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Updated August 16, 2024: As promisedNetflix has just put the entire series online Lost – the missing. A story that deeply marked viewers in the early 2000s, until its finalbroadcast in 2010 and still very controversial today.
To understand everything about the phenomenon Lostwe must return to its origins: the writing of its “bible”.
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File of April 10, 2023: In jargon, a “bible” is the reference document that allows a producer or a network to get an idea of what a series will be. The creators detail the story, the characters and the visual style, so that the decision-makers can make an informed choice on the validation – or not – of the show, and so that they do not base themselves solely on the script of the first episodes. Let's dive into that of Lost (2004-2010), the greatest mystery machine of its time, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The context
The document is dated May 5, 2004 and is signed by JJ Abrams (who would soon leave to film Mission: Impossible 3 and will leave his place as co-showrunner to Carlton Cuse) and Damon Lindelof. The duo had been entrusted with the writing of Lost by Lloyd Braun, then head of ABC, who had the idea of mixing Alone in the world and reality TV Survivorwith a pinch of Lord of the FliesAbrams' only condition was to add supernatural elements to the series. Which he did not hold back from doing.
A mythology “easy to follow” for a series “accessible”
Fully aware that they are talking to a big network that needs to feed its channel with programs that viewers can zap through without worrying, JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof quickly address the thorny issue: Lost is she “self-contained” (each episode can be watched independently) or serialized (you have to watch all the episodes to hope to understand what is happening on the screen)? In the bible, they obviously swear to work on the first option. Seriously. We promise. “, they write.
” Yes, the mysteries surrounding the island could feed a mythology (easy to follow) but each episode has a beginning, a middle and an end. More importantly, the beginning of the next episode will present a whole new dilemma to solve, which will NOT AT ALL require knowing what happened in the previous one (except for the rare two-part episodes). »
” Yes, the character arcs (romances, alliances, grudges) will continue throughout the season, but the storylines will not. Viewers will be able to start watching the show at any point and figure out what's going on. This is not wishful thinking – we are absolutely committed to this concept. Lost can and will be just as accessible each week as a procedural drama.. » Very funny to read today, when we know to what extent this promise was not kept by the series, which on the contrary asked viewers to invest themselves in the long term. Elsewhere, the duo specifies having ” learned the lesson wellAlias” (the previous series by JJ Abrams), and that there is no question of ” get bogged down ” again in an overly complex mythology.
A ” monster “ more “machine than animal”
Fans of Lost know that the “monster” seen as black smoke in season 1 has a very complex and almost mystical history, which was only really addressed in the final season. At the time of writing the bible, Abrams and Lindelof actually have no idea of its true nature. True to our commitment to providing rational explanations for seemingly strange events [NDLR : encore une fois, il s’agit de rassurer les huiles de ABC]our castaways will make a series of discoveries in the first few episodes that indicate that the ''monster'' may well have been man-made, which offers a variety of possibilities to shed light on its true nature. Perhaps it is the result of experiments carried out by the island's former inhabitants, or simply a small part of an elaborate security system. “In any case, their idea is to make the monster ” almost as scary when he's NOT there ” They also specify that this creature “ could be more of a machine than an animal ” Obviously false.
The island question
” What exactly is the island? “, Lindelof and Abrams pretend to wonder. The question to this question is at the heart of ''mythology'' [NDLR : notons les guillemets]. Unlike X-Fileshowever, this mythology is compartmentalized, not interconnected. To put it another way, the history of our island spans centuries – every time a new person (or people) arrives on its shores, a new story begins. Which opens the door to almost limitless possibilities. » They thus evoke the discovery of a bunker (which could have been built by the Nazis!) and discoveries which prove that the origin of the island is much, much older. The bases of a military complex intended to carry out experiments are also already laid in the Bible. But the showrunners assure that there is no ” ultimate mystery ” to solve. This is both true and false, but the final season of Lost still offered many answers concerning the island and its first (?) inhabitants.
“It's a medical series”
Determined not to alarm the channel's management, Abrams and Lindelof embarked on a contortion exercise to ensure that the series was not categorized as science fiction: ” If we do our job well, we will stay on the edge and we will never be labeled science fiction. “, they write. ” We prefer to talk about an “adventure series” (…) Our mandate is to deal with Lost like a Michael Crichton novel. Every time you introduce a fantasy element, you anchor it in reality. If you do it right, the “paranormal” will always be linked to a logical explanation, to remind the audience that this is the real world. »
This concept will obviously be abandoned very quickly – and so much the better. But the showrunners do not stop there and describe Lost like a mix of medical series (” If someone gets hurt or falls ill, the life-or-death stakes will be as high as in an episode ofEmergency Room”), police series (they take the example of a castaway who gets killed, or the investigation around the trapdoor that leads to the underground building), legal series (” Each episode allows for explosive debates about ethics to erupt, whether it's about the innocence or guilt of one of our characters accused of stealing food, or about how to form a new society. » and drama series (« Let's take the very soap opera elements we have at our disposal and make a fancier version of them. Romance. Camaraderie. Greed. Betrayal. Jealousy. “). And to tell the truth, Lost is indeed a bit of all that, even if selling the series in this way is still a bit of a swindle. They conclude by assuring that Lost “ offers something for everyone – it's a series tailored to appeal to the widest possible audience. Hip. Scary. Funny. Mysterious. Romantic. Cinematic. But most of all, unexpected. “.
The Others are them
The Bible shows that Lost was originally supposed to introduce The Others, the mysterious group that has been living on the island for a long time, quite quickly. Ultimately, their existence would not be confirmed until Season 2. Shannon was originally supposed to come across ” two strange young men ” who are not survivors of the crash, and refuse to let her go. Lindelof and Abrams say this could be the first time a character in the series meets The Others.
” Their origin and number (perhaps they are a whole tribe, we don't know) is a mystery, and all we will say for now is that they are extremely intelligent, aggressive and not at all happy to share ''their'' island with our castaways. »
In an episode that would have come later in the season, Kate was also planned to be kidnapped by The Others.
Ants and cocoons
Among the many ideas that will ultimately be left aside, there is this improbable invasion of ants which “steal” the wild berries found by the castaways. It is not Arachnophobiaants are microscopic “, specify the showrunners, who clearly had in mind that this sudden lack of food pushes Kate to assert herself within the group and to become ” the real leader ” Even stranger, the appearance of unidentified cocoons around the camp. The survivors decided not to open them with a knife (probably to avoid taking any risks), but their discovery launched a lively debate on how to react. And during this time, the cocoons were about to hatch…
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