DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005 (Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
Color/2004-05
MSRP: $59.99
Number of Discs: 7
Number of Episodes: 24 (25, counting the season finale as 3 episodes instead of 2)
Running Time: 1068 minutes
Total Running Time of Special Features: approx. 8
hours, with commentary
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English,
Closed Captioned
Special Features:
• Audio Commentaries from Cast & Creators on 5
episodes
• “Genesis of Lost”
• “Designing a Disaster”
• “Before They Were Lost”
• “Audition Tapes”
• “Welcome to Oahu: Making of the Pilot”
• “The Art of Matthew Fox”
• “Lost at Comic-con”
• “Lost on Location” on 8 different features
• “On Set with Jimmy Kimmel”
• “Backstage with Driveshaft”
• “The Lost Flashbacks” two unaired flashback scenes
from the season finale
• “Deleted scenes” 13 different ones
• “Bloopers”
• “Live from the Museum of Television & Radio”
Introduction:
TV’s best new drama is heading to DVD after a
phenomenal opening season! That is of course the ABC
sensation—LOST! Buena Vista Home Entertainment in
association with Touchstone Television is bringing all
fans a 7 disc set that will keep you occupied for
years and years. The set is jam-packed with bonus
material and 24 extraordinary episodes. Creators J.J.
Abrams and Damon Lindelof have brought us one of the
best written shows of all time. And it’s time to
celebrate the show on DVD!
If you don’t know what Lost is about then you have
been living under a rock for the past 11 months. If
that is you, then the show is about a group of 48 or
so survivors who survived an airplane crash and have
landed on a deserted island—or is it deserted? The
band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must
work together against the cruel weather and harsh
terrain if they want to stay alive. But the island
holds many secrets, including the intense howls of the
mysterious creatures stalking the jungle, which fill
them all with fear. Fortunately, thanks to the calm
leadership of quick-thinking Jack (Matthew Fox) and
level-headed Kate (Evangeline Lilly), they have hope.
But even heroes have secrets, as the survivors will
come to learn.
Some of the other survivors include Hurley (Jorge
Garcia) - a man with a warm sense of humor despite the
desperate situation - does his best to keep his cool
as he helps those around him to survive. Charlie
(Dominic Monaghan) is a faded rock star who harbors a
painful secret. Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is a Middle
Eastern man who must wrestle with the racial profiling
directed at him by some of his fellow survivors. Jin
(Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are a Korean
couple whose traditions, values and language are
foreign and thus causes much to get lost in the
translation. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) has an air of
danger surrounding him, and his intense sense of
mistrust for everyone around him could prove to be
fatal to his fellow castaways. Michael (Harold
Perrineau) has just gained custody of his
nine-year-old son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), after
the death of his ex-wife - they are a father and son
who don't even know each other. Locke (Terry O'Quinn)
is a mysterious man who keeps to himself, and who
harbors a deeper connection to the island than any of
the others. Claire (Emilie de Ravin) must face having
a difficult late-term pregnancy while stranded far
from modern medical help. And self-centered Shannon
(Maggie Grace) - who actually gives herself a pedicure
in the middle of the chaos - and her estranged
controlling step-brother, Boone (Ian Somerhalder) -
constantly bicker and must learn to get along if they
are to survive.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
Every episode this season needs to be watched in order
to fully understand everything. The plots are usually
connected from previous episodes. So, watch them all
in order, especially if you are a first time viewer.
