LOST: “Pilot,” an excellent start to a series that was an experience

If I had to name one show that I could call “mine,” without a doubt, it would be Lost. “Mine” in the sense that it holds the most sentiment for me, captivated my attention and imagination for years (years!), marked a breakthrough in my adventure with television productions, and even 14 years after the finale, still evokes warm and vivid memories. It was a true adventure.

I won’t even try to suppress the emotions I feel while writing this, because every mention of Lost automatically brings my thoughts back to Thursday evenings, when two episodes of the first season aired each week (17 years ago!), and my dad and I, glued to the TV, eagerly followed the unfolding events on screen. Over time, I discovered that there were many more Lost fans in Poland and around the world, which led me to join a popular forum where users exchanged theories about upcoming events, shared their own creations related to the show, and discussed their impressions after each episode, forming a close-knit, almost friendly community.

Lost was masterfully constructed – even though the writers dealt with over a dozen main characters, years after it aired, you still remember each of them. Much of this is due to the structure of the episodes, which usually focused on one character’s story. The flashbacks, resonating with the events on the island, brilliantly fleshed out the characters, allowing a better understanding of their motivations, and sometimes were intriguing in their own right when it turned out that two characters had unexpected connections. Meanwhile, the island events, the gradual revealing of secrets, and the piling up of mysteries – well, that kept your thoughts occupied throughout the entire week between episodes.

And so it went for several years, until the final season of 2009-2010, which disappointed many fans as it left many loose ends and wasn’t a satisfying conclusion for those six years. The creators believed that the people, not the mysteries, were the most important aspect of Lost and opted for an emotional farewell. With that in mind, it’s much easier to appreciate the ending.

Let’s move on to the episode (or rather, two episodes) where it all began. Beware of minor spoilers!

Abrams on board

On September 22, 2004, ABC aired “Pilot, part 1.” The second part was shown a week later. Both were directed by J.J. Abrams, who had previously created the series “Alias” with Jennifer Garner for the network. Abrams agreed to join the project on the condition that he could incorporate supernatural elements into the script. He co-wrote the script with Damon Lindelof, who later became the showrunner and key episode writer (including the finale). The two spent three days together developing the story for both the pilot episodes and, roughly, the overall plot. Jeffrey Lieber, who created the initial concept inspired by works like “Lord of the Flies” and “Cast Away,” was also credited.

Once the script was ready, casting began. Lost was designed as a series with an international cast, so among the main characters were a Korean couple, an Australian woman, and an Iraqi man. However, the events of the Pilot are seen through the eyes of Jack Shephard, played by Matthew Fox. In the first version of the script, this character was supposed to die in the first episode, and Michael Keaton was originally cast for the role. However, when it was decided that Jack would stay longer, Keaton withdrew from the project.

Survivors

The Pilot begins with Jack opening his eyes, waking up in a bamboo forest, wearing a suit and clearly disoriented. Once he gathers himself, he runs through the jungle (passing a shoe hanging from a tree) and reaches a beach where chaos has erupted. The plane he was on has crashed into pieces. Chaos, screams, roaring engines, widespread panic. The first minutes of the Pilot show Jack – as it turns out, a doctor – instinctively rushing across the beach, saving various passengers. We meet several of them during this sequence, others will appear once the situation calms down a bit, but even in these two pilot episodes, Abrams and Lindelof skillfully outline the main characters, each with distinct traits. In the first part of the Pilot, the characters that come to the forefront are Kate (Evangeline Lilly in her first major role) and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan, fresh off the success of “The Lord of the Rings”). The three of them undertake a mission to find the plane’s nose, where they hope to find a transmitter to contact rescuers. They are also the first characters whose flashbacks we see – this time, they all relate to the moment of the crash; we’ll delve deeper into the characters’ pasts starting from the third episode.

A larger group of characters steps into the spotlight in the second half of the episode; that’s when another expedition begins, this time involving characters like Sawyer and Sayid, who later become some of the most important figures in the series. This doesn’t mean that the group left on the beach was neglected by Lindelof and Abrams – through small interactions and effective dialogues, they lay the groundwork for who these characters are, what relationships they have, and what struggles they face. They create a solid foundation for the following episodes, in which we will get to know more characters individually, discover what led them to board Oceanic Flight 815, and realize that first impressions can often be misleading.

Mysteries of Lost

Lost wouldn’t be Lost without a dose of mystery (even the impressive intro seems to emphasize this), and there’s no shortage of it in the Pilot. One of the best scenes in the episodes (and the series as a whole) is when the characters hear strange noises coming from the jungle at night, sounding like a mix of a roar and machinery. Trees toppling over, eerie sounds echoing through the jungle, the characters anxiously staring into the darkness, completely unaware of what lurks in the jungle – it certainly sparked the imagination! We had to wait a bit longer for an explanation, but the “monster,” as the characters later called it, appeared in the Pilot, posing a significant threat to Jack, Kate, and Charlie. The decision not to reveal what it was at that time was a masterstroke and instantly became one of the most fascinating plotlines. And that’s not all! The second part of the Pilot also introduced elements that immediately showed that Lost wasn’t just a show about survivors of a crash and a variation on Robinson Crusoe. The sight of a polar bear in the middle of a tropical island was shocking. The final scene of the second part of the Pilot, which still gives me chills and practically forces you to watch the next episode, is a masterpiece. Chilling and captivating, summed up by the question: “Guys, where are we?” – a question you just have to get the answer to.

Lost – A perfect pilot

Lost launched with a very high bar. Abrams was rightly recognized for directing the pilot episode at the 2005 Emmy Awards, and the show itself won the award for Best Drama Series. Michael Giacchino, now one of the most popular composers, was also awarded for his music, which was a driving force behind Lost – the array of motifs dedicated to specific characters or locations could rival those in feature films. If you haven’t seen Lost yet, I highly encourage you to watch the first two episodes and land on the island – you’ll find it hard to leave until the very end.