Pilot: Part 1

I started to watch this second time. It's been two years when I watched this very first time. Im still thrilled what happens next waiting the backround stories of the charters and watch how they grow and involve. We have not nothing like this anymore, this is a greatest idea a survivorstory series.

The first episode of Lost is, without a doubt, the best pilot for a TV show that I have ever seen. Good acting, a wonderful script, and very good directing by JJ Abrams make this an exciting 2 hours.

A group of people survive a plane crash but find themselves stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While most of them try to set up camp on the beach, three of them go into the jungle to find the cockpit of the plane - the plane had broken apart in midair - to find the transceiver (radio) so they can try to call for help. They succeed but but with deadly complications.Later another group goes off to take the transceiver to the highest point on the island to try and get a better signal. What they find is makes one of them ask the main question of the series - "Where are we"? The episode is fast paced and beautifully shot (the show is filmed in Hawaii). You have to suspend your disbelief that forty some odd people could survive a plane coming apart in midair and crashing on an island with little more than scratches to show for it. Still if you like interesting characters, complex plots and intriguing mysteries then this show is for you.

I am watching Lost for the second time and I can say that this is one of my favorite pilots ever.. SO GOOD

The opening of LOST is about as disorientating as anything in the past ten years of cinema or film-making. If it were, indeed, a student film it would be praised to the sky as something almost without comparison. But since it's JJ Abrams, it's just the start of the ride, as Jack (Fox) wakes up in a jungle, perplexed, stumbling, and in one very long take Abrams tracks along on a beach as Jack passes by the wreckage of a plane crash and everyone else running for cover this way and that. It's a spectacular action sequence filmed with a lot of energy and violence, but keeping it within the range for an ABC television show. We're also introduced to (some of) the characters, and the start of the spooky, uncertain mood that will pervade the show as a whole.

It's clever, wickedly engaging writing that keeps up moving from the immense nightmare of the plane crash to the 'what-do-we-do-next' feeling of the dozens of people on the beach, looking to Jack since he is a) a doctor, and b) a natural leader. It's one half of a pilot that sucks you in just based on the prowess of the storytelling and the sucking-you-in factor of the actors, who are all top-notch- especially the ones (i.e. Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Terry O'Quinn, for me Matthew Fox) one hasn't heard before. It's further great that there will be more to come just in the second half. The pilot of Lost function as a mix of action and excitement, tragedy and velocity, and the inklings of a Twin Peaks style surrealism.

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

There is the agreement that as far as pilot episodes go, that for 'Lost' is among the best of them. It couldn't be a more perfect beginning to a wonderful show and six seasons on it's still among the best episodes. Although the characterisation and back-stories admittedly became deeper, richer and more developed over the course of the show, "Pilot Part 1" still establishes the featured characters very well, making them easy to root for and feeling every inch of their emotions rather than getting frustrated at them. In just one episode, Jack and Kate in particular are interesting.

"Pilot Part 1" is excellently photographed, made with a lot of atmosphere and slickness and with no cheapness at all, while the setting has a suitable amount of claustrophobia and the plane effects are better than many disaster films featuring anything with a plane. The music is understated yet chilling.

Even for so early on, the writing is smart and taut as well as provoking a lot of thought. Although not the most character rich in terms of depth, the story has emotion, a genuine sense of dread and nail-biting suspense that have rarely been done more strongly since on 'Lost' and does it far better than most films.

Acting throughout is very good indeed, particularly from Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly. The chemistry between the whole cast is expertly done.

In summary, a perfect start. 10/10 Bethany Cox