Last night ABC aired the first episode of Lost. This show caught me off guard. I was totally surprised by it. I was expecting a gritty sort of survival story about the passengers of an aircrash. If this were truly realistic, it wouldn't last long. From every plane crash today (the crash of the two Russian planes recently being a good example), a search is started almost as soon as contact is lost (whether on radar or transponder). Indeed, while watching the first half hour of the ep, I kept asking myself "Why hasn't a search party found them yet?" The last half hinted that this might turn out to be some sort of fantasy show. A mysterious huge predator (unseen so far) is also on the island. Those scenes featuring the survivors being chased by the predator were very suspenseful (and rather reminded me of Jurassic Park).

This show looks like it could be real fun! But one thing was missing: the plane crash shown on the teasers for the show. Maybe next week?

The pilot was originally two hours but got chopped in half so that some overrated "reality" show like The Bachelor could have a two hour premiere.

Haven't gotten a chance to see it yet but it sounds interesting.

Rona: From every plane crash today (the crash of the two Russian planes recently being a good example), a search is started almost as soon as contact is lost (whether on radar or transponder). Indeed, while watching the first half hour of the ep, I kept asking myself "Why hasn't a search party found them yet?"
Luigi Novi: Because, as the captain explained, they tried turning around to head to FIJI, and then they lost contact with air traffic control, so that they were 1000 miles off course, and that the rescuers would therfore be looking in the wrong place.

Again, last night was a fine episode. It even included some more interesting twists. One of the characters turned out to have been a former Iraqi Republican Guard. He was even portrayed in a sympathetic and almost heroic way (this definately isn't a show written by a Bushie). There are also some interesting things happening with the Japanese couple. The wife appears to be making subtle attempts to defy her controlling husband. The casting of the obese man for the hippie-ish part is also inspired (though most of the other cast is typically Hollywood good-looking).

One disappointing bit was that polar bear. It sure was moving fast for large artic critter. I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer to find out what the real predator is.

Many critics have praised this as the best new show. I agree, and I hope ABC gives it a chance and doesn't cancel it.

Missed last night's episode, but I liked the premiere. And "Bushies" do NOT think that all Iraqis, or even all Iraqi soldiers, are necessarily evil, just because it was necessary to overthrow Saddam.

Oh, and by the way, bears - polar or otherwise - ARE predators and HAVE TO be able to move pretty fast when they want to, regardless of size.

"Bushies" are just as aware as "Libs" that the majority of the Republican Guard were regular Iraqis defending their homes and their families. Don't believe the hype about the stupid Republican, Rona, anymore than you want people believe the hype about stupid Democrats.

About the things in the jungle... Did they sound metallic to anyone else, especially on the first night? Someone says "Didn't sound like an animal, at least not exactly." Also, Rose said that it reminded her of something, then someone asks her where she is from and she replies "The Bronx."

The Asian couple are Korean, not Japanese.

The pilot is being broadcast in its entirety on Saturday. I'm thankful for that, since I had a brain hiccup on Wednesday and didn't start watching until 8:20.

Oh, and the great Daniel Dae Kim plays the Korean man. You may remember him playing Corporal Chang on "Enterprise" or Gavin Park on "Angel." Hes a great actor and I hope they don't kill of the character, lol.

He was also played Getana Retz in Blink of an Eye(VOY).

I gotta admit, I REALLY liked the second half of the pilot. It moved really briskly, and by the time it was over, I didn't want it to end; I was like, "No, not now! I have too many questions!"

He was also on "Crusade" as a main character, John Matheson.

Same here, Luigi.

Now, whats next is either a spoiler or a nit. I won't know until I've watched more. I watched this with a friend who speaks some French and she said that the girl's translation of the radio broadcast was wrong. She said that the broadcast went "It is outside. They are all dead. Please help me. If anyone can hear this, I will try to reach Black Rock." Anyone else see this, or was she kidding me?

About polar bears moving fast, don't they usually catch slow moving (on ice) seals? They're not that fast.

One small irritating point, the second ep seemed to have an excessive number of commercial breaks. I hope ABC eases up on this in future eps. This ep makes more sense if one is aware that the pilot was broken up into two eps. The actual crash scenes (fuselage ripped in half sucking out a passenger) were sorely missed in the first ep. It will be interesting to see where Abrams will take this show. Will it vear off into over the top fantasy, or will it try to maintain more plausibility? Please, no "We're in the Bermuda Triangle" type nonsense!

About the surprise twist of the female felon, just what is her crime?

The airplane crash was unrealistic as far as I was concerned... if the plane really looked like that it is unlikely that anyone would survive.

Why did the engine continue to run after it had been severed? Also about the engine: those things are designed so that various birds can get caught in them and still work, so it surely wouldn't have exploded like that from a man being sucked into it.

