Reviewed by Matthew Highton
Stars Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, Terry O'Quinn, Michael Emerson,
Rebecca Mader, Naveen Andrews, Daniel Dae Kim, Elizabeth Mitchell | Created by JJ Abrams
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £60.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 702 minutes | Directed by Various
There is no doubt Lost has secured its place amongst other cult programmes/shows and as a result has become one of those Marmite shows that you either love or hate. The chances are if you’ve made it to Season 5 then you’re a fan and love it, otherwise like many you lost your interest after Season 2 and instead of jumping ship with the others for some reason you’re sitting on board until the end out of spite or morbid curiosity just to see where it ends up.
I myself am a fan, I’ve done the re-watch and no doubt I will do it again. I wanted to know what was in the shadow of the statue and I even found a way to like Matthew Fox as a protagonist, so on behalf of those other fans I feel confident saying the penultimate season, Season 5 stands strong against the others.
The show has flourished through strong character development coinciding with the mysteries and mythologies that are contained within the show and has always provided continuous compulsive viewing. When LOST announced that Season 6 would be the final season and the episode count dropped after the writer’s strike we knew that finally the creators would have to start moving towards some sort of pinnacle and provide answers to appease the fan theories that have been flying around the internet since conception and perhaps help ease the speculation headaches that have been escalating without an on-screen paracetamol to relieve us since the show aired back in 2004.
Season 5 sets itself against multiple timelines dividing the remaining characters whilst opening up a past insight into the island giving us a good look into the goings on of the DHARMA Initiative, their place on the island and where the hostiles fit into the picture (and that’s hand in hand with exploring the nature of other key players in the show, the survivors themselves and cameos from on-screen favourite Vincent the dog). The result is you feel a sense of urgency as the answers begin to move tantalisingly close but in true LOST fashion just enough out of reach to keep you hooked. As with any show that has been running this long the characters open up further giving the audience more revelations, conflicts and motivations but we also start to grasp how and why the survivors begin to fit into the bigger picture investing ourselves further into the LOST world as it all moves to the an adrenaline packed (and widely discussed) season finale; resulting in any fan swearing with the anticipation, revelations and realisation that they will have to wait until next year to begin to put the final pieces of the jigsaw into place, wishing we could freeze ourselves until it arrives.
Luckily on the way through Season 5 there are enough answers to ensure you don’t feel cheated whilst utilising the old technique that with every LOST answer there is the birth of several more questions to muse over late into the night with other avid watchers. I won’t give any spoilers, I won’t hint to any answers but I will sing praises, confident that fans will not be disappointed rather further elated by the show. And although you will have to relive the frustrations of working on your own theories until the show’s conclusion I assure that this season delivers just as well as its predecessors and is a must watch for any fan. Not to mention watching it in crisp Blu-ray means every rain drop that falls on each leaf is glossy and clear and also a joy.
EXTRAS ***** The extra package is phenomenal, there are hours of bonus features, commentaries and little gems to keep your Season 5 experience continuing long after the credits on the finale roll. Nothing on here feels like it has been placed into the box set purely for padding, all the extras have a depth or enjoyment factor that goes to show the creators of the show really do value the level of following from the fans. Deleted Scenes; Bloopers; Audio Commentaries; LOST on Location (stories form the cast and crew); An Epic Day with Richard Alpert; Making up for LOST time; Mysteries of the Universe: The DHARMA Initiative.