....maybe the show is itself a psychological experiment
isc 5: "Lockdown", "Dave", "S.O.S.", "Two For The Road"
Disc 6: "?", "Three Minutes, "Live Together, Die Alone (Part 1)", "Live Together, Die Alone (Part 2)"
Video:
Presented in anamorphic widescreen measuring in at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the 480p video superbly reproduces the colors of the lush Hawaiian landscape without skipping a beat. Skin tones look natural and there is hardly any grain visible. Overall, another great DVD video presentation from Buena Vista. Only one subtitle option is offered on this DVD set and it is English for the hearing impaired.
Audio:
All of the Buena Vista TV DVD sets that I have reviewed so far only include an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. For whatever reason, this "Lost" set also offers an English Dolby Surround 2.0 track. Obviously, if your A/V receiver has the capability, you should definitely go with the discrete 5.1 option, as it so effectively sets a mood-inducing soundstage for the haunting music that complements the onscreen action perfectly. When the action kicks in, get ready for the sounds to come alive, not only from the front channels but also the surrounds as well.
Extras:
Starting off, a total of 5 audio commentaries are offered as an option for the following 5 episodes:
"Man of Science, Man of Faith" with commentary by executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Jack Bender.
"What Kate Did" with commentary by episode director Paul Edwards, director of photography Michael Bonvillain and co-star Evangeline Lilly
"The 23rd Psalm" with commentary by executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Bryan Burk
"The Whole Truth" with commentary by co-stars Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and writers Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim
"Dave" with commentary by episode director Jack Bender and co-stars Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros
All the commentaries here are somewhat entertaining and informative with the most fun coming from the commentaries that included the stars of the show. The first one on the episode "Man of Science, man of Faith" is perhaps the most informative and probably an intriguing one for fans. Lindelof, Cuse, Burk and Bender are the principal creative driving forces behind the show and their commentary on the opening episode, especially on the idea behind the now-infamous hatch, is pretty interesting.
Apart from the commentaries, the rest of the special features can solely be found on Disc 7. The features here are divided into three sections, emphasized by a black and white DHARMA Initiative training video that talks about the three phases.
Phase 1: Observation
This section is made up of 3 features. They are:
"Fire + Water: Anatomy of an Episode"
"Fire + Water" is the 12th episode of Season 2 and this documentary helps to break down the different parts of the production process that goes into the filming of an episode of "Lost". It includes brief segments of the producers and writers hashing out the storyline, location scouting, costume design, make-up and location shooting in Hawaii.
"Lost: On Location"
This feature sheds some light on the challenges of shooting on location for various episodes, especially the ones on the water. It includes footages of the actual filming and also cast interviews. The episodes covered here include "Adrift", "Abandoned", "The 23rd Psalm", "Everybody Hates Hugo", "Collision", "The Whole Truth", "Dave", "S.O.S.", "Two For The Road" and "Live Together, Die Alone".
"The World According to Sawyer"
This feature is actually pretty funny and interesting at the same time. It includes interviews with the cast and plenty of snippets of the subtle hilarious phrases used by the character Sawyer, whose Southern redneck sensibilities and a motor mouth offers no respite for the rest of the characters on the island.
Phase 2: Conditioning
This next section offers the following 5 features.
"The Lost Flashbacks"
As many of you may know, "Lost" is not only about the strange happenings on a deserted island. It also prominently features the back-stories for each of the characters, which are somehow strangely connected to their current predicament. These flashbacks make up a large portion of the show. In this feature, you get to see 3 flashback stories that were removed from the final version of two episodes, "Abandoned" and "Lockdown". The 2 flashbacks in "Abandoned" are connected to Maggie Grace´s character, Shannon, while the one in "Lockdown" concerns Locke´s (Terry O´Quinn) relationship with his estranged father.
"Deleted Scenes"
A total of 14 deleted scenes (without audio commentary) are included here. These scenes can be played either individually or all at once. They are titled: "Seeing Walt", "A Little You Time", "Sawyer´s Visitor", "Dinner Time", "Special Delivery", "Ana Lucia´s Prisoner", "Libby and Claire", "Connected", "I Need To Know", "The Doctor´s Solution", "What´s Your Story?", "Weakness", "Are You All Right?" and "I Miss....".
"Lost Bloopers"
Here you can watch the sometimes-funny outtakes of the actors flubbing their lines and also some of the pranks they play on one another on the set.
"Channel 4 UK Promo – Directed by David Chapelle"
As the title suggests, this is a promotional trailer that was shown on England´s Channel 4 TV station. It is really a very stylized take on the show as it features the castaways mournfully dancing around the wreckage of the crashed plane.
