Introduction
LOST. Just seeing those four bold letters elicits a reaction. It’s been eleven years since the final episode of the iconic ABC television show aired. Still, there is still regular chatter and theorizing across the internet about what REALLY happened during those six strange, wonderful, and often frustrating seasons. Was it all a dream? Were they dead the whole time? Was Jack Shephard actually just a self-centered narcissistic jerk, or a Jesus-like figure, leading his “flock” into greener pastures?
There have been other shows over the last decade, trying to emulate what LOST was able to accomplish. Shows to fill the void that was left after the final episode aired back in May 2010. Some were successful – for a time. Heroes ran for four seasons on NBC at the height of LOST-mania but fizzled out by 2010. The 100, ran for 7 seasons on the CW and Netflix, replete with plot twists and cliffhanger endings. Paying homage to LOST. Still, none of these shows, good or bad, delivered the kind of ratings that LOST delivered.
Certainly, none of the other shows generated the kind of “buzz” that LOST generated. An entire movement, spearheaded by the rapidly advancing internet, was born. Its purpose is to break down, theorize, and analyze every aspect of the show. To solve its riddles and puzzles. This two-part series will look at the riddle makers, and how this iconic show became one of the most divisive and compelling shows in television history. A show where to this day, the debate still rages on.
Beginnings
To better understand how LOST became such a critical and commercial success so quickly, one must first look at how the show was first conceived. It is at this early point in its genesis that things begin to go off the rails fairly quickly.
Back in 2001 Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment, was watching a reality TV show that Conan O’Brien produced called “Lost.” While Conan’s show was quickly canceled, the title had stuck in Braun’s head. A few years later in Hawaii, with his family, Braun stumbles across the 2000 Tom Hanks film Cast Away. Braun thought to himself at the moment:
“Boy, I wish I could figure out how to do a show like that.”
In essence, LOST came to be, not from a writer. Rather, it came from the mind of a network executive on vacation in Hawaii with his family. The original writer on the quickly greenlit project at ABC was fired and the replacement writers were rushed throughout the entire process because of this. Braun himself was soon fired after having greenlit not only “LOST,” but “Desperate Housewives” as well.
Both shows went on to become network megahits. Braun, ironically enough, will forever have a place in the LOST lexicon as he is the smooth monotone voice that you hear at the beginning of every episode, stating “Previously…on ‘Lost.’” Braun goes into detail in the clip below on the evolution and beginnings of LOST:
JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof
Jeff Lieber had created the original concept and draft script for LOST, which Braun summarily rejected. Titled “Nowhere,” Lieber’s script was much darker on an emotional level. Focusing on two brothers and the building of a new world order after a plane crash. Braun hated it and was convinced that only JJ Abrams could save his dream project.
Abrams was a hot commodity at ABC, as the creator and showrunner of the popular show Alias. The espionage/sci-fi thriller show premiered in 2001 and was one of the few bright spots for the rapidly slumping network. While initially hesitant, Abrams agreed on two conditions. First, he could add a supernatural element to the series. Second, he wanted a partner to share the writing and responsibility with.
Damon Lindelof (Crossing Jordan) had never wanted to write for an unknown and strange show that hadn’t even been officially picked up yet. Lindelof was already an established TV writer when he agreed to meet with Abrams. The writer’s sole goal was to get a job writing on Alias. ABC executive Heather Kadin arranged for the two to meet in January 2004. Kadin told Lindelof:
“The bad news is…it’s this ridiculous show idea about a plane that crashes on an island and everyone here doesn’t think anything is ever gonna happen with it…you meet with JJ, this pilot goes nowhere, but then you get a job on ‘Alias’!”
The Pitch
Lindelof wasn’t expecting anything to come of the LOST meeting, but he still came prepared and loaded with ideas. This included nonlinear storytelling and flashbacks. However, Lindelof was concerned that a show taking place on a deserted island would eventually frustrate audiences. Lindelof stated:
“The biggest issue with a desert island show was the audience is going to get very frustrated that the characters were not getting off the island…My solution was, hey, let’s get off the island every week. And the way we’re going to do that is we’re going to do these flashbacks. We’ll do one character at a time and there’s going to be like 70 characters on the show, so we’ll go really, really slow, and each one will basically say, here’s who they were before the crash and it’ll dramatize something that’s happening on the island and it will also make the show very character-centric.”
Abrams liked the idea and also suggested there be a “hatch” on the island. He also suggested the cast spend the entire first season trying to open it. Abrams wanted to see unknown people already living mysteriously on the island. They were to be referred to as “Others.” Lindelof has stated publicly that the idea to tell the story out of chronological order was derived from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
Lindelof saw the promise in LOST and quickly gave up his desire to write on Alias. He and Abrams wrote an outline, which Braun picked up and greenlit. It should be noted that Alias and LOST share the same television “universe,” as there is a Season 4 episode of Alias that takes place at LAX. You can clearly hear an announcement for “Oceanic Flight 815 non-stop to Sydney.”
Picked Up
Lindelof now found himself having to bear the responsibility of being a showrunner. He was overwhelmed and has stated before that he repeatedly decided, or tried, to quit. Halfway through the first season, Lindelof convinced Carlton Cuse, his boss on CBS’s Nash Bridges, to join him in helping to run and develop the show.
