North Star Writers Group

“Lost” and I met about three months ago. I was on the rebound after a disappointing Super Bowl, and I needed to get attached to something that would distract my mind’s attention. My wife and I had heard a little bit about “Lost”, but neither one of us was busting with anticipation. This changed right around episode two, disc one, season one. As we wrapped up the second season about a day later, we had become full-blown, don’t notice the phone ringing or the knocking at the door, gather as much food as you can store within arm’s reach, carefully schedule your potty breaks, addicts.

Now that we can only watch one episode per week, some semblance of sanity has been regained. And as time slowly passes between weeks, I’ve finally had the opportunity to ponder the question: Why is this show so addicting?

Obvious Reason #1: Quite similar to “Friends”, nearly everyone on “Lost” is really, really, ridiculously good-looking. And well-groomed, actually, which I acknowledge as one of the mysteries of the island. Every inhabitant miraculously wears trendy clothes and has trendy hairstyles that change from episode to episode. If my wife has counted accurately, Claire has flat-ironed and produced her way through 43 different hairstyles during her brief-by-comparison stay on the island.

Obvious Reason #2: The consistently unsatisfied hunger for an explanation. As a matter of fact, some people have found themselves so fed up with the unanswered questions that they have stopped watching. But we don’t need another Gilligan’s Island. The truth that we usually can’t admit is that cleanliness and resolution is incredibly boring. “Lost” capitalizes on this reality with reckless abandon.

Not-So-Obvious Reason#1: I once heard it said that Shakespeare loved his characters before he judged them. He not only sought to understand the evil lurking beneath the surface, but he sought to discover the good. I think a similar epidemic can be found in “Lost”. Almost every character is complex, believable and accessible. This is what makes any character likable. There are probably millions of stories that include the entire history of a person, or at least those traumatic events that directly and almost completely explain the person they are today. It’s overdone, but “Lost” has taken the opportunity to give a history of over 20 characters. None of them is one-dimensional, and therefore, neither can they be predictable. They might be predictable like a friend, but they are not predictable like Indiana Jones, or Hugh Grant, errr… I mean William Thacker. (That’s the name of the character he played in “Notting Hill”. I had to look it up.)

Not-So-Obvious Reason #2: It is philosophical. I know you can argue about anything being philosophical, but I think “Lost” really succeeds. What I find to be the most moving theme in the series is that on an island, everyone rediscovers their humanity. It is truly humbling. Doctors, convicts, con-men, fast-food employees, rich people, poor people, are all reduced to their true selves. Some characters welcome the change, while others initially resent it. But what “Lost” illustrates so effectively is that everyone, when reduced to humanity, can find redemption.

What all this primarily points to is intelligent writing, which is often hard to find.

Good fiction backs up its miracles or inexplicable events with believable characters, in order to explore the extremes of humanity. Our rational minds will only allow for the supernatural if we trust the authors to keep our characters believable. Stories like these have the opportunity to be thought-provoking and affecting. I would not be surprised if every “Lost” fan had a different character who especially affected them. It’s one of those rare shows that might have a lousy episode here and there, and the plot may even get frustrating or boring, but the audience keeps coming back because they care for and are concerned for the characters. In a creepy, pathetic, but sweet sort of way, the characters become our friends.

The “Lost” season finale is this Wednesday night, and I am what you might refer to as, stupid excited. I’m talking Eagles game excitement. This is a big deal. If you haven’t been watching, be careful with the manner in which you begin. Poor planning can take any antisocial tendencies to a critically dangerous level. Depending on your situation, it might not be worth the risk. But if you find that it is worth the risk, it will do more than radically affect your schedule. If you’re not careful, it might even change you.

Click here to talk to our writers and editors about this column and others in our discussion forum.

To e-mail feedback about this column, click here. If you enjoy this writer's work, please contact your local newspapers editors and ask them to carry it.

This is Column # NS056. Request permission to publish here.