"Lost" is simply one of the best new TV shows this season.
ABC's hour drama (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.) has captured viewers with a creative storyline and slick direction. The 48 survivors of a plane crash provide a front-row seat for group dynamics, not unlike the chaotic atmosphere in "Lord of the Flies."
The creators of "Lost" clearly took a page from the successful "Survivor" franchise, turning this into something even more compelling because it's not real. This isn't a fake-scripted "reality" show. Instead, the writers have woven an intimate, quilted storyline that blends the survivors' daily challenges with their past. Week after week, viewers get an inside glimpse into the cast's lives before the crash.
It's unique and compelling TV.
The survivors are mostly good-looking, giving "Lost" a feel of "Melrose Place" meets "Twin Peaks." But instead of who killed Laura Palmer, it's who's on the island that wasn't on the plane?
Since only 13 episodes were shot, production is already whirring to shoot more segments. ABC will start re-running "Lost" this Wednesday, with the pilot. If you've missed it, it's a good opportunity to tune in.
If "Lost" continues to draw in viewers, it will be interesting to see how producers deal with changing the cast's features. Hurley (Jorge Garcia), the likable fat guy, will need to lose weight. You can't keep packing it on with no fast-food options. And survivors Shannon (Maggie Grace), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Jack (Matthew Fox) will have to temper those Hollywood looks after weeks without moisturizer.
"Lost" could turn into a modern-day, TV-14 "Gilligan's Island." And if the ratings stay hot, don't expect their ship to come in.
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