Lost - The Complete First Season

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