• Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 22, 2004
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Lost is a different genre, one that may infuriate even the loyalists, but there's something impressive and rewarding in its density.
  2. Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    100
    What's great about the series this season is that you can dive deep into its familiar-yet-fresh bubbling stew of physics, ? numerology, and smoke monsters...or you can just skim across its blinding-sun surface, grooving on the thwarted romances, ?the time-shifting nosebleeds, and how great Kate looks in a business power suit and heels.
  3. 100
    This is an epic big-screen adventure done for the small screen--and done in a way that makes most big-screen versions pale in comparison.
  4. Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    80
    Lost nevertheless approaches its twists with what appears to be a greater degree of intellectual rigor than almost anything else on primetime.
  5. 80
    The feverish action is as tantalizing as ever, and so is the script.
  6. When Lost returns Wednesday with a thoroughly entertaining two-hour barnburner, you will want to be there.
  7. The decision to create a Season 6 exit strategy for Lost may turn out to be one of the best things ever to happen to a TV series, restoring a sense of purpose for the show, which had been treading water.
  8. I've seen both of tomorrow's episodes, as well as next week's, and I loved every minute. But I'm also a geek who read Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov growing up.
  9. Reviewed by: Thomas Conner
    75
    As the fifth season opens this week, the time-travel training wheels are coming off--and the path thus far seems blissfully free of the usual stumbling blocks.
  10. 75
    So, two quantum physi cists walk into a bar and one says to the other, "It's 10 p.m. Do you know what time it is?" If you love that joke, or if you even understand that joke, have I got a fifth season for you.
  11. Reviewed by: Micah Towery
    75
    The show's flashback/forward structure has provided an interesting commentary on the relationship between time and narrative, but it also struggles against its 40-minute playing time and the expectations of a weekly network audience.
  12. Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    75
    The season's premiere represents pig-in-the-python storytelling--there's so much to work through, so many details, stories, characters and time dimensions to attend to, that after a while this all starts to feel like a very full meal.
  13. You can either let this annoy you, or you can try to work out the meaning, or you can just enjoy the flow in a noncommittal way that does not preclude your being stimulated, shocked or held in suspense--like a fun-house ride. I am of the third disposition, and have also been of the first.
  14. The episode is a fast-moving two hours that answers enough questions to satisfy fans and raises still more questions in an effort to further the intrigue.
  15. Lost returns Wednesday exactly the way fans like it: utterly, totally, completely incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't know the secret handshake. If you're a fan, however, or if you're willing to really study the one-hour crash catchup course that ABC is airing before the first two new episodes tonight, you'll be rewarded with richly intertwined and well-acted drama.
  16. Reviewed by: Daynah Burnett
    60
    Things chugged along on the island, even if its temporal hiccups were too often reduced to flip dialogue ("When are we?” was the annoying question du jour).
  17. 60
    The truth is, for someone who thinks Lost is wildly overrated, I'm still rallying around it, in part because I think it should gain momentum in its home stretch, in part because I'm curious about how thoroughly the writers will clean up the enormous, unfathomably complicated mess they've made.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 178 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. Absolutely fantastic first season. The premise was unique and fascinating, and the ensemble cast was wonderful. I honestly couldn't believe how good this show was. I was hooked, but then their best writer left after season 1, and they proceeded to make those OTHER seasons. The fact is that the remaining writers never even came close to recapturing the clever storytelling of season 1. The additions to the cast starting in season 2 were all disasters, and from that season onward the writers just seemed to have no solid direction whatsoever for the story. By the end of the series, it established itself as one of the greatest disappointments in television history. Full Review »
  2. LouisM
    10
    The best TV show ever. It is surreal beyond anything ever seen on TV. It is addictive, mythical, engaging, intriguing, fascinating, thrilling, confusing and tense. It has complex character development, beautiful scenery and a story which has completely captured my imagination. Full Review »
  3. 9
    Lost has changed so much since Pilot that one might not recognize it as the same show anymore. I can understand why Sun and Sayid would be so unhappy in the real world without their significant others and want to return to the island, but the reasons given for such a central character as Jack do not fit with his character. He gets plain pathetic for no apparent reason, even before Bentham dies. Kate as a mom might have worked. It did for three years. I think sometimes linear storytelling works better than flashbacks, because when they got to explaining how Bentham died, I just wanted to get on with the narrative, and found the whole episode a waste of time. All things considered, including the mind boggling revelation at the end, I think this was my second favorite season, but still a far cry from a perfect score. Full Review »