Lost (2004 TV series)
Lost is an American science fiction adventure drama television series created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof that aired on ABC from September 22, 2004, to May 23, 2010, over six seasons and 121 episodes. It contains elements of supernatural fiction, and follows the survivors of a commercial jet airliner flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, after the plane crashes on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean. Episodes typically feature a primary storyline set on the island, augmented by flashback or flashforward sequences which provide additional insight into the involved characters.
Lost
- Damon Lindelof
- Carlton Cuse
- Naveen Andrews
- Emilie de Ravin
- Matthew Fox
- Jorge Garcia
- Maggie Grace
- Josh Holloway
- Malcolm David Kelley
- Daniel Dae Kim
- Yunjin Kim
- Evangeline Lilly
- Dominic Monaghan
- Terry O'Quinn
- Harold Perrineau
- Ian Somerhalder
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Cynthia Watros
- Henry Ian Cusick
- Michael Emerson
- Elizabeth Mitchell
- Kiele Sanchez
- Rodrigo Santoro
- Jeremy Davies
- Ken Leung
- Rebecca Mader
- Néstor Carbonell
- Jeff Fahey
- Zuleikha Robinson
- Sam Anderson
- L. Scott Caldwell
- François Chau
- Fionnula Flanagan
- John Terry
- Sonya Walger
United States
English
6
121 (list of episodes)
- J. J. Abrams
- Damon Lindelof
- Bryan Burk
- Carlton Cuse
- Jack Bender
- Jeff Pinkner
- Stephen Williams
- Edward Kitsis
- Adam Horowitz
- Jean Higgins
- Elizabeth Sarnoff
40–50 minutes
- Bad Robot
- Touchstone Television (season 1–3)
- ABC Studios (season 4–6)
September 22, 2004 –
May 23, 2010
Lindelof and Carlton Cuse served as showrunners and are executive producers along with Abrams and Bryan Burk. Inspired by the 2000 Tom Hanks film Cast Away,[1] the show is told in a heavily serialized manner. Due to its large ensemble cast and the cost of filming primarily on location in Oahu, Hawaii, the series was one of the most expensive on television, with the pilot alone costing over $14 million.[2] The fictional universe and mythology of Lost were expanded upon by a number of related media—most importantly a series of mini-episodes called Missing Pieces; and a 12-minute epilogue, "The New Man in Charge".
Lost has regularly been ranked by critics as one of the greatest television series of all time.[3][4][5] The first season had an estimated average of 16 million viewers per episode on ABC.[6] During its sixth and final season, the show averaged over 11 million U.S. viewers per episode. Lost was the recipient of hundreds of industry award nominations throughout its run and won numerous of these awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005,[7] Best American Import at the British Academy Television Awards in 2005, the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama in 2006, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Distribution[edit]
Online[edit]
In addition to traditional terrestrial and satellite television, Lost is available from various online subscription services, including Amazon Prime Video,[192] Hulu,[193] and on Disney+ outside of the US via Star.[194] It was one of the first series issued through Apple's iTunes Store beginning in October 2005.[195] On August 29, 2007, Lost became one of the first TV programs available for download in the UK iTunes Store.[196]
In April 2006, Disney announced that Lost would be available for free online in streaming format, with advertising, on ABC's website, as part of a two-month experiment of future distribution strategies. The trial, which ran from May to June 2006, caused a stir among network affiliates who were afraid of being cut out of advertising revenue. The streaming of Lost episodes direct from ABC's website was only available to viewers in the United States due to international licensing agreements.[197][198] In 2009, Lost was named the most-watched show on the Internet based on viewers of episodes on ABC's website. The Nielsen Company reported that 1.425 million unique viewers have watched at least one episode on ABC's website.[199]
Home media[edit]
The first season of Lost was released under the title Lost: The Complete First Season as a widescreen seven-disc Region 1 DVD box set on September 6, 2005, two weeks before the premiere of the second season. It was distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. In addition to all the episodes that had been aired, it included several DVD extras, such as episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features as well as deleted scenes, deleted flashback scenarios, and a blooper reel. The same set was released on November 30, 2005, in Region 4.[200] The season was first released split into two parts: the first twelve episodes of season 1 were available as a widescreen four-disc Region 2 DVD box set on October 31, 2005, while the remaining thirteen episodes of season 1 were released on January 16, 2006.[201] The DVD features available on the Region 1 release were likewise split over the two box sets. The first two seasons were released separately on Blu-ray Disc on June 16, 2009.[202]
The second season was released under the title Lost: The Complete Second Season – The Extended Experience as a widescreen seven-disc Region 1 DVD box set on September 5, 2006. The sets include several DVD extras, including behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, and a "Lost Connections" chart, which shows how all of the characters on the island are inter-connected.[203] Again, the season was initially delivered in two sets for Region 2: the first twelve episodes were released as a widescreen four-disc DVD box set on July 17, 2006, while the remaining episodes of season 2 were released as a four-disc DVD box set on October 2, 2006.[204] The set was released in Region 4 on October 4, 2006.
The third season was released under the title Lost: The Complete Third Season – The Unexplored Experience on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on December 11, 2007.[205] As with seasons 1 and 2, the third season release includes audio commentaries with the cast and crew, bonus featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers. The third season was released in Region 2 solely on DVD on October 22, 2007, though this time, only as a complete set, unlike previous seasons.[206]
The fourth season was released as Lost: The Complete Fourth Season – The Expanded Experience in Region 1 on December 9, 2008, on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc.[207] It was released on DVD in Region 2 on October 20, 2008.[208] The set includes audio commentaries, deleted scenes, bloopers, and bonus featurettes.
The first three seasons of Lost have sold successfully on DVD. The season 1 box set entered the DVD sales chart at number two in September 2005,[209] and the season 2 box set entered the DVD sales chart at the number one position in its first week of release in September 2006, believed to be the second TV-DVD ever to enter the chart at the top spot.[210] The season 3 box set sold over 1,000,000 copies in three weeks.[211]
Both the season 6 box set and the complete series collection contained a 12-minute epilogue-like bonus feature called "The New Man in Charge".[212][213] The season 6 DVD set entered the DVD sales chart at the number one position in its first week of release in September 2010 boasting strong sales in the DVD and Blu-ray format for the regular season set as well as for the series box set.[214]