Well as most of you have probably realized , the LOST: Season 2 DVDs are a force to be reckoned with amongst today's TV's DVD Box Sets.
Just how amazing is it you ask? Continue reading for IGN.com's review of the LOST Box Set.
September 5, 2006 - Where cliffhangers and whodunits are concerned, interruptions of any kind are generally a bad thing. I mean, if you're expecting a big reveal or poised to uncover some important or highly-anticipated detail, stopping for a bathroom break, commercial or God forbid rerun is just about the worst thing you can endure. This, I believe, accounts for much of the confusion and/or consternation that Lost fans (myself included) felt during Season Two.
Having never seen Lost during its network broadcast before Season Two (I was introduced to the show via the Season One DVDs), I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started watching episodes on a weekly basis rather than in 12-hour marathons. Notwithstanding the preponderance of untold secrets and events left unexplained, the show's rhythm was radically inconsistent: the writers dealt flashbacks that went either nowhere or the same 'where' we went before (we get it - Jack needs to save people); irreversibly sullied characters we once liked or at least sympathized with (Charlie, I'm looking in your direction); and worst of all gave us an increasingly-wearying plot structure that saved all of the momentous and often unresolved revelations for the final two or three minutes of the show (wherefore art thou, Jack's 'army'?).
Soon enough, interest level in seeing what happens next fizzled from impassioned to perfunctory. But the DVD experience, curiously enough, is radically different: these stories, be they self-contained flashbacks or full-fledged series arcs, all flow more smoothly and engender a genuine sympathy for the characters and their plight. Details explored in the first three episodes which originally seemed repetitive now seem only marginally superfluous; flashbacks that were once only moderately interesting are fully-formed, evocative vignettes; and Desmond, the bookend character for the Season, now feels like a real member of the ensemble rather than a distraction from the main drive of the story.
Some of these changing perspectives are a byproduct of episode proximity - as in, you can watch one right after another, without months intruding between installments - but with all well-told stories, the real reason they work now is because they compel you to continue reading, watching or listening, and you can do so on DVD. So where audiences were temporarily frustrated by a character's behavior or the evolution (or de-evolution) of a storyline during the network broadcast, here they can fully understand and appreciate the subtle changes that take place on the show in a more direct context instead of encumbered by commercial interruptions, hiatuses or other 'breaks' between episodes.
Ultimately, my continued interest in the show comes as much of a surprise to me as to anyone; prior to checking out these discs I suspected that Season Two would be the last time I got properly Lost, be it on TV or via DVD. But this set suggests that our thumbnail reactions to individual episodes or even a season as a whole may be limited, especially when the creators have a specific idea where and how they want the show to progress.
It remains to be seen whether the show creators can continue to sustain audience interest as Season Three gears up in the next few weeks, but for now, Lost - The Complete Second Season is an absolutely essential set for any fan of the show. The reason for this, unexpectedly enough, is not merely to complete one's experience on DVD, but to highlight, reiterate and celebrate the fact that some stories were meant to be told in sequence, without interruption.
The Video
Lost is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) preserving the aspect ratio of the original HD network broadcast. Like with Season One, the transfers look terrific: despite a preponderance of evening sequences and/or deep shadows, the contrast is strong, colors are clear and focus is sharp. Unfortunately, some of the special effects and post-production details do not hold up to closer scrutiny - the CGI fire that Charlie sets still looks pretty fake - but this merely maintains the quality of the network exhibition, so at the very least the DVD experience is not worse than before.
Overall, however, audiences will be completely satisfied with the intensity and color quality of this set, which dutifully preserves all of the visual complexity of the show from first episode to last.
Score: 8 out of 10
The Audio
Two audio options are available for home-theater viewing of Lost: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound. Both tracks do a terrific job bringing the show to life: dialogue is clear and crisp in the center channel while sound effects, score and ambient noise circulate in the surround channels.
Some of the sound effects do not make the smoothest transition from satellite to center channel sound - vehicles jump slightly from shot to shot, depending on their placement in the frame - but overall this is almost unnoticeable in a home theatre environment (compared to, say, personal headphones). Overall the sound set-up more than captures the ambience and cinematic quality of the show's audio presentation.
English subtitles are available for multilingual and hearing-impaired audiences.
Score: 8 out of 10
Extras and Packaging
Lost - The Complete Second Season comes in a gatefold digipack featuring seven discs. The collapsible gatefold packaging fits inside a clear slipcase with a series synopsis, a list of bonus materials and technical information about the disc. The set also includes a booklet that provides synopses for each one of the episodes and a detailed list of bonus features.
