Monday, March 15, 2010

Top 108 Moments in Lost...

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to what I thought was a fairly poor list of the Top 25 moments in Lost. The top of the list isn't terrible, but some of the inclusions are kinda weird, given all the great moments we've seen.

With that being said, I'm currently compiling a list of the Top 108 moments (scenes) the show has to offer. I've gone through every episode summary on Lostpedia and my tally is up to 99 favorites with ten episodes to go.

The way I'm structuring the list is as follows - the top of the list will be for iconic moments only, the ones you'll think of immediately when thinking back over the series. Shannon translating Danielle's message, Locke and his wheelchair, "We've got to go back," Jacob and Smokey on the beach, Desmond and Penny, etc.

As the list progresses it gets less exclusionary. One of my favorite scenes from Lost is Eko telling Michael a parable as they wipe up Libby's blood in the Swan (starts at the end of the clip, goes right into Part II). Is it one of the absolute best moments from the show? No, but it is probably one of the best character moments the show has to offer. Most of the humorous scenes fall into this category too: Hurley and Ben with the candy bar (and with the burrito), Miles and Hurley talking Star Wars, Jack spiking the football. Great scenes all, but I don't think they belong at the absolute top of the list.

I'm not going to start counting things down until the series ends (since there certainly will be more between now and the end of the season), although I'm starting to write up the ones I do have in the meantime.

My question to y'all is what is your favorite lesser-known scene from Lost? I think most of us can come to consensus on the top of the list, but is there a personal favorite scene you love like Eko parable - something not as momentous, but a great scene nonetheless? Put it in the comments - I'll start counting down shortly after the show ends. :)

18 comments:

Missie said...

I'm in the midst of Season 2 doing a complete rewatch. Knowing how the characters evolve, I think I am catching more "little scenes" alot more this go around. Even in the universally regarded crap episodes, there have been tiny traces of good to great moments.

One's that have stood out from the re-viewing:

*Sawyer getting his glasses
*Watching John step in to protect Aaron because Charlie says he needs to be saved- for me, this has gone from being very cheesy to creepy.
*Jack and Sawyer saying good-bye before the raft launches
*John and Claire making a cradle
*Desmond and Jack running the stadium (I don't know if this is a minor scene or not. It could tip either way...)

Now that I know you're doing this, I'll try to recall when I think "Wow, this was really well done. How did I miss it/forget about it?". :)

Unknown said...

Amazingly, the only one of those I currently have on my list is Jack and Sawyer saying goodbye. Desmond and Jack on the steps is a consideration, but I already have the opening shot of that episode on there and there's a LOT of Desmond in the list too.

Sawyer getting the glasses may bump something else off the final list though - forgot about that one, Locke and the cradle too.

MarkD said...

Not many have jumped out at me, as I haven't really gone back and re-watched much. But I think it is season 2, first episode opening. With Desmond waking up in the hatch and putting the music on, that still stands out to me. Is that the same as the opening shot of the Jack/Desmond running episode that you mentioned?

That was the point for me when I said WTF is going on and couldn't stop watching...

Missie said...

If that boy running around the Island currently does turn out to be Aaron, Locke making the cradle with Claire may turn epic. :) But even without the knowledge of Smokey Locke and Blonde Island child, it is such a well done moment.

Missie said...

Also, I just finsihed the episode that introduces us to Henry Gale. It was just as awesome this go around.

Missie said...

And I'm guessing that the opening shot of Season 2 that Mark refers to is one of the BIG 25, as well it should be.

Unknown said...

Mark - The opening shot of Season 2, with Desmond starting his day in the Hatch, is indeed one of the BIG 25. The Season 2 opening is one of the best directed scenes of the entire show and "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" still gives me goosebumps.

It's also partially why I didn't include Desmond and Jack's "See you in another life, brutha" stadium conversation on the list. Ordinarily I think that scene would make the list easily, but 1) The opener is the more important of the two scenes and 2) the BIG 25 is already a bit Desmond-heavy. Who knows, it may end up on the list a bit later on.

Miss - I was thinking about Claire and Smokey the other day and this sequence of events in particular (after Claire "survived" the explosion in the Barracks):

That night, Claire woke up and noticed Aaron was not by her side. To Claire's surprise, she found her father holding Aaron. The next morning, Sawyer found Claire missing. He eventually found Aaron alone and crying, with no sign of his mother. Aaron's grandfather, speaking on behalf of Jacob would later tell Locke that Aaron was "where he needed to be."

Seems Smokey wanted Aaron off the Island or at least away from Claire. I think that certainly lends credence to the idea that Aaron was the leading candidate to replace Jacob until Kate took him away.

The cradle scene might make the list somewhere - the bottom of the list is very flexible right now. :)

Missie said...

So in the episode when "Henry"is first held prisoner, Locke brings him The Brothers Karmikov to read. "Henry" responds with "You don't have any Stephen King?". Am I remembering correctly that it is a King novel that Juliet picks for book club in the season 3 opener for which Ben berates her? If so, that makes thgis Gale moment all the funnier.

Unknown said...

Yeah, Juliet's favorite book is "Carrie" and, if I remember correctly, the prop used on the show is a very early edition of the book, if not a first edition. :)

mastaiti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mastaiti said...

"Dude you have to try the dipping sauce, it really brings out the ham."

-Dharma Chef Hurley, Awesome

Missie said...

The dipping sauce comment reminds me, too, of when Sawyer tells Hurley the dead tree frog will taste like chicken when it's dipped in ranch dressing. :)

And one of my favorite Sawyer nicknames I missed the first time around- when Michael and Jin have begun to communicate with each other from working on the raft despite the fact that Jin only speaks Korean, Sawyer refers to them as Han and Chewie.

Unknown said...

I think my favorite Sawyer nickname is "The Artist Formerly Known As Henry Gale"

And while I don't have the dipping sauce comment currently on my list, Jack finding out he's a "Work Man" is. :)

Brian O'Blivion said...

I'm honored you would do something so similar to what I did a full five days earlier!

Brian O'Blivion said...

but I ripped off that "mmmm...cake" video from you, so I guess we're even.

Unknown said...

Hah, FT! I certainly didn't mean to step on any toes (although I'm also sure you and I won't be the only ones to make... lists). :)

BTW, I'm almost done with BSG - watched "The Oath" just the other day. Bracing myself for a disappointing ending, but the series is simply incredible so far. :)

Brian O'Blivion said...

No worries...lists will abound...
As far as BSG, I loved the end. It tied together nearly every piece of the mythology that was laid down throughout the series...but if you don't like the meta-spiritual turn Lost has taken, the BSG ending might not be your cup of tea.

Unknown said...

I'm definitely writing up a 100 list of my own after the show's done - and damn it, I wish I'd thought of doing 108!

I think "We have to go back!" is probably the objective greatest moment of Lost, but my personal favourite moment will always be the end of Par Avion. I was marathoning season 3 on DVD after not bothering to watch it when it originally aired, and that was the moment that made me go "Holy shit, now I remember why I loved this show."

Another personal favourite is in season 3, when Sayid confronts Juliet by the creek and basically says he wants to know everything - Others, lists, kidnapping etc. I didn't actually expect the show to give us answers, but after watching Kate wander through the jungle with her and not ask a single goddamn question it was refreshing to see somebody actually display some curiosity.