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Lost (TV series)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Television

                                 Lost
                      Lost third season poster.
         Genre       Drama, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
    Picture format   480i ( SDTV)
                     720p ( HDTV)
     Running time    42 mins. (approx)
      Creator(s)     Jeffrey Lieber
                     J.J. Abrams
                     Damon Lindelof
       Starring      See Cast and characters below
   Country of origin United States United States
   Original channel  American Broadcasting Company
     Original run    September 22, 2004–present
    No. of episodes  53 (as of November 8, 2006) ( List of episodes)
                           Official website
                             IMDb profile
                            TV.com summary

   Lost is an American serial drama television series that follows the
   lives of a group of plane crash survivors (and their pasts via
   flashbacks) on a mysterious tropical island, somewhere in the South
   Pacific. The show was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon
   Lindelof (who has since become the show's head writer), and is filmed
   primarily on location in Hawaii. The pilot episode was first broadcast
   on September 22, 2004. Since then, two seasons have aired and a third
   began on October 4, 2006. The show is produced by Touchstone
   Television, Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions and airs
   on the ABC Network in the U.S. Its incidental music is composed by
   Michael Giacchino. The current executive producers are J.J. Abrams,
   Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Jack Bender, Jeff Pinkner and Bryan Burk.
   Because of its large ensemble cast and the cost of filming in Hawaii,
   the series is one of the most expensive on television.

   A critical and popular success, Lost garnered an average of 15.5
   million viewers per episode on ABC during its first year, and won
   numerous industry awards including the Emmy Award for outstanding drama
   series in 2005 and best American import at the British Television
   Awards also in 2005

   Reflecting its devoted fan base, the show has become a staple of
   popular culture with references to the story and its elements appearing
   in other television shows, commercials, comic books, humor magazines
   and song lyrics. The show's fictional universe has also been explored
   through tie-in novels, board and video games, and an alternate reality
   game, The Lost Experience.

Production

Conception

   The series began development in January 2004, when Lloyd Braun, head of
   ABC at the time, ordered an initial script based on his concept of a
   cross between the movie Cast Away and the popular reality show
   Survivor. Unhappy with the result and a subsequent re-write, Braun
   contacted J.J. Abrams, creator of the TV series Alias, to write a new
   pilot script. Although initially hesitant, Abrams warmed to it, and
   eventually collaborated with Damon Lindelof to create the series' style
   and characters. The development of the show was constrained by tight
   deadlines, as it had been commissioned late in the 2004 season's
   development cycle. Despite the short schedule, the creative team
   remained flexible enough to modify or create characters to fit actors
   they wished to cast.

   Lost's two-part pilot episode was the most expensive in the network's
   history, reportedly costing between US$10 and US$14 million, compared
   to the average cost of an hour-long pilot in 2005 of US$4 million. The
   show, which debuted on September 22, 2004, became one of the biggest
   critical and commercial successes of the 2004 television season. Along
   with fellow new series Desperate Housewives, Lost helped to reverse the
   flagging fortunes of ABC. Yet, before it had even aired, Lloyd Braun
   was fired by executives at ABC's parent company, Disney, because he had
   greenlighted such an expensive and risky project.

Episode format

   Episodes have a distinct structure: following a recap of events
   relevant to the upcoming narrative, each show begins with a cold open.
   At a dramatic juncture, the screen cuts to black and the title graphic,
   slightly out-of-focus, glides towards the viewer accompanied by an
   ominous, discordant sound. The opening credits generally appear over
   the scenes that immediately follow. While there is a progressive story
   arc, each episode relates events concurrently with pre-island
   flashbacks centered on a particular character. The majority of episodes
   end with a suspenseful twist or cliffhanger, revealed just seconds
   before a smash cut to black and the title graphic. Others, following a
   plot resolution, will finish with a reflective closing scene that
   precedes a simple fade out. Shortly afterwards, a preview of
   out-of-sequence clips from the next episode is shown.

Music

   Lost features incidental music composed by Michael Giacchino, whose
   score is primarily orchestral and incorporates several recurring themes
   for events and characters. The score is performed by the Hollywood
   Studio Symphony Orchestra. In the official Lost Podcast, Michael
   Giacchino revealed that he achieved some of the sounds for the score
   using unusual instruments, such as striking suspended pieces of the
   plane's fuselage.

