Customer Reviews

Lost: The Complete Collection

5 star:		(248)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

Back in 2004, I saw a commercial for an upcoming show called "Lost" and I thought that there wasn't any way that a show that was just about survivors of a plane crash on an island with a monster would last. Admittedly, I expected a poorly executed piece of television.

But after watching five seasons of the show, I was hooked. And then the final season aired and I was angry. I honestly felt like the show had focused more on character resolution and had barely addressed how its complex mythology fit together.

So I bought this collection and I watched the entire series again, just to see the show in its entirety to see if I could make sense of what the show was intended to be. And after watching 6 seasons all over again, I changed my mind.

I'm not going to say patronizing things about how Lost is so much better than any show and that it's only for intelligent-minded people or that it's only for open-minded people. What I'll say is this:

Lost is a truly unique television show to watch. It's imaginative, surprising, affecting, emotionally-touching, audacious,and it has some of the best characters you'll find. And, yes, it has plenty of mysteries (and also plenty of answers along the way), but in the end, Lost stays true to itself: great characters, compelling stories, but just enough mystery to keep you watching.

I've watched the series a lot since it ended, and every time I watch it, it still has the same sense of surprise and mystery and emotion as it did when I saw it the first time around. And though that might be frustrating to some (and if you feel that way, you're certainly entitled to), I'm glad that Lost never had that part of itself taken away and that it will always retain the characteristics that made me enjoy it.

As for the packaging, it's great! Includes some surprises, some cool collector's items (read the Black Rock diary--you may find a long-awaited answer), and it looks well put together with lots of details that hearken back to moments in the series. The DVD case is a little flimsy and a couple of the episodes in Season 6 have very minor frame jumps (only like in 1 or 2 spots in the whole series), but if you enjoyed Lost the first time around, it's worth buying in my opinion.

Bottom line: Lost is a truly unique experience, one that I'd recommend without hesitation.

Lost: The Complete Collection

Received mine in the mail today. Incredible! There are a few surprises (which I will not spoil). There is one in particular that when you find it you won't be able to help but say to yourself (or to anyone else in the room at the time) "Oh, cool!" I make a humble plea to other reviewers to please, please keep those surprises intact for everyone else (shhhhh!). The island has its way of showing us things we do not expect.

Lost is one of the most profound, rich, and esoteric series to be unleashed on network television since the Twilight Zone. If you are into the deeper questions of existence, existentialism, and the great mystery of good and evil you will not get answers here; but you will get fodder for the questions, and endless material for speculation. I think you have to be willing to leave some things to mystery in order to be satisfied. If you want quick, easy answers, and neat tidy endings - STAY AWAY!

Lost is a journey that does not end with episode 16 of season six. Hey, I've seen every episode and I'm still on the journey. It is the series that will never end - for any of us who let it flow through our veins.

The packaging is fantastic (one of the finest, most creative packages I have seen for complete TV series - and I own a lot of them. This beats my Complete Seinfeld Refrigerator all to hell.). The set is housed inside of a corrugated box inside of another outer display box, so it ships well. The only "flaw" I could find is that 2 or 3 disc in each season had a little glue on the edges. I have seen this in other complete season packages. What I do is pull the stuck discs firmly out of their slot and apply some lighter fluid to a soft cloth. Hold the saturated area of the cloth on the gluey edge for a few seconds, then wipe gently. The glue will slide right off.

Ankh you very much to the creators of Lost, ABC studios, and everyone who had a hand in designing this set. - job well done. It was made to last a lifetime...perhaps many lifetimes.

Contrary to some confused reviewers, all six seasons will be included in this collection. Since the newest season is not yet complete, they can not list a synopsis in the product description. That being said, Lost is the most original and creative television series of all time, and I'm sure this collection will be bursting with easter eggs and plenty of behind the scenes info for die hard fans.
Also, the extra features are A-MAZING! There are so many easter eggs and fun mysteries to discover in the package itself! Really a fabulous Lost set, perfect for any fan of the show. I enjoyed this collection so much, don't miss out on a great piece of television history.

A lot of people are going to debate back and forth about this finale, the final year and whether or not it turns this elaborate performance piece into a show worth it's place in the history of great storytelling or a complete waste of time. Were enough questions answered? Did we find out everything we need to know? Why was Walt so important? Where did the Dharma pallets keep coming from? Who was Libbie's husband and how did he die? Why was she in the mental institution?
Who cares?
Although the mysteries were tantalizing, Lost wasn't merely a show about devises and red herrings. It was about people. The Variables. How they affect us and how they change everything that we thought our life should be. It was about destiny and free will and how the two are not exclusive. It's about how a world is only worth saving if there is love within it. Though the story is told through Jack Shephard's rise, fall and redemption, it is truly a tale of community. And it is only with that community that we are really able to transcend ourselves too an enlightenment none of us could ever know alone. It is only with each other that Jack and Locke become one full man. With each other Sawyer and Juliet are able to lower their armor. Hurley and Ben protect the island. Claire and Kate raise Aaron.
The characters and their enlightenment was the focus of the writers, actors and all involved. That is what made Lost great. That is what made the mysteries so compelling. And that Is why i will often revisit this show. It was a gift.

