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Lost - The Complete Fourth Season [2008]


RRP: £39.99
Our Price: £30.00 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Anybody whose faith in Lost was beginning to waiver will surely appreciate the fourth season of the show. For this is Lost firing on all cylinders, showing a willingness to answer a few more questions than usual, while not being afraid to deepen elements of the mystery of Ocean 815.

The big new idea for Lost season four, as introduced in the cliffhanger at the end of the previous run, is flash-forwards, where we see some of the characters after they?ve left the island. This freshens the show immensely, and gives the writers some much-needed new meat to chew on. As a result, characters are more convincingly fleshed out, and more fun is had with the narrative in general.

There are still a few of the ailments that have hindered Lost in the past. Whenever Matthew Fox?s Jack takes centre-stage, for instance, it still tends to be an episode to forget, while one or two sub-plots are allowed to meander a little more than they should. Yet it?s a transitionary season, moving the show towards its final two years by beginning to fill in some of the blanks we?ve been lacking. And with a cliffhanger at the end that, once more, has the potential to firmly pull the rug from under your feet, it?s very clear that Lost has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to come. A terrific season of an increasingly bold show. --Simon Brew


We've Gotta Get Outta This Place! A Review of Season Four
Review date: 2008-10-04 Rating: 8 out of 10

The first three seasons of Lost seemed to have marked themselves as a kind of thematic trilogy. The worry presenting viewers and the writers now is how will this show live on for another three years after so much grandstanding storytelling of seasons past? Here in Season Four that fear is quelled to some extent where past, present and now future collide.

Admittedly, the fourth year begins rather disappointingly with a teaser opening that has neither the adrenaline fuelled charge of Season 1's Pilot, nor the dumbfounding revelation of the season 2 hatch opening, nor the slam-bang, jaw dropping Others-intro on display at the start of season 3. Instead "The Beginning and The End" throws us into the future by starting on a cliché and out-of-place car chase that perplexes the mind greatly as to why the writers thought this was ever going to be an adequate way to bring back the series after such an amazing end scene in Season 3's finale. As the first episode back it does feel slightly rushed and uneven (perhaps due to the Hollywood writers strike). However, it quickly recovers from the opening's tonal error and regains its ground once the science vs. faith divide splinters our Losties into two factions. Having been reduced to a fourteen episode season with a very simple story arc stringing it all together it has forced the writers to cut their usual flab and filler nonsense that has weighed this show down since its first season, although there are at least two episodes that seem a lot like the filler we have grown accustomed to chomping down on. "Eggtown" is one such piece of disposable flab that could have been trimmed, and although it fills in the key future information from Kate's fugitive mythology, it still feels like a waste of an episode as not much occurs on island that progresses the story. Then "The Other Woman" sets up a tantalising plot but does not really go anywhere or deliver any surprises, instead it fills in blanks that were already kind of obvious or already filled in from last season. However, these are minor quibbles in what amounts to a generally strong season and some concise, exciting storytelling.

My key problem with the creators decision to show the future is that it kind of deflates the mystery and tension surrounding the series. Just knowing that certain characters get off the island alerts you to the fact that certain things will have to happen to lead to these future events and most of this year spends its time simply connecting the dots, which does not make for any particularly unexpected twists. Instead, the most enjoyable elements come from the characters themselves. Taking the crown of best performance is the magnificent Michael Emerson as the duplicitous Ben. His subtly layered characterization and intensity as an actor has taken us from his initial malignant menace of an uber-mastermind villain right through to the genuine emotional pathos of a tragic anti-hero. I ended up sympathising with his character the most out of everyone this season. Terry O'Quinn returns to the neutered Locke we saw of Season 2, but holds the screen as well as he always has, while Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly continue to work well as the central leads. But it is Emerson's Benjamin and Henry Ian Cusick's Desmond who own most of the episodes they appear in, bringing intense emotional investment to their storylines. "The Constant" is a magnificent example of Lost at its best, providing Desmond with a plotline almost as mind blowing as last year's "Flashes Before Your Eyes." It is overwhelmingly moving come the end giving some much needed heart to a generally mechanical season story arc. We get new faces in the cast too; the best of which belong to Jeremy Davies nervy scientist Daniel Farady who fits perfectly into this Lost-verse from pretty much the moment you see him. Ken Leung takes the mantle as the new Sawyer with relish in the role of the aggressive Miles Straum. But let's not talk about Rebecca Mader's Charlotte Lewis. Something might get broken.