   On March 21, 2006, the record label Varèse Sarabande released the
   original television soundtrack for Lost's first season. The soundtrack
   included select full-length versions of the most popular themes of the
   season and the main title which was composed by series creator J.J.
   Abrams. Varèse Sarabande released a soundtrack featuring music from the
   second season of Lost on October 3, 2006.

   Pop culture songs have been used sparingly in the series, given the
   mainly orchestral score. When such songs are featured, they usually
   originate from a diegetic source, meaning that they are usually
   generated by an action of one of the characters. Examples are the
   various songs played on Hurley's portable CD player throughout the
   first season or the use of the record player (which included Cass
   Elliot's " Make Your Own Kind of Music") in the second season premiere.

   In some international broadcasts, alternate music is utilized. For
   instance, in the Japanese broadcast of Lost, Season 1's theme song is
   "Here I am" by Chemistry and Season 2's theme song is " losin'" by Yuna
   Ito.

Filming locations

   Lost is filmed (35mm) almost entirely on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
   The original island scenes for the pilot were filmed at Mokulē'ia
   Beach, near the northwest tip of the island. Later beach scenes take
   place in secluded spots of the famous North Shore. Cave scenes in the
   first season were filmed on a sound stage built at a Xerox parts
   warehouse, which had been empty since an employee mass shooting took
   place there in 1999. The soundstage and production offices have since
   moved to the Hawaii Film Office-operated Hawaii Film Studio, at which
   the sets depicting Season 2's "Hatch" and Season 3's "Hydra station"
   interiors were built. Various urban areas in and around Honolulu are
   used as stand-ins for locations around the world, including Los
   Angeles, New York, Iowa, South Korea, Iraq, Nigeria, England, and
   Australia. For example, scenes set in a Sydney airport were filmed at
   the Hawaii Convention Centre, while a World War II-era bunker was used
   as an Iraqi Republican Guard installation.

   Numerous writers have taken to journeying to Hawaii to find the
   locations in which episodes are set. In March 2005, one Los Angeles
   Times columnist described how he sneaked onto the set during filming on
   one such trip, which has led to other travel writers following in his
   tracks. Extensive archives of filming locations are tracked at
   About.com as well as in a repository at Lostvirtualtour.com.

Online distribution

   In addition to traditional terrestrial and satellite broadcasting, Lost
   has been at the forefront of new television distribution methods. It
   was one of the first series issued through Apple's iTunes Store service
   for playback on an iPod or within the iTunes software. Since October
   2005, new episodes, without commercials, have been available for
   download the day after they air on ABC.

   In April 2006, Disney announced that Lost would be available for free
   online in streaming format, with advertising, on ABC's website, as part
   of a two-month experiment of future distribution strategies. The trial,
   which ran from May to June 2006, caused a stir among network affiliates
   who were afraid of being cut out of advertising revenue. The streaming
   of Lost episodes direct from ABC's website was only available to
   viewers in the United States due to international licensing agreements.

   The UK's Channel 4 has also allowed access to the series online. Both
   parts of "Pilot" were available to watch for free, and other episodes
   cost GB£0.99 each. Season two installments are made available two weeks
   after their Channel 4 debut, and the episodes expire after several
   months. Due to licensing agreements, the service is only accessible in
   the UK. Channel 4 have now teamed up with NTL & Telewest's On Demand
   function which allows the viewer to watch shows at any time. Select
   episodes from Season One and Season two are available to view for 24
   hour rental for £0.99 although the list of episodes is not complete.

   As of third quarter, 2006, France's TF1 has allowed online access to
   the French version of season two; episodes cost €1.99. Each episode is
   issued online just after being broadcast.

Cast and characters

   The current season features sixteen regular speaking roles, making it
   the second largest cast in American primetime television behind
   Desperate Housewives. While a large cast makes Lost more expensive to
   produce, the show's writers benefit from more flexibility in story
   decisions. According to series executive producer Bryan Burk, "You can
   have more interactions between characters and create more diverse
   characters, more back stories, more love triangles."

