Jennifer Hietpas/MCTWhen Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on a seemingly deserted island in the South Pacific, more than 40 strangers are thrown together in a fight for their life. There is a doctor, a heroine addict, a fugitive from the law, a multi-millionaire, an expecting mother and a con-artist, to name a few.
At the same time across the world, ordinary people are discovering extraordinary abilities. There is a cheerleader in Texas who can regenerate, an artist in New York who can paint the future and an office worker in Tokyo who can bend time and space.
If we can’t live together, we’re going to die alone
The two-hour pilot episode of ABC’s “Lost” in fall 2004 proved this show would not be like any typical stranded-on-a-deserted-island program seen before. A Feb. 26 Newsweek article said, “(The pilot) cost ABC a small fortune – reportedly $12 million – but it proved that network TV could match the scope and storytelling electricity of a feature film.”
“Lost” is now in its third season and fans have seen the stranded passengers, dubbed “Losties,” go through many trials. At first they simply tried to survive on the island by learning to work together. During the last two-and-a-half seasons on the island, the “Losties” have discovered how strange of an island it truly is. They have encountered oddities such as a strange black-smoke monster capable of killing people, a mysterious group of people on the island called “The Others,” a few underground hatches and a man who has been entering a mysterious code into a computer every 108 minutes in order to “save the world.”
“Lost” has many principle characters and often shows flashbacks of their lives before the plane crash dispersed throughout the show.
The show has become very popular. In 2005 it won the Emmy for “Outstanding Drama Series,” and it also won the 2005 Screen Actor’s Guild award for “Best Ensemble Cast.”
Are you on the list?
“Heroes” is “an epic drama that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities,” according to NBC’s Web site. “Heroes” is in its first season, and like “Lost,” it has many principle characters.
Just like in “Lost,” at first it seems the characters aren’t connected. As the show progresses, they are all connected in surprising ways, and a few have even crossed paths in the past.
“Heroes” fan junior Tyler Bartelt said he likes the show because of “the idea of these everyday people discovering their abilities and how they are all interconnected through one another in ways that are revealed with each episode.”
One thing that ties all the heroes together is a list. A geneticist from India made a list that links all the heroes by a unique genetic code they contain. Something else that links them together is a serial killer, who is killing the heroes one by one and stealing their powers.
“Lost” and “Heroes” can be linked together by specific characteristics that create a parallel between the shows.
He walks among us but he is not one of us
When the plane crashed, spinal surgeon Jack Shephard became the somewhat-reluctant leader of the “losties.” In season three of “Lost” Jack is a prisoner of the “Others” and has been forced to live among them even though he does not belong.
Jack can be compared to the “Heroes'” character Peter Petrelli. Peter, too, walks amongst people, but does not belong. His power is the strongest power amongst the heroes. Geneticist Mohinder Suresh, son of the original geneticist, describes Peter as potentially the most powerful one on the infamous list, and says the answers to his questions about this genetic mutation lie in Peter.
Jack and Peter are powerful characters; some may even consider them the “main characters” in these ensemble casts. They both struggle to adapt to the positions thrust upon them and hold a lot of responsibility. Jack and Peter are also both involved in love triangles with other characters from the show.
The Asian Duo
The Asian pair in “Lost” is Koreans Sun and Jin. When Jin, who doesn’t speak English, learned that his wife had secretly learned English in Korea it leads to some tension in their relationship.
The “Heroes” Asian duo hails from Japan and has also had their fair share of relationship problems. Hiro Nakamura and his friend Ando are office workers. One day while sitting in his cubicle, Hiro discovers he could bend the time and space continuum.
Hiro is many fans’ favorite character. Senior Dylan Lidgard thinks there is a reason for this.
“I think he is the connection for most of the fans. (Hiro) would watch the show if he was not on it,” Lidgard said.
Like Sun and Jin, only one of these guys knows English, and the other one slowly begins to learn.
Save the cheerleader, save the world
“Lost” and “Heroes” have something else in common: a cute blonde named Claire.
Claire Littleton arrives on the island as an expecting young mother. Before having her baby Claire is kidnapped, but luckily escapes. After her baby Aaron is born, he is kidnapped as well. Luckily for Claire, she managed to pack cute clothes and lose her baby weight in about one episode.
In “Heroes,” Claire Bennet is a high school cheerleader who discovers she can regenerate. She is indestructible. Claire has also come across her share of hard times, most memorably the time she woke up in a morgue with her chest cut open. Luckily she was able to put herself back together.
Like Claire Littleton, Claire Bennet manages to to maintain her appearance, even if she is covered in blood.
Claire Bennet is popular among fans.
Bartelt is a fan of her good looks. Lidgard likes Claire because of her power.
“Who would not want to regenerate?” Lidgard said.
I just paint what I see
What would an ensemble cast be without a drug-addicted artist?
On “Lost,” Charlie plays bass for a one-hit-wonder band in England, until he ends up on the island. Charlie learns to kick his heroin habit on the island and faces some disapproval from the girl he’s crushing on – Claire Littleton.
One of the “Heroes” characters also happens to be an artist addicted to heroin. After painting some terrible tragedies like a bus bombing and a train derailment, Isaac Mendez learns he can paint the future. His drug addiction also leads to problems with his girlfriend and he eventually sobers up.
The Hot Criminal
When curly-haired Kate Austen, or “Freckles,” is introduced on the island, it would be hard to imagine her as a cold-hearted fugitive from the law.
While she may not be cold-hearted, it is quickly discovered she is running from the law. Before coming to the island, Kate had been involved in a series of crimes, from robberies to killing her stepfather to protect her mother and accidentally getting her childhood sweetheart killed.
Like Kate, Nikki Sanders of “Heroes” has a sweet exterior. However, her genetic variation comes in the form of a deadly alter-ego. Nikki’s other half, the uncontrollable Jessica, has superhuman strength and has murdered multiple people.
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Mystery surrounds both “Lost” and “Heroes.”
“The show continues to raise new questions while answering a few, and that’s what keeps me interested,” freshman Josh Ellingson said of “Lost.”
Ellingson has been watching both “Lost” and “Heroes” from the beginning and likes how all the characters are connected somehow.
He said he likes “Heroes” because of the way it keeps him on edge.
“(It has) great suspense constantly and surprises coming all the time,” he said.
What keeps viewers attracted to “Lost” and “Heroes” is the unpredictability. It is nearly impossible to predict what happens next, not that viewers don’t try.
There are countless “Lost” and “Heroes” Web sites. The Web sites for both shows have message boards where viewers discuss their theories about the shows.
As long as the writers of “Lost” and “Heroes” keep their viewers entertained and continually asking questions, both shows will continue to be successful.