The seven-disc set features the following extras:
- Commentary: "Man of Science, Man of Faith" by executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Jack Bender
- Commentary: "What Kate Did" by director Paul Edwards, director of photography Michael Bonvillain and co-star Evangeline Lilly
- Commentary: "The 23rd Psalm" by Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Bryan Burk
- Commentary: "The Whole Truth" by Yunjim Kim, Daniel Dae Kim, and writers Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim
- Documentary: "Fire + Water: Anatomy Of An Episode"
- Featurette: "Lost: On Location"
- Featurette: "The World According to Sawyer"
- Featurette: "The Lost Flashbacks"
- Deleted scenes
- Lost bloopers
- Channel 4 UK promo directed by David LaChapelle
- Sneak Peeks: The Heart of the Game, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Scrubs 4th Season, Desperate Housewives Season Two
- Lost Connections
- Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies
- Secrets From the Hatch
The commentary tracks are some of the best I've heard in recent years, particularly given the abundance of superfluous ones produced for DVDs these days: rather than just saying "ah, we shot this scene at night but made it look like daylight," the producers and participants truly explore the conception of each character or storyline, then address how they fit it into the context of the show, be it as part of a flashback or a proper explanation for a character's behavior. That said, a welcome addition to this content would have been some analysis by the producers of the fan reaction to the show across Season Two, and how they responded to that, but as a whole these provide some terrific background information on some of the series' best-ever episodes.
The same holds true of the "Fire + Water" documentary, which at first appears to be little more than a perfunctory examination of the production process. The entire process is thoroughly documented - first dealing with what exactly the writers want to do to Charlie in the episode, then how they achieve that effect via story, etc. - but the contributors offer more than facile observations, instead recounting specific details and challenges they faced while putting together the "Fire + Water" episode. "Lost On Location," on the other hand, talks about specific location decisions the producers made in order to bring the flashbacks to life; while this is decidedly more production-oriented - in other words, focusing primarily on the technical challenges of creating, say, the pit where Michael, Jin and Sawyer were held captive - the interview footage with the actors themselves expands this beyond the boundaries of regular "behind-the-scenes" footage.
"The World According to Sawyer" and the blooper reel basically serve the same purpose - to bring some levity to the bonus materials. Both accomplish this task effectively: the former chronicles Sawyer's penchant for colorful catchphrases and nicknames, including the cast members' favorite 'Sawyerisms', while the bloopers feature a five-minute reel of goofs and blunders. And the UK promo is a beautiful commercial for the show that only aired in Britain that shows the Season One characters dancing together while their voices float in and out offering descriptions that may or may not apply to themselves.
The "Lost Flashbacks" compile additional flashback sequences that were shot but never aired - at least not during the actual network broadcasts. Featuring two scenes from "Abandoned" and one from "Lockdown," it's easy to see why they were dropped from the shows - they really don't offer any new information - but they do expand the background of Locke and Shannon for completists and conspiracy theorists alike.
Lost Connections is basically the marquee bonus feature for the set, since it chronicles the various intersections between the ensemble's past, present and future and offers clips of each shared scene. While this is not only a welcome featurette but an essential wealth of information for Lost fans, it's a little difficult to negotiate, if only because the various 'wire' options often go back to the same people (and clips) multiple times. (Not to mention the fact that it's tough if not impossible to remember which wire you've already chosen.) That said, this is a great way to see where certain characters connected in their pre-island lives - Sayid's Iraqi 'girlfriend', for example, ran into Locke in a flashback - and offers a few additional insights into the show's rich tapestry of crisscrossed storylines.
"Mysteries, Theories & Conspiracies" explores the veritable universe of ideas that arose over the course of the first two seasons; featuring comments by the cast and crew as well as fans and followers of the show, this short featurette provides plenty of hypotheses but no answers to speak of (except Bryan Burk's revealing theory that all of the characters are actually at Disney's California Adventure Park). "Secrets From the Hatch," meanwhile, is an inside look at the hatch set that examines the design and construction of the series' most famous location; much like the "Mysteries" featurette, it proves engaging without being especially informative - at least as far as learning new secrets about the show are concerned.
Score: 8 out of 10
The Bottom Line
Starting with Disc One after some nine months of seeming disappointment with the show, I originally looked at the task of reviewing the show as an unenviable and unenjoyable one. Thankfully, I was wrong; the series plays much better on DVD, where one can watch as much or little as one wants (or has time for), and where the extra features actually expand and explain the conception of the show as it transitions into Season Three. The bonus materials remind fans that there is an actual plan to the show's flow, and that there are forces both creative and technical at work designing the intricate and secretive tales that expand the Lost mythology. This is definitely one of the best TV-to-DVD sets of the year, and a must-have for inveterate and uninitiated Lost fans alike.
Posted by on 06 Sep 2006 at 06:21 | Lost News