LOST has been an amazing ride. Never has a show sucked me in quite like Lost. From the opening episode I knew I was hooked and I never looked back. It has the best writers on the planet and they constantly keep you on your toes as you fall in love with this strange world. I can't even start to explain the amount of depth that this show is made up of. Every episode is important as it adds something new to the mythos of the series and to the characters themselves. At its core Lost is all about it's characters. Seldom does the plot get more spotlight then the characters themselves. This leads to some amazing characters that feel like real life human beings instead of fictional creations. They are all given a fair share of the spotlight through flashbacks that tell their story before the island.

Lost was never a show afraid to take risks. None of the characters were ever safe and Lost took no prisoners as main cast members meet the grave with some regularity throughout the series. It also never became stale as the actual narration theme changed every season which kept the series fresh and new every week. I won't elaborate on how the theme changed, but let's just say that every season had a unique focus. The actors all should receive a lot of praise as there is never a moment where they fail to utterly shock you with their brilliance. After all the writing would be nothing without great actors to bring these characters to life, and bring them to life they did.

LOST was not always perfect though. No series is as season five was a rare point where the characters were thrust into the background as the plot itself set the pace. Lost was always best when it told its story through it's characters. The rest of the series is amazing though. Even season five where it is disappointing it still finds ways to impress you with some stellar episodes mixed in.

Lost constantly referenced previous episodes, which I loved. You felt really rewarded for seeing a connection that your family or friends didn't recognize. Also there are a lot of literary referenced throughout the series along with philosophy, mythology and history. It really has a deep framework that it built its story on.

The main argument to the series is the most interesting part of the show. The old science vs religion is a major theme to the series. The main character Jack is a man of science. While another character Locke is a man of faith that believes everything happens for a reason. Seeing these two men argue both points throughout the series is always top notch entertainment. All of the characters evolve greatly from the person they were in the pilot to who they are in the end, but these two have the greatest arcs as both men change to understand each others point in different ways.

Now without giving anything away the series finale was brilliant. Never has a finale finished off a series so perfectly. Yes some of the answers are left to ponder, but that is one thing that makes Lost great. You have to use your brain in order to figure out some of the lesser mysteries, but I assure you there are clues to be found to figure them out. We simply haven't noticed them yet. Lost is a series that has a lot of replay value as you constantly catch pieces of the puzzle that you missed before, and with plots and characters this detailed you won't mind re-watching the series for decades to come.

If you've never seen the series or are just buying it to relive the greatest series of all time I highly recommend the series to fans of serialized dramas. I envy all of you new comers to Lost as you are at the beginning of the adventure. I wish I could relive it for the first time again as it is sorely missed in my life. For the rest of us that have taken the journey already we have to use this set to remember and to let go.

Update: I now have the set and I am blown away. The video quality is amazing and well worth the extra money for the blu ray. The packaging is also cool and filled with secrets of its own. The bonus features look immense and I will update you on the complete running time of the whole set.

Seasons 1,2 5 and 6 have HD audio and are region free. 2 and 3 are region A, have NO HD sound, have a lot of differences in the menus and the picture is darker than the others. That was very disappointing for the what seemed to be the ultimate lost collection.

As it has already been debated in reviews and on forums, I'm not going to comment on Lost as a series, other than to state that I loved it - I'd have to go back to the original Star Trek to name a series that so held my attention. Why would I have bought the complete series on Blu-ray if it hadn't? So, here is my review on the particulars in this collection.

The 1080p image quality on Blu-ray is spectacular, far eclipsing what could be seen either on the original ABC broadcast (even HD broadcast, which was 720p) and the conventional DVD issues. Hitherto unseen details are readily apparent here, starting in the opening minutes of the pilot, where the bamboo forest is dazzlingly clear, as is the riveting post crash sequence. If you don't already have a Blu-ray player, this set is good incentive to get one. From what I can see, there has been no digital noise reduction, so there are instances of grain, especially in darker sequences - but this is not distracting, and adds to the gritty realism of the show. In short, the video quality is far above what is seen on modern series television, and looks more like a big budget movie.

