Lost: 24 Edition

January 22, 2010 12:32 PM

The Lost Crash in Real Time (SLYT)

A Lost fan takes the different perspectives of the Flight 815 plane crash by using 24-style split-screen (and digital clock) to put it all together in real time.

posted by azarbayejani (74 comments total)

Saw this yesterday, via Damon's tweet. Really excellent.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:40 PM on January 22, 2010

Using the phrase "Real Time" in relation to Lost is a lost cause. Heh.
posted by Babblesort at 12:41 PM on January 22, 2010 [5 favorites]

Wake me when they do Gilligan's Island
posted by wheelieman at 12:45 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

Can. Not. Wait.
posted by exlotuseater at 12:51 PM on January 22, 2010

One of my gripes about Lost is the use of (what I consider) cheap plot devices, like Desmond's switch. The problem is that the cause-effects are non-local when viewed in a linear fashion. When synced up like this it is much more exciting. Lost has a good narrative and there are times where the non-linearity adds good suspense, but I feel as if they perhaps abuse it way too much.
posted by geoff. at 1:00 PM on January 22, 2010

I don't watch the show, but my interest is piqued. So why did the plane crash?
posted by Pastabagel at 1:00 PM on January 22, 2010 [11 favorites]

"Government models efforts on successful containment of 'The Wire' fans"

Is there anything better than ONN?

...uh, other than Lost, that is?
posted by WolfDaddy at 1:04 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow. Now do the same thing for all 5 seasons. That's a whole lot of split screens.

Come to think of it, that might give me an aneurism. I've changed my mind.

No! I said I changed my mind! I changed my... [BLINDING WHITE FLASH]
posted by him at 1:04 PM on January 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

Neat. (And when did Youtube get new style buttons that actually say things like 480p??)
posted by smackfu at 1:11 PM on January 22, 2010

I don't watch the show, but my interest is piqued. So why did the plane crash?

A wizard did it.
posted by jbickers at 1:15 PM on January 22, 2010 [8 favorites]

So why did the plane crash?

Probably because they don't stay in the air very well after they break in half.
posted by jabberjaw at 1:17 PM on January 22, 2010 [9 favorites]

And, yeah, February is just around the corner so we can get this thing nice and resolved and move on with life

Resolved? LOST?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:25 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

FUCK YES.
posted by dirtdirt at 1:26 PM on January 22, 2010

Ease up there, Frogurt.
posted by steef at 1:27 PM on January 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

God, I ♥ Lost: "Neil, sometimes referred to as "Frogurt," was one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Neil survived on the Island for 101 days before suffering a presumed death from a flaming arrow to the chest. "
posted by smackfu at 1:29 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

So, this is not how the show usually looks, huh?
posted by From Bklyn at 1:31 PM on January 22, 2010

So why did the plane crash?

How much time do you have for an explanation?

Short answer? Did you see that bearded guy in the khaki jumpsuit? He had to keep pressing a button at fixed intervals to prevent a mysterious, yet-to-be-explained, sci-fi, magnetic distortion/explosion. He failed. The event knocked the plane from the sky.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:32 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

What are you gonna do? Beat me with your Jesus stick?
posted by Babblesort at 1:33 PM on January 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

For those of you wondering like me where those extra little clips were from (like Christian talking to Vincent) apparently they are Lost: Missing Pieces, which were originally released as on Verizon but apparently are on the fourth season DVD (disc 6). I'm not really sure how I missed this first time around (me and my SO just watched all the seasons preparing for the new one) but I'm going to watch them RIGHT NOW.
posted by cyphill at 1:35 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Have I been living in another dimension? (puns intended and not)
I have no knowledge of this "Lost" thing.
I have not watched an episode. (No, I am not a "no TV" person)
I was not infected by the "Lost" virus at the right time, and I now have no desire.
I do get hooked on TV shows and series, but not that one.

Should I?
posted by Drasher at 1:36 PM on January 22, 2010

Should I?

*hands you a Dharma Beer and says to get thee to Hulu*
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:40 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

What's your problem, Jumbotron?
posted by Solon and Thanks at 1:41 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Can I read the storyline somewhere so I don't have to watch season 3 and 4?
posted by four panels at 1:41 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

All episodes of Lost are on Netflix right now, streaming in HD, if you have the inclination.
posted by jabberjaw at 1:45 PM on January 22, 2010

I can't believe they kill off Hurley.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:51 PM on January 22, 2010

*hands you a Dharma Beer gallon of ranch dressing and says to get thee to Hulu*

FTFH
posted by dirtdirt at 1:51 PM on January 22, 2010

Actually it's revealed in the finale that the smoke monster is, in fact, a genie.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:54 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow. Lostpedia even has a list of Sawyer's derisive nicknames (with YT video). Ha!
posted by steef at 1:57 PM on January 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

wait, there are Lost fans who are still watching this show in earnest? I mean, I thought everyone watched it for the sheer spectacle of watching yet another Abrams project go off the rails after he leaves. It's like watching a kid with add try to tell you what happened at school.

Abrams: and then... and then then the other kid, not the one I was talking about another kid but this kid was like grrrr, i run this island and the first kid with no hair that remember before when i was like oh hey that kid has no hair and his legs work all of a sudden? yeah so that kid's this other kid's boss thing or something but so anyway he's all like grrrr back and then and then are you listening are you listening are you listening YOU'RE NOT LISTENING okay good so anyway he's like arrr i want to see the big kid and the big kid's like lol no not the kid who runs the island I TOLD YOU YOU'RE NOT LISTENING no the big kid who's like never there.... wait, is that a space ship? ZOOOOOM! I'M KIRK FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION! PEW PEW!
posted by shmegegge at 2:14 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

wait, there are Lost fans who are still watching this show in earnest?

I was until you made fun of me.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:15 PM on January 22, 2010 [12 favorites]

I know I know. I was using it as an opening for my bit about abrams being an add child. I love the show. damn.
posted by shmegegge at 2:19 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

I thought everyone watched it for the sheer spectacle of watching yet another Abrams project go off the rails after he leaves.

S4 and S5 are by far the best seasons of the show. I am pretty sure Abrams didn't have anything to do with either one.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 2:23 PM on January 22, 2010

Wow. I think I lasted about as long into that clip, from a relative standpoint, as I did into the actual series (which was, roughly, 20 minutes into the first episode.) That's consistency!
posted by Thorzdad at 2:27 PM on January 22, 2010

You know, I gave up on the series after watching all of season 2 and 3 and most of 4, but seeing this actually makes me want to go watch all of it again.
posted by flatluigi at 2:36 PM on January 22, 2010

So what's in the envelope? Or is that not known yet?
posted by kisch mokusch at 2:53 PM on January 22, 2010

wait, there are Lost fans who are still watching this show in earnest?

Yup. I and most of my friends watch it because we enjoy it.

Gasp!
posted by Solon and Thanks at 2:58 PM on January 22, 2010

I thought it was going to be a Gilligan's Island mash-up :(
posted by xod at 3:03 PM on January 22, 2010

'Lost' is meta.


That's why we love to hate loving/hating it.
posted by vectr at 3:03 PM on January 22, 2010

So what's in the envelope? Or is that not known yet?

Ben's x-rays, showing his tumor. This was important because Ben had claimed to heal (or get Jacob to heal, whatev) Juliet's sister's cancer. Juliet was all "why can't you heal your own cancer? did you lie about my sister?!"

I don't actually remember most of these ridiculous plot points, but lostapedia helped me out.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:03 PM on January 22, 2010

Cheers. I only ever watch Lost occasionally, and was thoroughly confused by everything.
posted by kisch mokusch at 3:06 PM on January 22, 2010

I knew all of those things were going on at once, but to see them together is pretty cool.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:13 PM on January 22, 2010

This kind of treatment really reminds you that we still never did see the main fuselage land.
posted by muscat at 3:40 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

wheelieman, Kate vs. Juliet was the Ginger vs. MaryAnn of 2009.
posted by grimjeer at 3:51 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you skip anything, skip season 2, and probably 3. It floundered a lot in s2. Once they settled on an end date, they righted the ship, and 4 and 5 are great seasons of TV.