For me this year doesn't truly begin until "Meet Kevin Johnson" where the re-emergence of an old face starts the clock ticking toward a final batch of episodes that pick up the momentum and move like a freight train towards the finale. It is briskly followed by "The Shape of Things to Come" which raises the stakes substantially and helps to deepen our sympathy for Ben. It totally blows apart what we have come to expect from Lost with some neat twists punctuating some complex action sequences that are bigger than anything seen on the show thus far. "Cabin Fever" highlights Locke's background giving greater significance to his character and the show's mythology and packs one hell of a punch line. But the kudos must go to the season finale itself. It was never going to be able to top last year`s "Through the Looking Glass," but it terms of sheer speed, volume and pure adrenaline injected excitement, it can be easily trumped as Lost's finest hour since Season 3's big finish. The best moments come courtesy of a nostalgic Jack vs. Locke debate over destiny, a long-awaited romantic reunion and a final sacrifice for the island by Ben that is both moving and amazing in equal turn. Literally.

As per usual with any Lost season however, certain characters are spectacularly sidelined to the degree where they might as well be extras. Claire and Jin in particular have very little to until the last stretch of episodes and even then they get very few lines to accommodate them while Mira Furlan's Rousseau is horrendously wasted to the extent where it may make certain fans angry and frustrated at her lousy treatment by the writers. Yet the ongoing love quadriangle between Kate-Jack-Sawyer-Juliet continues, even though it is growing incredibly tiresome and burning up way too much screen time these days. Especially when episodes like "The Other Woman" and "Something Nice Back Home," seem to indulge this never ending romantic fuddle. The longer it goes on the more Kate looks like a ho`, Sawyer a dupe, Jack a jealous husband and Juliet the floozy on the side. It really does irritate that potential stories for Claire, Jin or Rousseau could fill the episodes that instead focus on this diverting, bed swapping sub-plot. At least Sayid gets more to do than usual and Hurley becomes a more central figure in the mythology rather than just playing the fat comic relief who occasionally helps blow stuff open or drive over Others with Dharma vans. But I digress.

The best episodes are Sayid's "The Economist," Desmond's "The Constant," Ben's "The Shape of Things to Come," Locke's "Cabin Fever," and the 3 part season finale "There's No Place like Home." Look out for the fan-pleasing Mr. Eko reference towards the end, some familiar faces in the form of a long lost Father and Son, a few dead characters back from the grave to make some disturbing statements, Martin Keamy the mercenary for hire and a whole lot of pulse pounding excitement in the second half of the season. It fills in the blanks, answers a few questions, provides the right pace and suspense to push the narrative forward, but most importantly it perfectly sets up Season 5. Plus, it has a killer final scene.

Lost has come a very long way since Flight 815 crashed over 100 days previous, and you have to marvel at a show that can go from smoke monsters to assassinations to surgeries to ghost cabins to time travel and still be coherent and deliriously entertaining. Yep, it's still the best show on TV, and now yours to own on DVD.

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Reviews


Lost some episodes
Review date: 2008-10-03 Rating: 6 out of 10

How can this be the complete series when season 4 isn't even fully aired yet? Oh wait, it is ... with only 14 episodes! Sorry, but that's a rip off. The show is great, but it is also a lot of hype. And as is seems to be typical with Abraham's stuff, you never get the answers you really want. I thnk most of the people who fanatasize about this show would get a lot from the book "How to keep an idiot waiting... I'll tell you later" by JJ Abrahams.

The Best Is Back
Review date: 2008-09-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

Lost is back and it's bigger and better than ever. Many think that Lost is a series that has lost is purpose, but really it's one of the best storylines ever written for T.V. I highly reccommend that you puchase Lost Series 4.
The series continues right where the third left off and is not to be missed. The forth series was the most anticipated of them all and dose not dissapoint, with action from start to finish.
The DVD feature's help reveal the mysterys of the island and give an unique insight to how the team make the hit that is Lost.
Lost is most definately BACK, and bigger than ever.

Fantastic. Fantastic. Fantastic.
Review date: 2008-09-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

Best show on television without a shadow of a doubt.

Not recommended unless the other seasons have been watched however still extremely entertaining.

Best Season finale in TV history.

Some of the finest acting on any show to date! Most captivating writing.

Quite rightly Award Winning.

Worth every penny!

where do they go from here?
Review date: 2008-09-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

i was seriously disillusioned from series 3, being a diehard lost fan from series 1. I even got sky so i could watch it weekly!! i admit, the finale of series 3 left me (& all my lost friends) with my jaw on the floor. However i was wondering how they would carry it over, with us all now knowing we have another 2 seasons to look forward to before it all ends. I'm pleased to say my faith returned with this season. It really is amazing, the only complaint i have is i, & all my friends guessed who was in the coffin long before it was revealed. It has left it wide open for series 5, i for one cannot wait to see where the producers take it from here. I just hope jack & kate can live happily ever after!!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Evangeline Lilly
Matthew Fox
Dominic Monaghan

Creators:
Evangeline Lilly (Primary Contributor)
Dominic Monaghan (Primary Contributor)

Recording label: Buena Vista
Manufacturer: Buena Vista
EAN: 8717418171919
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 5
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-10-20
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 580 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2008
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Original Language)
Language: Spanish (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)

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