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『デスパレートな妻たち』と並んで、『Lost』は2004年秋の2大ヒット番組の仲間入りを果たした。アクション、サスペンスにSF的な隠し味が加わったストーリーは、スリリングなパイロット版で開幕。オーストラリアからロサンゼルスに向かうジェット旅客機が墜落し、48人の生存者が得体の知れぬ島に取り残される。その島には文明の影すらなく、救助隊など望むべくもなかった…。こう書くと、『ギリガン君 SOS』プラス『サバイバー』といった印象を受けるかもしれないが、『Lost』はひと味もふた味も違った番組だ。視聴者は毎週水曜の夜になると決まって『Lost』に釘付けになり、今後の予想をウェブサイトに書き込みながら週の残りを過ごしたのである。それは、見る者を引き付けるいくつかの趣向(それに、もちろん美人女優たちの出演)が用意されていたからだろう。第1に、レギュラー陣だけで14人という大所帯のアンサンブル・キャスト。各エピソードで、めいめいのバックグラウンドの一部が明かされていく。登場するのは、医者、イラク人兵士、落ち目のロック・スター、法の裁きからの逃亡者、自己中心的な若い娘とその兄、宝くじに当たった人、父と息子、韓国人の夫婦、妊娠中の女性といった人たちだ。第2に、答えなき疑問が次から次へと出てくること。ジャングルに潜む謎の生物の正体は? なぜ島にシロクマやイノシシがいるのか? 島のどこかから16年間もフランス語のSOSメッセージを送信し続けている女性の目的とは? なぜ途方もない願望が実現しそうに思えるのか? 彼らがいるのは本当に島なのか、それともどこか別の場所なのか? 繰り返し出てくる一連の数字の意味は? ケイトは悪い男に引かれる性分を捨てて、ジャックと結ばれるのか?
『Lost』の第1シーズンには、いくつかの細かい問題点がある。何週間も未解決のままのプロットがあるし、「なんだ、実際の出来事じゃなかったのか」というオチが多すぎるのだ。しかし、強力な脚本と実力派キャストのお陰で、キー局のテレビ・ドラマの水準を上回る骨太な内容がキープされた。番組スタート当時にもっとも有名だった出演者は、ピーター・ジャクソン監督の『ロード・オブ・ザ・リング』シリーズにホビットのメリー役で出演したばかりのドミニク・モナハンだろう。ほかのキャストは無名か、「どこで見た顔だっけ」という感じのバイ・プレイヤーたち。主役に一番近い役柄のマシュー・フォックスとエヴァンジェリン・リリーも、その点は例外ではない。ほかに目を引く俳優としては、ナヴィーン・アンドリュース、テリー・オクィン(陰謀モノの番組でいい味を発揮してきた人)、ジョシュ・ホロウェイ、ホルゲ・ガルシア、キム・ユンジン、マギー・グレイス、エミリー・デ・レイビンがいる。彼らキャストの結束ぶりは大したものだ。共同クリエイターを務めるのは、『エイリアス』のJ.J. エイブラムス。第1シーズンの後、『Lost』は数多くの答えなき疑問を第2シーズンへと持ち越し、引き続き視聴者を釘付けにした。(David Horiuchi, Amazon.com)
Amazon.com
Along with
Desperate Housewives,
Lost was one of the two breakout shows in the fall of 2004. Mixing suspense and action with a sci-fi twist, it began with a thrilling pilot episode in which a jetliner traveling from Australia to Los Angeles crashes, leaving 48 survivors on an unidentified island with no sign of civilization or hope of imminent rescue. That may sound like
Gilligan's Island meets
Survivor, but
Lost kept viewers tuning in every Wednesday night--and spending the rest of the week speculating on Web sites--with some irresistible hooks (not to mention the beautiful women). First, there's a huge ensemble cast of no fewer than 14 regular characters, and each episode fills in some of the back story on one of them. There's a doctor; an Iraqi soldier; a has-been rock star; a fugitive from justice; a self-absorbed young woman and her brother; a lottery winner; a father and son; a Korean couple; a pregnant woman; and others. Second, there's a host of unanswered questions: What is the mysterious beast that lurks in the jungle? Why do polar bears and wild boars live there? Why has a woman been transmitting an SOS message in French from somewhere on the island for the last 16 years? Why do impossible wishes seem to come true? Are they really on a physical island, or somewhere else? What is the significance of the recurring set of numbers? And will Kate ever give up her bad-boy fixation and hook up with Jack?
Lost did have some hiccups during the first season. Some plot threads were left dangling for weeks, and the "oh, it didn't really happen" card was played too often. But the strong writing and topnotch cast kept the show a cut above most network TV. The best-known actor at the time of the show's debut was Dominic Monaghan, fresh off his stint as Merry the Hobbit in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. The rest of the cast is either unknowns or "where I have I seen that face before" supporting players, including Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, who are the closest thing to leads. Other standouts include Naveen Andrews, Terry O'Quinn (who's made a nice career out of conspiracy-themed TV shows), Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Maggie Grace, and Emilie de Ravin, but there's really not a weak link in the cast. Co-created by J.J. Abrams (Alias), Lost left enough unanswered questions after its first season to keep viewers riveted for a second season. --David Horiuchi
Where Have I Seen These Castaways? (click images to find out)
 Locke (Terry O'Quinn) |
Sawyer (Josh Holloway) |
 Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) |
 Boone (Ian Somerhalder) |
 Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) |
 Michael (Harold Perrineau) |
Sayid (Naveen Andrews) |
 Jack (Matthew Fox) |
 Hurley (Jorge Garcia) |
 Kate (Evangeline Lilly) |
Claire (Emilie de Ravin) |
 Sun (Yunjin Kim) |
 Shannon (Maggie Grace) |
 Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) |
Stills from Lost (click for larger image)
 Sawyer in action |
Claire and Charlie |
 Jin and Michael |
 Brawl |
 Shannon |
 Claire and Hurley |
DVD features
Even if you saw every episode of Lost on TV--or perhaps especially if you saw every episode--the DVD set is a must-own. The episodes are presented in widescreen format, just as they were broadcast on high-definition channels. (Conventional ABC-TV broadcasts were reduced to 1.33 full-screen format.) Four of the episodes have commentary tracks by the producing team and the actors who were featured on certain episodes (Terry O'Quinn, Dominic Monaghan, and Maggie Grace and Ian Sommerhalder). The last disc has over three hours of bonus material sensibly broken into three categories. "Departure" discusses the initial creation of the series, the making of the pilot, and the cast (some characters were created to fit the actors, and Evangeline Lilly's Kate was the hardest to cast). It also includes the cast's audition tapes and photographs by Matthew Fox. "Tales from the Island" provides background material on seven of the episodes plus the boars used in filming, Jimmy Kimmel's appearance on the set, and the genesis of the Driveshaft song ("You all everybody..."). Finally, "Lost Revealed" includes two scenes cut from the season finale, 13 other deleted scenes (not identified by episode, unfortunately), a blooper reel, and the cast and crew's giddy appearance at the Museum of Television & Radio. --David Horiuchi