LOST (2004-2010) -- ORIGINAL BROADCAST RESTORATION PROJECT (ON HOLD)

I never realized that the blu-rays had missing footage. That’s frustrating. There is a very slim chance that I have the 720p HD rips on an old hard drive. (I’ll check asap.) Which episodes do you need, specifically?

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?

SpacemanDoug said:

DJPitaB said:

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.

DJPitaB said:

SpacemanDoug said:

DJPitaB said:

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.” 😕

DJPitaB said:

DJPitaB said:

SpacemanDoug said:

DJPitaB said:

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.

Throwing in my two cents. I agree, it definitely was originally broadcast in two parts over two weeks, though it was first scripted/sold/edited as one. You can find the original script on Google pretty easily. Never knew they did a two-hour rebroadcast later.

Here’s my breakdown of the broadcast flow vs script flow…

TWO-PART, BROADCAST FLOW:

1. Monster attacks cockpit, Kate counts to 4 >
   CUT TO COMMERCIAL
2. Kate finishes counting to 4 > Jack/Kate/Charlie see the pilot dead in tree >
   CUT TO END CREDITS
3. Jack/Kate/Charlie stroll through the jungle, try out the radio >
4. Charlie’s flashback to plane crash >
5. Boone/Shannon/Claire on the beach >
6. Michael/Sun/Jin on the beach >
7. Walt walks into jungle & finds marshal’s handcuffs >
   CUT TO COMMERCIAL
8. Sawyer/Sayid fighting on the beach, Jack/Kate/Charlie arrive

ONE-PART, SCRIPT FLOW:

1. Monster attacks cockpit, Kate counts to 4 >
   CUT TO COMMERCIAL
2. Kate finishes counting to 4 > Jack/Kate/Charlie see the pilot dead in tree >
   NO CUT TO END CREDITS OR COMMERCIAL
3. Boone/Shannon/Claire on the beach >
4. Michael/Sun/Jin on the beach >
5. Walt walks into jungle & finds marshal’s handcuffs >
6. Jack/Kate/Charlie stroll through the jungle, try out the radio >
7. Charlie’s flashback to plane crash >
   CUT TO COMMERCIAL
8. Sawyer/Sayid fighting on the beach, Jack/Kate/Charlie arrive

Heya,

I hope I’m not derailing the thread with this… just wanted to add something to the discussion 😄

DJPitaB said:

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?

As far as I know it does not exist yet… it’s problematic. More down below.

SpacemanDoug said:

DJPitaB said:

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

Yes and no! 😄

The original cut was broadcast… just hidden, because it was only a test screening. But it was public.

DJPitaB said:

DJPitaB said:

DJPitaB said:

SpacemanDoug said:

DJPitaB said:

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.

I think I can refresh your memory a bit… and I’m not saying you are wrong with the re-broadcast. I don’t know the facts here myself - I just know that there was a re-broadcast on October 2nd 2004 where they aired both parts of the pilot. I however have no clue if/how they were edited regarding the credits.

What you however might remember is the original cut of the pilot - that leaked in the summer of 2004. There are quite a few differences between both versions. Completely different music, some missing vfx, different sound design, it’s slightly longer and the scene arrangement is different as well.

I still have the leaked version, but the resolution is low (sourced from a VHS) and the audio is crappy. This might be a recording from the aforementioned test screening - but I heard from one person that the test screening version didn’t feature ANY music.

The original cut was obviously also given to press and marketing people and it’s the same as the leaked copy, just in better quality and I have the original DVD. The quality is decent, but the last third of the pilot has a weird red tint for some reason.

I’d love to create a high quality version of the original cut by taking the audio from it and replacing the video with material from the Blu-ray - but there are so many tiny differences, it’s impossible to just copy/paste it. Sometimes scenes are identical down to the frame, sometimes a scene is ~200 frames longer.

So it would be a mashup of different sources and it would require color correction and everything. It’s a bit of a nightmare.

(A shame that you don’t have your recording anymore… I’d have LOVED a copy.)

kuhpunkt said:

What you however might remember is the original cut of the pilot - that leaked in the summer of 2004. There are quite a few differences between both versions. Completely different music, some missing vfx, different sound design, it’s slightly longer and the scene arrangement is different as well.

Thanks, but I definitely was not thinking of the leaked pilot, because I didn’t even learn about its existence until much later. The rebroadcast ABC pilot is what I had recorded, and I’m certain the only difference in editing between it and the DVDs was the credits.

That being said, I’d love to see a restoration of the leaked pilot, if anyone has the ability to put that together.

DJPitaB said:

kuhpunkt said:

What you however might remember is the original cut of the pilot - that leaked in the summer of 2004. There are quite a few differences between both versions. Completely different music, some missing vfx, different sound design, it’s slightly longer and the scene arrangement is different as well.

Thanks, but I definitely was not thinking of the leaked pilot, because I didn’t even learn about its existence until much later. The rebroadcast ABC pilot is what I had recorded, and I’m certain the only difference in editing between it and the DVDs was the credits.

That being said, I’d love to see a restoration of the leaked pilot, if anyone has the ability to put that together.

Hmm hmm! As I said, I would have loved it if you had kept the 4:3 recording 😄

I found a tape trader yesterday who apparently has a recording of the re-broadcast… I hope he’s willing to share it. Would love to verify this and to add it to my archive.

I’d also be curious, because the original airing of part 1 had a preview for part 2 and everything - and part 2 had a long recap of part 1 (that was never on the DVDs). Those should all be missing from the re-broadcast, because it would obviously be pointless.