Coffee.  Cigarettes.  Pringles.  Crack Cocaine.  Online Porn. Popping Bubblewrap.  Go and ahead and peruse the above list, then pencil in the ABC hit drama that takes place on a island full of mystery, mayhem and mirth where 48 people were stranded from the crash of Oceanic Flight 815.  It’s that addicting.  As far as I know, there are no clinics set up for total and complete recovery of constantly singing “You all everybody” over and over again, but they could be popping up as frequently as Starbucks.  Of course, what am I saying?  I’m in a time warp.  It’s as if I’m describing 2004, the first year the show aired.  It was so freaking popular when it first debuted, of course, now, two and half seasons in, and many, many, many characters and questions later, excitement has waned, so I want to talk about the first season (mainly because I recently purchased the DVD set and watched it in it’s entirety) and because it’s so damn enthralling.  I’m going to try and keep this article spoiler free, but just in case I slip, here it is:
SPOILER WARNING!
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s identify the main characters that were the stars of the first season and why people love them so.

Dr. Jack Shepard- Matthew Fox

 Matthew, or “Foxy” as referred to by everyone on the DVD behind the scenes, has been best known as his role on Party of Five, but here in Lost, he gets the chance to shine as the very noble, yet uncomfortable Jack Shepard.  From the very beginning of the show, Jack unknowingly and disagreeably puts himself into a leadership role, arranging rescue efforts all over the island at the sight of the crash.  His demeanor is stern, hardly ever smiling, but always doing what’s best for the rest of the survivors.

Special Skills: well, for one, he’s a doctor, but not just a doctor, a spinal surgeon.  He pretty much is a one man show as far as the healing department on the island, but he also has an instinctual leadership quality and unselfish devotion to helping people.  He also has the key to the guns for most of the first season.

Kate- Evangeline Lilly

  Evangeline Lilly was a student at British Columbia University in Canada, studying acting, while being an extra and being extremely satisfied with it.  Then, after her agent pressed her to try out for TV roles, she landed her part on “Lost,” one of the only ones she auditioned for.  She plays Kate, who like Evangeline, is a HOTTIE!(God, can’t believe I just used that word.)  Kate is a convict, on the run from the law, and her laundry list of crimes is too long to read off here, but let’s just say she’s more than a pretty face.  She’s got a mean attitude to go along with it.

Special Skills:  She’s a master deceiver, a decent tracker, a well traveled explorer and looks damn tasty in a bathing suit.  She’s not just tough, but she’s got a big heart, even though she mostly conceals it.

Sawyer (James  )- Josh Holloway

 “Lost” is also the first big role for Josh, only doing small TV spots during his career.  Sawyer is the definition of cool, a con man in the real world.  On the island, he’s everyone’s favorite guy to hate.  He feeds off of his exclusion from the rest of the group and loves to antagonize anyone that comes in his path.  He’s also been in the most fights with everyone on the island, not to mention his healthy obsession with Kate.

Special Skills:  Sawyer is like the Wal-Mart of the island: he scavenged so many supplies and luggage off the remnants of the plane, he is the guy to go to when you want something.  And his prices aren’t cheap; they may cost a kiss, or a ticket off the island, or maybe just some personal amusement for himself.

Charlie- Dominic Monaghan

Dominic, as we all know, was the merry little hobbit Pippin in the massive, multi-gazillion dollar franchise known as “the Lord of the Rings.”  This was his first job since and he proved that he is a savvy little bugger, picking a juicy role on the island.  Charlie is the bass man for the one hit wonders Driveshaft, who picked up a little thing we rockstars like to call “the powder we snort before we go binge drinking and bang three hot chicks at one time.”  Of course, Charlie has gotten to that  “everything sucks and I sweat a lot, and need a hit to get through the next five minutes” stage.  And he has his eyes on Claire.

Special Skills:  Charlie is a good travel companion and has a lot of passion.  He looks after Aaron, Claire’s son, with a fervor and also has the hots for her.  He’s a warm person, hardly ever losing his cool and volunteers to help anyone he can.  He does save Jack’s life at one point.

John Locke- Terry O’Quinn

 Terry “Stepfather” O’Quinn, star of that creepy horror series in the late 80’s, also found a home on “Alias.” (never watched it.)  But, now, he sinks his teeth into the mysterious John Locke.  Quiet and reserved at first, he quickly showed his true colors when he unveiled his box of knives that he smuggled on the plane.  Locke seems to be the mysterious link between the island and it’s new found inhabitants.

Special Skills:  He’s the resident boar hunter, providing food for the people of the island, but more importantly, he believes in the power of the island, through his own miracle.  He helps several others on their path to redemption, almost making him what the Native Americans call a “spirit guide.”  He is also handy at making certain baby- sleeping devices.

Sayid- Naveen Andrews

  Naveen has had a few small roles, such as Academy Award winning “The English Patient” and “Kama Sutra” and can also be seen in the upcoming “Grindhouse.”  His part on “Lost” is Sayid, former Iraqi soldier in the Gulf War.  He is a very patient, intelligent, receptive man who can be just as calm as he can be vicious.

Special Skills:  Sayid was a communications expert in the Republican Guard, so he is quite handy with electronic devices.  He also was trained in the art of interrogation, and he has some real talent in that field.  He is good at data collecting, spotting a trap in the jungle, and he’s a human lie detector.

Shannon- Maggie Grace

Maggie hadn’t done anything really besides “Lost”, but proves to be a nice addition.  She’s the very definition of spoiled, blonde rich girl who would rather be tanning or shopping than trying to survive on a tropical island.  She pals around with her over protective step brother Boone most of the time, except when they are arguing, which is most of the time.

