Big fan of JJ Abrams, me, and when, during the course of the third season of Alias, I heard the guy was working on a new series, I was, unsurprisingly, interested, but when I heard exactly what it was he was working on, and its concept, well, like everyone else, I was concerned. How could a show like this work on American network television, above all things. As a movie, or a mini-series, or maybe as a thirteen part per year saga on HBO, maybe, but as a series lasting at least twenty two-twenty five episodes a season, no way I thought to myself. Well, I can now eat my words. This is an excellent show, with a lot to recommend and love about it. The show transcends its possible limitations by becoming something more than just a survival/disaster drama, and has instead becoming something more sinister, philosophically deep, and rich with excellent writing and characterization. Like all disaster dramas, there are a number of characters here that you would expect to see in this particular genre, such as a doctor, escaped convict, drug addict, an estranged father and son, an unhappy married couple and so on. That the show makes these characters into three dimensional characters with superb backstories (many of which make up the many flashbacks you see throughout many of the episodes) is a miracle and makes the audience care more deeply that you would think. The show's level of characterization is on a par with shows such as The West Wing, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos and 24.
The show frequently hits the right buttons and many of the story lines and arcs the show has developed over the course of its first season on the air is a joy to behold (at the time of writing this reviewer has only seen the first two episodes of season two on UK television). There is always a threat that the flashbacks could get in the way of the drama on the island, but so far that hasn't happened...yet. Throughout the first season it seems to be a given that with so many regular characters (fourteen in all), backstory is a given, and at times the flashbacks are used to great effect such as in the three part season finale when all the characters get flashbacks, all of them revolving around them preparing to board the fateful flight that will bring them together. Likewise the performances are all superb, even if they are from a somewhat unrealistically photogenic cast (hey, this is American television after all). Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly and the rest all do great jobs, but the real star has to be Terry O'Quinn. A favourite of this reviewer from his gigs with Chris Carter and in previous JJ Abrams hit Alias, he brings a sense of sensitivity, depth and danger all at the same time that makes his performance truly stand out, especially in the second episode past the pilot (Walkabout).
As of the time of writing, the show seems to be going well, even if there is a suspicion amongst many fans and viewers that the writers are making it all up as they go along (their insistence that they are not makes thinks even more suspicious). The many plot strands, character story arcs and paranormal goings on in the show seem to be revolving around each other very well. Whether or not the writers can keep this up for a multiple number of seasons remains to be seen.
The show frequently hits the right buttons and many of the story lines and arcs the show has developed over the course of its first season on the air is a joy to behold (at the time of writing this reviewer has only seen the first two episodes of season two on UK television). There is always a threat that the flashbacks could get in the way of the drama on the island, but so far that hasn't happened...yet. Throughout the first season it seems to be a given that with so many regular characters (fourteen in all), backstory is a given, and at times the flashbacks are used to great effect such as in the three part season finale when all the characters get flashbacks, all of them revolving around them preparing to board the fateful flight that will bring them together. Likewise the performances are all superb, even if they are from a somewhat unrealistically photogenic cast (hey, this is American television after all). Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly and the rest all do great jobs, but the real star has to be Terry O'Quinn. A favourite of this reviewer from his gigs with Chris Carter and in previous JJ Abrams hit Alias, he brings a sense of sensitivity, depth and danger all at the same time that makes his performance truly stand out, especially in the second episode past the pilot (Walkabout).
As of the time of writing, the show seems to be going well, even if there is a suspicion amongst many fans and viewers that the writers are making it all up as they go along (their insistence that they are not makes thinks even more suspicious). The many plot strands, character story arcs and paranormal goings on in the show seem to be revolving around each other very well. Whether or not the writers can keep this up for a multiple number of seasons remains to be seen.