When LOST was picked up, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof wanted to tell a long and epic tale, replete with mythology. The ABC executives objected, wanting each episode to be “self-contained.” Lindelof and Abrams agreed to follow this structure and stated that each episode would be a “stand-alone” (not requiring information from past episodes to be understood). Of course, what they created was the exact opposite.
Contrary to what many people think, J.J. Abrams never had that much to do with LOST after the two-part pilot episode. The director would leave halfway through the production of Season One to direct Mission: Impossible III. Abrams would return only to write the Season Three premiere, “A Tale of Two Cities.”
While the bones of Lieber’s original script remained in Lindelof and Abrams’s rewrite, they were essentially rebuilding LOST from the ground up. In the Pilot episode, Lieber’s Australian male fugitive in chains became Kate. A nurse was rewritten as Jack, a spinal surgeon. The two were also writing it and casting it simultaneously. As per April Webster, the casting director:
“God only knows how it all worked out, because it was chaos. They were adding in characters and changing others all the time. Hurley was originally a 50 year-old redneck NRA guy. He ended up being played by Jorge because JJ had seen him the night before on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ playing a drug dealer.”
Casting
LOST is one of the most character-driven shows in television history. It’s not an understatement to say that there are more than 35 “central” characters that all played a crucial role in driving the narrative of the series forward. With that said, there are numerous casting “what-ifs” and sliding doors moments that happened with regards to casting this iconic show.
Jorge Garcia played Hurley, one of the show’s most central and important characters. Garcia remembered reading an early breakdown of the character in which he was referred to as a “redshirt.” Garcia was told this was a Star Trek reference, and he was going to die in the pilot episode. Jon Hamm came in to read for the main character of Jack Sheppard. This was before Mad Men. Matthew Fox, who was eventually cast as Jack recalls:
“I got cast ten days before we started shooting, Usually I read things before I go into meetings. But there was no script. When I did finally get to look at something, JJ put me in a room and proceeded to open the door every 20 minutes, saying, “What do you think? What do you think?” I said, “You gotta let me finish!” But I was blown away, from the first page. The image of a guy waking up in a bamboo forest, wearing a suit, was incredibly intriguing.”
Plucked From Obscurity
Evangeline Lilly was plucked from obscurity to play Kate, another one of the show’s main characters. She was cast at the 11th hour and hadn’t done anything else relevant besides a commercial. Josh Holloway, who played fan-favorite and resident hunk James “Sawyer” Ford, was just about to quit acting when he got called in. Holloway would later reflect:
“I had recently tested for Passions, the worst soap opera ever, which had a dwarf, a monkey, a witch, everything you can think of, and I couldn’t even get on that. They said, “Sorry, you have bad hair.” I had just got my real-estate license in the mail four days before. Lost saved me.”
Michael Keaton
Abrams had convinced Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton to play Jack Shephard. Keaton was intrigued by the script and was set to take the part. However, originally, Jack’s character was to be killed off by the end of the first part of the two-part series premiere. When Jack Sheppard was expanded to become the central character of the series, Keaton dropped out as he didn’t want to commit long-term.
Along with Evangeline Lilly, actress Yunjin Kim had auditioned for the character of Kate. While Lindelof didn’t feel Kim was right for the Kate role, he was so impressed with her, that he wrote the character of Sun Kwon, specifically for her. Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) also auditioned for the role of Kate.
A Short Fuse
While Holloway was eventually cast as James “Sawyer” Ford, Jorge Garcia, Matthew Fox, and Dominic Monaghan had all auditioned for the role. Sawyer had originally been written a “suit-wearing city con man.” It wasn’t until Holloway had lost his temper and kicked a chair during his audition that Lindelof and Abrams rewrote the character to better fit Holloway’s natural southern charm, as well as his short fuse.
It seems that Lindelof and Abrams were flexible when it came to fleshing out the characters to suit the skills of the actors auditioning for them. Sometimes even creating new characters, just because they like the actor. The central character of Sayid was created for Naveen Andrews, as Lindelof was a fan of his work.
The characters of Michael (portrayed by Harold Perrineau) and the iconic John Locke (portrayed by Terry O’Quinn) were written specifically for those actors. The producers liked Monaghan’s audition so much, that they changed the character of Charlie, originally written as an “over-the-hill former rock star” to fit Monaghan’s youthful personality.
All Systems Go
With a diverse cast in place, and around $14 million dollars to spend, it was time for the cast and crew to head for the soundstages of Los Angeles, as well as the island of Oahu. Specifically, Mokulē’ia Beach. This would be where television history would be made on March 11, 2004. No one in the cast or crew of LOST knew if this wild ride would be a hit or an unmitigated disaster. They just knew that it would be BIG. Abrams noted:
“I got a call from the head of ABC, telling me to make sure we shot an ending, so they could air it as a movie when it didn’t get picked up to series. I remember saying, “If you tell me how to end it, I’ll shoot it!” They never responded.”
Next week we’ll present part two of this two-part series examining LOST, how it got made, and its iconic Pilot episode. We’ll also break down the show’s often-discussed mythology, as well as its cult following, which still remains today. Finally, we’ll look at the impact the show has had on the television landscape, and get into that controversial final episode.
