Forget "The O.C." Welcome to a different kind of drama about cursed numbers and ominous whispers. One of the hottest, most highly anticipated shows on primetime television is finally back. The new season of "Lost" premieres tonight and promises to pick up the loose ends of the jaw-dropping cliffhanger season finale.
The show was one of two surprise breakout hits for ABC in 2004, along with "Desperate Housewives." While the juicy, cynical, soap opera style of the latter show appeared more likely to invite imitations on other networks, surprisingly, it is the fantastical qualities of the marooned-on-an-island drama that have inspired new shows for the fall lineup, such as "Threshold," an alien invasion mystery-thriller on CBS.
The premise of "Lost" is that a plane has crashed on an uncharted island, and the first season chronicles the survivors' first forty days exploring their new home. Simple enough, right? Actually, the characters have to deal with much more than learning how to make a decent fire. This show is no ordinary 'Lord of the Flies' storyline.
Instead, the plot mixes "Castaway"-type exploits with darker, deeper, more enigmatic issues. This mysterious island is home to such supernatural dangers as the elusive but deadly 'beast' and a mad French woman who knows about 'the others,' an obscure group searching for the even more obscure 'boy.'
Intertwined with the characters' experiences on the island are flashbacks to their colorful and furtive pasts, such as that of Hurley, the lottery winner whose ticket numbers are associated with almost every catastrophe the refugees encounter.
In the shocking season finale, the aforementioned French woman warned everyone that black smoke on the island would signify when 'the others' were coming to take 'the boy' - sure enough, the characters witnessed a thick column of black smoke rising from the center of the island. Their arrival resulted in the death of three cast members and the kidnapping of seven-year-old Walt.
Meanwhile, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) finally succeeded in blasting open the mysterious hatch, discovering a ladder-like structure inside.
If you are fuzzy on all the details of last season, you need not break out the Season One DVD (like you did with "The O.C.") because at 8 p.m., you can prepare for the premiere with "Destination: Lost," a special program that will highlight key events from the first season. The one-hour season premiere will follow at 9 p.m.
With all the questions the finale raised, this season promises to resolve some, but likely not all. According to previews, viewers will see the contents of the hatch early on in the season, learn what became of Jack's wife, what Hurley's life was like before he won the lottery, how Locke became wheelchair-bound, and what those cryptic numbers mean.
Michelle Rodriguez will join the cast as a previously unknown survivor from the plane crash (and actually as the woman that Jack met at the airport bar in Part One of the season finale). Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje will star as a mysterious resident of the island (another one?).
Get ready for another riveting, thrilling season of twists and suspense.
