Wednesday 27 January 2010

LOST - SEASON 1 (10/10)

USA: Various Directors, 2004-2005 (Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof)

I first watched LOST when Channel 4 (or was it E4?) aired the two-part Pilot some years back. I remember being impressed by the high production values and could believe it was the most expensive TV Show Pilot ever produced. However, after watching the Pilot and perhaps one other episode I just couldn't make the commitment required due to the scheduling at the time - I think the first season aired in UK at 11pm on a Thursday night. In some respects this was probably a blessing because if I had watched the show at that time I think the non-linear plot structure heavily favoured by LOST and some of the performances from the cast would have drove me mad. Fortunately, in the intervening years and in no small part due to the influence of my girlfirend my tolerance for these sorts of plot contrivances and overwrought melodrama has improved.

Sitting down to watch the first Season of LOST over the past couple of months has been a revelation. I can't recall a US TV Drama I have enjoyed more in recent memory other than THE SOPRANOS. All the ingredients worked for me with particular highlights being the cinematography, the location and an excellent central performance by actor Matthew Fox. That's not to say that the first Season is without flaws but I'm more than willing to overlook some rather perfunctory exposition, uneven characterisation and illogical plot twists in view of the sheer ambition of the show overall. Credit must go to the writers who successfully weave a rich narrative arc, evoking the past and present lives of a large number of characters producing the effect of utterly compulsive drama.

IMDB reference

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