Promo from abc.com
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Lost: Missing Pieces was a series of 13 mobisodes/webisodes which were released weekly on Verizon mobile phones and six days later on ABC.com between November 6, 2007 and February 4, 2008. Running between 1:22–3:27 in length, each mobisode fills in a narrative gap somewhere in the timeline from the first three seasons.
Featuring new content that is incorporated into the existing storyline of Lost, the mobisodes are considered a canonical extension of the series. Some stock footage and a deleted scene were also used. In total, Lost: Missing Pieces provided over half an hour of entertainment. Lost: The Official Magazine has featured a "making of" article for each webisode.
In July 2008, Lost: Missing Pieces was removed from the menu on the Lost site on ABC.com. At the same time, it was made internationally available, as opposed to being available in America only. They were also reintroduced in September 2008 when the site was redesigned. This time in a new Flash player with some additional text commentary, full-screen option, and the webisodes in reversed order. The quality seems to have been improved as well. The mobisodes were included on the Lost: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD) and Blu-ray releases, in full quality, and ordered after the production codes.
Lost: Missing Pieces received an Emmy Award nomination in 2008 for "Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-action Entertainment Programs". The nomination listed executive producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, and Barry Jossen. [1] Although not credited (see below) for any individual mobisode on ABC.com, Jossen (who is now executive vice president of Creative for ABC Studios) was ABC's head of production at the time. [2]
Background
Promo from ABC's site.
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Getting the mobisodes into production was a two-year process that underwent several delays involving contract negotiations with actors, writers, and directors.
Inception
The mobisode series was originally announced in November 2005 under the name Lost Video Diaries. ABC had intended for it to be a spin-off series produced separately from Touchstone Television, introducing new characters played by non-union actors, similar to the mobisode series 24: Conspiracy. However, believing that it should be made with the union talent from the television series, the cast and crew of Lost called upon the major entertainment guilds to negotiate contracts for the mobisodes. [3]
Unions and "new media"
The opening sequence of Lost: Missing Pieces.
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With the distribution of the Lost storyline on the forefront of new technologies (e.g., ARGs, podcasts, online viewing, and iTunes downloads), the financial issues of mobile content distribution had been wholly unknown to entertainment industry unions. Brenda Ching of SAG's Hawaii branch first encountered these issues with regard to Lost and described them to the larger national unions. In April 2006, the three major guilds negotiated a first-of-its-kind agreement in the industry between Touchstone and Lost, allowing for actors, writers, and directors to work under guild auspices and be compensated for the mobisode series. [4]
Lost Video Diaries
At Comic-Con 2006, it was announced that the mobisodes would be appearing during the Season 3 winter break. A preview was shown to the more than 4000 Lost fans present. The premise was that Hurley would find a functional DHARMA video camera and use it to record events on the Island, and that the video tape would have a previously unseen DHARMA orientation film on it. Some people speculate that some of this footage was shot and kept in storage [5] however it was never released to the public. As Season 3 came around, some of the cast members' contracts still had not been secured for the mobisodes, and Touchstone was being dissuaded by other industry producers from going ahead with the deals. As a result, production was further delayed, and the 13 week break was instead filled with Lost Moments. [6] SAG (pdf file)
Revamped premise
In June 2007, after Season 3 had aired, it was reported that the mobisodes would appear in the fall of 2007, featuring the entire cast. Carlton Cuse said the mobisodes would "give the hardcore Lost viewer more information that they probably weren't going to get through the show itself." [7] On November 6, 2007, the second day of the WGA strike (where one of the primary issues was the same sort of residuals that Lost cast and crew were receiving for the mobisodes) "The Watch" appeared on Verizon phones, and the series was revealed to be titled Lost: Missing Pieces.
Reception
The mobisodes were highly anticipated by Lost fans. Some portions of the fan community were displeased with the initial mobisodes. [8] However, the later releases were received far better. [9] [10]
Revelations
Unofficial dissemination
The mobisodes were filmed off mobile phones, re-encoded, and spread around the Internet. An example of the resulting quality can be seen in the credits screen below. Some of the high-quality versions leaked on the same day that the Verizon versions were released.
