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Promo from abc.com
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.
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.
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[]
- Neil "Frogurt" was interested in Libby. ("The Adventures of Hurley and Frogurt")
- Ben told Jack that if he left the Island he may want to return. ("King of the Castle")
- Michael knew Ben's name before any of the other survivors. ("The Deal")
- Juliet told Jack of Ben's plan to kidnap the pregnant women. ("Operation: Sleeper")
- Walt was in Room 23. ("Room 23")
- Arzt saw Jack chasing the vision of his father around the Island. ("Arzt & Crafts")
- Arzt initially resisted moving to the caves, but changed his mind after hearing the Monster. ("Arzt & Crafts")
- Sun planned on using the alias Dahlia Choi after leaving Jin. ("Buried Secrets")
- Michael and Sun had more of a relationship than we knew about. ("Buried Secrets")
- Arzt made up the "monsoon season" story. ("Tropical Depression")
- Arzt was in Australia to meet a woman he met on the Internet. ("Tropical Depression")
- Juliet was planning on showing Amelia Ben's X-rays. ("The Envelope")
- Christian Shephard, or some form of him, told Vincent to wake up Jack immediately after the crash. ("So It Begins")
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.
Credits screen from a filmed Verizon version.
The following credits are identical on all the releases:
- Music by: Michael Giacchino
- Costume Designer: Roland Sanchez
- Edited by: Robert Florio, A.C.E.
- Executive Producers: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Carlton Cuse
- Co-Executive Producers: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, Stephen Williams, Jean Higgins
- Supervising Producer: Elizabeth Sarnoff
- Producers: Ra'uf Glasgow, Pat Churchill
- Co-Producers: Richard Peter Schroer
- Executive Story Editor: Christina M. Kim
- Associate Producer: Kaleen Yamase
- Created by: Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof
- Director: Jack Bender
The following credits are not identical on all releases:
- Production Designer
- James Newport on "The Watch", "The Adventures of Hurley and Frogurt", "King of the Castle" and "The Deal"
- Jonathan Carlson 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", and "So It Begins"
- Zack Grobler on "The Envelope"
- 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"
- Co-Executive Producer
- Drew Goddard on all, except "The Envelope"
- Supervising Producer
- Drew Goddard on "The Envelope"
- Alison Schapker on "The Envelope"
- Monica Breen on "The Envelope"
- Stephen Williams on "The Envelope"
- Co-Producer
- Brian K. Vaughan on all, except "The Envelope"
- Samantha Thomas on all, except "The Envelope"
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[]
- Matthew Fox as Jack Shephard (5/13)
- Harold Perrineau as Michael Dawson (5/13)
- Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet Burke (4/13)
- Jorge Garcia as Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (3/13)
- Daniel Dae Kim as Jin-Soo Kwon (3/13)
- Michael Emerson as Ben Linus (2/13)
- Yunjin Kim as Sun-Hwa Kwon (2/13)
- John Terry as Christian Shephard (2/13)
- Emilie de Ravin as Claire Littleton (1/13)
Guest stars[]
- Daniel Roebuck as Dr. Leslie Arzt (2/13)
- Madison as Vincent (2/13)
- Sean Whalen as Neil "Frogurt" (1/13)
- William Mapother as Ethan Rom (1/13)
- Julie Adams as Amelia (1/13)
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
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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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The Deal
| The Deal | |||||||||
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Operation: Sleeper
| Operation: Sleeper | |||||||||
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Room 23
| Room 23 | |||||||||
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Arzt & Crafts
| Arzt & Crafts | |||||||||
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Buried Secrets
| Buried Secrets | |||||||||
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Tropical Depression
| Tropical Depression | |||||||||
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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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The Envelope
| The Envelope | |||||||||
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So It Begins
| So It Begins | |||||||||
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External links[]
- Lost: Missing Pieces at abc.com (content removed)
- April 24, 2006 SAG press release regarding mobisode agreement with Touchstone
- The New York Times, November 20, 2007 - "Webisodes of ‘Lost’: Model Deal for Writers?"
- "Lost Mobisodes Unraveled", November 19, 2007 - Opinion by Jon Lachonis
- Lost: Missing Pieces/Season 4 promo at YouTube (content removed)
- Missing Pieces in hebrew at Lost-il (Hebrew)
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