   The initial season had fourteen major speaking roles with each actor
   getting star billing. Naveen Andrews portrayed former Iraqi Republican
   guard Sayid Jarrah. Emilie de Ravin played the pregnant Australian
   Claire Littleton. Matthew Fox acted as the troubled surgeon and main
   character Jack Shephard. Jorge Garcia portrayed Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, an
   unlucky lotto winner. Maggie Grace played Shannon Rutherford, a former
   dance teacher. Josh Holloway acted as con man James "Sawyer" Ford.
   Yunjin Kim played Sun-Hwa Kwon, the daughter of a powerful Korean
   businessman, with Daniel Dae Kim as her husband Jin-Soo Kwon.
   Evangeline Lilly portrayed fugitive Kate Austen. Dominic Monaghan acted
   as an ex-rock star drug addict Charlie Pace. Terry O'Quinn played the
   mysterious John Locke. Harold Perrineau portrayed construction worker
   Michael Dawson, while child star Malcolm David Kelley acted as his
   young son, Walt Lloyd. Ian Somerhalder played Boone Carlyle, chief
   operating officer of his mother's wedding business and step brother of
   Shannon.
   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   During the first two seasons, some characters were written out to make
   room for new characters with new stories. Boone Carlyle was the first
   major character to be written out in season one. Malcolm David Kelley
   became a guest star after the events of the first season's finale,
   making rare appearances throughout season two. Maggie Grace's departure
   six episodes into season two made way for newcomers Adewale
   Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Catholic priest and former Nigerian criminal Eko,
   Michelle Rodriguez as airport security guard and former police officer
   Ana Lucia Cortez, and Cynthia Watros portraying the purported clinical
   psychologist Libby. Ana Lucia and Libby were written out of the series
   toward the end of season two, as was Michael.

   In season three, Henry Ian Cusick received star billing as former
   Scottish soldier Desmond David Hume, as did Michael Emerson in the role
   of Benjamin Linus (formerly known as Henry Gale), the leader of the "
   Others." In addition, three new actors joined the regular cast:
   Elizabeth Mitchell, as Juliet, Kiele Sanchez who plays Nikki, and
   Rodrigo Santoro, who plays Paulo. With these additions, however, Mr.
   Eko was written out early in the season.

   Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring
   appearances in the progressive storyline. In the second season, Rose
   Henderson played by L. Scott Caldwell and tail section survivor Bernard
   Nadler played by Sam Anderson, were featured in a flashback episode
   after being reunited. Mira Furlan as Danielle Rousseau, the shipwrecked
   Frenchwoman appeared throughout seasons one and two. Two of the "
   Others", William Mapother as Ethan Rom and M.C. Gainey as Tom have been
   shown in both flashbacks and the ongoing story. Similarly, Jack's
   father, Christian Shephard, portrayed by John Terry, has appeared in
   multiple flashbacks, of more than one main character. Also appearing in
   characters flashbacks and being revealed as one of the surviving
   tailies is Kimberley Joseph as Cindy.

Season synopses

Season 1

   Season 1 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 threatened by mysterious entities including polar bears, an
   unseen creature that roams the jungle, and the island's malevolent
   inhabitants known as the "Others". They encounter a Frenchwoman who was
   shipwrecked on the island over sixteen years earlier and find a
   mysterious metal hatch buried in the ground. An attempt is made to
   leave the island on a raft.

Season 2

   Season 2 began airing in the United States and Canada on September 21,
   2005 and featured 23 episodes. Most of the story, which continues 45
   days after the crash, focuses on the main conflict between the
   survivors and the Others, with the continued clash between faith and
   science being thematic in certain episodes. While some mysteries are
   resolved, new questions are raised. New characters are introduced,
   including the tail-section survivors and other island inhabitants. More
   island mythologies and insights into the survivors' pasts are divulged.
   The hatch is explored and the existence of The DHARMA Initiative and
   its benefactor, The Hanso Foundation, are revealed. As the truth about
   the mysterious Others begins to unfold, one of the crash survivors
   betrays the other castaways, and the cause of the plane crash is
   revealed.

