Also, I noticed that you made no mention of the LOST Pilot episode, which also originally aired as a two-hour “movie” version… Does a proper version of this already exist somewhere in 1080p?
Incorrect actually, the movie version of the pilot never made it to broadcast, it originally aired in two parts and has always been that way since
I’m quite sure that the very first airing was as a two-hour episode with no credits between the episodes. I burned that version to a DVD back in 2004. I’ll see if I still have it.
My mom thinks she might still have that old DVD I burned, so she’s going to let me know if she finds it. Anyway, I’m not 100% positive that the two-hour version was the original airing, or if maybe that’s the version they aired when they re-broadcast later, but I remember trashing the HDTV files from season 1 to save space on my computer, and then thinking that I should have kept them after realizing the Pilot was split into two parts on the official DVDs… but then I thought, “Well, I still have my burned DVDs.” 😕
Okay, my mom found the DVD, and the Pilot is in two parts on my homemade DVDs as well… but I was SO CERTAIN there was a two-hour version of the Pilot, and I asked if anyone in my family could confirm my memory. Thankfully, my sister was there, and she helped me remember.
My sister confirmed that there WAS a two-hour version of the LOST Pilot that didn’t have credits over the 2nd half, but it was NOT the version that aired first; it was a rebroadcast. Here’s what happened: I didn’t have HDTV in 2004, so I was reliant torrent downloads (until ~2006, when I got an HDTV antenna and connected it to my computer to capture my own HD broadcasts). Anyway, people unfortunately didn’t really upload torrents of reruns (because why would they?)… so all I had was my self-recorded, standard definition, 4:3 VHS copy of the two-hour LOST Pilot.
My sister and I sat there and watched the HD torrent alongside the VHS to look for differences, and the ONLY difference between the rebroadcast and the original airing was the lack of credits on the second half. At that time, I wrestled with whether or not to digitize my VHS just for archival purposes, even though it was crappy quality, and that’s when my sister made fun of me. She said, “Why? Just so you can see a little more of Shannon as she sunbathes? Who cares” …and I moved on with my life, choosing not to keep the recording.
That’s how she remembers it, and now that I’ve heard her tell the story, I’m sure she’s right.