Lost Back to the island : the complete critical companion to the classic TV series

In this spirited commentary, screenwriter St. James (coauthor of Monsters of the Week) and TV critic Murray serve up brief essays on each episode of ABC's Lost (2004--2010). The authors commend the pilot for its fast pace, applaud season four's time-traveling romance "The Constant" for its writing, and credit the season three finale with reinvigorating the show after a shaky run of episodes. Though the overall tone is laudatory, the authors aren't afraid to take the series to task. For instance, they criticize how characters of color were afforded less screen time than their white counterparts and how Kate Austen, the lead female character, was reduced to "chasing two men around the Island" after becoming enmeshed in a love triangle. Some entries are little more than recaps, particularly for filler episodes the authors dismiss as "doldrums," but the best selections feel like lively debates with fellow superfans, as when they mount an enthusiastic defense of the much-maligned season three outing "Exposé" as a "nasty little poison pill of an episode" that allowed the writers to dispose of two characters strongly disliked by viewers in a darkly entertaining way. Discerning and fun, this will delight anyone who's gotten into a heated discussion about the show's many mysteries. Agent: Bonnie Nadell, Hill Nadell Literary. (Sept.)

When Lost hit the airwaves in 2004, it became an immediate sensation. The survivors of Flight 815 found themselves on a decidedly not deserted island replete with mysteries and monsters. Over time, viewers learned more about the characters through innovative flashbacks, which often revealed connections between the survivors and created a compelling, complex mythology. By the show's sixth season finale, flashbacks had become flash-forwards and "flash-sideways" as characters appeared in different timelines and realities. On the one hand, the show rewarded viewers who watched closely and parsed out clues scattered across several seasons. But the show's drift from science to supernatural was divisive, as was adding more characters who pushed fan favorites to the side. St. James and Murray covered Lost for online outlets during its original run. They revisit the series, recapping episodes while taking deeper dives into cornerstone episodes. While they have a critical lens, explicitly calling out missed opportunities for representation, they are definitely fans of the show, and the book often reads as a Lost apologia. VERDICT Lost loyalists will find vindication, but even detractors will be forced to admit that the show's execution wasn't as haphazard as the internet suggests.--Terry Bosky