Season 3

   Season 3 began airing in the United States and Canada on October 4,
   2006 and will feature 22 episodes delivered in two blocks: an initial
   autumn arc of six episodes and a second run of sixteen consecutive
   episodes beginning on February 7, 2007. In the UK Sky's Sky One -
   rather than Channel 4 - is now showing Lost. The first block went on
   air on November 19, 2006.. In Ireland RTE began showing the first block
   on October 31, 2006. Episodes from Season 3 are also available in
   streaming video from http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing.

Mythology

   In parallel to its character development, episodes of Lost include 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, and they form the basis
   of rampant fan speculation.

   Among the show's mythological elements is a "monster" which appears to
   roam the island; a mysterious group of inhabitants whom the survivors
   refer to as "The Others"; an organization called the "DHARMA
   Initiative" which has placed several research stations on the island; a
   sequence of numbers which have made frequent appearances in the lives
   of the characters, in both the past and present; and personal
   connections between the characters, of which they are often unaware.

Thematic motifs

   There are several recurring thematic motifs on Lost, which generally
   have no direct impact on the story itself, but expand the show's
   literary and philosophical subtext. These elements include frequent
   appearances of the colors black and white, which reflect the dualism
   within characters and situations; eyes, which often appear in close-up
   at the start of episodes; dysfunctional family situations, as portrayed
   in the lives of nearly all the main characters; references to numerous
   works of literature, including mentions and discussions of particular
   novels. There are also many allusions to philosophy, demonstrated most
   clearly in the distinct naming of certain characters after famous
   historical thinkers, such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and
   David Hume.

Discredited theories

   At the heart of the series is a complex and cryptic storyline which
   spawns numerous unresolved questions. Encouraged by Lost's writers and
   stars, who often interact with fans online, viewers and TV critics
   alike have taken to rampant theorization in an attempt to unravel the
   mysteries. Theories mainly concern the nature of the island, the
   origins of the "monster" 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
   rejected by the show's creators, the most common being that the
   survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are dead or in purgatory. This was
   specifically denied by J.J. Abrams and was also proven to be wrong by
   the second season's finale. The makers of the show have also
   discredited the theory that the survivors will experience, or have
   experienced, time travel, which was dismissed by Damon Lindelof.
   Likewise, speculation that spaceships or aliens influence the events on
   the island, or that everything seen is a fictional reality taking place
   in someone's mind, has also been rejected by Lindelof.

   Carlton Cuse dismissed the theory that the island is a reality TV show
   and the castaways unwitting housemates and Damon Lindelof discredited
   the theory that the "monster" is a nanobot cloud similar to the one
   featured in Michael Crichton's novel Prey.
   Spoilers end here.

Impact

Ratings

   USA TV Ratings

   The pilot episode garnered 18.6 million viewers, easily winning its
   9/8central timeslot, and giving ABC its strongest ratings since 2000
   when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? initially aired — beaten only the
   following month by the premiere of Desperate Housewives. According to
   Variety, "ABC sure could use a breakout drama success, as it hasn't had
   a real hit since The Practice. Lost represents the network's best start
   for a drama with eighteen to forty-nine year olds since Once and Again
   in 1999, and in total viewers since Murder One in 1995."

   Based on its strong opening, Reuters dubbed it a "hit drama" noting
   that "the show appeared to have benefited from an all-out marketing
   blitz that included radio spots, special screenings and ABC's first
   billboard advertising campaign in five years." After four episodes
   aired, ABC announced Lost had been picked up for a full season order.

   For its first season, Lost averaged 16 million viewers, ranking 14th in
   viewership among prime-time shows, and 15th among the eighteen to
   forty-nine year old demographic. Its second season fared equally well:
   again, Lost ranked 14th in viewership, with an average of 15.5 million
   viewers. However, it improved its rating with eighteen to forty-nine
   year olds, ranking 8th. The second season premiere was even stronger
   than the first, pulling in over 23 million viewers and setting a series
   record.However the third season premiere saw a drop in its ratings;
   averaging 18.8 million viewers.

   World TV Ratings

   A survey of twenty countries by Informa Telecoms and Media in 2006
   concluded that Lost was the second most viewed TV show in the world,
   next to CSI: Miami.

Awards

   Capping its successful first season, Lost won the Emmy Award for
   Outstanding Drama Series and J. J. Abrams was awarded an Emmy in
   September 2005 for his work as the director of the pilot. In January
   2006, it won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama. Lost won
   the 2005 Writers Guild of America award for outstanding achievement in
   writing for a dramatic television series, and the 2005 Screen Actors
   Guild Award for best ensemble cast.

Fandom and popular culture

   As with most cult television shows, Lost has generated a dedicated and
   thriving international fan community. Lost fans, sometimes dubbed
   Lostaways or Losties, have gathered at Comic-Con International and
   conventions organized by ABC, but have also been active in developing a
   large number of fan websites and forums dedicated to the program and
   its related incarnations. Such as websites like: TheTailSection.com.
   Because of the show's elaborate mythology, its fansites have focused on
   speculation and theorizing about the island's mysteries, as well as on
   more typical fan activities such as producing fan fiction and videos,
   compiling episode transcripts, shipping characters, and collecting
   memorabilia.

   Anticipating fan interest and trying to keep its audience engrossed,
   ABC embarked on various cross-media endeavors, often using new media.
   Fans of Lost have been able to explore ABC-produced tie-in websites,
   tie-in novels, an official forum sponsored by the creative team behind
   Lost ("The Fuselage"), " mobisodes", podcasts by the producers, an
   official magazine, and an alternate reality game (ARG) " The Lost
   Experience." An official fanclub was launched in the summer of 2005
   through Creation Entertainment.

   Due to the show's popularity, references to the series and elements
   from its story have appeared in parody and popular culture usage. These
   include appearances on television, such as on the series Veronica Mars,
   Will & Grace, Bo Selecta, My Wife And Kids and The Office; as well as
   on the cartoons Family Guy, American Dad, South Park, and Venture
   Brothers; and even on a commercial for KFC Hawaii. Comic books, such as
   Catwoman and The Thing, daily strips Monty and Over the Hedge, web
   comics Piled Higher and Deeper and Penny Arcade, and humor magazine Mad
   have all incorporated Lost references. Similarly, rock bands Moneen,
   Senses Fail, and Gatsbys American Dream have published songs whose
   themes and titles were derived from the series.

DVD releases

   Lost: The Complete First Season was released as a widescreen seven-disc
   Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on September 6, 2005, two weeks before
   the premiere of the second season. It was distributed by Buena Vista
   Home Entertainment.

   In addition to all the episodes that had aired, it included several DVD
   extras such as episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and
   making-of features as well as deleted scenes, deleted flashback
   scenarios and a blooper reel.

   The same set was released on November 30, 2005 in Region 4, and on
   January 16, 2006 in Region 2. The latter was titled Lost: The Complete
   First Series. As has become standard for Region 2, the series was first
   released split into two parts: the first twelve episodes of series 1
   were available as a widescreen four-disc Region 2 DVD box set on
   October 31, 2005, while the remaining thirteen episodes of series 1
   were released on January 16, 2006. The DVD features available on Region
   1 release were likewise split over the two box sets.

   The second season was released as a widescreen seven-disc Region 1 DVD
   box set in the USA on September 5, 2006 and on Region 2 DVD on October
   2, 2006, retitled as Lost: The Complete Second Series. Each of these
   releases also contained DVD extras, including Behind the Scenes
   Footage, deleted scenes and a "Lost Connections" chart, which shows how
   all of the characters on the island are inter-connected with each
   other.

   Again, the series was initially delivered in two sets for Region 2: the
   first twelve episodes were released as a widescreen four-disc DVD box
   set on July 17, 2006. The remaining episodes of series 2 were released
   as a four-disc DVD box set on October 2, 2006. The set was released in
   Region 4 on October 4, 2006.

   Both Seasons 1 and 2 of Lost have sold successfully on DVD. The Season
   1 boxset entered the DVD sales chart at number two in September 2005,
   and the Season 2 boxset entered the DVD sales chart at the number one
   position in its first week of release in September 2006, believed to be
   the second TV-DVD ever to enter the chart at the top spot. First day
   DVD sales for Lost Season 2 are thought to have been as high as 500,000
   copies sold.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_%28TV_series%29"
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