netflix summaries.

i was feeling nostalgic today, so i started watching the beginning of that confusing but cleverly written show: LOST.

Al comes in halfway through my re-watching of the pilot, part 1.

"i love this show! i want to watch too!" she says and plops herself down on the couch beside me.

the beginning scenes of that show are so emotionally raw (Jack waking up all alone in the jungle and then wandering out onto the beach, finding the huge chunks of plane and wreckage and stumbling to one wounded passenger after another, trying his best to fix them all), that i could literally feel my breath catching in my throat.

how could i have forgotten how completely wonderful this show is?

i tell Al that we actually watched the second episode of the series in one of my film classes (i believe it was my screenplay writing class...) and discussed the merits of the show, of which there were many. my professor had nothing but deliriously good things to say about it, and that's back when it was still on the air. he always got a little quiet when he talked about Lost, mentioning that he felt the show was responsible for a great shift in the quality of network television. and i agree--it's one of those shows that is just fantastically made.

anyway, me and Al watch to the end of the second episode (the one where Charlie dramatically pauses to ask, "Guys, where ARE we?" before the trademark single beat and LOST shows up on the screen). the netflix menu comes back up, and we read the summary for the show:

"After their plane crashes on a deserted island, a diverse group of people must adapt to their new home and contend with the island's enigmatic forces."

Al and i agree that in no way does this summary fully capture the essence of the show.

so i offer my own summary:

"Plane crashes. Awesomeness ensues."

if that wouldn't get a reluctant viewer to try this show out, i don't know what would.