When they found the cockpit, why didn't they think to grab the first aid kit and any other supplies that would be there? I realize that they left in a hurry, but before they had to rush away, no one seemed interested in anything else other than the transmitter.

Moving to the subject of power, that "Sayid says the battery won't last" forcing Kate to take the hike immediately was such a contrivance; remove the battery or shut off the device! Batteries don't spontaneously decay in a day. And if the battery was damaged, surely someone else has a few or there are others in the luggage.

If Sayid is correct and that message has been transmitting for 16 years, then shouldn't it occur to him that there is a power source powering the thing? Not only that, the power source must be a long term one given that it's been going for 16 years.

Can someone post a synopsis of what happened last night? Thanks. This is one of the few shows I'd like to regularly watch.

Here you go:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/episodes/2004-05/4.html

Thanks -- that's exactly what I was looking for. But can someone tell me -- which one is Locke? (As this show seemed to center on him)

I tend to think of him as 'the guy from Millenium', but if you didn't watch that then he was the guy in the second ep with the backgammon set.

Oh, the guy with the scar over his eye, right? Kinda thought so.

I think it's interesting how the back-stories of the crash are presented. On one of the first ones you see the doctor sitting down, and three bodies rush by, saying "Excuse me!!". You don't get to find out what was going on until you see the backstory of the band guy (you know, Merry). I hope all these were planned out and filmed ahead of time, so if we review each version, we can see elements of the others. That would be cool.

The last episode introduced an element which disappointed me: Col. Locke experienced a 'miracle' in which his legs miraculously were healed. I can accept that there are fantasy elements in the show, but a 'miracle' of the type faith healers claim is a bit too much for me.

Actually, Rona, we don't know what was wrong with his legs other than it was recent, within 4 years. Occasionally, an injury resulting from a trauma can be changed by another trauma. However, he WAS able to run and lift heavy objects within moments of waking up after the crash.

Last night, as Doc was hanging over the cliff, you could see that there was a small stream flowing below him. I'd think that he or Locke would have noticed that, if even subconciously, since they were so desperate for water.

Lastnight's ep changed my mind about Locke's recovery. With Jack running around after his deceased father, it's apparent something "supernatural" is going on. Didn't Locke also describe looking into the eye of the island and seeing something beautiful. Last week that something he was looking at was that predator. It will take quite some expanation for how that same predator which brutally killed the plane's pilot could be a part of some benevalent force.

The actor playing Jack gave a very moving performance when he was conveying his grief over the loss of his father. Next week looks brutal though, the father of the boy attacks the Korean man with an ax. Prediction: that "force" on the island influenced him to attack.

Next week looks brutal though, the father of the boy attacks the Korean man with an ax. - Rona

Well, the preview certainly suggests it through its Michael Mooreish editing... but I suspect he's just cutting the handcuff chain to set him free... after all, we have yet to hear mention of any keys to the handcuffs.


Last night, as Doc was hanging over the cliff, you could see that there was a small stream flowing below him. I'd think that he or Locke would have noticed that... - Influx

I noticed that, too. Though it's possible it simply wasn't a freshwater stream, but a channel the sea water travels through during tides or something.

Well, the preview certainly suggests it through its Michael Mooreish editing... but I suspect he's just cutting the handcuff chain to set him free...

I concur.

The preview showed Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) attacking Michael (Harold Perrineau, the black man), not the other way around, and Sayid, the Iraqi, saying that they don't know why Jin attacked Michael, so "the cuffs stay on." Only after this do we see Michael approaching Jin with the axe, and yes, it also looked to me like he was going to cut Jin free.

Hey Luigi -- I thought you were the one that avoided previews at all costs, and chastised another poster for posting about one without spoilers...

I prefer not to know what's happening next week as well until it actually comes up.

Moderator? Perhaps this Cast List and Character Description can be put up top to help out for future reference?

Matthew Fox as Jack The doctor, and de facto leader.
Evangeline Lilly as Kate The federal fugitive.
Dominic Monaghan as Charlie The drug-addicted rock bassist.
Terry O'Quinn as John Locke The bald hunter and former paraplegic.
Naveen Andrews as Sayid The Iraqi electronics expert. He used to be in the Republican Guard.
Jorge Garcia as Hurley The obese guy.
Josh Holloway as Sawyer The antagonistic trouble-maker.
Harold Perrineau Jr. as Michael The black man who just gained custody of his son from his recently deceased ex-wife.
Malcolm David Kelley as Walt Michael’s nine year-old son. He has a yellow Labrador named Vincent.
Daniel Dae Kim as Jin The Korean man.
Yoon-jin Kim as Sun Jin’s wife.
Emilie de Ravin as Claire The pregnant blonde.
Ian Somerhalder as Boone The guy who bickers with his self-centered sister.
Maggie Grace as Shannon Boone’s self-centered sister.
????????? as Ruth The black woman who thinks her husband is still alive.