I will hint at some of my best episodes from this
season: the two-part “Pilot” episode probably the
best written stuff I’ve ever seen; episode 4
“Walkabout is where we find out Locke’s past and
learn what makes this island so special to him (the
episode is nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding
Writing); the fifth episode “White Rabbit” is Jack
really tired or is he seeing glimpses of another
person everywhere; episode 6 “House of the Rising Sun”
is where we learn the story of Sun & Jin; episode 8
“Confidence Man” is another powerful episode where we
learn more about Sawyer and we also see the first kiss
on the show (Sawyer and Kate); episode 9 “Solitary” is
about Sayid, who is captured by that crazy French
woman; episode 11 “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy
Issues” is Jack’s second story arc, does he save
Charlie from death and at the end a secret is found by
Boone and Locke; episode 13 “Hearts and Minds” is
where we learn more of the weird relationship between
Boone and Shannon, and a crazy thing happens to Boone;
episode 15 “Homecoming” has Claire escaping and
returning, she had been missing since the tenth
episode; episode 17 “…In Translation” has the raft on
fire and Michael blames Jim but he didn’t do it,
everyone learns that Sun speaks English; episode 18
“Numbers” Hurley has an eerie connection the same
numbers that were found in Danielle’s papers; episode
19 “Deus Ex Machina” has Locke’s second story arc and
is a big part of the series as there is a big accident
at the end; episode 20 “Do No Harm” is a powerful
episode about what happened at the end of the last
episode, and a sad ending happens, meanwhile Claire
has her baby; and cutting to the chase, the season
finale episodes 23 and 24 “Exodus” is intense and
potent you will have to watch for yourself.
Lost had a lot of guest stars in the flashback scenes,
there were a few that were on the island, too, they
are: Greg Grunberg as the pilot (“Pilot, Part 1”),
Fredric Lehne as the Marshall (“Pilot, Parts 1 and
2”), L. Scott Caldwell as Rose (various episodes),
William Mapother as Ethan (various episodes), Mira
Furlan as Danielle (various episodes) and Daniel
Roebuck as Dr. Artz (“Born to Run” & “Exodus”).
Flashback guests include John Terry as Dr. Shephard
(various episodes), Robert Patrick as Hibbs
(“Outlaws”), Julie Bowen as Sarah (“Do No Harm”), Beth
Broderick as Diane (“Born to Run”), MacKenzie Astin as
Tom (“Born to Run”), and Michelle Rodriguez as
Ana-Lucia (“Exodus, Part 1”).
Packaging:
The packaging is very good. It is a nice slip sleeve
that is easy to take out and put back in. On the front
of the slip sleeve is the “Lost” logo in light
blue-green color. Underneath that is a nice photo of
all the cast members with the ocean behind them.
Beneath that it says “The Complete First Season” and
has the number “1” below that. A nice grayish color is
on this sleeve. The spine has the “Lost” logo and a
photo of Jack with the ocean in the background again.
The back of the sleeve has a quote from Newsweek, see
through photos of Sayid, Hurley, Sun and Locke. Below
that there is a synopsis of the show and set. Then we
have a nice color photo of the gang with the fuselage
in the background. There is also a nice blue box
showcasing some of the bonus features on this set.
When we take the slip sleeve out, we get to the case.
There is a nice color headshot photo of Kate, Jack and
Charlie. Then the photo of the cast is the one from
the slip sleeve. The logo follows that. Again the
color scheme seems to be gray. The back of the case
has a three photos and the “Lost” logo again. When we
open the case once, on the left side we see more
quotes and a holder for booklets. An episode guide
for the show comes with the set. A nice color booklet
that is seven pages long and has detailed synopsis of
each episode on each disc and the bonus material list.
There are nice photos, too. The next booklet is about
Buena Vista’s other TV on DVD products such as the
upcoming Alias Season 4 and Desperate Housewives
Season 1. Then there is a “Lost” booklet that has
merchandise info, such as a calendar and magazine.
Visit www.lostfans.tv for more info. The last booklet
is a contest form for a chance to win DVD titles. On
the ride side we nice color photos. When we open the
case once more, we see discs one and two in the
middle, with more color photos on the right. Opening
once more, we now see discs three & four, with you
guessed it, more color photos on the right side. And
in the final open, we see discs five & six on the left
and the last disc on the right.
