THE FORMAT

Below are portions of the LOST creators network pitch and writers guide which was used to sell the series to the network. It is an interesting document, which was leaked to the internet which did not make TPTB happy, because it is one of the earliest documents that attempts to explain what direction LOST was going to take if the series was picked up after the pilot episode. This guide is the initial insight on what was supposed to happen, and the promises, direct and implied, were to take place on the LOST stages.

In the beginning of the guide, there is a grand and vague vision for the series wrapped up in one apparent guiding theme: how would castaways from a plane crash help forge a new island society.

The guide in its own words:

Welcome to "The Format."

We politely ask you to be aware that We're rookies with these "series overviews," so skating the thin ice between ambiguity and specificity is something we're doing purely on instinct. We shall do our best.

That being said, launching a series requires a great deal of trial and error. Much of the first season is committed to finding what works,what doesn't,and most importantly,what the show IS. The greatest architect in the· world can-draw up a-blueprint for a building, but construction is a whole new ball of wax.

Hopefully the Pilot has done its job and successfully begged the answers to dozens of questions. No - we're not gonna tell where that polar bear came from, but we're all about answering the rest.

True, LOST doesn't fit into any specific category of a franchise drama and this makes it tricky to see what the show IS. But when you take a step back and look at the big picture, it becomes clear that we employ MANY franchises:

IT'S A MEDICAL SHOW. If someone gets sick (a rather common occurrence here on the island), the life and death stakes play out just like an episode of ER. And as demonstrated in the pilot, without the trappings of modern technology, practicing medicine becomes a lot more "hands on." How does Jack diagnose what may be a contagions illness that is spreading among the survivors- and once he does, how can he cure it?

IT'S A COP SHOW. If we do our job right, every episode starts with central mystery. Whether it's something that's happening as a result of their new home (the group encounters a clearly man-made HATCH in the side of a mountain) or it's something more character related (one of the castaways is murdered) - the investigation and eventual resolution of that mystery becomes the story engine of that episode.

IT'S A LAWYER SHOW. Every episode provides material for explosive ethical arguments- whether it be about the innocent or guilt of one of our characters accused of stealing food or about how to begin forming a new society (democracy might be the most civilized form of government to adapt, but is it the most efficient?). Not to mention, if one of our castaways is suspected of killing another, how do the others put them on trial... and if the accused is found guilty, how are they punished?

IT'S A CHARACTER DRAMA. Let's embrace the inherently "soapy" elements we have at our disposal and do a classier version of them. Romance. Comradery. Greed. Betrayal. Jealousy. All play out between our characters. Love triangles, alliances, social outcasts... all the stories that populate a season of "The O.C." play out here on our island - albeit with much higher stakes.

The simple answer to the franchise question? Basically, we tell the same stories you see on any other television show, but in a strange new setting. It's all the things you DON'T see on "Survivor": Murder. A blood transfusion. A love affair. A trial. All playing out far from civilization...

There are many mash-ups referenced in the beginning of the series guide. The show is somehow going to combine elements of ER, Law and Order, and The O.C. But the guide references that all these elements of those shows would "play out" or be contained on the island. So the first key element of the series was supposed to be the fact that the castways were trapped on the island, and that entrapment would force them to deal with their human issues and emotions without any outside help.

The creators also reference the pilot episode would provide dozens of questions to be answered, all but where the polar bear came from. This was the greatest promise not kept by TPTB. The excuse may be that even though they had a "blueprint" for the series in their minds, the construction or execution of that blueprint could come down to "trial and error."

There were medical aspects to the show. From the treatment of the injured crash victims, to Jack's own wounds, to Claire's pregnancy, to the alleged island "infection," to Ben's spinal surgery - - - all had secondary or tangential meaning to the main story lines. It was more to build up some drama in characters, to increase fears, than to focus on medical-ethic issues. The most significant mental issue throughout the show was the apparent mental instability of many characters. The self-awareness that many thought they were going mad or crazy was a foundation for mistrust, confusion and misdirection but the personal aspects of any mental illness was never resolved in the series.

There were little real "cop show" vibe to the show. The writers kept throwing out "mysteries" and the characters went on "missions" to try to get answers, but throughout the show viewers were frustrated by the fact that the characters themselves did not ask questions to each other or their captors to get answers. But a key element which was quickly abandoned by the writers was the assurance that each episode would start with a mystery and the resolution of the mystery would be the story engine for that episode. In other words, each mystery would be resolved or answered in each episode. Clearly, that did not happen in the actual series.

The lawyer-trial aspects of the series, such as Kate's trial, were horribly executed, with legal and factual errors, to be the worst part of the show. It was so flawed that it took down the credibility of the producers and writers. On the island, there were many acts of murder and crimes, but in the end most people were never punished for their crimes. Michael murdered two women, but gained his freedom by betraying his friends to Ben. Ben got away with mass murder of the Dharma group, but he wound up at heaven's doorstep in the end. If LOST was to create an island government of laws and procedure, it failed. The characters were basically left to their own devices with no moral authority over their actions.

So it seems that the writers fell into their own trap by latching on to the "character" aspect of their story blueprint. By having weak, vague or incoherent medical, mystery and legal elements to the story, the writers forced themselves to back story the hell out of the characters to inject drama, secrets, hidden motivations and dysfunction into the island events, scattered randomly under the topics of romance triangles, greed, betrayal, loyalty, alliances, murder, kidnapping, medical emergencies, etc.

The concept for LOST was sold as being a simple transformation of standard television shows but "in a strange new setting." It was touted as the things you don't see on Survivor, a scripted reality game show, but more toward the survival aspects of Robinson Caruso or Lord of the Flies (but oddly, not referenced as selling points to the network). Clearly, the producers did not foreshadow the dark elements of the series in this opening blueprint. Also, the wild tangents such as time travel were not referenced as this being a science fiction series. No, it was sold as characters being taken away from their daily, civilized lives and thrown together on an island which had no rules - - - except those the characters could forge among themselves.