Think inside the box to find 'Lost' extras

SERIES: “Lost — The Complete Collection”

LIST PRICES: DVD box of all six seasons runs $230 (expect discounts to $150). Blu-ray runs $280 (discounts to $200). Also out today from ABC is the Season 6 set, at $60 DVD / $80 Blu-ray.

WHAT YOU GET: The “Complete Collection” is a collectibly packaged eyepopper, designed more to wow a gift recipient than for practical daily use. To get to the discs takes nearly a dozen steps, which include pulling plastic off an outer protective box, removing a promotional paper wrap and pulling out a corrugated folder that holds in place the trapezoid-shaped, embossed-board set box.

The set’s half-inch-thick top pops off to reveal an Island relief map on the reverse side. You next find a horizontal episode-guide booklet. Under that comes another hard board, for the set’s replica Senet game, play pieces for which are underneath in lengthwise drawers bordering the inner slipcase.

That embossed sleeve, which echoes the entire box’s sand-etched theme, is at least shelvable for easy access, although at 10 inches high, it won't fit a standard DVD shelf. Its cardboard season-set foldouts are reasonably sturdy.

“Lost” looks superb on-screen, of course. All the bonus features of previous season sets repeat here. So what’s new?

EXTRAS: Season 6 featurettes put the series’ finish in profound perspective. “Crafting a Final Season” delivers nearly 40 documentary minutes of emotional behind-the-scenes footage and smart interviews. “Hero’s Journey” explores the story’s mythical undertones. “See You in Another Life, Brotha” examines those flash-sideways timelines. The new 12-minute epilogue “The New Man in Charge,” featuring Michael Emerson (Ben) and Jorge Garcia (Hurley), provides fresh details about the Dharma Initiative and one otherwise unresolved original character.

So then you’re left digging for the “Complete Collection’s” much-hyped only-here bonus disc. Is it missing? Nope, it’s “hidden.” So well, in fact, that I decided to break a piece of my set to see if it might be in there, which, indeed, it was.

This disc is such an informative, affectionate tribute to “Lost” that it actually made me want to rewatch the series from the start. In the 40-minute “Letting Go,” cast and crew discuss their love for Hawaii and the team at various island locations. “Artifacts of the Island” goes inside the prop house to chart character history. And there’s a lot more.

WHY TO BUY: Like “Lost” itself, these disc sets are beautifully designed and produced, further enriching the show’s provocative universe.