"Lost" Horizons

Until about a month ago, I had never bought a DVD collection in my life. I was kind of against the whole concept of "owning" movies or television shows, and I am certainly against paying that much for them, particularly when you can usually just tape them as they are broadcast on TV.

I made an exception for "Lost", the ABC-TV series that is now midway through its second season. I had seen about 75% of the first season shows, but there were a few plot details I was not clear on, and things I had missed. So I swallowed my pride and plunked down the $45.00 for the first season set.

I'm glad I did.

I have always been a sucker for the plot that tosses several widely different personalities together in a dangerous situation that tests all the characters resolves and makes them interact and learn from each other and about themselves. "Lost" does this to a T; from the driven, heroic and father obsessed Jack to the tortured, self loathing but craven Sawyer to the mystical, Zenn-like (yet somehow equally tormented) miracle man John Locke to the damaged frightened but tough Kate, along with many others, "Lost" succeeds at this theme in spades. The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together (most of the time) in order to exist on an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean. Their daily struggle to find food, water and shelter and to avoid the various dangers of the island is the story of "Lost", but on a deeper level its the varying ways in which the survivors approach their dilemmas that is more satisfying dramatically. Each character approaches his new situation from the prism of their own experiences, most of which have been filled with tragedy, disappointment and pain. In this way, the "Lost" island is kind of like a furnace in which the survivors will be tested, their perspectives forged. They will either break or become stronger as a result of their ordeals.

I also have always enjoyed shows that contain a gradually unravelling mystery. The most notable example of this was Chris Carter's "The X-Files", which lasted nine seasons and went off the air in 2002. Part of the appeal here is just the "gee whiz" factor, I admit; it's fun to try to figure out what's going on and play connect the dots and try to piece together the mysteries that the island represents. But again, the appeal goes deeper. As we are learning about the island, so too are the characters, and we identify with their frustration at the slowness of the lessons they learn and the maddening way in which life reveals itself to us. Just as the survivors struggle with trying to discover what makes their environment tick ("what it's all about") so too do all of try to navigate the often confusing and seemingly contradictory patterns of our daily lives. Like them , we are all just students in the classroom of life and castaways that are basically feeling our way in the dark. Like the survivors, we are all thrown into situations that we don't really don't understand, over which we have little control. Our only real hope in this existential maze is the comfort of knowing that everyone else, no matter how different they may seem on the surface, is in the same metaphorical boat as we are. Together, we can feel our way along in the darkness, learning, growing, surviving and hopefully moving toward some greater understanding of what our journey is all about.

More specifically, I live for the little confrontations and clashes that occur amongst the varying personalities of the show. Jack and Sawyer remind me so much of two brothers who are so fundamentally unlike on the surface, but share some basic inner conflicts; insecurity, issues of identity. It's always interesting to watch them fight their begrudging affection for each other; in certain very subtle scenes their true feelings reveal themselves. Jack offers Sawyer, whom he supposedly loathes, a gun on his raft voyage, obviously revealing some measure of trust and concern for the man. And Sawyer, despite all his cocksure sarasm and outward mocking of Jack, finds himself telling Jack that his father was indeed proud of him, as he knows he may well never see Jack again if the voyage goes badly. Similarly, when Jack beats the tar out of murderous Ethan, Sawyer is the first to congratulate him, chiming in with "Way to go, Doc! Winner by a knockout!" And when Sawyer returns injured and near death, Jack is obviously concerned about his welfare beyond a "professional" duty. Of course, once Sawyer is well again, their old animosities bubble up again; their mutual affection for Kate and markedly different ways of approaching life seem to insure that no matter how much they may actually respect each other, they will probably never be what one could term "friends".

Tomorrow: Jack and Locke