Still, nothing really makes any sense whatsoever. Fun show though.
posted by graventy at 3:57 PM on January 22, 2010

Skip season two up until "One of Them" which introduces Ben Linus, one of the most interesting bastards ever created for television. Season 3 then introduces Juliet Burke one of the most interesting women on the show. Also Season two has Mr. Eko, who I loved, but left before his time.
posted by WolfDaddy at 4:04 PM on January 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

I've watched every episode of the show, and I'm amazed at how many of these details I just plain forgot about.
posted by mikelieman at 4:04 PM on January 22, 2010

I don't watch the show, but my interest is piqued. So why did the plane crash?

I haven't watched any of the show either, but I'm gonna watch the last season. Did the same thing with The Wire.

The video was pretty cool. 10 minutes to catch up on 4 seasons. That's efficiency.

There's probably enough time to watch every episode by Feb. 2 if you start this evening.

Absolutely not. Much faster to read about TV than to watch it.

I don't actually remember most of these ridiculous plot points

Exactly. It sounds like they should have just named the show MacGuffin. Evangeline Lilly is cute though.

Can I read the storyline somewhere so I don't have to watch season 3 and 4?

TV Without Pity
Lost Recaps

I like TVWP cuz it's enjoyably snarky and occasionally erudite.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:11 PM on January 22, 2010

Impressive. I've seen those scenes plenty of times, and yet by 7:00 it was raising goosebumps everywhere. There's something about getting intimate with each person's experience and juxtaposing them that's strikes deeper than the actual show has done. That's some nice fan work when you can go toe-to-toe with the original editors.

Who's the brunette around 8:13-8:17? Has she figured into the plot elsewhere? Seems vaguely familiar, but christ does Lost throw too much shit out there to remember.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 5:06 PM on January 22, 2010

I haven't watched any of the show either, but I'm gonna watch the last season. Did the same thing with The Wire.

Your words, they hurt.
posted by regicide is good for you at 5:18 PM on January 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

Who's the brunette around 8:13-8:17?

That's Goodwin's wife Harper, the Others' shrink. Juliet was having an affair with Goodwin, Harper knew about it, and as much as she was pissed about the affair, she was even more worried that Goodwin was going to elicit the wrath of Ben because of Ben's creepy obsession with Juliet ("You're MINE!" -- the entire season 3 episode The Other Woman is worth it just for that line reading). When Ben sends Goodwin to infiltrate the Tailies' crash, it's clear Ben picked him because of the affair and would be more than happy to see him end up dead. Three weeks later, Juliet asks Ben to bring Goodwin back because Ethan has just been killed and she's afraid the same thing will happen to Goodwin. Ben refuses. Ana Lucia kills Goodwin not long after.

Harper appears to Juliet many weeks later, warning her about the invaders from the freighter, and then vanishes mysteriously.
posted by incessant at 5:30 PM on January 22, 2010 [4 favorites]

Also Season two has Mr. Eko, who I loved, but left before his time.

From Wikipedia: "Akinnuoye-Agbaje [Eko] had asked to be written off Lost, citing a desire to return to London after his parents' recent passing and to direct a film there." I also read that he hated the hot and humid weather in Hawaii.
posted by zardoz at 6:07 PM on January 22, 2010

I only watched a few eppisodes the first season. There's like a suburb on the island? That was actually a huge surprise. I thought the scene was in middle America, or something. I had no idea that was on the island itself.
posted by delmoi at 8:07 PM on January 22, 2010

I only watched a few episodes the first season. There's like a suburb on the island? That was actually a huge surprise. I thought the scene was in middle America, or something. I had no idea that was on the island itself.

