Video Review: "Lost" Season Six and Complete Collections

When it debuted in 2004, "Lost" was immediately recognizable as groundbreaking television.

Here was a huge, high-budget network show with an excellent cast and an ambitious, sprawling narrative -- the sort of thing that previously had only been attempted on HBO, or theatrical film series like "Lord of the Rings."

Like millions, I was entranced by the riddle of a mysterious island on which a disparate group of passengers from Oceanic Flight 815 crash-land.

The first season introduced us to a roster of engaging characters -- stoic doctor Jack Shephard, escaped convict Kate Austen, tortured con man Sawyer, and tracker John Locke comprised the core of a cast that eventually numbered in the dozens -- and slowly unveiled the layered mysteries of the island: Marauding jungle monster, crazy French scientist-turned-hermit, and a strange hatch buried in the ground.

Also like many others, I felt the series lost its way in its second year -- personified by Mr. Eko, a would-be priest whose redemptive journey dominated that entire season, but who, after his abrupt death, was never mentioned again.

"Lost" sporadically regained its focus in subsequent seasons -- especially a strong third year buoyed by the introduction of the slithery, charismatic leader of The Others, Ben Linus -- but never recaptured the magic of that first outing.

I, for one, found the show's conclusion to be a disappointing, not to mention predictable, variation on (spoiler ahead) the tired old "it-was-all-just-a-dream" deus ex machina.

The sixth and final season is now available as a collection, and there's a pricey -- but exhaustively complete -- series collection.

The season six collection contains a host of extras. The DVD version includes commentaries, bloopers, deleted scenes and features about the show's conclusion, heroes' journey and "flash sideways" narrative. Plus, a "new chapter" about the island. The Blu-ray comes with all these plus a "Lost University: Masters Program" feature.

For the hardcore "Lost" fan with plenty of bucks to spend, the Complete Collection is not to be missed. Expect to pay, though: Around $150 for the DVD version, and 200 clams for the Blu-ray.

In addition to all 121 episodes, it includes the bonus material from all six season collections, plus one extra disc of never-before-seen footage. And there's toys: A replica of the island, black light, ankh -- even a special edition of the board game played by Jacob and the Man in Black!

Show: 3 stars out of four
Extras: 3.5 stars

Review: "Land of the Lost"

Two words: Sleestak porn.

Yes, in case you were wondering how the film version of "Land of the Lost" would go, it's full-out Will Farrell bumpkinness coupled with gross-out humor perfectly pitched to the mentality of a 14-year-old.

Thus, there's a scene where Farrell and his gang witness a pair of the slow-moving reptile man knocking boots ... er, claws. Mercifully, it's more implied than seen, since this is a PG-13 flick.

Look, it was obvious to all concerned that the only way to translate this phenomenally cheesy time-traveling kids' show from the 1970s to the big screen was to go the parody route. I mean, would you rather have seen a super-serious version with a lantern-jawed hero and a ton of CGI stunts?

Well, there's still plenty of computer-aided action, mostly due to a grumpy T-rex that chases around Ferrell, Danny McBride, girl scientist Anna Friel and Chak-Ka -- a prince among the ape-men. That's pretty much the whole movie -- big action scene interrupted by goofy one-liners from Ferrell and McBride.

A few jokes hit the mark. There's one bit where Ferrell gets bitten by a prehistoric mosquito, which proceeds to suck out enough blood to supply a small blood bank. And in another genuinely funny scene, Ferrell instructs his team to douse themselves from a large jug of dinosaur urine in order to hide their scent, which turns into an inquisition about how exactly he acquired said urine.

But the rest of it is pretty dreary stuff, and there are long stretches where the movie drags almost to a dead halt.

I don't mind the idea of making fun of kitschy old TV shows. But if you're going to do that, it should at least be ... fun.