"Sneak Peeks"
This segment features trailers of up and coming releases from Buena Vista, including Mel Gibson´s "Apocalypto" and TV shows like "Desperate Housewives".
Phase 3: Conclusion
Finally, Phase 3 features the following 3 segments:
"Lost Connections"
This is an interactive feature that plays out somewhat like "6 degrees of separation". As many of you may know, all the characters on the show may be strangers to one another and may seem unrelated but from the many flashbacks we´ve already seen, their paths do cross at one point or another. This feature lets you connect one character to another by showing you a brief video of how they may have met before the plane crash. It may look confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a pretty neat feature to play around with.
"Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies"
The core nature of "Lost" is its mysterious setting and the weird things that happen to the stranded castaways. Obviously, with such an intriguing premise, many competing theories and conspiracies about what people speculate to be the truth about the show´s big final secret began to emerge in earnest two seasons in. Here, you can watch interviews with both the fans, the cast and also the show´s insiders (no, they do not reveal anything, duh!) as they speculate about what they think would the show´s ultimate gotcha moment.
"Secrets From the Hatch"
The big story for Season 2 was the mysterious underground hatch. This segment goes into how the physical structure of the hatch (like the geodesic dome) was conceived and built. As many of you may already realize, all the equipment in the hatch were based on 70´s technology, which gives us an important clue of how old the hatch is.
Packaging:
"Lost" comes packaged in a 5-panel Digipak case, with 2 DVDs (on partially on top of the other) located on 1 panel and Disc 7 standing alone on the last panel. A thin booklet is included and it contains brief synopsis of all the episodes. The Digipak case is then encased in an attractive plastic cover that really enhances the look of the overall DVD package.
Film Value:
At the very least, "Lost" has morphed into a test of one´s patience, and that is certainly not a good thing for a TV show. The glacial trickle of information concerning the island and its secrets is putting a damper on whatever form of entertainment I could muster from the show. Hopefully, the writers and producers can push the plot forward at a much faster pace before they ultimately lose the faith put on them by the show´s rabid but increasingly impatient fanbase.
You know, maybe the show is itself a psychological experiment, much like what compels the crash survivors to input the numbers into the computer every 108 minutes. In our case, we are compelled to tune in every week in the hopes that we might get another piece of the puzzle.
4 8 15 16 23 42
Oh, for the love of.........
Disc 6: "?", "Three Minutes, "Live Together, Die Alone (Part 1)", "Live Together, Die Alone (Part 2)"
Video:
Presented in anamorphic widescreen measuring in at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the 480p video superbly reproduces the colors of the lush Hawaiian landscape without skipping a beat. Skin tones look natural and there is hardly any grain visible. Overall, another great DVD video presentation from Buena Vista. Only one subtitle option is offered on this DVD set and it is English for the hearing impaired.
Audio:
All of the Buena Vista TV DVD sets that I have reviewed so far only include an English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. For whatever reason, this "Lost" set also offers an English Dolby Surround 2.0 track. Obviously, if your A/V receiver has the capability, you should definitely go with the discrete 5.1 option, as it so effectively sets a mood-inducing soundstage for the haunting music that complements the onscreen action perfectly. When the action kicks in, get ready for the sounds to come alive, not only from the front channels but also the surrounds as well.
Extras:
Starting off, a total of 5 audio commentaries are offered as an option for the following 5 episodes:
"Man of Science, Man of Faith" with commentary by executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk and Jack Bender.
"What Kate Did" with commentary by episode director Paul Edwards, director of photography Michael Bonvillain and co-star Evangeline Lilly
"The 23rd Psalm" with commentary by executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Bryan Burk
"The Whole Truth" with commentary by co-stars Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and writers Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim
"Dave" with commentary by episode director Jack Bender and co-stars Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros
All the commentaries here are somewhat entertaining and informative with the most fun coming from the commentaries that included the stars of the show. The first one on the episode "Man of Science, man of Faith" is perhaps the most informative and probably an intriguing one for fans. Lindelof, Cuse, Burk and Bender are the principal creative driving forces behind the show and their commentary on the opening episode, especially on the idea behind the now-infamous hatch, is pretty interesting.
Apart from the commentaries, the rest of the special features can solely be found on Disc 7. The features here are divided into three sections, emphasized by a black and white DHARMA Initiative training video that talks about the three phases.
Phase 1: Observation
This section is made up of 3 features. They are:
"Fire + Water: Anatomy of an Episode"
"Fire + Water" is the 12th episode of Season 2 and this documentary helps to break down the different parts of the production process that goes into the filming of an episode of "Lost". It includes brief segments of the producers and writers hashing out the storyline, location scouting, costume design, make-up and location shooting in Hawaii.