The discs are overlapped with two other discs, except
for the last disc, which is on its own. I hate
overlapping, but since this set has seven discs, I can
see why. I would have preferred like 4 slim cases
instead. Disc one has artwork of Jack and episodes
1-4, disc two has artwork of Kate and episodes 5-8,
disc three has artwork of Charlie and episodes 9-12,
disc four has artwork of Sawyer holding a gun and
episodes 13-16, disc five has artwork of Sayid and
episodes 17-20, disc six has artwork of Sun and
episodes 21-24. The bonus disc has the same photo of
all the cast that the slip sleeve did. I’m shocked
Locke doesn’t have his own disc artwork! It is not a
big deal though.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menus are perfect for this show. Just like the
show they are mysterious and attractive. When you
pop-in disc one, you get 7 minutes of previews, which
you can skip or just watch. The previews are of the
movie Chronicles of Narnia, TV on DVD titles, Lost
Season 2 promo, and a preview of the Alias season 4
DVD. Then we get to the main menu screen. Each menu
screen is different on each disc. Disc one has a
forest type theme with a man on the ground (might be
Locke?). The options are: Episodes, Bonus Features,
Set Up, Sneak Peek, Play All. Sneak Peek is just one
disc one and covers the same previews before the main
menu on disc one and other previews: Desperate
Housewives Season 1 DVD, Scrubs Season 2 DVD, Jimmy
Kimmel Live promo featuring Lost cast members, movie
trailers for Dark Water and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy. Bonus Features are only on the discs with
commentaries. Set Up has where we can turn on the
Captions, Register Your DVD, and Return to Episode.
The episodes option takes you the episode menu screen,
where we can choose which episode. Each time we
select episodes or any other option, background music
from the show plays.
Disc two’s main menu has a shot of an airplane and it
is raining and we can hear the rain, too. Disc
three’s main menu has a nice shot of the sun and the
ocean; we can hear the ocean in the background. Disc
four has another forest type theme and we see a lot of
trees and hear birds chirping. Disc 5 has a shot of
the beach and ocean; with a woman inside (possibly
Sun?) we hear sounds of the ocean and seagulls. Disc
6 has a shot of an airplane hanging from a tree; we
hear different sounds in the background including
birds. Disc 7 has a shot of the hatch, if you don’t
know what I mean, watch your DVD!
Video and Audio Quality:
The video is in Widescreen and the audio is in Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. So you tell me if it is
good or not? Had enough time yet? I hope you did
because BOTH the video and audio is just TOO good. It
is perfect. Then again this show is very new, so why
would I expect anything less than that? I’ve never
seen the show in widescreen, but man does it look
good! There are chapter stops for each episode,
usually 8-10 per episode. The second part of the
season finale has around 12 chapter stops, as that
episode is longer. Each episode runs about
42:00-43:30, give or take a few seconds. Nothing is
cut, and if there were, fans would go nuts. Again,
nothing is cut. Original music, which is in some
episodes during the closing scene, is all intact.
Part two of the finale, which originally aired as a
two hour episode clocks in at 85 minutes or so. The
pilot airs as two episodes, like it did originally. I
know many fans would like to see that in one shot, but
since it aired that way on network television, I think
they were right in doing that. Also of note, we
finally get to watch the actual closing credits! On
the network airings, they are in split screen form
with promos on the right side. The closing credits
are about 36-38 seconds and have a nice touch to it.
Special Features:
Now to the special features! This set has everything
we could imagine. Well, there is one thing missing,
the recap episode that aired in late April, titled
“Lost: The Journey” but that isn’t a big loss and many
fans considered that to be “boring” anyway. The set
has around 8 hours worth of bonus materials, including
audio commentary. So, let’s start with that. On disc
one there are three episodes with audio commentary.
“Pilot Part 1” and “Pilot Part 2” have commentary from
executive producers J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and
Bryan Burk. I would suggest all fans who watched this
episode before, to watch it first with the commentary.
