by Kat Derrig

Created on: February 23, 2007   Last Updated: October 05, 2011

As one of the hottest shows on television, Lost has won over fans for its intrigues, unexpected plot twists, and sensational character development. The one thing, though, that makes Lost stand out from every other show on television is the way its over-arcing mystery, i.e. the island's relationship with the powerful and secretive Hanso foundation, as well as the secret of the "numbers", is not isolated to the crash incident, but seems to permeate all the characters' lives, and has even become an internet phenomenon.

[In this review I have made the assumption that the reader has seen the show, or at least knows a few basic plot points, i.e. that this is a program about a group of individuals stranded on an island after a plane crash surrounded by mysterious circumstances.]

Lost is a show to be viewed carefully. Watch it on a DVR or rent the seasons, because these episodes need to be rewound. For example, in a flashback scene (presented as having taken place years earlier) of Locke standing casually in a driveway, you can look across the street and see a real estate agent...look carefully and you will see a fellow islander. The characters continually appear in one another's previous lives...often in the background. The numbers do as well: watch for them in unexpected places, like on the backs of the jerseys of a soccer team in the airport.

Nothing is coincidence. Also watch for names of companies. Much of the "conspiracy" aspect of Lost stems from the island's involvement with what appears to be a scientific research project, known as the Dharma Initiative, connected with the aforementioned Hanso Foundation. This aspect of the show connects the island with the outside, and with a larger purpose. Doing so makes the characters and action less isolated - no "Gilligan's Island" here!

The sense of isolation is also lessened to a great degree by the flashbacks, which really serve to develop the strong characters of Lost. Through their memories and dreams, we learn about their previous lives and loves...and begin to suspect they were not on that plane by coincidence. There is a sense of their being "chosen", and the viewer must decide by whom or what - a secret organization, or a Higher Power?

Throughout the seasons the characters are tested by the island, which is actually a character itself. Even besides the strange physical entities which live there, such as polar bears, there is a life force with the capability to be benign or malevolent, healing or wounding. The

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