Deserted Tropical Island , forcing the group of strangers to work together to stay alive. However, their survival is disturbed by several mysteries, including a metal hatch buried in the ground, an unseen creature which roams the jungle, and the motives of the inhabitants known as the " Others ." The survivors discover that one of their group is not what he seems, and encounter Rousseau, a French woman who was shipwrecked on the island over a dozen years ago. Four of the survivors attempt to escape on a raft. Season two: 2005–2006 See Also: Episodes of Lost (season 2) Season two began airing September 21 , 2005 . A prevalent theme throughout the season is a conflict between faith and science. The story continues 44 days after the crash. Several new characters appear, including the tail-section survivors Ana-Lucia Cortez, Bernard, Libby, and Mr. Eko. Also introduced are Desmond , a man calling himself Henry Gale , and other inhabitants of the island. The existence of The DHARMA Initiative and its benefactor, The Hanso Foundation , is established. The truth about the "Others" begins to unfold and a traitor among the survivors is revealed. THEMATIC MOTIFS There are several recurring thematic Motifs on ''Lost'', which generally have no direct impact on the story itself. While such repeated elements and references are unnecessary to the enjoyment of the series, for some fans, they expand its literary and philosophical Subtext . Black and white The colors ", Locke appears as an ominous image in Claire's nightmare about her unborn child, with one eyeball black and the other white, playing with corresponding, similarly colored cards. Other appearances of the colors likewise connect characters in apparent opposition to themselves, or each other. In "", Jack and Ana Lucia, ostensibly the leaders of their respective factions, stand facing each other, with Jack wearing a white shirt and Ana Lucia wearing a black shirt. In " The Long Con ", when Sawyer is telling the group that he has the guns, Jack and Locke — who were just arguing with each other — are wearing opposing black and white shirts. At other points, the colors are featured in sometimes unexpected or unexplained ways. In " House Of The Rising Sun ", Jack finds a pouch on a pair of Mummified corpses, nicknamed " Adam And Eve " by Locke, containing one white stone and one black stone, which he then hides from Locke. Eyes References to Eye s appear frequently in ''Lost''. A close-up Image of an eye opens many episodes, in most cases of the character whose flashbacks would be featured. In "White Rabbit", Locke hints at his experience in confronting the island's mysterious "security system" saying, "I've looked into the eye of this island. And what I saw was beautiful." Later, in "Raised by Another," Claire has a nightmare in which Locke appears with opaque eyes, one white and the other black. The tail-section survivors also discover a Glass Eye in the DHARMA Initiative's abandoned storage locker, and in the episode " Lockdown ," when the map of the underground bunkers is revealed by blacklight, it is briefly shown reflected in Locke's eye. Familial dysfunction Most of the major characters have Dysfunctional parents, particularly fathers, who are either absent, reluctant, or destructive. Most notably, Locke is the victim of a betrayal in " Deus Ex Machina " by both his natural parents. Jack's broken relationship with his alcoholic surgeon father, Christian, is the impetus for him to travel to Australia , at the behest of his mother. Sawyer's mother has an extra-marital affair with a con-man; after finding out, his father kills her and then commits suicide. Kate murders the abusive man she had believed to be her step-father after discovering he is actually her biological father. She is forced into a life on the run after her mother reveals her crime to the police. While the troubling parental relationships of these four individuals have been the most explored, nearly all the protagonists have had serious difficulties with their families. In many cases, the ways in which the survivors dealt with these relationships led to their being on the island. Literature Episodes often mention or incorporate literary works, a point of interest to fans who try to connect them to ''Lost'''s mythology. Oldenburg, Ann. "Is 'Lost' a literal enigma?" ''USA Today'' , 4 October 2005. While certain books are read by characters, others are referenced in dialogue, and some have just been glimpsed. Sawyer is frequently shown reading, initially the books he finds in the plane wreckage, a habit which eventually leads to his ," Sawyer is reading '' Are You There%2C God%3F It%27s Me%2C Margaret ,'' a teen novel about Menstruation , when Sun asks him for a pregnancy test. He calls the book "predictable." Biblical stories and psalms have been pointedly used by Mr. Eko, such as the story of King Josiah (from 2 Kings , chapters 22 and 23), which he related to Locke in " What Kate Did ," and the recitation of the 23rd Psalm in the following episode. '' The Third Policeman '' is seen when Desmond is packing before fleeing the underground bunker in " Orientation ." Craig Wright , who co-wrote the episode, told the '' Chicago Tribune '' that, "Whoever goes out and buys the book will have a lot more ammunition in their back pocket as they theorize about the show. They will have a lot more to speculate about — and, no small thing, they will have read a really great book." Reardon, Patrick T. "Lost book mention may be good for small press." IndyStar.com (reprint of ''Chicago Tribune'' article), 29 September, 2005. In " One Of Them ," a man who claims to be "Henry Gale" is captured and imprisoned by the survivors. Series writer Damon Lindelof has said that the character's name alludes to Dorothy's uncle from '' The Wizard Of Oz ''. Lindelof, Damon and Carlton Cuse. "Official LOST Podcast." ABC.Go.com , 1 March, 2006. Locke gives a copy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky 's '' The Brothers Karamazov '' to Gale during his captivity in " Maternity Leave ." Gale asks if he could have a Stephen King novel instead. Shortly afterwards, Locke relates to Jack that Ernest Hemingway felt that he lived in Dostoyevsky's shadow, a situation which Gale takes to refer to the relationship between his two main captors. The dialogue between characters occasionally refers to literature, sometimes in off-the-cuff remarks, to add Context to the plot. In "White Rabbit," John Locke converses with Jack, who believes he may be going crazy chasing someone who is "not there." Locke refers to this as "the White Rabbit " from '' Alice In Wonderland '' and makes his first declaration of the special nature of the Island, "Is your White Rabbit a hallucination? Probably. But what if everything that happened here happened for a reason?" Other books that have been briefly glimpsed on screen or alluded to in conversation include: '' Heart Of Darkness '', '' Lord Of The Flies '', '' The Turn Of The Screw '', Walker Percy 's ''Lancelot'', and '' An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge ''. Philosophy By admission of the show's writing staff, some characters on ''Lost'' reference famous , are both named after Social Contract philosophers who dealt with the relationship between nature and civilization. The character Locke shares his name with English philosopher John Locke . The latter believed that in a natural state, all men had equal rights to punish transgressors; to ensure fair judgment for all, governments were formed to better administer the laws. His concept contended that humans are born with a "blank slate" — a '' Tabula Rasa '' (also the title of the Season 1's Third Episode ) — without any innate knowledge or experience, and their identity is therefore a product of their decisions and choices in life. Danielle Rousseau shares her surname with Franco - Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau , who argued that man is born weak and ignorant, but virtuous nonetheless. He maintained that man becomes wicked only after society is developed. His theory of the Noble Savage hypothesised that a Child Raised In The Wilderness , independent of human society and culture, would be an objectively superior person with regards to a universal set of ethics. Rousseau stated that "man is born free, but everywhere, he is in chains," and coined the phrase "all men are created equal." Locke's father on the series, Anthony Cooper, shares a name with a real world counterpart, Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper , who was the philosopher John Locke's political mentor and patron. The character Locke's protegé, Boone Carlyle, shares his name with Thomas Carlyle , a nineteenth-century essayist who spoke of the organization, structure and leadership of society. In his book ''Heroes and Hero Worship,'' he proclaimed that by necessity, heroic leaders were inevitably flawed. The show also references Eastern philosophies. The DHARMA Initiative, uses an Acronym which refers to Dharma , the "way of higher truths" in sects of Hinduism , Buddhism and Daoism . The symbol used by the Initiative is called a '' Bagua '', a wheel of balance often used in Feng Shui . MYTHOLOGY As a " Genre " show, ''Lost'' includes a number of mysterious elements which have been ascribed to Science Fiction or Supernatural phenomena. The creators of the series refer to these as part of the Mythology of the series.Benson, Jim. The 'Lost' Generation: Networks Go Eerie , ''Broadcasting & Cable'', May 16, 2005. The "monster" First Appearance: "" The "monster" is the first piece of mythology introduced. It first appears when, on the night after the crash, the survivors hear a loud, unidentifiable sound coming from the jungle and witness trees being torn down in the distance. The next morning, Jack, Kate, and Charlie go into the jungle to find the transceiver and see the power of the "monster" first-hand when it rips the pilot from the cockpit and leaves his mangled body in a tree. In " Walkabout ", Locke also has a direct encounter but is spared. Dini, Paul. Paul Dini gives ''Lost'' spoilers , ''Dark Horizons'', November 9, 2004. In a conversation with Jack, he says of this event, "I looked into the eye of the island, and what I saw was beautiful." The monster has had very few appearances since then, emerging in the jungle every so often and disrupting the treks of the survivors, who have so far managed to escape it alive. In "The 23rd Psalm", Eko has a confrontation similar to Locke's. The "monster" is revealed here to be a large cloud of black smoke, within which are images from Eko's past. Animals First Appearance: "" There have been a number of occurrences where the survivors encounter animals that either shouldn't be there or have special attributes. In "Pilot", Sawyer shoots a Polar Bear , which cannot normally survive in this sort of environment. In "Lockdown", Locke glimpses a map, on which is stated, "Accelerated repatriation and deterritorialization of ''Ursus maritimus''". The latter is the scientific classification for the polar bear, which implies the species has been introduced to the island. In " Outlaws ", Sawyer has several run-ins with a Boar that he believes is purposely harassing him. In "Adrift", Michael and Sawyer encounter a Shark that, unbeknownst to them, has the DHARMA logo on its tail. In "What Kate Did", Kate sees a black Horse , which is is not indigenous to the island. Kate thinks she has seen that particular animal before: on the day she escaped custody. The Others See Also: Others (Lost) First Appearance: " Solitary " "The Others" are what Rousseau