TV Review: Lost 'pilot episode'

Yes, the cool and stylish teaser trailers on Channel 4 did get to me. So here I am blogging about the UK premiere of Lost.

It is quite easy to describe Lost. Think about those reality TV shows, times it fifty thousand, hire photogenic and beautiful people, merge it with The Lost World and King Kong and you are close to what Lost is all about. Although, it seems Lost seems a lot deeper than all of these put together.

* possible spoilers ahead *

Episode One of the new Channel 4 drama (replacement to Desperate Housewives) opens with a bang - unusual for TV shows. A flight from Sydney to Los Angeles crashes on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. There are 48 survivors made up of just about every kind of character (all beautiful apart from a fat bloke) you can possibly imagine.

Let's see - there's the doctor, a former prisoner, a British 'rock star', a pregnant lady, a rich lady, a Gulf War veteran, non-English speaking/anti-social Koreans, electronic nerd, a troublemaker and countless hot and sexy babes who never seems to run out of Bobby Brown. There is also a mysterious bald headed guy and a labrador dog.

Oh and what seems to be monster lurking in the forest.

As the episode progress we learn more about the major players with flashbacks to previous events. (BTW, there are no voiceovers) Typically with this kind of stories, they wait in vain attempt for a rescue mission (but surprise, surprise - none came, they 'landed' 1000 miles away from where they were supposed to be) and will probably soon turn against each other (like Survivor and Big Brother).

Also, they have to learn to live with each other if any success is to be expected. Interwoven with the events on the islands are flashbacks to the pasts of some ten main characters lives. Step by step, we learn a little bit more about their diverse history and unexpected history, as the group's quest to survive takes shape in this unpredictable tropical island that is inhabitation by polar bears.

Okay, all these means it would be pretty predictable. But this is TV we are talking about and TV production companies are allowed to roam free with ideas as episodes progress and feedback from test audiences are received. No? Well maybe not. I don't know - I was trying to be clever.

The characters are pretty dense but I expect some deaths in the coming episodes. This is normal as 48 characters is just too much to keep up - even on TV series like this. The casts seems competent enough - well considering how much crap is shown on the telly this days. Did I mention the great for TV special effects?

Lost marks the return of quality TV programming. I mean what's not to like? It's like watching a long film which hopefully one day it will be (like X-Files) with an unexpectedly good cast (Dominic Monaghan is great as the junkie Charlie) and beautiful setting (Kaaawa Valley also featured in Jurassic Park).

Fascinating.

Now if you will just excuse me, I will just nip over to E4 and watch the next episode.

Lost broadcasts every Wednesday on Channel 4 10pm