An airplane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. From then on, it's clear that Lost is surfing on 9/11 sediment – an adrenaline rush that terrorizes without respite. Forty-seven passengers survive the crash and soon embark on a crash course on – what else? – survival. Of course, that doesn't leave any time over for wondering why they crashed, but no matter. The environment is hostile, ŕ la Survivor, and this is actually the show's appeal: reality TV never looked so good. For character development (and to avoid the boring and repetitive sets that eventually sank Gilligan's Island) viewers are offered convenient flashbacks that poke into the survivor's past. If the concept sounds intriguing, well, sad to say, it's ruined in part by cheap gimmicks (music video sequences) which intrude upon and destroy the suspense. The series also suffers from the Matrix syndrome – as the episodes mount up the viewer becomes lost and frustrated by an increasingly convoluted plot. Too many questions are asked and very few answers are given. Our advice, watch this multiple Emmy-Award winner if you must, but don't watch too many episodes in a row.
Touchstone Television

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue