Pilot Episode, Part 1
The show opens with a well-clad guy sprawled on his back in the middle of the jungle. If we hadn’t known what the premise of this show was, we’d obviously ask “Hey. What are you doing there? On the ground? In your suit? In the jungle???”
Well, it was quite obvious he didn’t have a clue either, judging from the look of bemusement on his face. Mr Suit – whose name we all know is Jack – sprints through the jungle and lands up on an extremely lovely stretch of beach. That’s when he hears the screams, and rounds a corner to see total devastation everywhere.
Some dizzy blonde (Shannon) is screaming, and another guy is walking aimlessly around (Charlie – at this point no doubt wishing he was back in the Shire with some good pipeweed and ale from the Green Dragon). Jack begins his quest to be the hero by immediately rescuing a guy who was trapped under some wreckage, before running off to help a heavily pregnant woman (Claire…who should know better than to travel when she’s almost 8 months pregnant!), and helping a worried Boone revive an unconscious Rose.
Shew! Not bad for a day’s work eh? But his heroism doesn’t stop there. Finding a sewing kit in someone’s luggage, Jack heads for an abandoned part of the beach, where he removes his jacket and shirt to reveal that he’s been hurt pretty bad. Enter a rather lovely woman (Kate), rubbing her wrists. Hmmm. Jack eventually talks her into stitching up his wound and a bond is formed between the two.
Sayid (an Iraqi soldier) enlists Charlie’s help to keep the fire going. As the sun sets, a big guy called Hurley walks around distributing food. Now how cliché is that? - The fat dude is in charge on the food!! But he seems really sweet, giving Claire a double portion. The Korean couple, who don’t speak any English, are talking quietly. Well, mostly Jin is ordering Sun not to leave his side.
They all hear a terrible roar emanating from the jungle. It’s scary! Very scary! And quite rightfully, they all look scared too!
Come morning, Jack decides he needs to find the cockpit of the plane. Kate goes along. As does Charlie. While trekkin into the jungle, Charlie reveals that he played bass for a popular rock band called Drive Shaft. That bit of info doesn’t seem to impress Jack as he hastens them along. Once they find the wreckage of the front of the plane, they crawl up and enter the cockpit. They discover that the pilot is still alive, but hurt. At this point, they discover that Charlie is missing, they find him in the loo, of all places.
The pilot reveals that six hours into the flight, the radio gave up and they turned around to land in Fiji. He also reveals that the plane was 1000 miles off course when it hit a really bad patch of turbulence. He also states that the transceiver wasn’t working. Just when they think things couldn’t possibly get worse, the pilot is yanked through the cockpit window by some unseen creature.
Jack (being the kind of guy who never seems to panic) grabs the transceiver and they all race towards the beach – the thing in hot pursuit. Eventually, it stops raining (oh, did I mention that it seems to rain whenever that...thing seems to be around?) They discover the bloodied body of the pilot high up in a tree…
“Guys, how does something like that happen?” asks Charlie.
And that is the million dollar question! And so ends part one of the Pilot episode.
Geez! What a ride. I must admit that the opening scene of this show hooked me immediately. I had no time to think…it set the tone for the rest of the show – non-stop action!
Charlie looking all lost.
Jack just after reviving Rose
The Bloody remains of the pilot.