LOST – The Complete Second (DVD-Video) + Third
Season [The Unexplored Experience] (Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture:
B-/B+/B- Sound: B-/B+/B- Extras: B+ Episodes: B+/B
LOST is an amazing series with a
premise that has existed since people have been writing books about castaways
in strange lands. The series will pull
you in, chew you up, and spit you out all in one foul swoop. It is hard to believe a series exists that is
so intriguing and gripping as LOST.
LOST is a hard series to describe without
the reader having already seen some of the episodes and understanding most of
the characters. For all of those readers
who have never seen LOST before the
series follows the lives and happenings of a group of castaways on an island
after their plane crashed there some months before. Now in Season
Three and having been on the island for months, many have died for various
reasons, relationships have developed, alliances as well as enemies have been
made, but more than anything it has been discovered the island is not what it
seems. This is a mystical element to the
island that can not be described; beyond the mystical element there is also a
scientific element that is barely explainable.
Overall, the series is a mystery and after watching for Three Seasons,
the people who have never seen the series almost know as much as avid watchers.
Since
J.J. Abrams has not been as involved with LOST
directly since the second season, the show immediately showed signs of decline
no matter what original plotting he did for the whole series, making Two the peak season so far, though for
some the next twists could only somewhat predictable and like Chris Carter’s X-Files where the all-time mystery is
“what happened to the conspiracy plot?” and how it suddenly faded away, Abrams’
absence is felt as soon as the thirds season opens.
At this
point, dealing with all of his other film ventures, the series has been missing
something that these reviewers still can’t put their finger on. The series does not flow quite as well as it
used to and there seems to be a lot more ‘dead air’ in each episode. Without being too critical of one of this
reviewer’s favorite series, the first half of LOST: Season Three is not good at all. The first half of Season Three definitely shows that JJ Abram is missing and that the
writers and directors were at a loss for where to take the series next. The good and silver lining of Season Three, however, is in the second
half; Act Two, for lack of better words, was LOST: Season Three’s crescendo.
It is in the second half of Season
Three that we really begin to see again that nothing as though it seems;
the audience may have thought they had begun to figure out things, but then the
viewer is suddenly cast 10 spaces back to utter confusion. For as much as the series drives you nuts,
you just can’t stop watching.
The good
thing about Season Three on DVD
versus its original airing is that the first episodes are not as painful
because you can flow from one episode to the next. In its original airing there were weeks where
the viewer would get little to no satisfaction from an episode and it seemed a
complete waste of time. Here on DVD the
story arches and episodes overall just flow much, much better.
The
technical features of this 7 disc set are nice and let’s just hope you don’t
get LOST in all of the extra
features.
The picture
is presented in a quality 1.78 X 1 enhanced for 16 X 9 televisions in all
versions, but as seen in the past the picture seems a little soft or may
contain some washed quality on the DVDs.
Even with other issues mentioned the picture’s colors are bright and
fluid; so it seems HD shoot has not held this series back, which is far better
on the Third Season Blu-ray set in
1080p, with limits motion blur and a consistent look overall. The sound on the Blu-ray is a very solid PCM
5.1 throughout the shows, while the DVD versions are again presented in Dolby
Digital 5.1 surrounds with a 2.0 Surround option as well, an option also on the
Blu-ray for older systems. The quality
of the sound is not bad with the quality truly ‘popping’ at the right moments
and giving that epic feel. Though the
surrounds are strong, this reviewer would have still liked a DTS track for this
series on the DVD sets to heighten the experience, where Dolby Digital is
limited.
The
writers and creators of this series realize that fans demand more and more from
this series and they deliver with this box set.
These box sets are jam packed with tons of extras that are sure to set
even the biggest fans’ whistle.
Season Two includes deleted scenes, actor’s
speculations on where the show is going, The
World According To Sawyer featurette, audio commentaries, David
LaChappelle’s U.K. promo spot for the show, interactive ‘LOST Connections’ and even episode-specific featurettes.
Extras
for the Third Season include several
featurettes, deleted scenes, bloopers, Easter Eggs, commentaries some featurettes,
which include one that completely deals with ‘The World of The Others’ and gives a great in-depth look by cast
and producers about a world we as viewers are only starting to understand (be
ready for a few secrets to slip through), a second featurette on the
significance of all the Literary references the series has made, a third
featurette about ‘the making of the series,’ and a final featurette that delves
deep into the ‘life of this ambitious series.’
On top of the great featurettes the set offers fans a chance to see a
bunch of flashbacks that have never been aired before and give a deeper insight
to the workings of some of our favorite characters.
Blu-ray
exclusives on Three include Blu-ray
intro, SeasonPlay allowing you to watch the series so you never loose track on
your Blu-ray player which part of the soap opera you are at, Blu-Prints: The Set of Season 3, the
amusingly dark Orchid Instructional Film
and Access Granted with a bunch of mystery-baiting material to keep fans
involved in the show.
Overall,
there is a ton to explore and discover with these extras; but a word of warning
is to not try to view them all at once or you may get overburdened quickly.
This is a
great series to own on DVD and now Blu-ray; maybe even more so than any other
television series. This is not to say LOST is this (Michael Dougherty’s) reviewers
favorite series, but there is a strong functional aspect to owning this series
on DVD. With LOST you are constantly saying ‘did something just go by the
screen,’ ‘what was that in the background,’ ‘what did that line mean?’ The truth of the matter is that often times
with LOST you have to explore more
and go back and retrace your steps. For
as much as this show is a twisted mental tale it is also a mental game and we
are all in on it together.
For more
on the series, start at the beginning with its First Season at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2822/Lost+-+The+Complete+First+Season
- Michael P Dougherty II and Nicholas Sheffo
