Pilot (Lost)

"Pilot"
Lost episodes
A large amount of airplane debris surrounds people on a beach.
Some of Oceanic Flight 815's wreckage
Episode nos.Season 1
Episodes 1 and 2
Directed byJ. J. Abrams
Story by
Teleplay by
Cinematography byLarry Fong
Editing byMary Jo Markey
Production code100
Original air dates
  • September 22, 2004 (2004-09-22) (Part 1)
  • September 29, 2004 (2004-09-29) (Part 2)
Running time83 minutes[1]
Guest appearances
Fredric Lehne as Marshal Mars
Kimberley Joseph as Cindy Chandler
Greg Grunberg as Seth Norris
L. Scott Caldwell as Rose Nadler
Episode chronology
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"Tabula Rasa"
Lost season 1
List of episodes

"Pilot" is the two-part television pilot of the ABC television series Lost, with part 1 premiering on September 22, 2004, and part 2 one week later on September 29. Both parts were directed by J. J. Abrams, who co-wrote the script with series co-creator Damon Lindelof. Jeffrey Lieber, who had been commissioned by ABC to write the first version of the script, earned a story credit. Filmed in Oahu, Hawaii, it was the most expensive pilot episode up to that time, costing between $10 and $14 million, largely due to the expense of purchasing, shipping, and dressing a decommissioned Lockheed 1011 to represent Flight 815's wreckage. Many changes were made during the casting process, including the selected actors, the characters' behaviors and fates.

The pilot introduces the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, who experience a plane crash and end up on a mysterious island. Three of the characters, Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) and Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan), are featured before the crash in flashbacks of their experiences on the plane as it breaks apart in mid-air; this narrative technique would be reused in almost every subsequent episode of the series. The Lost pilot is one of the most critically acclaimed television pilots of all time. Both parts earned high ratings, and the episode would later win many awards and accolades.

  1. ^ "Lost - Netflix". Netflix. Retrieved November 24, 2017.[permanent dead link]