"Lost: On Location"
This feature sheds some light on the challenges of shooting on location for various episodes, especially the ones on the water. It includes footages of the actual filming and also cast interviews. The episodes covered here include "Adrift", "Abandoned", "The 23rd Psalm", "Everybody Hates Hugo", "Collision", "The Whole Truth", "Dave", "S.O.S.", "Two For The Road" and "Live Together, Die Alone".
"The World According to Sawyer"
This feature is actually pretty funny and interesting at the same time. It includes interviews with the cast and plenty of snippets of the subtle hilarious phrases used by the character Sawyer, whose Southern redneck sensibilities and a motor mouth offers no respite for the rest of the characters on the island.
Phase 2: Conditioning
This next section offers the following 5 features.
"The Lost Flashbacks"
As many of you may know, "Lost" is not only about the strange happenings on a deserted island. It also prominently features the back-stories for each of the characters, which are somehow strangely connected to their current predicament. These flashbacks make up a large portion of the show. In this feature, you get to see 3 flashback stories that were removed from the final version of two episodes, "Abandoned" and "Lockdown". The 2 flashbacks in "Abandoned" are connected to Maggie Grace´s character, Shannon, while the one in "Lockdown" concerns Locke´s (Terry O´Quinn) relationship with his estranged father.
"Deleted Scenes"
A total of 14 deleted scenes (without audio commentary) are included here. These scenes can be played either individually or all at once. They are titled: "Seeing Walt", "A Little You Time", "Sawyer´s Visitor", "Dinner Time", "Special Delivery", "Ana Lucia´s Prisoner", "Libby and Claire", "Connected", "I Need To Know", "The Doctor´s Solution", "What´s Your Story?", "Weakness", "Are You All Right?" and "I Miss....".
"Lost Bloopers"
Here you can watch the sometimes-funny outtakes of the actors flubbing their lines and also some of the pranks they play on one another on the set.
"Channel 4 UK Promo – Directed by David Chapelle"
As the title suggests, this is a promotional trailer that was shown on England´s Channel 4 TV station. It is really a very stylized take on the show as it features the castaways mournfully dancing around the wreckage of the crashed plane.
"Sneak Peeks"
This segment features trailers of up and coming releases from Buena Vista, including Mel Gibson´s "Apocalypto" and TV shows like "Desperate Housewives".
Phase 3: Conclusion
Finally, Phase 3 features the following 3 segments:
"Lost Connections"
This is an interactive feature that plays out somewhat like "6 degrees of separation". As many of you may know, all the characters on the show may be strangers to one another and may seem unrelated but from the many flashbacks we´ve already seen, their paths do cross at one point or another. This feature lets you connect one character to another by showing you a brief video of how they may have met before the plane crash. It may look confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a pretty neat feature to play around with.
"Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies"
The core nature of "Lost" is its mysterious setting and the weird things that happen to the stranded castaways. Obviously, with such an intriguing premise, many competing theories and conspiracies about what people speculate to be the truth about the show´s big final secret began to emerge in earnest two seasons in. Here, you can watch interviews with both the fans, the cast and also the show´s insiders (no, they do not reveal anything, duh!) as they speculate about what they think would the show´s ultimate gotcha moment.
"Secrets From the Hatch"
The big story for Season 2 was the mysterious underground hatch. This segment goes into how the physical structure of the hatch (like the geodesic dome) was conceived and built. As many of you may already realize, all the equipment in the hatch were based on 70´s technology, which gives us an important clue of how old the hatch is.
Packaging:
"Lost" comes packaged in a 5-panel Digipak case, with 2 DVDs (on partially on top of the other) located on 1 panel and Disc 7 standing alone on the last panel. A thin booklet is included and it contains brief synopsis of all the episodes. The Digipak case is then encased in an attractive plastic cover that really enhances the look of the overall DVD package.
Film Value:
At the very least, "Lost" has morphed into a test of one´s patience, and that is certainly not a good thing for a TV show. The glacial trickle of information concerning the island and its secrets is putting a damper on whatever form of entertainment I could muster from the show. Hopefully, the writers and producers can push the plot forward at a much faster pace before they ultimately lose the faith put on them by the show´s rabid but increasingly impatient fanbase.
You know, maybe the show is itself a psychological experiment, much like what compels the crash survivors to input the numbers into the computer every 108 minutes. In our case, we are compelled to tune in every week in the hopes that we might get another piece of the puzzle.
4 8 15 16 23 42
Oh, for the love of.........
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