That's introduced in the third season opener. It was a pretty powerful opening. Actually, every season has had a cool open and close.
posted by graventy at 8:28 PM on January 22, 2010

Here's my final (for now) word on Lost: It is either the greatest, most ambitious, most incredibly complex thing ever attempted on television, or it is the biggest string of red herrings ever perpetuated.

I'm leaning toward the former (and have for five years now), but we will all know for sure in the coming months. Good times.
posted by jbickers at 8:28 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

entire season 3 episode The Other Woman

Ah, thank you. No wonder she didn't quite register. The only way I could bear to deal with season 3 was on fast forward.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 8:46 PM on January 22, 2010

What's with the footage from 8:30 on? Is that from some sort of a web special or something? That's a strange bit, I do wonder where it comes from.

Also, it's funny how Charlie's footage remains pretty damn stable throughout, whereas everyone else in the mean time is in earthquake land :)
posted by wet-raspberry at 9:26 PM on January 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

jbickers: "Here's my final (for now) word on Lost: It is either the greatest, most ambitious, most incredibly complex thing ever attempted on television, or it is the biggest string of red herrings ever perpetuated.

I'm leaning toward the former (and have for five years now), but we will all know for sure in the coming months. Good times."

Well, really, as long as the answers don't turn out to be "the final five Cylons are obvious" and "space jesus" I will probably be happy.
posted by graventy at 10:14 PM on January 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

He had to keep pressing a button at fixed intervals

Should've used one of these.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:22 PM on January 22, 2010

wet-raspberry, the extra footage comes from the Lost: Missing Pieces mobisodes that cyphill mentioned above. They're little 2 minute clips, some I think from deleted scenes and some made on purpose for in-between seasons (after season 4, I think?).

That one with Vincent is I think the only one that reveals any info that we didn't know before, the rest are little character moments. Fun, but not essential.

I think that 10 minutes really only catches you up to the end of season 3, as such. After they got the end date fixed in place, they've introduced new characters and had some of the old ones actually move forward in their plots!

I'm really excited about this last season, but I'm so afraid it's not going to live up to expectations. If I can find out why they're on the island, what the deal is with those two guys from the season 5 ender, and why Jack's such an arsehole, I'll be pretty happy. If they even give the slightest nod to what the hell was going on with Walt and Libby, I'd be ecstatic, but I'm not really expecting that. I think any unresolved characters from the first two seasons have been thoroughly dropped.
posted by harriet vane at 12:17 AM on January 23, 2010

Wow, such excitement. I had no idea. I lost interest in Lost somewhere in season 4. Got way too confusing.

I still like seeing Saed at the mall and coming across the filming in the neighborhood. Some of my friends are going to be looking for new film work now ... UNLESS ... Lost never ends? Looping the loop?
posted by Surfurrus at 4:12 AM on January 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

How's this for a summary?
posted by From Bklyn at 5:50 AM on January 23, 2010 [6 favorites]

Skip season two up until "One of Them" which introduces Ben Linus

I had lost patience with it in season 2 and quit watching, I guess before Ben showed up... A friend then sort of influenced me into trying it again, and that got me seriously hooked, but by god, if Michael Emerson didn't deserve the Emmy he got.
Not only is his character just fascinating, but the man can deliver a recipe for breakfast cereal and you'd be fucking riveted! I think, despite liking the rest of it (the characters, the world and the unfurling of ideas) without Ben I might not have made it this far.
posted by opsin at 6:56 AM on January 23, 2010 [3 favorites]

If they even give the slightest nod to what the hell was going on with Walt and Libby, I'd be ecstatic, but I'm not really expecting that. I think any unresolved characters from the first two seasons have been thoroughly dropped.

The producers said as much--however, I think both Walt and Libby are supposed to be appearing in Season 6. Or maybe it's Michael, not Walt (given Walt's real-time aging)--but one of them, at least, and definitely Libby.