If you are a new viewer, watch it without the
commentary and then watch it with it. Also on disc
one there is commentary on “Walkabout” from executive
producer/director Jack Bender, writer David Fury and
actor Terry O’Quinn. Bender and Fury are watching from
Burbank while Quinn is in Hawaii.
Disc two has audio commentary on the episode “The
Moth” from executive producers Damon Lindelof, Bryan
Burk and actor Dominic Monaghan. Then the next and
final episode with commentary is on disc four titled
“Hearts and Minds” from writer Carlton Cuse, Javier
Grillo-Marxnach and actors Maggie Grace & Ian
Somerhalder. Again the crew was watching from Burbank
and the actors in Hawaii. It seemed Grace and
Somerhalder didn’t speak as much as the two writers.
All of the commentaries can be accessed in the bonus
features option on their respected discs. Now to the
big stuff … the actual disc with nothing but extras
disc 7!
The following is under the heading of “Departure”
(1:44:26) on disc 7:
Genesis of Lost (8:40): Interviewed are network execs
Lloyd Baun, Heather Kadin, Thom Sherman, Stephen
McPherson, exec producers J.J. Abrams, Jesse
Alexander, Damon Lindelof, Bryan Burk and Jeff
Pinkner. This featurette tells us the struggle of how
this show got started. I won’t say more, or I’ll give
it away.
Designing a Disaster (7:59): Interviewed are executive
producers J.J. Abrams, Sarah Caplan, Jean Higgins,
Bryan Burk, construction coordinator Jeff Passanante,
from the aviation warehouse Mark Thomson, Hawaii film
commissioners Dorane Dawson, Walea L. Constantinau,
production designer Mark Worthington, special effects
coordinator John J. Downey, actors Jorge Garcia and
Emilie de Ravin. This is a very interesting
featurette. Did you know that the airplane on the
beach was bought from the Mohave Desert? It was bought
in February and it had to be in Hawaii on the set in
early March, so they worked really fast.
Before They Were Lost (22:55): Interviewed are
executive producers J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Bryan
Burk, Jean Higgins, Sarah Caplan, Thom Sherman, Jeff
Pinkner, ABC president Stephen McPherson, casting
director April Webster, actors Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae
Kim, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Ian Somerhalder,
Emilie de Ravin, Dominic Monaghan, John Holloway,
Naveen Andrews, Harold Perrineau, Terry O’Quinn,
Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly. This is where we
find out how they got the parts and some of their
tidbits. Did you know Yunjin Kim originally read for
Kate? She was so good that they created her own
character. Jorge Garcia, Dominic Monaghan, and
Matthew Fox all read for the part of Sawyer. The only
actor who didn’t have to audition for any role was
Terry O’Quinn, who previously worked on J.J. Abrams’
other show, Alias. 75 different actresses read for
the part of Kate, but they loved Evangeline the best.
The problem was she didn’t have a visa to work in the
U.S., as she is from Canada. But everything worked
out at the last minute and she got the part.
Audition Tapes (23:34): This is located in a submenu
under the “Before They Were Lost” section. Matthew
Fox (3:34), Evangeline Lilly (2:53), Dominic Monaghan
(1:16), Naveen Andrews (2:01), Yunjin Kim (1:10),
Daniel Dae Kim (0:46), Josh Holloway (1:20), Jorge
Garcia (1:57), Ian Somerhalder (1:36), Maggie Grace
(1:48), Harold Perrineau (1:35), Malcolm David Kelley
(1:22), and Emilie de Ravin (2:19).
Welcome to Oahu: Making of the Pilot (33:19):
Interviewed are Dominic Monaghan, J.J. Abrams, Damon
Lindelof, director of photography Larry Fong,
Evangeline Lilly, Fredric Lehne, Brother Franklin Pao
of Kahuna, Bryan Burk, Greg Grunberg, Sarah Caplan,
Jean Higgins, Matthew Fox, Ian Somerhalder, Naveen
Andrews, Jesse Alexander, Josh Holloway, from visual
effects Kevin Blank, Harold Perrineau, Maggie Grace,
Daniel Dae Kim, Emilie de Ravin, stuntman John Sakato,
stunt coordinator Greg Smrz, stuntman Frank Torres,
Terry O’Quinn, editor Mary Jo Markey, ABC president
Stephen McPherson, and composer Michael Giacchino.