Audio is also superb, with 5.1 mix for English leading the pack. Dialogue is boldly front & center, with plenty of activity in the surround channels. But unlike many 5.1 mixes, the dialogue is never swamped. 5.1 audio is also available for French, European Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese. Latin American Spanish is available in stereo only.

There are over 30 option for subtitles, including, but not limited to, English, Spanish (both European & Latin American), Portuguese, Swedish, Thai, Korean, and a host of others. The subtitles are offered both as dialogue only, or with descriptions for the hearing impaired. Caveat: Not all spoken language and subtitles appear in each episode. Options are inconsistent, which is rather annoying.

Beyond the extras that came with the previous sets (bloopers, behind the scenes featurettes, interviews, all of which are ported over to the complete collection) there are some additional goodies that come with the boxed set. For the most part, these are of the toy/game variety: a map of the island, Senet gameboard with white and black stones for playing, a log entry from the Black Rock, a black-light for viewing some hidden items, and an ankh with a hidden hieroglyphic message from Jacob - the message deals with how to find an additional disc hidden in the box.

Now to the bonus disc: the disc is hidden under the map of the island on the underside of the box top. The easiest way to get to it is to place the box top with the "LOST" side down on a hard surface. While holding that in place, turn the map ¼ turn clockwise, then carefully lift the map off the box top. If you try to simply yank the map off the box top without turning it, you'll damage the tabs that hold the map in place. The bonus disc multiple features and Easter Eggs (Lostpedia has information on how to access the Eggs), including directions for how to play the Senet game.

If you loved Lost, you'll probably want to get this set. It's a true collector's item. If you're unfamiliar with Lost or lukewarm on it, but want to see more, my advice would be to sample episodes from a rental service or your local library before diving into this collection.

My Lost: complete collection took almost two weeks to finally get to my house. It was an agonizing wait but the minute I opened it when it finally got here I knew it was definitely worth the long wait. This is, by far, the coolest box set I have ever seen. The pyramid that holds all the little trinkets is extremely detailed with different raised pictures on each side and the texture is really interesting. The bonus disc was really fun to find, and the features on it were great(I had a lot of fun finding all the little easter eggs). The black light is awesome, there are tons of hidden pictures to search for all over the box and its contents. The senet game looks fun and I plan to play it as soon as I can with my cousin (who is also a Lost-lover). The ankh was pretty cool as well. I thoroughly enjoyed leafing through the episode guide and seeing all the great pics inside it. The black rock journal entry, though the writing was hard to read, was quite enlightening. And I know that some people think that the size of the DVD case is to big and they hate that it is, but I think it's really cool and I personally couldn't care less about the size of the boxes I'm just proud to be the owner of the greatest show on television. I can't wait to start watching Lost again!!!!!

My wife recently said that a woman entering a shopping mall is like a pilot entering the Bermuda Triangle. She might come out eventually or perhaps stay there forever. That's a premise for another enigma series. For me, "Lost" was the most engaging TV series since "The X-Files." Very much like "The X-Files," the first series of "Lost" promised much more than it could ever deliver. If "Lost" had lasted two seasons, what sort of end would the writers have provided us? Startled by the success of the show, the writers weaved complex characters with a complex plot -- thereby keeping the island afloat for seven seasons. The program is to be applauded for its addictive nature. Surpassing all other soap operas, "Lost" pressed the viewer's imagination. That the show fluctuated in style and focus from one season to the next is forgivable. Consistency was not one of its major strengths. From starting out as a kind of Irwin Allen-like catastrophe and survivability premise, the show eventually drifted into the supernatural. This drift wasn't necessarily an improvement upon season one. If I could subtract season seven, I'd give the show a full five stars. However, the seventh season revealed the utter bankruptcy of the writers. Perhaps from the start, no one had a clue how to end such a bold and fatiguing journey. This is how it seems. To resolve the unresolvable, the writers jumped the fence, offering a hollow, fatuously transcendent end to what started off as a mere adventure series. The strange (forced?) interconnectedness of the characters created an additional layer of mystery (and unbelievability). Ultimately, it was the characters and the actors who grew into portraying them is what drew us back to watch every episode. This, far more than the often-times circumlocutious storyline, is what glued the audience to the series. Any accolades must be left at the feet of the superb acting team who created a sense of realism out of a schlocky, banged-together story.

This is definitely one of the most comprehensive complete collections I've seen. Extras are aplenty, picture is crisp and the audio excellent. The package is also sturdy and nice to look at, if a little hard to place anywhere.

Only thing that forces me to give this four stars instead of five is the fact they didn't bother to make the seasons 3 and 4 region-free. So anyone who still can't resist to buy this have to buy those seasons individually and put the discs into this one.