What is the Lost DUI curse?

Many fans believe that there is a "lost DUI curse". Specifically they believe that the producers, whether intentionally or not, punish actors who receive Driving Under the Influence convictions by killing off their characters. The theory was started after Ana Lucia and Libby were killed in a single incident months after the actors who portrayed them were both arrested for DUI in a single incident. Similarly, Mr Eko was killed after the actor who portrays him (Adewale AkinnuoyeAgbaje) had a moving violation, and Jin was apparently killed after Daniel Dae-Kim received a DUI. However, it should be noted that many Lost actors have received moving violations without having their characters killed; also, Adewale was reportedly killed off per his own request, because he wanted to do something else; Daniel Dae-Kim's character Jin is revealed not to be dead at all in season 5.

Was there a Dharma logo on the shark?

Yes, but it had no real significance. It was revealed on the special features disc in the Season 2 Lost boxset that it was an easter egg. In the commentary for that episode, it is mentioned that the Dharma logo was meant to be a lot blurrier and more of a mystery, but due to poor special effects, it ended up clear as day. The Dharma Shark was nicknamed Ezra James Sharkington by Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse on the Official Lost Podcasts and he makes another appearance in the island-underwater scene in "LA X."

Why are there polar bears on the Island? How did the polar bears get off Hydra Island?
As hinted at in Lost: Orientation (#2.3), and confirmed in season 3, the polar bears were part of experiments going on at Dharma. The bears were being trained for increased intelligence and to be able to survive in a non arctic habitat. Some viewers continue to question how the bears got from Hydra island to the main Island. Obviously, at some point when Dharma shut down the bears either escaped or were released. The question of how they got to the main Island is mostly based on fan ignorance of polar bears. Polar bears are excellent swimmers, probably the best mammalian swimmers other than dolphins and whales. Polar bears have been known to swim dozens of miles between ice floes and the relatively short distance between Hydra island and the main island would be an easy distance for them to cover. In "The New Man in Charge" epilogue, it was confirmed that Dharma brought the bears to the island to use as test subjects at the Orchid station.

What are the Lost Mobisodes (Missing Pieces)?

The Lost Mobisodes, called "Missing Pieces," are mini-episodes that are supposed to "fill in the gaps" for us until the fourth season premiere. They are NOT deleted scenes and they were written and produced by the people who write and produce Lost. So far, there are 13 of them and they can be seen on ABC.com and have been released as extras on the Season 4 DVD.

The season three finale confused me. What was happening at the end?
The producers confirmed that the events which we saw off Island in the season 3 finale was a flash forward. This is confirmed by evidence in the episode. The phone and the car which Jack uses were both released after the main action of Lost takes place. A date of April 2007 is also visible on the newspaper clipping which Jack is reading. Seasons 4 through 6 will consist of a mixture of flash forwards and flash backs. Also, one of the clues to hint at it being a flash forward is the name of the funeral parlor Jack visits; It's named "Hoffs/Drawlar Funeral Home," and Hoffs/Drawlar is an anagram for flash forward.

What is the monster?

Who is in the coffin in the Season 3 finale?

Many theories were thrown around on the internet after the Season 3 finale - such as Walt, Michael, and Ben - but the Season 4 finale confirmed that the name of the man was Jeremy Bentham, who turned out to be John Locke, when the body was finally shown. The producers of the show also filmed scenes in which the actors that play Desmond and Sawyer were put into the coffin, to throw spoiler seekers off.

Is X person really dead?

In general, the producers have stated that if someone on Lost appears to have died then they are REALLY dead. The exception to this rule is Sayid, who drowned in the Temple pool in the season six premiere "LA X", was confirmed to be dead by Jack, and apparently came back to life several hours later with his wounds healed. According to the Others, he is "infected" by some sort of darkness, so it is unclear how much of the real Sayid remains, or if he is still Sayid at all. This however is now null and void as Sayid died in the episode "The Candidate"

Are the Mobisodes significant? Do they reveal any information? Do I need to watch them?
Before season four Lost produced a series of short movies known as mobisodes. These were billed as "Lost: Missing Pieces" and were advertised as "filling in gaps in the series." While the quality and interestingness of the mobisodes varies, they mostly contain little important information. Instead they are mostly interesting diversions, with many being slice of life

episodes. The only one which has, potentially, important significance to the plot is the last one to be broadcast, "So it Begins."