Sorry, Influx. Actually, since others had already mentioned those points, it didn't occur to me, but you're right, we should use Spoiler Warnings. Mea culpa, mi amigo.

As for avoiding previews, I do so only with shows like Enterprise and Smallville, because they either give everything away in them, or imply things that don't really happen in the episode. I'm not afraid to watch previews for Lost, not only because I'll probably forget what I saw by the next week, but because J.J. Abrams knows how to give us a tiny taste of what's to come, and still surprise us when we see it.

I believe Ruth is played by Latanya Richardson, who was one of the deputy marshals working with Tommy Lee jones in The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals... though interestingly enough, imdb doesn't list her in the casts for either The Fugitive or Lost. She's also married to Samuel Jackson.

Also, I think perhaps a spoiler warning might be in order for your cast list. Some of your character descriptions (Locke, for instance) go a little further than providing basic information about the characters. Granted, it's a board to discuss already-aired episodes. But it's a bit like describing Kevin Spacey's character in The Usual Suspect "as Verbal Kint: the guy being questioned throughout the film who winds up being Keyser Soze all along."


Some speculations...

Is the "monster" invisible? We (and the characters) never see it, even though it's implied to be pretty large. Plus, it was strongly suggested that Locke was face-to-face with the thing, yet he claimed he never saw it. The implication, of course, is that he was lying... but what if he was telling the truth? He never "saw" it because it's invisible.

Will Claire ever deliver? Granted, not a lot of time has elapsed since the first episode, but I'm starting to wonder if she will remain perpetually pregnant?

Cool. And the cast/character/attributes list is very helpful!!

The "monster" sounded rather mechanical to me. Will we be seeing a Captain Nemo-type character? Unfortunately, no matter how it turns out, I think some people will be disappointed. Nevertheless, this show has me hooked.

Question (now that I know the guy's name): Didn't Boone say he was a lifeguard in the pilot? It seems odd that he had trouble saving the drowning woman, while the exhausted doctor had enough to save him.

One interesting thing is that the giant Whoosit in the jungle killed the boar and apparently either gave it to or left it for Locke.

Rose (Not Ruth) is played by L. Scott Caldwell, and is listed under guest appearances, not as a regular for some reason.

Thanks, Influx.

And if the moderator wants to put the list at the top of the board, I'd second the motion for formatting the descriptions in white, or posting a warning.

If the woman who drowned got caught in a riptide, as was mentioned, then Boone could've gotten similarly caught.

I listed her as Ruth because that's how she was referred to on the synopsis page for this epiosde on ABC's site for the series here. But if anyone figures out what the character's and actor's name really is, put it on the list.

Yeah, ok, but then that same page refers to her as Rose. LOL, they need to decide on a name for this woman!

And the characters name is offically "Rose" and the woman who plays her really is L. Scott Caldwell. I checked. Also, Darth, she was in The Fugitive as Pool.

Darth Sarcasm: Will Claire ever deliver? Granted, not a lot of time has elapsed since the first episode, but I'm starting to wonder if she will remain perpetually pregnant?
I would imagine that it could happen sometime during the season. The first season is supposed to cover their first 40 days on the island and I think she said she's eight months along.

If this show lasts more than one season, Claire must deliver!

I guess I wasn't clear in my speculation....

I meant that I wonder if the Forbidden Planet-esque nature of the island would somehow affect her pregnancy in a way that causes her to remain perpetually pregnant.

I predict she will deliver... a polar bear!

Pretty good episode last night. Some nice development between Locke and Charlie, and the revelations about Jin and Sun, and the conflict between the Beachers and the Cavers.

I already knew that Sun would turn out to speak English because I read it in TV Guide, but I doubt anyone was surprised that at least one of them would turn out to speak it.

Why the conflict between the beachers and the cavers? Jack's right. They'll get sunburn and possibly cancer by staying out in the sun all the time. Why not migrate to the caves, since they have shade, rain shelter, fresh water, and beauty, and just roate one or two people to mind the fire on the beach? Better yet, why not create a big enough clearing near the caves, and put the fire there? Wouldn't putting the fire on higher ground be better for planes to spot it? Why does it have to be one or the other?

Hey, Walt and I share the same birthday!

Hmmm, I wonder if things will eventually deteriorate to a "Lord of the Flies"-type scenario...

"You all, everyboday!"

We now have a board for this show, but it's not quite set up yet. I'll be getting to it within 24 hours.

There are still several background stories to be told. I am looking forward particularly to that of Sayid and Hurley. Early publicity for the show said there would be a high death count on this show. A lot of fans aren't going to be very happy if one of their favorite characters dies!

The board is pretty much up. Posting's open in all aired Season 1 episodes, and the kitchen sink. Enjoy.

I'm very curious as to Hurley's backstory also. Although if they make him a Trekkie I think I will be really perturbed...