Special Skills:  She is very attractive, there fore uses her feminine wiles to get most men to do what she wants, which is very useful.  She also speaks French, which comes in handy when deciphering cryptic radio transmissions no one understands unless they’ve picked up a few things from their stay in Paris.

Boone- Ian Somerhalder
 
Ian was a former model for jeans and such, then turned his attention to acting, such as in “The Rules of Attraction.”  Now, he finds himself as Boone, ever present force of authority in Shannon’s life on the island.  Boone means well, but ultimately is everyone’s pushover.  He becomes Locke’s right hand man, to toughen himself up while he awaits the for sure rescue that is coming.

Special Skills:  While a lifeguard and business entrepreneur in modern society, he proves to have little use on the island, even though he means well.  He tries to help out several times and his attention is distracted from trying to be big brother to clueless valley girl, Shannon.

Claire- Emilie de Ravin
 
 Emilie had a starring role in last year’s macabre feature “The Hills Have Eyes.”  Now, as Claire, ailing mother-to be, she may have the hardest time on the island, carrying a large person in her belly in the hard conditions.  She has found a friend, and maybe more in eager Charlie, who helps her adjust to island life.

Special Skills:  Claire is a wise girl, for her age, and is mostly incapacitated during her stay.  Though not helpless, she does most things herself, but when there are so many buff guys on the island, she’s mostly taken care of.

Hurley- Jorge Garcia

 Jorge hasn’t had many roles either, albeit a part in Danny DeVito’s “Deck the Halls.”  Hurley on the other hand, is everyone’s buddy on the island.  Perennial nice guy Hurley wants to make everyone smile and gets tired of taking crap for being a big guy.  Plus, back home, he’s a millionaire.

Special Skills: Hurley tries to insure everyone on the island blows off steam and is not so serious all the time.  He builds a golf course that brings the island dwellers together for a lot of fun.  He also becomes the local census and helps retrieve batteries needed to try and make communication with the outside world.

Michael- Harold Perrineau jr.

 Harold has had several mainstream roles, including Augustus in “Oz,” and Link in the final 2 Matrix films. He’s also played in several big screen adaptations of Shakespeare plays, including the trendy “Romeo + Juliet.”  On the island, he plays Michael, a man forced into father hood with the son that was taken from him when he was a baby, although after time, he didn’t disagree with the arrangement.  Now, after his ex-wife’s death, he is suddenly forced back into being a dad with a son he doesn’t know.

Special Skills:  Michael is an engineer in his normal life, and those skills come in handy on the island with various projects needed to help everyone adjust, including building shelters.  He also has the enviable task of being the only person on the island with his child with him, which brings extra stress with it.

Walt- Malcolm David Kelley

Malcolm comes to “Lost” after a very good performance in “Antwone Fisher” playing the lead role as a child.  Walt is a young boy who is stranded on an island, but also stranded with a father who wasn’t there for him his whole life.  This situation forces them to interact with each other and find a steady ground to build a relationship.  But, at least he has Vincent, his yellow lab with him.

Special Skills:  Walt is a kid, so of course he’s going to explore, while also looking for Vincent.  He became Locke’s first buddy on the island, much to the chagrin of his father, and he appears to be some kind of psychic.  What ten year old boy wouldn’t love that?

Sun- Kim Yun-jin

Kim is a big star of feature film in China, and decided to branch out in her first American role.  She shines as the submissive, faithful wife Sun, or so we think.  Always wearing her sweaters buttoned up to the top and caring for her husband his her only duty on the island, as they wait to be rescued.  Sun is her husband’s link to everyone else on the island, because he cannot speak English and she can.  She is very gentle in her nature and tone and is usually a good friend to talk to on the island.

Special Skills:  Sun knows all about weed; I mean, she’s an herbal healer.  She knows a lot about natural medicines, what plants can do what and she almost becomes Jack’s nurse in most cases.  She also helps babysit Walt a lot.

Jin- Daniel Dae Kim

Daniel has had several guest spots on TV shows, including Seinfeld, The Shield, 24 and a recurring role on Angel, as well as appearing in a few feature films.  On “Lost” he plays Jin, the angry, standoffish husband of Sun.  Jin wants them to stay on their own part of the island and keep to themselves until the rescue ship shows up.  But, that doesn’t exactly work out when he flips out and tries to kill Michael for taking a watch that belonged to him when the ship crashed.

Special Skills: Jin has a temper hotter than a boiling kettle of tea and sometimes he can’t control it.  He also has a working knowledge of sea-faring crafts and can make a mean sea urchin snack.
 

“Lost” is structured to tell the story of how 48 people struggle to survive on an island that reveals itself as more mysterious the longer they stay on it, but each episode revolves around something that one of the survivors dealt with in their normal lives, sometimes up to the moment they boarded that fateful flight.  Inside those stories are the real meat of who each character is and in their new existence, their true selves, no matter how badly they want to conceal them, come out.  “Lost” is a ground breaking show that continues to intrigue and captivate audiences and the first season was the catalyst.  I couldn’t recommend this DVD set any higher, even though it comes at a hefty price, in the range of $40 to 50 bucks.  The set also has behind the scenes things ranging from the making of the pilot, to the screen tests of all the main actors to different public interviews with the cast.  I instantly became lost in this DVD set( insert silence where you were supposed to laugh at corny joke) and I think many others will too.

- Jessie