How many seasons/episodes are left in Lost?

None. Lost ended its sixth/final season (18 episodes) and series on May, 23rd. 2010.

How can Alex be Ben's daughter?

She's his adopted daughter. Ben adopted her shortly after kidnapping her from Danielle. She was raised to call him dad much like most people who have been adopted do.

Is Christian Shepard alive? Jack asks them to find his father in the flash forward.
Christian Shepard is dead. Jack asks the people in the hospital to find his father because at that point he is drunk. He asks them because he wants to tell himself that he's not becoming his father. In a Season 6 episode, the Man in Black/Smokey confirmed it's been him all along. However, it is widely belived that the Christian Shepard that Jack saw off island in the flash forwards was merely a hallucination caused by his drinking, as Smokey has said he can't leave the island.

Why did Ben shoot Locke in "The Man Behind the Curtain"?
Ben is jealous of Locke and that is seen in season 3, when Ben forces Locke to kill his father, so that he can join the Others. When Locke fails to kill him, Ben says "I'm sorry, he is not who we think he is". It is clear that Ben wants to maintain his leadership, but the belief of the Others that Locke is special, since he started walking again when he crashed on the island, is threatening Ben's position of power. That was reason enough for Ben to shoot Locke, but as we can see, he eventually fails to kill him. Partially due to the fact that Ben shot Locke in the place where his kidney used to be; had the kidney still been there, then Locke would almost certainly have died of acute blood loss. And again, Locke makes an amazingly quick recovery, which convinces even Ben that Locke is special and the island wants to keep him alive for a special reason.

Who is Jacob? Why doesn't he appear when Ben and Locke come in the cabin?
According to Ben, Jacob knows all the secrets of the island. Jacob is first mentioned in Lost: The Man Behind the Curtain (#3.20). He appears (briefly) in the cabin scene in that episode. Firstly when Ben grabs hold of the chair and says: "That's enough, you've had your fun!". Jacob "pushes" Ben against the wall and the camera quickly pans back and we can see a shadowy figure with grey curly hair in the chair. Secondly, before Locke runs out of the cabin, there is a close up of Jacob's eye. He looks from Ben over to Locke. It should be noted that neither of these glimpses provide us with actual clues as to Jacob's appearance. After the episode some fans examined the images to see if it was an already known

