Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

By John J. Joex

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars (after 5 episodes)

(THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS)

Way back when Lost first premiered in the Fall of 2004, I was one of the many who quickly got caught up in the phenomena of this unique, engaging series (see the Axiom’s Edge Flashback of my initial review).  I loved the show, but I also wondered how they could stretch it out beyond a season or two without becoming Gilligan’s Island meets The Twilight Zone.  I thought for sure that if the show even made it to a second season, it would surely fade before progressing to a third or, God forbid, a fourth.  How wrong I was.

Now, going strong as it marches into its fifth season, Lost is still as engaging (if maybe a bit more frustrating) as it was when it first crashed into our screens in 2004.  The creative team behind the scenes has an over-arching story to tell that they have unfolded to the audience piece by piece.  Each season, the show takes unexpected turns and reinvents itself while proving itself bullet-proof (so far at least) to the formula trap.  Oh sure, it has strayed from time to time and given us some superfluous filler episodes, and Season 3 seemed to get a bit off course, but overall Lost has remained rock-solid.

Season 5 kicked off in January with plenty of questions left hanging from the Season 4 finale:  how would the Oceanic 6 adjust back to the real world, did Jin really die on the freighter, oh and by the way, where did the island go?  This season’s premiere quickly got to the task of answering these questions, but in doing so threw a huge wrench into the show’s mythology:  Time Travel.

We find out that Ben’s attempt to “save” the island from the designs of Charles Widmore involved sending it on a temporal journey.  The people on the island (the principals at least) began to bounce around through time after Ben set the gears in motion (literally).  I don’t quite understand why this made the island disappear (see i09’s musings on this and the whole time travle thing), but I assume they will address that at some point.

I can’t say that I was excited to see the time travel element introduced to the series as we have seen this well-worn plot device used and abused across way too many science fiction and fantasy television shows.  We have also seen it practically destroy some very promising shows like Heroes.  Still, I like the way that the Lost creative team has handled time travel so far, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, the Oceanic 6 are having their own troubles as they try to adjust to the normal world while concealing the truth of what happened (which we already had a glimpse of with Season 4’s flash-forwards).  This opens the door for Ben to bring them together and convince them to return to the island on the assertion that their return is the only way to save those they left behind.

As expected, the current season has mysteries on top of mysteries and you never know quite where you stand in the overall story.  But still, it has remained just as engaging as its previous four seasons in my book.  I have to admit that I miss the flash-back/forward sequences as these typically focused episodes into character studies that delved into what drives the show’s stars.  But I also appreciate that the producers want to try new story-telling techniques to keep the show vital.  Still, hopefully they will throw some in from time to time as the show works its way to its planned conclusion in Season 6.

One important thing I have noticed through the five episodes so far is that Jack has really taken a step backwards in prominence among the main characters this season.  While he had been the anchor for the series through much of the first four seasons, now he seems a shadow of his former self (already hinted at in Season 4) as he struggles through his drinking problem and separation from Kate.  In turn, Sawyer and Locke have taken a step forward and both vie for the position as the show’s anchor characters.  I’m sure this is all part of the master plan and this is why Jack so desperately wants to get back to the island.  These twists and turns are what keep the show vital and interesting.

Ratings-wise, the series has continued its trend of year over year viewer attrition.  It has averaged between ten and eleven million viewers so far this season, which is down from the thirteen million it averaged last season.  Still, there is little reason to worry that ABC will pull the plug at this point short of a total ratings collapse.  Lost should be safe through its concluding season in 2010, and I expect that it will go out just as strong as it came in.

Buy Seasons 1-4 of Lost on DVD at the Axiom’s Webstore: