I was just coming back from an event at Church, when I ran into my friend, Kelly (Paul). We chatted for a minute before she said, "Oh, and Happy Hobbit Day."
"What?" I said.
"Hobbit Day," Kelly said, expecting me to already know.
After a moment, I suddenly realized. "September 22, yes!" I said with glee. "Happy birthday Bilbo and Frodo!"
But then, a strange sensation came over me. I went back, remembering...
WWWOOOOSSHHHH
September 22, 2004. It was a simpler time. I was just starting my sophomore year in high school. The Red Sox were only just in the running for the wild-card race - again. My sister had just started her freshman year at Fairfield. We had just gotten a new couch in the den where our TV is. And there was a hole in the television landscape where Friends and Frasier had been.
Then, at 8 pm, everything changed.
Feel free to watch the whole episode over again. I'll wait. Because it's worth it.
Beautiful, ain't it?
WWWWOOOSSSSHHHHH
Back in the present day, I begin to squeal uncontrollably.
That's right. Happy Lost Day everyone! Five years ago today ABC brought us what is arguably one of the most important shows in the last decade, if not the history of prime-time TV. Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on a strange Island. They were not rescued. They heard a monster. Jack was a doctor with control issues. Kate was a fugitive with a heart of gold. Charlie sang "You all everybody" and gave up drugs. Sawyer was a wise-ass con-man. Hurley was a chill dude except when the numbers were involved. Sayid was an Iraqi tech guy looking for love. Claire was pregnant with possibly a magic child. Jin was Korean and seemed mean to his wife. Sun was the stifled Korean wife who secretly spoke English. Michael was the rash father. Walt was his "special" son. John Locke was the wise bald man who used to be paralyzed. Boone was the do-gooder rich boy. Shannon was his spoiled step-sister. Vincent was the yellow lab. Rose was the spiritual older woman who believed her husband - also on the plane - survived.
What a simpler time it was! The cast aways were concerned about where the water was coming from, what they should do with the fuselage. There were no Others, no distinct knowledge of Smokey. No Dharma, no hatches (at least not the interiors), no buttons to push, no shootings, no Benjamin Linus, no ageless Richard, no time-bending/nose-bleeding, no Freighter invasions, no getting back to the Island, no flashes besides those that when back, no giant statues, and definitely no Jacob.
Though events on Lost have gotten quite complicated, it's still a character-driven show with all the big questions of life and death in this extreme situation. The bigger meanings are the subject of many theorizings — Doc Jensen is my personal favorite, especially his (and Dan Snierson's) Totally Lost videos — but I've never had the head for figuring out that stuff by myself. I just love the complex people that have been created, their interactions with each other, how they have grown and changed, and what they are willing to do in the crazy world that is the Island.*
There's also a lot of fun that happens on the show and because of Lost. Here are my personal favorites:
Charlie's physical comedy when trying not to read the kidnapped Claire's diary. It's so simple, yet sweet, endearing, and still makes me laugh.
"What?" It needs no more explanation. Ben has the best ones. Obvs.
Another compilation that makes my heart very happy, because it's Sawyer-centric. The nicknames are very inventive, which is a credit to the writers, but Josh Holloway's deliveries make them more than just witty, they become sublime. This is seasons 1-3, for seasons 4-5, see here.
My favorite fake video is a classic from season 1, but it still makes me laugh soooo much. "You know what, I'm sensitive to you."
Lost Rhapsody originally came from the first season, with the use of cutouts and Weird Al's version of "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Bohemian Polka." Though the original was great because it was the first, the second's beautiful rotoscoping and spot-on lyrics make it just that little bit better.
That's a heck of a lot of videos (and I could easily add at least 3 more). But I'll just leave this little taste, and let you look around for yourselves. It's the least we can do to celebrate the wonderful contribution to arts and entertainment that Lost will always be.
* Also, Josh Holloway is a great, and greatly attractive, actor. Those gratuitous shirtless scenes make all the bad worth it.
** We cannot forget Hobbit Day as well. Here's a video that addresses both joyous occasions to celebrate this day.
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