Lost: The Complete Second Season

(2005) *** 1/2 Unrated
1056 min. ABC. Cast: Matthew Fox, Naveen Andrews, Harold Perrineau Jr, Maggie Grace, Michelle Rodriguez, Emilie De Ravin.

/content/films/3446/1.jpgLost's first season ended with the characters almost literally opening up a can of worms: a mysterious hatch embedded in the jungle floor of a remote island. Season Two largely revolves around (and largely takes pace within) that hatch. As per the ABC series' custom, much is revealed about the hatch—its history, personnel and apparent purpose—but plenty of new questions are raised. Meanwhile, the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 continue their quest for survival and rescue.

Forty-five days after the crash, the survivors have all but given up hope of external rescue. If they're to be found, they'll have to take action. Exploring the hatch is a bold step, and it's soon apparent that the island's past has been dominated by a group the crash survivors know as "The Others." The Others turn out to be the remnants of a scientific research group called the DHARMA Initiative (initiated by the equally mysterious Hanso Foundation). The hatch contains a wild-eyed DHARMA employee named Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick), who has been tasked with entering a series of numbers at regular intervals into a computer to forestall some undefined devastation. The absurdity of the situation sets off a fresh debate between the faith-based John Locke (the marvelous Terry O'Quinn) and the reason-insistent Jack (Matthew Fox). Adding more mystery: the numbers seem to harbor some kind of significance—possibly mystical—in that Hurley (Jorge Garcia) won the lottery with them. Then again, Hurley has spent time in the looney bin, so who knows?

It's Lost's usual heady blend of character development (again doled out in episode-sharing flashbacks) and sci-fi-laced action-adventure as the conflict between the plane-crash survivors and The Others gradually intensifies.Also adding intrigue is the appearance of heretofore unseen survivors from the tail section of the plane, among them Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), Libby (Cynthia Watros), and Rose's husband Bernard (Sam Anderson). Other new characters include secretive Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); the pseudonymous "Henry Gale" (brilliantly creepy Michael Emerson); and a brawny "Other" named Tom (M.C. Gainey). As in Season One, there's a palpable sense of danger with the realization that death has claimed, can claim, and will claim even a series regular. Lost's redemption songs continue to compel, all the way up to another thrilling cliffhanger finale that doles out mortal terrors and, for some, escape.

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Bluray

Aspect ratios: 1.78:1

Number of discs: 7

Audio: Uncompressed 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1

Street date: 6/16/2009

Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

 

Fans may not believe their eyes when they get a gander at Lost: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray. The previous DVD and HD broadcasts were lovely, but the image here is perfection. Deep blacks, vibrant color, razor-sharp detail and vivid dimensionality make this picture downright stunning. Every bit its equal, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes offer sonic intensity and subtle ambience as needed, while always providing crystal clarity in the dialogue.

The extensive bonus features from the DVD set return here, beginning with five audio commentaries: "Man of Science, Man of Faith" with executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, and Bryan Burk, and executive producer/director Jack Bender; "23rd Psalm" with Lindelof, Cuse, and Burk; Dave with Bender, Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros; "What Kate Did" with director Paul Edwards, director of photography Michael Bonvillain, and Evangeline Lilly; and "The Whole Truth" with writers Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim.

The video-based features (all in standard def) are filed into three Dharma Initiative-themed "phases." Phase 1: Observation kicks off with "Fire + Water: Anatomy of an Episode" (31:46, SD), which traces an episode from its story-"breaking" in the L.A. Writer's Room to its scripting in an L.A. office to Hawaii, where it goes through a pipeline of pre-production meetings and production. Interviewed are Lindelof, supervising producer/writer Edward Kitsis, supervising producer/writer Adam Horowitz, Cuse, production coordinator Steve Cainas, Bender, Monaghan, first assistant director Rich Sickler, production designer Jim Spencer, producer Jean Higgins, costume designer Roland Sanchez, make-up department head Steve LaPorte, Naveen Andrews, Terry O'Quinn, sound mixer David Yaffe, Burk, associate producer Tamara Isaac, post-production assistants Coriedus Brown and David Eisenberg, customer pickup foreman Joe Page, Telecine colorist Peter Ritter, film editor Stephen Semel, colorist Randy Coonfield, and ADR/looping mixer Tony Hugar.

Lost: On Location (1:02:55 with "Play All" option, SD) serves up brief featurettes about the thematic content, character development, and production of selected episodes: "Adrift" (3:17, SD), "Everybody Hates Hugo" (3:46, SD), "Abandoned" (4:36, SD), "The Other 48 Days" (6:13, SD), "Collision" (3:18, SD), "What Kate Did" (5:31, SD), "The 23rd Psalm" (4:22, SD), "The Whole Truth" (5:15, SD), "Dave" (5:44, SD), "S.O.S." (4:47, SD), "Two for the Road" (4:31, SD), "Live Together, Die Alone" (5:08, SD) and "Canine Castaway" (6:24, SD). Participants include sculptor Jim Van Houten, Burk, supervising producer Leonard Dick, director Stephen Williams, Perrineau, Holloway, Horowitz, Kitsis, Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Watros, Michelle Rodriguez, stunt coordinator Michael Vendrell, Andrews, Maggie Grace, Cuse, Lindelof, Sarnoff, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, visual effects producer Kai Bovaird, Brett Cullen, visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank, Bonvillain, Lilly, visual effects producer Kai Bovaird, Spencer, co-executive producer Steven Maeda, horse trainer Wendy Gooding, Holloway, art director Bill Matthews, writer Christina M. Kim, LaPorte, Michael Emerson, 2nd 2nd A.D. Joyce McCarthy, Sam Anderson, director Paul Edwards, visual effects producer Michael Rivero, Sickler, second assistant director Charles "Chip" Touhey, Fox, Higgins, marine coordinator Victor Lozano, dog trainer Kim Stahl, Kelley, and Bender.

"The World According to Sawyer" (4:31, SD) is a nifty look at Sawyer's tendency to insults and nicknames. Holloway, Lilly, Fox, Andrews, Monaghan, Yunjin Kim, supervising producer Jeph Loeb, writer/writers' assistant Dawn Lambertsen Kelly, Rodriguez, supervising producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and Daniel Dae Kim comment, and we also get head-spinning montages of Sawyer's best lines.

Phase 2: Conditioning begins with The Lost Flashbacks, which this time include "Abandoned: The Wake" (1:29, SD), "Abandoned: The New Au Pair" (1:08, SD) and "Lockdown: Locke's Father" (:49, SD).

There's also a set of nineteen "Deleted Scenes" (22:55 with "Play All" option, SD) and a reel of "Lost Bloopers" (4:05, SD).

Last up in this "phase" is a stylish "Channel 4 UK Promo Directed by David LaChapelle" (1:06, SD).

Phase 3: Conclusion begins with "Lost Connections," which explores the idea of "six degrees of separation" with a video intro followed by an interactive architecture that demonstrates the connections in the series through clips.

"Mysteries, Theories and Conspiracies" (10:17, SD) delves into fan reactions and the varying theories as to what the heck is going on on the island. Interviewees include executive producer J.J. Abrams, Dick, fan Clayton Sasaki, Monaghan, fan Fred Holt, Lindelof, Grillo-Marxuach, Kitsis, Cuse, fan and "Lost Rhapsody" creator Robert Montjoy, fan and "The Fuselage" moderator Karri Phillips, fan and radio DJ Mike Sanders, fan and Lost Notebook website creator Mike Hanttula, writer Christina M. Kim, writer/writers' assistant Matt Ragghianti, fan Chelsie Takasaki, Higgins, Burk, Holloway, Rodriguez, Yunjin Kim, Garcia, Lilly, Daniel Dae Kim, and Fox.

Lastly, "Secrets from the Hatch" (15:47, SD) includes a tour of the hatch set and comments from Cuse, Lindelof, Abrams, Burk, Bender, Spencer, Grillo-Marxuach, and Fox.

Review gear:
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer

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