If the characters are just going to show up in an alternate timeline, though, we still might not get any resolution on the back story.
posted by torticat at 7:22 AM on January 23, 2010

Does the show actually get better after the first couple of episodes? I'm a huge fan of all kinds of miniseries (Mad Men, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Upstairs Downstairs, Shogun, etc). But Lost came across as being very flat and formulaic in its character development and kind of cheesy overall. I want to like it, but I can't bring myself to put in the second disc.
posted by crapmatic at 8:54 AM on January 23, 2010

I haven't watched any of the show either, but I'm gonna watch the last season. Did the same thing with The Wire.

Probably doesn't matter for Lost, but for The Wire? What a crime.
posted by e40 at 9:44 AM on January 23, 2010

How's this for a summary?

that's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

I'm the new leader of the island. I want you to take me to Jacob.
Why?
Because I'm going to kill him.
Oh, ok. He's in that foot over there.
posted by shmegegge at 9:50 AM on January 23, 2010 [2 favorites]

Probably doesn't matter for Lost, but for The Wire? What a crime.

I'm not entirely sure how your going to fully understand or appreciate the last season in a heavily serialised show if you've seen little of the previous seasons.
posted by a. at 3:18 PM on January 23, 2010

And at least The Wire has a semi-reboot each season, introducing sets of new characters that go with the new theme.
posted by smackfu at 4:28 PM on January 23, 2010

by god, if Michael Emerson didn't deserve the Emmy he got.
Not only is his character just fascinating, but the man can deliver a recipe for breakfast cereal and you'd be fucking riveted!

I have a tangent about Michael Emerson and how basically cool he is. A couple years ago, I saw a short one-act play by a young actor named Josh Halloway. It seemed that for the past couple years he'd suddenly started getting all of these casting calls and auditions out of nowhere, but when he turned up at these auditions, the casting agent would always say, "oh.....oh, sorry, we were thinking of someone else." He figured out they were confusing him with LOST cast member Josh Holloway.

So this is what this play was about - how he coped with this claim-jumping on his own name. He also threw in just enough tiny little 'LOST' injokes to make fans of the show happy. And one of the details was this pre-taped "dream sequence" he would show during the play -- a dream he had in which he was on a psychiatrist's couch, discussing how he felt his identity was being stolen by this guy from LOST -- and after a few minutes' discussion with this psychiatrist, he looked up and saw that the psychiatrist had turned into Ben Linus.

And even though this was only for this tiny little show in the East Village, with a tiny budget and only six performances, and even though this kid and his production company had absolutely no connection to anyone connected with LOST whatsoever...Michael Emerson actually did that video sequence.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:26 PM on January 23, 2010 [16 favorites]

That is an awesome story, Empress. Emerson seems to have a really subtle sense of humour.

Now that I think about it, torticat, I'm actually more keen to find out even a little about Libby's story. I'm just going to put Walt's talents in the same category as Miles': just one of those things that happens sometimes. Mind you, I'd love to see a mobisode of Walt using his persuasive powers on his tiny friends at school, after they tease him for being 6ft tall at age 13 :)
posted by harriet vane at 7:18 AM on January 25, 2010

Harriet, I was so blown away I had to find out how he'd pulled it off -- I was reviewing this show for the Fringe Festival at the time, and I probably broke some kind of reviewers' code by coming up to him after the show to ask him questions. But I had to know, and I asked him how he got Michael Emerson. He grinned and said "I just wrote him a letter asking him and sent him the script."

"That was IT?"

"Yep, that was it."

(The link above goes to my review -- it was way fun.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:53 AM on January 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is just the beginning. Mark my words. Within a year of the final episode of Lost airing, some talented spark with too much time on his or her hands is going to edit the entire series into a chronological order, probably in a style similar to this video, and release it as a massive bittorrent download.

I can't wait.
posted by Effigy2000 at 1:04 PM on January 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

A present for the Americans around here: All the episodes of LOST are now up on Hulu.
posted by flatluigi at 3:05 PM on January 28, 2010

'Lost' Season 6 premiere will be shown in Waikiki - on the beach - on Jan 30, 2010, three days before the ABC broadcast.
posted by Surfurrus at 9:03 PM on January 28, 2010