LOST: The Birth of an Obsession

With the fifth season of Lost coming to a close last night, I started to think about why it is that I am so fascinated by a television program. I remember that on the night of May 25th, 2005, I was flipping through channels looking for something to watch. I stopped on a show that was showing a man holding a corroded stick of dynamite in the jungle and explaining how dangerous it is. As he was demonstrating how to handle the dynamite, it exploded, sending pieces of him flying everywhere. That was the first time I watched any of the television show Lost, and I was intrigued enough to watch the rest of the episode.

It turned out to be the season finale that night. The cliffhanger was compelling, even though I had no idea what was really going on. I had heard people at work talking about the show, and saw lots of commercials for it, but I was never that interested in watching it. The summer went by and I started seeing commercials for the new season. I remembered how much I liked the finale so I decided to watch the season premier. I enjoyed the season premier so I kept watching the show. When I watched the following scene from third episode "Orientation" I knew Lost was my kind of show.




Having missed so much of the first season I realized that I needed to see all the episodes so that I could better understand what was going on. I asked for the season 1 DVD for Christmas and my mom got it for me. Valerie and I plowed through the first season in a couple weeks and were caught up before the new episodes started after the Christmas break. All the mysteries, characters, and twists and turns of the plot had me hooked. I soon found myself looking at Lost message boards and forums looking to see what other people were saying about the show. Then along came episode 17 of season two, "Lockdown." When the following image grace my television screen, Lost when from an interest to an obsession.

It is a picture of a map that has been painted on a blast door that only comes down during a lockdown that is supposed to only happen during a food drop; and it can only be seen in black light. It kind of sounds silly when I type it out of context to the show; but when I first saw it, it completely blew my mind. I was fascinated by the mythology and was on the edge of my seat during every new episode. I still eagerly anticipate every new episode, and love to discuss it and break it down with others who enjoy the show with me. I don't really get on the message boards or read theories like I used to, but I still like reading recaps of the episodes to get other people's viewpoints or to catch something I missed. Next season will be the last for Lost and I have no doubt that it will be just as riveting as the previous five. I know it's only a TV show, but it sure is a heck of a lot of fun!