Telling the surreal, fictional story of 48 survivors from a plane crash on a desert island, 'Lost' was developed by US network ABC, which has so far sold it to 180 countries around the world.
The two-hour pilot episode airs at 8.30pm tonight, interrupted by the car-crash TV fare of 'Big Brother' at 9.30pm. It is up against 'Silent Witness' on BBC One, a slavery docudrama on BBC Two, and films 'The Mummy Returns' and 'Belly of the Beast' on ITV1 and Five.
Channel 4 is hoping digital viewers will switch over for the next instalment on E4, now available on Freeview, at 10.50pm.
It has been running an expensive print and TV ad campaign, shot by leading photographer and director David LaChappelle, to prompt viewers to tune in.
The series was filmed on the tropical island of Oahu in Hawaii with ABC spending £5.6m on the pilot alone. It was written and co-created by JJ Abrams, who was previously behind college drama 'Felicity' and spy show 'Alias' starring Jennifer Garner.
'Lost' has an ensemble cast rather than the more recognisable faces of 'Desperate Housewives', which secured audiences of around 5.5m an episode for Channel 4.
The Channel 4 campaign backing 'Lost' has been extensive. It began last month with 60-second cinema trails, designed to capture the show's surreal qualities and hints at the relationships on the island, and was followed by the clip-based programme trails, nationwide posters, including 96-sheets, 48-sheets, special builds and cross tracks, with press gatefold inserts also running in magzines.
The show stars include: Matthew Fox, best known for 'Party of Five'; Dominic Monaghan, the British actor who played Hobbit Merry in the 'Lord of the Rings' films; and Daniel Dae Kim, best known for parts in 'Angel' and '24'.
Advance reviews from British critics have been as effusive as American ones. Polly Hudson writing in the Daily Mirror said: "I can not urge you strongly enough to watch the opening episodes of Lost. Then, I promise, I won't mention it again. I won't need to -- you'll be hooked."
In the US, the Emmy-nominated 'Lost' has boosted US TV network ABC's ratings. Episodes regularly pull in 17m viewers, while 21m tuned in for the first season finale.
Strategy on the campaign was handled by M&B, with media bought by OMD. Creative was by creative director Brett Foraker and implemented by 4Creative.
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