This featurette talked about everything you needed to
know on the pilot. The airplane, the beach, the
jungle, the polar bear, the monster, the stunts,
background scenery, the music and so much more were
discussed. Some tidbits: Did you know the character
of Jack was originally was supposed to be killed
rather than the pilot? And did you know that the
polar bear was just a costume, worn by visual effects
man Kevin Blank. Abrams didn’t want to go CGI for the
polar bear, he wanted it to look realistic.
The Art of Matthew Fox (6:07): Matthew Fox narrates
and shows us his photography and artwork from the
pilot. He did a nice job and he seems like a
professional in photography. A nice feature to watch
and it is very interesting.
Lost at Comic-Con (1:50): Before the pilot aired there
was a showing at Comic-Con in San Diego and over 4,000
people were dying to see Lost, surprising everyone
from the cast. It was sold out so they had to rent a
bigger room for the showing. Matthew Fox, Evangeline
Lilly, Dominic Monaghan and some of the producers were
on hand at this event. Interviewed for this feature
are Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan. Lilly said
she had goose bumps watching the pilot with the people
watching at Comic-Con, it made her proud every time
they gasped and awed.
The following is from the second part of the special
features on disc 7, titled “Tales from the Island”
(57:37):
Lost on Location:
“The Trouble with Boars” (5:19) Jack Bender and Jean
Higgins discuss what type of boars and where they got
the boars from. Also shows how they used the boars to
chase the actors.
“The House of the Rising Sun” (7:19) - Javier
Grillo-Marxnach, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, Harold
Perrineau, Dominic Monaghan, and VFX co-supervisor
Ivan Hayden are interviewed on this episode dealing
with Sun & Jin’s back-story.
“Confidence Man” (4:24) John Holloway, writer
Christian Taylor, and Damon Lindelof discuss Sawyer’s
back-story episode and how the love triangle between
Jack, Kate and Sawyer officially develops.
“All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” (4:56)
Dominic Monaghan and stunt coordinator Michael
Vendnell are interviewed and they talk about how
Dominic had to hang on that tree for hours.
“Whatever the Case May Be” (2:58) Damon Lindelof,
Jack Bender and Evangeline Lilly are interviewed and
they talk about Kate’s character and the swimming
scene between Kate and Sawyer.
“Hearts & Minds” (6:20) Writer Carlton Cuse and
actors Ian Somerhalder & Maggie Grace are interviewed
about this episode where we saw the love connection
between the step siblings. They also talked about the
practical joke that was played on Ian during the last
take of the kissing scene. Watch it, it is a hoot!
“Special” (3:05) VFX co-supervisor Ivan Hayden,
Terry O’Quinn, director Greg Yaitanes, Harold
Perrineau, Malcolm David Kelley, and Damon Lindelof
are interviewed in the back-story of Micheal & Walt.
They talk about Walt’s secret powers and how Locke
probably knows that Walt possesses that.
“Exodus” (9:21) Ivan Hayden, Damon Lindelof and Jack
Bender are interviewed. Bender does a nice job of
explaining everything for the season finale.
On Set With Jimmy Kimmel (7:15): This was a segment
from Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show on ABC, Jimmy
Kimmel Live. Jimmy is on the set of Hawaii and
talking to some of the cast members. He talks to
Matthew Fox, Dominic Monaghan, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge
Garcia and Josh Holloway. At the end Jimmy meets face
to face with the island’s monster, or is it the
monster? This is a very hilarious piece.
Backstage with Driveshaft (6:40): Dominic Monaghan,
Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof discuss the fake band.
Sing along with us, “You All Everybody!”
