John, left, and Charlotte Ray, of Washington, walk in front of a broken fuselage on the set of the television show "Lost" on the beach in Mokuleia, Hawaii, July 25, 2004.
The "Lost" Addiction By Andrea Salisbury, 01.26.06
Polar bears in the jungle, supernatural healing, a crazed murderous Frenchwomen and sporadic weather changes greeted the passengers of Oceanic flight 815. After a freak accident, forty- eight survivors crash land on a tropical island in the South Pacific. Their stories of survival unfold every Wednesday night as the pieces of “Lost” come together.
Now in its second season, the “Alias” creator J.J. Abrams has successfully created yet another show that requires constant attention to detail. With the DVD release of the first season, and the start of the second, Abrams is not giving fans a break from the mystery that is “Lost.”
Each episode brings the audience closer to uncovering the secrets of the Island. And fans are just itching to figure out the truth.
“You think you have it figured out and then they put in a new element.” said Marilyn Schramm. “Then you are right back to square one.”
The stories of how each character ended up on the flight leaving from Sydney to L.A. are told in a series of systematic of flashbacks. These scenes provide a break from the action of the island. Perhaps the most complicated plot line involves Kate (Evangeline Lilly), the convict in hiding. From the scenes on the island the audience knows she was prisoner in transport. The viewers are also left to assume that she murdered the U.S. Marshall once the plane crashed.
Yet until the flash back scenes, it is uncertain why she was arrested. In one episode a flashback segment revels that she may have murdered her lover. However on another episode she was involved in a bank robbery. Then she is living on a farm in the outback, helping an elderly man tend his garden. The flashbacks provide an insight into what each character is running from, or who they were before the crash.
Each episode not only deals with human nature, but also the truth of the island. After two weeks the survivors understood that rescue might not be an option. The forty-eight started to establish more permanent housing. It was then the “others” crept out from the jungle. Ethan was not on the flight, he was set to impersonate and infiltrate the camp, with one goal: kidnap any children.
“It is all a game being played on these people. That is what keeps your coming back.” said Joseph Schramm.
The “others” are not the only danger on the island. Bizarre voices are heard within the jungle and a large beast seems to be tracking and killing many inhabitants.
If not for the constant plot twists each Wednesday people turn to “Lost” for the actors. Matthew Fox (“Haunted” and “Party of Five”) plays the island physician and leader, Jack Shepard. Dominic Monaghan, grew a few feet from “Lord of the Rings,” and plays Charlie Pace a washed up rock star and heroine addict.
Mike Calvin likes the protagonist and beach bad boy Sawyer (Josh Holloway, SciFi channel’s “Sabretooth”), simply because of his similarity to another sci-fi great.
“He is like Han Solo but with out the redeeming qualities,” Mike said.
Perhaps the most interesting character on the show is John Locke who is played by Terry O’Quinn. On the island he is a jack of all trades, hunter and expert woodsman. At home, he is a wheelchair bound box salesman. Yet following the crash, some “force” has given him back the use of his legs. The only person who knows his secret is a young boy Walter "Walt" Lloyd (Malcolm David Kelley, “You Got Served”).
Much like Locke, Walt is not an average child. Prior to his life on the island, Walt was living with his mother and stepfather in Australia. When his dies from cancer, his natural father, Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau Jr., “Oz” and “Matrix: Revolutions”) assumes the patriarch role. Michael discovers that his son has a gift for creating object from thought. In one episode from the first season, Walt was reading a comic book about polar bears. Later a polar bear attacked him in the forest. His father had to rescue him.
Linda Salisbury has been watching lost from the beginning. Her favorite character is the 300 pound lottery ticket Millionaire Hurley (Jorge Garcia).
“He is an underdog,” Linda said. “Despite his size everyone is able to see past that and into everything that he has to offer.”
“LOST” is television at its best, free from foul language and gratuitous sex. It is a show for the whole family – that is if you can keep your questions until the commercials.
