(no subject)
Chicago Sun Times Lost article : )
Illinois represent! lol ;D
From http://www.suntimes.com/output/rosenthal/cst-ftr-phil22.html
If only 'Lost' could remain at these heights
September 22, 2004
BY PHIL ROSENTHAL TELEVISION CRITIC
ABC's new drama "Lost" absolutely flies. At least for its first two episodes.
Beyond that, who knows? It is a show about survivors of a plane crash, after all.
Tonight's ***1/2 debut at 7 on WLS-Channel 7 is certainly an exhilarating takeoff. Be sure to remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the credits signal you're free to move about.
Whether "Lost" can remain airborne and continue to soar along at its initial clip is just one of the many unknowns involving the 48 passengers now stranded on a South Pacific atoll far from where rescue teams are likely to search.
This is a series brimming with shadowy characters, uncertain situations and mysterious monsters.
Even the remote island itself has secrets it's not yet ready to share.
"Lost" creator J.J. Abrams' most remarkable trick is in taking a set-up that sounds absolutely absurd and somehow making it click.
Every one of his survivors looks to be an archetype from one of the overwrought old "Airport" movies.
There's the hardworking doc (a strong turn by Matthew Fox), the suspect foreigner (Naveen Andrews), the spoiled blond (Maggie Grace) and her brother (Ian Somerhalder), the agitated hothead (Josh Holloway), the former pop star (Dominic Monaghan), the amiable fat guy (Jorge Garcia), the pregnant lady (Emilie de Ravin), the kid (Malcolm David Kelley) with a missing dog and the dad (Harold Perrineau) who barely knows him and so on.
Abrams manages to give each the depth and shading necessary to make them intriguing enough that we actually find ourselves caring about them. Then, just when we are able to pick them out of the crowd, he throws in a contradiction or complication that indicates this will be no mere paint-by-numbers effort.
We start to wonder about the calm older guy (Terry O'Quinn) who bides his time on the beach, the aloof Asian couple (Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim) and the witheringly beautiful woman (Evangeline Lilly) who talks about how she always runs from trouble yet seems to run toward any and all challenges she can find here.
It's amazing how the survivors of this particular crash tend to be young, tend to be unusually attractive and tend to have escaped without serious injury while those unlucky enough to have perished are out of sight.
But the idea that anyone could have survived a crash in which the tail of the plane came off is a hint that maybe it's a mistake to pull too hard at the threads of plausibility. Fortunately, things move along fast enough we need not dwell on these distractions.
Just when things slow down, we get a harrowing flashback to someone's recollection of the big crash or the terrifying prospect of being shredded by the local fauna.
It's not clear what Abrams intends to do, long term. Perhaps these people will form a society like the young plane crash survivors of Rod Serling's short-lived "The New People," which debuted exactly 35 years ago tonight?
The expensive, expansive "Lost" pilot has been split into its first two hourlong episodes, and that's all ABC provided for preview, leaving open the question of how things will look on a regular weekly budget and production schedule.
Abrams (whose pilots for "Felicity" and "Alias" were in many respects better than the series that followed) also will need to sustain the quality of his storytelling, which is what so distinguishes this introduction -- explosions, special effects and breathtaking scenery notwithstanding.
"Lost" may prove to be a find.
It also could go down in flames.
For its first couple of weeks, though, there's no question it's quite a thrill ride.
xoxoxoxox-J ^-^
Illinois represent! lol ;D
From http://www.suntimes.com/output/rosenthal/cst-ftr-phil22.html
If only 'Lost' could remain at these heights
September 22, 2004
BY PHIL ROSENTHAL TELEVISION CRITIC
ABC's new drama "Lost" absolutely flies. At least for its first two episodes.
Beyond that, who knows? It is a show about survivors of a plane crash, after all.
Tonight's ***1/2 debut at 7 on WLS-Channel 7 is certainly an exhilarating takeoff. Be sure to remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the credits signal you're free to move about.
Whether "Lost" can remain airborne and continue to soar along at its initial clip is just one of the many unknowns involving the 48 passengers now stranded on a South Pacific atoll far from where rescue teams are likely to search.
This is a series brimming with shadowy characters, uncertain situations and mysterious monsters.
Even the remote island itself has secrets it's not yet ready to share.
"Lost" creator J.J. Abrams' most remarkable trick is in taking a set-up that sounds absolutely absurd and somehow making it click.
Every one of his survivors looks to be an archetype from one of the overwrought old "Airport" movies.
There's the hardworking doc (a strong turn by Matthew Fox), the suspect foreigner (Naveen Andrews), the spoiled blond (Maggie Grace) and her brother (Ian Somerhalder), the agitated hothead (Josh Holloway), the former pop star (Dominic Monaghan), the amiable fat guy (Jorge Garcia), the pregnant lady (Emilie de Ravin), the kid (Malcolm David Kelley) with a missing dog and the dad (Harold Perrineau) who barely knows him and so on.
Abrams manages to give each the depth and shading necessary to make them intriguing enough that we actually find ourselves caring about them. Then, just when we are able to pick them out of the crowd, he throws in a contradiction or complication that indicates this will be no mere paint-by-numbers effort.
We start to wonder about the calm older guy (Terry O'Quinn) who bides his time on the beach, the aloof Asian couple (Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim) and the witheringly beautiful woman (Evangeline Lilly) who talks about how she always runs from trouble yet seems to run toward any and all challenges she can find here.
It's amazing how the survivors of this particular crash tend to be young, tend to be unusually attractive and tend to have escaped without serious injury while those unlucky enough to have perished are out of sight.
But the idea that anyone could have survived a crash in which the tail of the plane came off is a hint that maybe it's a mistake to pull too hard at the threads of plausibility. Fortunately, things move along fast enough we need not dwell on these distractions.
Just when things slow down, we get a harrowing flashback to someone's recollection of the big crash or the terrifying prospect of being shredded by the local fauna.
It's not clear what Abrams intends to do, long term. Perhaps these people will form a society like the young plane crash survivors of Rod Serling's short-lived "The New People," which debuted exactly 35 years ago tonight?
The expensive, expansive "Lost" pilot has been split into its first two hourlong episodes, and that's all ABC provided for preview, leaving open the question of how things will look on a regular weekly budget and production schedule.
Abrams (whose pilots for "Felicity" and "Alias" were in many respects better than the series that followed) also will need to sustain the quality of his storytelling, which is what so distinguishes this introduction -- explosions, special effects and breathtaking scenery notwithstanding.
"Lost" may prove to be a find.
It also could go down in flames.
For its first couple of weeks, though, there's no question it's quite a thrill ride.
xoxoxoxox-J ^-^