‘Lost’: Back to the Island: The Complete Critical Companion to the Classic TV Series

In this spirited commentary, screenwriter St. James (coauthor of Monsters of the Week) and TV critic Murray serve up brief essays on each episode of ABC’s Lost (2004–2010). The authors commend the pilot for its fast pace, applaud season four’s time-traveling romance “The Constant” for its writing, and credit the season three finale with reinvigorating the show after a shaky run of episodes. Though the overall tone is laudatory, the authors aren’t afraid to take the series to task. For instance, they criticize how characters of color were afforded less screen time than their white counterparts and how Kate Austen, the lead female character, was reduced to “chasing two men around the Island” after becoming enmeshed in a love triangle. Some entries are little more than recaps, particularly for filler episodes the authors dismiss as “doldrums,” but the best selections feel like lively debates with fellow superfans, as when they mount an enthusiastic defense of the much-maligned season three outing “Exposé” as a “nasty little poison pill of an episode” that allowed the writers to dispose of two characters strongly disliked by viewers in a darkly entertaining way. Discerning and fun, this will delight anyone who’s gotten into a heated discussion about the show’s many mysteries. Agent: Bonnie Nadell, Hill Nadell Literary. (Sept.)