Credits
Both the Verizon releases and the ABC web releases lack a list of full credits. The only credits that appear on screen are the writer, director and cast members. However, a title card near the end of the Verizon releases reads, "Please go to ABC.com for cast credits".
The ending sequence of Lost: Missing Pieces.
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Credits screen from a filmed Verizon version.
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The following credits are identical on all the releases:
The following credits are not identical on all releases:
- Director of Photography
- Michael Bonvillain, A.S.C. on "The Watch", "The Adventures of Hurley and Frogurt", "King of the Castle" and "The Deal"
- John Bartley, A.S.C./C.S.C. on "Operation: Sleeper", "Room 23", "Arzt & Crafts", "Buried Secrets", "Tropical Depression", "Jack, Meet Ethan. Ethan? Jack", "Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course", "The Envelope", and "So It Begins"
Notes
- Brian K. Vaughan's name is misspelled as Brian K. Vaughn.
- The production credits for "The Envelope" are very different from the other mobisodes, but are almost similar to those of "A Tale of Two Cities", as it is actually a deleted scene from that episode.
- Although not credited on ABC.com, Barry Jossen (head of production for ABC at the time) also served as executive producer. [11][12]
Cast
See the main character appearances article for a complete overview.
Main cast
Guest stars
Notes
- Kate, Locke, Sawyer, Sayid, Charlie, and Desmond did not appear in any mobisodes.
- An image of a pregnant Claire briefly appeared in "Jack, Meet Ethan. Ethan? Jack", but there was no cast credit as this was stock footage from "Pilot, Part 1".
- However, most (if not all) footage of Jack in "So It Begins" is stock footage and that mobisode does contain a cast credit for Matthew Fox.
- Jack is credited for "Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course", but does not appear in that mobisode.
Webisodes
The Watch
The Watch
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| See main article: "The Watch" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 01
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| Original air date: November 6, 2007 (Verizon); November 12, 2007 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Jack Shephard
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| Written by: Carlton Cuse
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Christian is talking with Jack about his wedding, which is later that day. Christian reveals that his father disapproved of him marrying Margo, and that was the reason he didn't wear the watch given to him by his father on his wedding day. However, he tells Jack that he is doing the right thing marrying Sarah and passes the watch to Jack, who immediately puts it on.
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| Guest starring: John Terry as Christian Shephard
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The Adventures of Hurley and Frogurt
The Adventures of Hurley and Frogurt
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King of the Castle
King of the Castle
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| See main article: "King of the Castle" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 03
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| Original air date: November 20, 2007 (Verizon); November 27, 2007 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Ben Linus and Jack Shephard
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| Written by: Brian K. Vaughan
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Ben and Jack play chess. Ben asks Jack if he would consider staying on the Island. Jack asks Ben if he intends to keep his promise to let Jack leave. Ben says that its not all up to him in that the Island will not necessarily let Jack leave. He also tells Jack that if he does leave, there might be a time when he would want to come back. Jack tries an aggressive move in the game and Ben immediately counters with another move (Castling).
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| Guest starring: none
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The Deal
The Deal
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| See main article: "The Deal" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 04
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| Original air date: November 26, 2007 (Verizon); December 3, 2007 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Michael Dawson and Juliet Burke
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| Written by: Elizabeth Sarnoff
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: While Michael is tied up at the decoy village, Juliet informs him that he can have the boat he requested to take Walt away after freeing Ben. Juliet tells Michael that Walt is special and that she's glad he will get him away from the Island. After assuring him that Ben will comply with this deal, Juliet then reveals the deal she has made herself with him, concerning her sister. She reminds Michael of the list they gave him, and wishes him good luck.
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| Guest starring: none
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Operation: Sleeper
Operation: Sleeper
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| See main article: "Operation: Sleeper" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 05
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| Original air date: December 3, 2007 (Verizon); December 10, 2007 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Juliet Burke and Jack Shephard
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| Written by: Brian K. Vaughan
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Juliet comes to Jack and tells him that Sayid and the others have not trusted her since she arrived at the beach camp. She reveals that they are right; she is still working for Ben and she has been sent to the camp to do tests to find out which of the women are pregnant. Jack asks her why she is telling him this and she tells him how she saw Sun's baby the night before and that she is tired of living Ben's dream.