The following is from the third part of the special
features on disc 7, titled “Lost Revealed” (34:29):
The Lost Flashbacks:
“At the Airport: Claire” (3:07) The long awaited
scene featuring Claire and the pilot (played by Greg
Grunberg) is finally aired!
“At the Airport: Sayid (1:28) We see Sayid buying a
tie for himself, then he is being taken away because
he left his suspicious bag.
Deleted Scenes (14:41):
“Smoking” (1:10) Sawyer is smoking and Charlie
questions him. This is from the “Pilot.”
“Chicken or Lasagna” (0:43) Hurley asks Locke if he
wants some uncooked Chicken or Lasagna, but he doesn’t
answer. This is from the “Pilot.”
“Kate & Sayid” (1:09) Sayid tells Kate how the
others knows about the pilot being killed by that
monster. This is from the “Pilot.”
“The Climb” (2:01) Some of the cast are climbing a
huge cliff. When they get up there Charlie sings “You
All Everybody” and Shannon says she hates Driveshaft.
This is from the “Pilot.”
“Finding the Tell” (1:04) Locke shows Walt some of
the other people on the island, such as Sawyer and
explains them. This is from the “Pilot.”
“Partners” (0:56) Jin is handcuffed. This is from
“The House of the Rising Sun.”
“The Huddle” (0:50) Sawyer and Kate talking and
Sawyer asking why she isn’t going to the huddle where
the others are talking. This is from “The
Homecoming.”
“Claire’s Doctor Visit” (1:55) Jack & Claire are
talking in the caves after she comes back. This is
from “The Homecoming.”
“A Deal’s a Deal” (0:47) Kate asks Sawyer for the
gun back. This is from “The Outlaws.”
“Capture” (0:29) A hilarious scene between Jin &
Sawyer.
“Secrets” (1:48) Jack & Kate are talking about Sun
speaking English this whole time. This is from “…In
Translation.”
“The Jack Situation” (0:42) Sayid talking to Hurley
& Michael about how Jack went crazy accusing Locke.
This is from “The Greater Good.”
“Whispers” (1:00) This is the scene between Charlie,
Claire & the baby, with Danielle sitting on the beach.
This is from “Exodus.”
Bloopers (4:17): Hilarious flubs and mistakes from
almost the entire cast. They even bump into things!
Live From the Museum of Television & Radio (10:56):
This was a salute to Lost at the Director’s Guild of
America hosted by The Hollywood Reporter’s Robert
Dowling. On hand for this salute on stage were J.J.
Abrams, Bryan Burk, Jorge Garcia, Harold Perrineau,
John Holloway, Matthew Fox, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae
Kim, Ian Somerhalder, and Dominic Monaghan. They
talked about the show and took questions from the
audience. Garcia, Monaghan, Perrineau and Holloway
were very funny.
Final Comments:
Wow what a set! This could be the TV DVD of the year
by far! Or better yet the DVD of the year! They just
about had everything on this set. There were just a
few flaws, such as not including the clip show (Lost:
The Journey) and the overlapping discs. Other than
that, this deserves many awards. The cast and crew
were smart making interviews and features before the
show started and during the show’s first season. I
liked how they used other material borrowed from other
shows, like that MT&R special and the Jimmy Kimmel
Live segment. I just hope I covered everything as best
as I could. The set is so huge and 7 discs is the
largest TV DVD set I own. Season 2 will start airing
on ABC on September 21, so brush up on season one by
buying this DVD and for you newbie’s, buy this set and
watch all the episodes before the Sept. 21 season
premiere. Everyone should be watching this show; there
has never been anything like this show. You never
know what to expect with this show, from birth to
death. Lost is up for an Emmy for Best Drama Series,
let’s all hope Lost wins it. If you have not seen the
show yet, you need to buy it as soon as this set hits
the market on Sept. 6! After everyone buys this set,
they’ll be singing “You All Everybody” all day and
night!
