Lost - Complete Seasons 1-5 [DVD]

Season 1
And so it begins. It’s hard to pinpoint just when you realise how good Lost actually is. Granted, the opening episode is an astonishingly assured way to start, replete with an almighty plane crash on a seemingly deserted desert island. Yet as those who have followed the hype are well aware, there’s far more on offer here, with carefully woven plotlines introducing a series of characters who are slowly and intriguingly fleshed out throughout the 25 episodes in this set.

At its best, Lost is a delicately layered adventure, laced with some stand-out moments. You’ll find ample instances of them here, as well as umpteen examples of the quality of writing that underpins the show. Far fetched? Yes, occasionally, and you could also argue that it takes a while to recapture the energy of those dramatic opening episodes. But this is still a lavish, compulsive show that benefits heavily from its clearly substantial production budget.

Naturally as there are more episodes made and planned, there are plenty of building blocks being put in place for later on, both through the evolving life on the island and the plethora of flashbacks that back it up. Yet it’s at this point that the quality of Lost really hits home, thanks to lots of short term excitement with plenty still to enjoy as the show progresses. That makes Lost Series One a rewarding purchase, and one that promises even greater things ahead.--Simon Brew

Season 2
Season two of the television phenomenon that is Lost is where the questions, in many senses, started to be asked. Picking up directly after that first season cliffhanger, it sets off at a belting pace, continuing the adventures of a group of people stranded on a desert island following a place crash. Only, as becomes increasingly clear, the island is a mysterious place, and the survivors appear not to be alone.

In true Lost fashion, the second season of the show is far better at firing out fresh questions than resolving previous ones, although again, it delights in throwing out clues that the web-inclines can research across the legion of unofficial fan websites. For the viewer of the second series of Lost though, there’s plenty to like, and plenty to tear their hair out over.

On the downside, after an intriguing beginning, too much of the second series settles into a comfortable rhythm, conforming too rigidly to a recipe of plenty of backstory, and not too much advancement of the main narrative. It’s a device that worked first time round, but becomes tiring during the saggy middle episodes. It’s a fair argument too that things move far too slowly and for little good reason.

The upsides? Again, quite a few. There’s little doubt that the premise still holds intrigue, and the top and tail of season two are excellent. The last quarter, for instance, is both meaty and very entertaining, even offering clues to how the whole show may eventually end. So while even the Lost purest will surely conclude that season two is an uneven dish, there’s still much to feast on, albeit with the hope that season three gets round to answering a few more question. Please. --Simon Brew

Season 3
There’s a steady pattern forming to seasons of Lost, where the narrative by turns manages to enthral and frustrate with equal measure. And the show’s makers are clearly wise to this, as while elements of the third season revert to type, there’s a clear and genuine effort to energise a programme that continues to stretch its simple premise as far as it can.

So while Lost still compromises of a group of plane crash survivors marooned on a mysterious island, there’s plenty else being thrown into the pot. Season three finds new characters, greater exposition of the mysterious ‘others’, the obligatory background character work, and a pronounced fracturing of relations between many of the survivors.

It too also manages to hint at some answers to the many conundrums that it continues to pose, not least a concluding episode that itself should keep fan debates fuelled until well into the next series. And, chief among its accomplishments, Lost still manages to keep us interested, and leaves plenty in the tank for the future as well.

In short, there’s little danger you’ll be short-changed by Lost season three thanks to its ideas, its nerve, and the continued clues it teasingly leaves along the way. As fascinating as it always was. --Jon Foster

Season 4
Anybody whose faith in Lost was beginning to waiver will surely appreciate the fourth season of the show. For this is Lost firing on all cylinders, showing a willingness to answer a few more questions than usual, while not being afraid to deepen elements of the mystery of Ocean 815.

The big new idea for Lost season four, as introduced in the cliffhanger at the end of the previous run, is flash-forwards, where we see some of the characters after they?ve left the island. This freshens the show immensely, and gives the writers some much-needed new meat to chew on. As a result, characters are more convincingly fleshed out, and more fun is had with the narrative in general.

There are still a few of the ailments that have hindered Lost in the past. Whenever Matthew Fox's Jack takes centre-stage, for instance, it still tends to be an episode to forget, while one or two sub-plots are allowed to meander a little more than they should. Yet it's a transitionary season, moving the show towards its final two years by beginning to fill in some of the blanks we?ve been lacking. And with a cliffhanger at the end that, once more, has the potential to firmly pull the rug from under your feet, it?s very clear that Lost has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to come. A terrific season of an increasingly bold show. --Simon Brew

Season 5
Since Lost made its debut as a cult phenomenon in 2004, certain things seemed inconceivable. In its fourth year, some of those things, like a rescue, came to pass. The season ended with Locke (Terry O'Quinn) attempting to persuade the Oceanic Six to return, but he dies before that can happen--or so it appears--and where Jack (Matthew Fox) used to lead, Ben (Emmy nominee Michael Emerson) now takes the reins and convinces the survivors to fulfill Locke's wish. As producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse state in their commentary on the fifth-season premiere, "We're doing time travel this year," and the pile-up of flashbacks and flash-forwards will make even the most dedicated fan dizzy. Ben, Jack, Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) arrive to find that Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) have been part of the Dharma Initiative for three years. The writers also clarify the roles that Richard (Nestor Carbonell) and Daniel (Jeremy Davies) play in the island's master plan, setting the stage for the prophecies of Daniel's mother, Eloise Hawking (Fionnula Flanagan), to play a bigger part in the sixth and final season. Dozens of other players flit in and out, some never to return. A few, such as Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), live again in the past. Lost could've wrapped things up in five years, as The Wire did, but the show continues to excite and surprise. As Lindelof and Cuse admit in the commentary, there's a "fine line between confusion and mystery", adding, "it makes more sense if you're drunk". --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Created by successful television producer J.J. Abrams (ALIAS), Lost has became one of the most popular and critically acclaimed programmes of its day. Utilising a ripe premise and well-drawn and acted characters, Lost attracted a huge following and was proclaimed the saving grace of a television year otherwise marred by derivative reality programming. The story concerns the survivors of a terrible plane crash, who find themselves stranded on a tropical island with seemingly little chance of a rescue. Medical doctor Jack takes a position of leadership, helping to rally the survivors and prepare them for a period of difficulty as they learn how to survive on the paradisiacal island. But everything is not as it seems, as the island offers potential danger in the form of a large, mysterious creature, and evidence is found that the plane crash may not have been an accident. As they struggle to survive, each of the characters forms alliances and makes enemies, all while dealing with the unresolved issues of the lives they've left behind. Lost distils the difficulties of society down to their essence, exploring these problems with compelling characters and with a setting that's equal parts paradise and mystery. This collection includes all episodes from series 1 to 5.

Subtitles

Season 1 - English / English for the Hearing Impaired / German / Spanish / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish / Icelandic
Season 2 - English / English for the Hearing Impaired / German / Spanish / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish / Icelandic
Season 3 - English / English for the Hearing Impaired / German / Spanish / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish / Icelandic
Season 4 - English / English for the Hearing Impaired / Italian / Spanish / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish / Icelandic / Portuguese / Dutch
Season 5 - English / English for the Hearing Impaired / Italian / Spanish / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish / Icelandic / Portuguese / Dutch