dubs the mysterious inhabitants of the island. They kidnap her daughter, Alex, twelve tail-section survivors, and Walt. In addition, one of their members, Ethan Rom, captures Claire, but she escapes with the help of a young girl (speculated to be Alex) and returns to the survivors. The Numbers First Appearance: " Numbers " The numbers 4 , 8 , 15 , 16 , 23 and 42 appear throughout the series, both in sequence and individually. They were broadcast from the Island's radio transmitter, and it was this message that drew Rousseau's expedition there. Although she later changed the message after the deaths of the rest of her team, the digits had also been heard by other people, eventually making their way to Hurley, who used them to win the lottery. However, a series of misfortunes began to happen to those around him, leading him to believe the figures are cursed. His search for answers led him to Australia and, through the crash, to the island, where he ultimately discovers the numbers engraved on the hatch. They also appear inside the bunker, on the occupant's medicine bottles, and comprise a code that must be entered into the computer. The sum of them, 108 , has also become significant in connection to the DHARMA Initiative. It appears on a mural inside the Initiative's Station Three, and the full sequence of numbers must be entered into the computer every 108 minutes. The individual numbers also appear frequently throughout survivors' lives, both before and after the crash. They have also been subtly embedded within some scenes. The DHARMA Initiative First Appearance: " Man Of Science, Man Of Faith " See Also: The DHARMA Initiative The existence of the DHARMA Initiative is established by the film that Jack and Locke find in the Swan Station. It was founded in 1970 by University of Michigan doctoral candidates Gerald and Karen DeGroot and financed through the Hanso Foundation. It apparently comprises a group of "scientists and free thinkers" from around the world who were brought together at a "large-scale communal research compound" on the island to conduct research into various disciplines, including Meteorology , Psychology , Parapsychology , Zoology , and Electromagnetism . The DHARMA Initiative has placed stations around the island. Three have been featured in the series thus far. The Swan station, commonly called "The Hatch," is being occupied by the survivors. Crossovers First Appearance: " Hearts And Minds " Prior to their arrival on the island, both major and minor characters had occasion to interact, frequently unknowingly. These are revealed through characters' flashbacks, often only obvious to viewers, sometimes significantly affecting their lives. For example, in "Outlaws" when, in an Australian bar, Sawyer shares drinks with Jack's father, who reveals his inability to tell his son how proud he is of him. Sawyer later realizes the connection between the two men, and shares it with Jack. Also, Jack's future wife, Sarah, is involved in a head-on collision with Shannon's father, causing his death. However, the characters are oblivious to most instances, as exemplified by Hurley's manager at the chicken restaurant, Randy, becoming Locke's superior at a box company, Sayid sharing a military transport with Kate's father or Boone watching Sawyer be put into a jail cell (the first occurrence of such a crossover). Others are more fleeting, with characters appearing on televisions or being glimpsed in the background. Damon Lindelof has stated that these are not "Easter eggs," but rather a larger part of the mythology of the series.''The Official Lost Podcast'', 2 February 2006 . 14:24. DISCREDITED THEORIES ''Lost'''s mythology is as complex as that of other shows of a similar nature, such as '' The X-Files '' or '' Twin Peaks ''. This intricacy, and the unresolved questions it spawns, have led to rampant speculation and theorizing among fans, mainly concerning the nature of the island, the origins of the "security system" and The Others , the meaning of the numbers and the reasons for both the crash and the survival of some passengers. Several of the more common fan theories have been discussed and dismissed by the producers, including:
AWARDS ''Note: Awards won are not listed under nominations.'' Wins Emmys :
Golden Globes :
Screen Actors Guild :
Producers Guild :
Writers Guild Of America :
Nominations Emmys :
Golden Globes :
''LOST'' IN OTHER MEDIA In addition to the television series, the characters and setting of ''Lost'' have appeared in the following official tie-ins:
No prizes are to be awarded, though many clues will be offered relating to the ''Lost'' island. Distribution ''Lost'' has been at the forefront of new televison distribution methods. It was one of the first series to be issued through Apple 's ITunes Music Store service for playback on an IPod . Since October of 2005, new episodes, without advertising, have been available for download the day after they air on ABC. The UK's 2006, both parts of "Pilot" are available to watch for free, and other episodes will cost 99p each. Season two instalments will be issued one week after their Channel 4 debut. Soundtrack See Also: List of songs featured on Lost Michael Giacchino composed, orchestrated and produced the ''Lost'' . On March 21 , 2006 , the original television soundtrack to ''Lost'' was released by the record label Varese Sarabande . It includes full-length versions of the themes heard on the show. ''LOST'' IN POPULAR CULTURE Due to the show's popularity, references to the series and elements from its mythology have appeared in Parody and Popular Culture usage: REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS ;Official tie-in sites ;Production related sites ;Network sites For network sites in countries other than the US, please refer to Airdates Of Lost . |