Lost and Heroes were not as big-budget as you think. Much of the money was spent on doing things quicker, as they only had 5-7 working days to shoot each episode. This meant simpler writing, simpler direction, simpler sets and very samey episodes. The cast and crew were simply fighting to get something in the can, regardless of quality.
Lost and Heroes were not as big-budget as you think. Much of the money was spent on doing things quicker, as they only had 5-7 working days to shoot each episode. This meant simpler writing, simpler direction, simpler sets and very samey episodes. The cast and crew were simply fighting to get something in the can, regardless of quality.
The Lost pilot was the most expensive episode of TV ever, at the time IIRC.
That doesn’t mean the whole show was expensive though. I guess wandering around forests in Hawaii isn’t that costly.
Once they bought a scrap plane, built sets and exteriors, ongoing costs were not huge.