If anyone was alive and old enough to remember the TV commercials forLostback in 2004, they will know that the marketing team decided toremain very cryptic and obscureabout what the show was about or what the “monster” on the island was. The commercials were mysterious and were definitely a ploy to get people to watch. That’s probably because at the time, it was the most expensive pilot episode of all time.
The two-part pilot episode (simply calledPilot Part 1andPilot Part 2) cost between $10 and $14 million collectively—which is the equivalent of over $14 to $20 million today, in 2021. It is not the most expensive pilot episode anymore, but it is still one of the most expensive. That money was put to good use (arguably) in the purchasing and shipping of a Lockheed 1011 airliner to Oahu, Hawaii, where the show was filmed. The plane was decommissioned and dressed to look like a massive wreck forthe iconic and critically acclaimedshow’s opening sequence.
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It’s been 17 years since the show first aired, but the effects, story, and acting are still good enough to rewatch—especially the first two episodes—and it’s a show even first-time viewers will get enjoyment out of.The story is now a classic, and the first season especially is timeless thanks to the big budget and fantastic writers, with special thanks to co-writer and director of the show, J. J. Abrams. The story started to go off the rails a bit towards the end of season 4, but it’s still better than half the shows being made today.
The crew for the show was obviously phenomenal with the amount of work and dedication they put into the story, but the cast was also very good. Star of the show, Matthew Fox, is a great lead with a believable performance of a doctor who has just recently lost his father and now has to put aside his feelings to save the people on the island in any way he can. Evangeline Lily—who is now a superstar thanks to her roles inThe HobbitandAnt-Man and the Wasp—carries the show as the female leadwith a tragic and mysterious background.
Dominic Monaghan—Merry ofThe Lord of the Rings—plays a heroin-addicted Rockstar who is battling and overcoming his addiction,whether he likes it or notwhile trying to find his place in the world. Terry O’Quinn (John Locke) plays one of the most well-written characters in TV history with a shocking twist no one saw coming. Josh Holloway plays a menacing antihero, also with a tragic past. And the list goes on. Unlike other shows,Lostdoesn’t put any of its characters on the back burner and gives each person a purpose for being trapped on an island.
The showLostdoesn’t present itself as a straightforward narrative and constantly progresses the story through a series of flashbacks diving into the backstory of each character as the seasons go on. Some are more interesting than others, but every character is treated with care, and the story is woven together piece by piece like a puzzle. In 2004, there weren’t any streaming services available, so having each episodebe entertaining was crucial to the successof any show since viewers had to wait a week and sometimes months in between episodes. If it wasn’t interesting, no one would bother waiting for the next episode.
Instead,Lostwas able to remain one of the most-watched and talked about shows—especially after the first pilot episode was released,which was larger than life. The chaos of the plane wreck was bad enough, but realizing they were off course when they crashed and wouldn’t be able to be rescued unless they worked together made the stakes much higher. Not to mention the need to find food and water on an island in the middle of nowhere with a pregnant woman days away from having her baby.This premise alone would have been interestingto watch, but the pilot episode makes sure its viewers will keep watching by introducing an unseen beast in the woods large enough to bend and shake all the trees.
It’s almost a guarantee that if new (and old) viewers watch (or rewatch) part 1 and 2 of the pilot episode, there’s no going back. They’re in for the ride. That’s how good those two episodes are. It’s hard for a show to live up to the hype the first episode creates because that is when the audience is being introduced to the world, the characters, and the situation.Everything is new and exciting. ButLost—although it falters in later seasons—is able to give several seasons of great content worth watching or rewatching due to it constantly raising the stakes among a group of survivors from all different walks of life coming together.
