Damon Lindelof Movies

Based on the graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Cowboys & Aliens starts in 1800s Arizona, where the local cowboys, headed by gunslinger Zeke Jackson (Robert Downey Jr.), and the indigenous Apache tribe have been feuding fiercely for quite a while. Their skirmish is interrupted, however, by the appearance of a spaceship, commanded by an alien creature that's bent on enslaving the human race. It's time for a six-gun shoot-out between these cattle rustlers and space invaders, and there might even be a temporary peace between the cowboys and Indians as they both take aim at these extraterrestrial uninvited guests. Jon Favreau directs from a script by Star Trek scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, with help from Lost's Damon Lindelof. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Mission: Impossible III director and Alias creator J.J. Abrams resurrects the classic science fiction franchise created by Gene Roddenberry with this feature film that embraces the rich history of the influential television and film series while also exploring some uncharted territory. Heroes star Zachary Quinto assumes the role of the Federation Starfleet lieutenant and Vulcan made famous in the original series by Leonard Nimoy (who also appears in an older incarnation of his original role), Spock, with Anton Yelchin stepping into the role of USS Enterprise navigator Pavel Chekov, Zoe Saldana assuming the role of communications officer Uhura, Simon Pegg keeping the ship in top shape as chief engineer Montgomery Scott (aka "Scotty"), and Eric Bana tormenting the benevolent space explorers as the villainous Nero. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle co-star John Cho also boards the Enterprise as Hikaru Sulu, with Chris Pine and Karl Urban assuming the legendary roles of Captain Kirk and Leonard "Bones" McCoy, respectively. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

As any college theater student will tell you, the title of this episode translates as "god from the machine," a theatrical device whereby everyone's problems are solved by a single, miraculous and highly unlikely climactic act of divine intervention. In this case, the deus ex machina is literally a "machine" -- an airplane found in the forest that may or may not prove a means of escape for the survivors. But there's more to the story than that, especially when an extended flashback reveals some traumatic events from Locke's (Terry O'Quinn) past. As an adult, Locke made contact with his biological father, whom he'd never known, and the two started to bond, but there was more to the situation than there seemed to be. In other events, Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is suffering from extreme headaches, and Jack (Matthew Fox) and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) come up with a solution that he most certainly does not like. ~ All Movie Guide

The 48 survivors of a mid-air plane disaster dazedly gather their wits about them in the opening episode of the ABC hit series Lost. Marooned on an island somewhere in the Pacific, the survivors must now rely upon their inner strength -- and each other -- to stay alive, having been stripped of virtually all vestiges of civilization. Making matters worse is the island's harsh, almost impenetrable terrain and bizarre variety of animal life. Emerging as the most prominent of the castaways in the opener are Jack (Matthew Fox), a somber doctor who frantically helps survivors who are clinging to life, and Kate (Evangeline Lilly), a beautiful and mysterious survivor who seems to be a concerned do-gooder. The two meet when she reluctantly agrees to suture a wound on his back despite having no medical experience. On the first night after the crash, the survivors are terrified by the loud animal-like roar of something large rustling around in the jungle -- even the trees shake with its presence. The next day, along with washed-up rock star Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), Kate and Jack venture out to find the front end of the plane -- and hopefully the plane's transceiver (radio transmitter) -- in the jungle. This two-hour pilot episode was originally telecast in two separate installments. ~ All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Lost's two-part series opener, the individual character traits of the survivors of a mid-air plane disaster come into sharper focus. While Jack (Matthew Fox), a troubled doctor, Kate (Evangeline Lilly), a mysterious, concerned survivor, and washed-up rock star Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) have gone to look for the front end of the plane in the jungle, the others get to know each other. Among the remaining survivors who are trapped on that somewhat surrealistic Pacific island are perennial jokester Hurley (Jorge Garcia), eternally bickering siblings Shannon (Maggie Grace) and Boone (Ian Somerhalder), nervous Korean couple Mr. and Mrs. Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim), hair-trigger-tempered Sawyer (Josh Holloway), former Iraqi Republican Guard Sayid (Naveen Andrews), father and son Michael and Walt, very pregnant Aussie Claire (Emilie de Ravin)...and the secretive and possibly slightly sinister Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Still reeling from a close encounter with a terrifying (though unseen) beast in the jungle, Jack, Kate, and Charlie return to the beach with the transceiver, hoping that someone will be able to get it working. Not only are some of the surviving passengers not getting along very well, but the group later encounters an incongruous animal in the jungle and finds that there may have been a dangerous prisoner on board the plane. ~ All Movie Guide

The runaway hit of ABC's 2004-2005 TV season, the weekly, hour-long drama series Lost began at a point that in any other case may have been an ending: a passenger jet was torn apart in mid-air, crashing on an uncharted Pacific Island. Stripped of all vestiges of the civilized world, the 48 survivors were forced to fend for themselves in their new tropical surroundings, which departed from the "norm" for similar castaway dramas by boasting a bizarre and frequently incomprehensible topography, not to mention a most unusual variety of wildlife -- include at least one polar bear! Among the principal survivors were Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox); fugitive Kate Ryan (Evangeline Lilly); has-been rock star Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan); the reclusive and mysterious John Locke (Terry O'Quinn); hot-tempered and self-serving James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway); chauvinistic Korean husband Jin Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim) and his much-put-upon wife, Sun (Yunjin Kim); resourceful former Iraqi Republican Guard Sayid (Naveen Andrews); estranged siblings Shannon Rutherford and Boone Carlisle (Maggie Grace, Ian Somerhalder) -- she's a bitch, he's a control freak; dad Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) and his sullen young son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley); roly-poly comic relief Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia); and very pregnant Aussie Claire Littleton (Emilie de Raven). Forced to rely upon one another to stay alive, this diverse group shares a number of sinister secrets and oft-unsavory interrelationships, with the truth behind each character revealed piecemeal via flashbacks and little-unexpected twists of plot. Adding to the suspense, at least during the series' first season, was the apparent presence of a person not on the passenger list, who seemed determined to bump off the hapless castaways one by one, and a mysterious, terrifying yet unseen monster-like creature. Co-created by J.J. Abrams of Alias and Felicity fame, Lost debuted on September 22, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide