how i got LOST: part 1 – pilot

Way back, on September 22nd, 2004, I was at my sister’s apartment getting my hair braided. I don’t know who was in control of the remote control but after flipping through a number of channels, we landed on ABC. Surely something good would be on the Alphabet Network. I really didn’t know. I had started my first year in college at SUNY Purchase and didn’t have time to follow any TV shows. I was only home for a few days just to see a few friends and, well, get my hair done. By the time we settled on what to watch, I think we missed the opening credits or title sequence. Keep in mind, we have no idea what it is we are actually watching, but it looked interesting.

“Looks like another Stephen King movie,” I tell my sister.

“Indubitably,” she replies.

The funny thing is, in retrospect, and watching several behind the scenes features, I was very, very close to being correct. The LOST creators are huge fans and admirers of King and the evidence is in many episodes (sometimes a character or theme can be found reading one of his books). Also, what I thought was a made-for-TV movie was filmed like it was a movie. Those who watched the pilot could agree. The proof is in the details. Never before in TV history had anything like this been done. Okay, that may be a lie… but what is true is that it’s the most expensive pilot in TV history. And that’s what I mean by the details. And just the concept alone of this show is something that I’m pretty sure no one had every witnessed before.

With all that said, I had no idea what I was getting into. But I knew it was something insanely entertaining. And I knew that this movie would have to wrap it up soon, unless part 2 is coming on tomorrow night. You know how Stephen King does with his miniseries. But if there’s only a second part, I could go along for the ride.

WRONG. The movie ended on a mystery. [Dramatic drum beat] LOST.

Some announcer dude comes on telling me to tune in next week, or that I’ve just witnessed the first episode of a new show, or a combination of both. Either way, what was more shocking than the cliffhanger was that this was a TV show, not a TV movie. And being in college, I know I won’t have time to watch this show. I wasn’t about to make appointment time to watch something like this. So, in short, it made me mad. And from that night on, I refused to be bothered with the show. I probably went as far as to say that I hated it.

A couple years later, I tuned in to some random episode in season 3, only recognizing a few characters from the pilot episode I saw. But I had absolutely no idea what was going on. So I spread the word to people that you would be lost if you tuned in randomly, like I did. The actual fans, which I later learned are called Losties, really didn’t care what I or anyone had to say. Just don’t bother them when the show is on. None of this made sense to me at the time. I heard people going nuts about it.

Flash-forward to late winter 2009. My friend and I discuss over the Interwebs about this LOST phenomenon and how curiosity is getting the best of us. We had both heard lots of things from friends, family, magazines, etc. and thought, “Maybe we should give it another chance.” I think my friend had also watched the pilot or at least a few episodes from season 1 and quit. Regardless, using Netflix and Hulu, we decided to climb onboard again realizing we have to go back! [Dramatic drum beat] LOST.