I started watching ABC’s Lost in the fourth season, last year, because my baby’s mother is a big fan and when it’s on, if I’m in the living room, it’s what’s happening. Between the fourth and fifth season, we Netflixed the earlier seasons, and I got all caught up, so now I’m invested and watching the fifth season, waiting for an end to the madness.
Truthfully, I’m not the biggest fan. Like other JJ Abrams projects, I think it’s a really cool idea that suffers from some fundamental writing flaws that can undermine the overall experience. But now I’m invested, and certainly not annoyed enough to stop watching.
Throughout all five seasons, however, the most striking element of the show has been the score. Composed and directed by Michael Giacchino, the music behind the unfolding story really delivers the show’s drama, almost better than the actors do. Impressively, in a time when television music is composed and produced largely by one guy with a MIDI controller and a shitload of software, the score for Lost is created by old-fashioned symphony musicians, real instruments and interesting production techniques. Even more impressively, the score for each episode is knocked out in a mere three hours, with very limited lead time for Giacchino to digest and compose for each new episode. The process lends itself nicely to the visceral nature of the music.
Many thanks to Colin for the heads-up on the video.