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| Guest starring: none
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Room 23
Room 23
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| See main article: "Room 23" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 06
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| Original air date: December 10, 2007 (Verizon); December 17, 2007 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Juliet Burke and Ben Linus
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| Written by: Elizabeth Sarnoff
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Ben arrives to an urgent situation at Room 23. Juliet is there and tells him that he (presumably Walt) has done something again and that everybody is too scared to go in there. Juliet suggests that they could bring him back to Michael, but Ben refuses, saying that Walt is special and that Jacob wanted him there. Juliet brings Ben outside to show what he has done: a group of dead birds lay on the stairwell.
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| Guest starring: none
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Arzt & Crafts
Buried Secrets
Buried Secrets
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| See main article: "Buried Secrets" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 08
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| Original air date: December 24, 2007 (Verizon); December 30, 2007 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Jin-Soo Kwon, Sun-Hwa Kwon and Michael Dawson
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| Written by: Christina M. Kim
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Sun is watching Jin fish and then walks into the jungle. There she buries a California drivers license when Michael runs by looking for Vincent. Seeing the license he picks it up and Sun tries to explain that she was going to leave Jin. Michael comforts her telling her it will be okay. The two almost share a kiss but Vincent appears barking before anything can happen, prompting Sun to leave.
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| Guest starring: None
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Tropical Depression
Tropical Depression
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| See main article: "Tropical Depression" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 09
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| Original air date: December 31, 2007 (Verizon); January 7, 2008 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Michael Dawson
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| Written by: Carlton Cuse
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Dr. Arzt is catching a spider in the jungle when Michael comes up and asks about the weather conditions for launching the raft. Then Arzt admits he made up the story about the monsoon because he wanted them to get help with the raft as soon as possible. He then tells Michael he went to Sydney to meet a woman whom he had met on the internet, but that she disappeared during their first dinner in a restaurant.
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| Guest starring: Daniel Roebuck as Dr. Arzt
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Jack, Meet Ethan. Ethan? Jack
Jack, Meet Ethan. Ethan? Jack
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Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course
Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course
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| See main article: "Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 11
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| Original air date: January 14, 2008 (Verizon); January 21, 2008 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Jin-Soo Kwon, Michael Dawson and Hugo Reyes
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| Written by: Drew Goddard
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Hurley, Michael, and Jin are playing golf on the golf course. After Jin misses a putt to win the game, he goes on a temper-tantrum, shouting in Korean. As Hurley and Michael look on, Jin lets out all of his anger: he is unhappy, he doesn't want to be pitied, nobody understands him, and he is tired of the handcuff on his wrist. As Michael and Hurley eventually leave, Jin sits down, half crying, and repeating "I'm so alone."
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| Guest starring: none
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The Envelope
The Envelope
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| See main article: "The Envelope" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 12
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| Original air date: January 21, 2008 (Verizon); January 28, 2008 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Juliet Burke
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| Written by: Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Amelia arrives early to Juliet's for the book club meeting. She notices that Juliet is upset about something, and asks if it is Ben. Juliet says that things have gotten awkward between them, but Amelia presses further, suspecting there is something more. Juliet then requests that Amelia not tell anyone what she is about to show her. As Juliet is about to reveal Ben's X-rays, they are interrupted by the doorbell; presumably other book club members have arrived.
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| Guest starring: Julie Adams as Amelia
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So It Begins
So It Begins
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| See main article: "So It Begins" (Transcript)
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| Mobisode number: 13
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| Original air date: January 28, 2008 (Verizon); February 4, 2008 (ABC.com)
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| Main characters: Vincent and Jack Shephard
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| Written by: Drew Goddard
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| Directed by: Jack Bender
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| Plot: Vincent is running through the jungle on the island, when he encounters Christian Shephard. Christian tells Vincent to find Jack and wake him up because he "has work to do." The first scene of "Pilot, Part 1" then replays with Vincent encountering Jack as he is regaining consciousness.
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| Guest starring: John Terry as Christian Shephard
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External links
