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The Best Show on Network TV I've gotta admit, I'm an HBO person. The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood...Usually, network tv can't compare to the greatness of HBO's programming in my eyes. Cable comes close with Nip/Tuck, but not quite. The past couple of years, especially with all the reality tv and painfully redundant and formulaic "procedural dramas" such as CSI and Law & Order, the only network show that held my attention was J.J. Abrams's Alias. So, when I heard Abrams was developing another high-concept show, I figured it would be worth checking out. And boy, was I glad I did. I love science-fiction when it's done well (Joss Whedon's extremely short-lived Firefly was an example), and Lost is sci-fi at it's best. Why? Because the sci-fi elements never overpower the storytelling and character development. There will be tons of reviews here that give a summary of the show, so I'll skip that. I'll just say why I love it: The Characters: While there are initially 48 survivors on this island, the show chooses 14 of them to focus on. With each episode, largely through flashbacks to their lives before they boarded the ill-fated flight, we learn more about these characters. And over time, the viewer grows strongly attached to each of them. It's always fun knowing things about these people that no one else on the island knows, and it helps us as an audience understand why they act a certain way and do certain things while on the island. The Mystery: Yes, there's an unseen "something" that kills people on this island. There's also a crazy French woman who's been stranded there long before the survivors of Flight 815, and she has mentioned more than once that there are "others." And there do seem to be manifestations and miracles on the island born out of the castaways' minds. And there ARE connections this island had to these people before they were stranded there. For every answer we get, a new question is posed. But what can I say, that's good tv. Needless to say, Lost is full of intrigue, along with agonizing cliffhangers (which is why owning the DVD set will be so great. It'll be hard to just watch one episode without starting a marathon). J.J. is the king of plot-twists (no one predicted who was wearing those handcuffs, or the truth about Locke, for example), which makes Lost constantly unpredictable, shocking, and addictive. This show has something for everyone. It's got action (the 5-episode storyline in which the survivors are terrorized by someone on the island - someone who kidnaps and kills - particularly stands out), horror (the unseen "monster"), romance (not any overly-cheesy WB-type romance, but there are a few budding relationships on the island), comedy (pretty much anything Hurley says or does), and great old-fashioned character drama and development. There's also some truly memorable moments (The peanut butter scene, the "Pee on my foot!" scene, the Kate/Jack hug, a castaway hanged from a tree, the torture of Sawyer, and "the kiss," just to name a few...). It is also full of big themes and great messages, making it intelligent storytelling that works for the viewer on multiple levels. I enjoy Lost more than any other show on television. The only reason I called it the best show on NETWORK TV is because it's only had one season. Time will tell if it can sustain its brilliance as long as The Sopranos and the other great dramas, but it's off to a really amazing start. This DVD set sounds as great as Abrams's Alias DVD's with behind-the-scenes features, his always interesting commentaries, and of course, the highly anticipated gag reel. Standout episodes include the two-part Pilot (one of the most expensive in history), which will hook you immediately, Episode 4 ("Walkabout"), which tells us about the most mysterious character on the island, John Locke, and Episode 18 ("Numbers"), which finally gave one of the most beloved characters, Hurley (played by Jorge Garcia), his due, along with introducing a major new element to the mystery of the island that will probably carry on a major role for seasons to come.