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J.J. Abrams reminds me of someone who is a regifter
to borrow a phrase from “Seinfeld”; Abrams takes a genre
idea (such as time travel for example) and wraps it up in
a brand new box putting on a pretty bow and attractive paper
to dazzle you. What’s inside is almost as important as what’s
outside. “Lost” like just about everything that Abrams has
touched (whether it be his TV series “Alias”, “Felicity”
or “Fringe”) takes genre TV and presents it with quirks
and a twisting labyrinth of a plot. ***
As “Lost” begins we watch the aftermath of the horrible
plane crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Dr. Jack Shepard helps
those who survived the aftermath of the crash as best he
can. It appears from the outset that they are on no ordinary
island. With bizarre invisible creatures that knock down
trees, polar bears appearing out of nowhere on a tropical
island, a group of people called the “Others” who kidnap
people for their own mysterious reasons and seem to have
almost superhuman abilities and a sailing ship filled with
unstable dynamite sitting in the middle of the island all
suggest some sort of supernatural or science fiction-like
nature to the island the passengers from Oceanic Flight
815 are trapped on. Later, we find out that John Locke a
man stranded on the island who has the best survivalist
kills among them was paralyzed before arriving but can now
walk with the best of them. Oh, and did I mention that one
of the kids that survives has unusual psychic abilities?
***
“Lost” was all the rage several seasons ago and despite
a lackluster third season managed to create a real buzz
on the internet. The show continues to hold up remarkably
well (even if the writers have managed to avoid answering
all the puzzling questions they thrown our way) and, with
the end in sight, (the show will conclude in 2010 after
a brief hiatus in 2009)I was reminded in watching this again
that sometimes the best shows don’t provide us with all
the answers (“The Prisoner” springs to mind) vs. coming
up with absurd conclusions (“The X-Files” springs to mind).
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Image & Sound:
Shot on film during its at least part of its first
season, “Lost” looks marvelous in high definition. I’m not
sure if the same high def master prepared for the standard
DVD was used for this Blu-ray but, if so, they did a marvelous
job. Black levels are solid throughout while depth, clarity
and fine detail are remarkably good. The tropical colors
pop on Blu-ray vividly bringing the experience of the survivors
alive on Blu-ray. ***
Audio remains equally strong. The original audio presentation
for DVD was exceptionally good with crisp, clear dialogue
and nice use of the Surround speakers during action scenes.
Heck, even during scenes involving dialogue a lot of attention
is paid to the Surround speakers with ambient textures and
sounds worthy of a theatrical film. The audio here is also
an upgrade. ---
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