Even though the Iraq war still rages on, even though we are currently smack dab in the middle of a very crucial primary Presidential election season (click here for CNN's take on the Democratic debate they hosted last night), and even though there is still enough scandal investigations going around to fill SEVERAL blog pages, I want to take a small break from politics and get 'Lost' for a moment. Care to get lost with me?

So, I have know about this show 'Lost' on ABC since it's inception. I have followed it's enormous success, seen it win countless awards, and even experienced the affects it has on it's rabid fans. I have even watched an episode or two myself throughout the years, but this has all been done in the periphery. HAS been done peripherally that is, up until this past week when my wife and I got lost.

Since the summer is here now, and that means the prime time shows we watch are on hiatus until the fall (notable exceptions, 'Studio 60', which is a GREAT show and the upcoming season of 'Big Brother 8'), we were left with some time in the evenings to throw the 'Lost' DVDs on our Netflix queue and see what all the fuss is about. I must say, I am SO glad that we did! I know we are about 3 years too late on this, and I almost feel silly now for being so blind, but I am so glad we finally opened our eyes to the wonderment of this program. With so much crap on the television, being forced fed to us by the major networks, it is refreshing when something like this comes along and reminds us all of how good television could be, and should be. The production value on this is great, the writing is superb, and even the acting is admirable (have to admit, I have never been a big fan of Matthew Fox dating back to the 'Party of Five' days). I can see now that it is more than deserving of it's accolades.

Why, beyond it's writing and acting, has it become so popular? Well, without getting into too much psychology or philosophy (I don't take my philosophy class until next month!), I think the reasons are pretty simple. I think we all secretly have a desire in us to get lost. I think the idea of abandoning our hectic lives and our modern day 'conveniences' (that, more often than not, seem to work to enslave us) and returning to a more base level of humanity is appealing. I think we would all like to see what is inside of us, and how we would really respond to such a dramatic occurrence in our lives. We would all like to *think* that we would be a Jack, but maybe we are really a Sawyer. Or maybe we are one of the boring supporting cast members. Until we go through that experience, we will never know. All visual medium, such as movies and television, is a form of escapism, but the concept of 'getting lost' or stranded (as exemplified in the success of other things, such as 'Survivor' or 'Castaway') holds a special place in our hearts and minds. At least that is my take.

We are currently only 8 episodes into the first season, and anxiously awaiting the next Netflix arrival to continue the journey. Our hope is to catch up with the first 3 seasons before the 4th one kicks off, so we can enjoy the adventure, real time, along with the rest of you. In the meantime, while you are all waiting for season 4 and for us to catch up, here are some cool 'Lost' links I found (spoilers included!):

• Wikipedia's page
  
• Lostpedia
  
• Lost.com Fansite
  
• Oceanic Flight 815
  
• Lost Media
  
• Episode guide
  
• The Tail Section