4 8 15 16 23 42

It’s time to return to the island.

It seems like forever since the camera panned around the coffin lid to reveal Locke lying on the padded satin in a traditional dead man’s pose. (Is it contradictory to say his corpse was very life-like?) A gasp heard around the world. This guy walked out of his wheel chair, crawled out of a grave. Not possible. He can’t be dead.

But that’s just one of the oodles of mysteries surrounding the survivors of Oceanic flight 815. Hopefully some answers, along with some new mysteries, will be revealed with the kick-off of the ‘09 season this Wednesday.

I’m not a Lost “trekkie”. (Would that officially be a Lostie?) I don’t visit forums or attend conventions. I don’t have Lost parties or drink a shot of booze every time Ben’s eyes bulge. No t-shirts. No I heart Jack pillowcases. But…..my name is Pat and I’m a Lost-aholic.

This show gets noted on my calendar and the rest of my life fits in around it. Honestly, I don’t watch much TV, but Lost got under my skin from Day One and I can’t kick the addiction. Even when silly things happen….(a polar bear on a tropical island?)…and when things make me angry …(the death of Mr. Eco)…I remain loyal and enthralled and completely captivated.

Maybe the Dharma initiative is drugging my water.

At the heart of the matter, I am an intelligence junkie and this show is well written. I am a creativity groupie and this show sets new standards for being clever and fresh. I am a sucker for interesting, flawed characters and this show has them by the bucketful.

When Lost premiered skeptics scoffed that you couldn’t keep an island survivor show from bogging down in tedium, but the writers shot down those nay-sayers with the intriguing back stories of central characters. The past couple of seasons they raised their own bar with the flash forward.

I love a show (a book, a movie, anything) that makes me pay attention. That challenges the thought process. That surprises.

If you think Lost is unsubstantial, you haven’t been paying attention. And you probably haven’t been viewing the re-telecasted shows that feature the captions at the bottom of the screen. Reading those insights, everyone can finally “get” all the thought the writers have put into the plot, the hidden deeper meaning.

For example: The winning lottery numbers that plague Hurley…4 8 15 16 23 42….are the same numbers that had to be put into the computer in the Swan every 108 minutes so the island won’t blow up. Those numbers add up to 108…..and 108 is an important number in Buddhist mythology that refers to sins or defilements.

There’s so much more. For all the clever details, the good folks at Wiki have compiled their own Lost reference site. You can visit at: www.lostpedia.wikia.com

Now you know where I will be on Wednesday nights for the next few months. Time is running out for this series and there are many, many beguiling story lines to be reconciled:

- What did Sawyer say to Kate before he jumped out of the helicopter?
- How do the Others get off/on the island; why do they keep coming back?
- Who the heck is Jacob and why does he whisper?
- How come Richard never gets any older?

Okay fellow Losties….I know you are out there. What questions do you want answered?