actor/character (some even found a resemblance with an extra in an earlier episode). However, the producers have stated that the actor who will play Jacob was not yet cast at the time of Lost: The Man Behind the Curtain (#3.20). Instead, the images of Jacob are a combination of other performers. The image of Jacob sitting in the chair is that of one of the Lost propmasters. The eye, and the voice of Jacob of Lost producer Carlton Cuse. In Lost: The Incident (#5.16), Jacob is shown in full, and is played by Mark Pellegrino. He is clearly not the man who was in the cabin during Lost: The Man Behind the Curtain (#3.20), and in the same episode it is confirmed by Ilana that Jacob has not been using the cabin for some time. This has led to speculation that the man in the cabin was not actually Jacob, but The Man in Black/Smoke Monster, which is sustained by the fact that the ring of ash surrounding the cabin has been disturbed, allowing The Man in Black/Smoke Monster inside (who would normally be unable to cross a layer of ash, as we learn in season 6). More proof comes from Lost: Cabin Fever (#4.11), where John Locke enters the cabin and finds Christian Sheppard inside; The Man in Black later confesses in season 6 that he was impersonating Christian on the island all along. The season 6 episodes Lost: Ab Aeterno (#6.8) and Lost: Across the Sea (#6.14) finally revealed more about Jacob's role on the island. His mother Claudia was shipwrecked on the island in Roman times (44 AD, according to the screenplay), where she gave birth to him, but also to the Man in Black, who is Jacob's fraternal twin. Both were raised by an unknown woman who was already present on the island. She served as the island's caretaker, especially guarding the "Source", a cave filled with the electromagnetic power that makes the island so special, but also has the potential to destroy the world, if released. The caretaker duties went from this woman to Jacob, who has fulfilled the role for nearly 2000 years. Unfortunately, during a fight with The Man in Black, Jacob threw the latter inside the Source, causing its 'evil' power to become manifested as The Smoke Monster. Jacob compares the island to a 'cork', that keeps the island's evil power (i.e. The Man in Black) stuck in a bottle. As long as the caretaker lives, evil cannot escape the island. The reason that Jacob (and the island) have summoned the survivors of Oceanic 815 to the island is that he is seeking a replacement for himself. However, his actions are constantly manipulated by The Man in Black, who desperately seeks a way off the island. There has been a lot of controversy over Jacob's motives for doing things. For instance, according to Ben, Jacob won't allow anyone to leave the island. Although it has been shown that leaving the island is perfectly possible, the point can be made that the ones who succeeded, became so depressed or obsessed that they voluntarily returned. So they were never able to completely 'leave' the island. Why Jacob does this is not explained entirely; perhaps because he felt their presence on the island was absolutely necessary to keep the Man in Black stuck on the island. Others have criticized the fact that Jacob had summoned people to the island and kept them idling by themselves, without giving them proper explanation of what they are doing there or what is expected of them. Perhaps this is answered by Jacob's view that people should make their own choices and not be manipulated; he wants them to find out for themselves what the island is and what it is capable of, before he shows himself. This may be indicated by Richard's line to John, that Jacob eventually would have come to him. And why Jacob does not try to prevent his own death.

Why didn't Locke recognize Richard?

In Lost: Cabin Fever (#4.11) it is revealed that Richard Alpert visited Locke as a child. Yet Locke doesn't recognize Richard when they first meet on the Island. The answer is simple: Locke only met Richard for a few minutes, when he was a young child and never met him again until he landed on the Island. Do you remember everyone you ever met as a child?

Where can I watch the show for free?

If you live in the US you can go to abc.com and use their full episode player to view all six seasons. If you have Windows Vista and are in the US, just go to the windows media center. all three seasons are on there for free. Just go into Internet TV and go to "TV". Under "TV" go to "Series" and you will see all six seasons available for free. The shows only have two 30 second commercials. You can also go to Hulu.com if you are in the US, which has some episodes up with a couple of commercials. Also: Netflix subscribers can take advantage of the free Instant Watch feature on the website, where all 6 seasons of Lost are available to watch for free and without commercials. You can also try on http://download-lost-tv-show-episodes.edogo.com/

What this about Michael Keaton originally being cast as Jack?

When Lost was in pre-production Jack was originally supposed to be played by Michael Keaton. In this scenario Jack would have been killed by the monster when he, Kate, and Charlie went to the cockpit. Afterwards Kate would become the leader of the group. ABC disliked this idea since they felt it was a waste to get viewers emotionally involved with Jack only to kill him off in the first episode. So the producers agreed to keep Jack on permanently. However, Keaton was not interested in doing a series full time. He had only wanted to appear in the pilot. When he backed out they recast the part with Matthew Fox.

Was Ji Yeon a flash back or a flash forward? Is Jin alive in the future?
Lost: Ji Yeon (#4.7) is unusual in that it involves BOTH a flash back and a flash forward. The scenes of Sun giving birth to her daughter are a flash forward. The scenes of Jin trying to buy a stuffed panda are a flash back. This can be seen at the end of both segments. When Jin finally gets to the hospital it turns out that he is not rushing to his own child's birth but is giving a present to the Chinese ambassador. When leaving the hospital Jin comments that he's only been married for three months. At the end of the flash forward Sun travels to Jin's grave. At this point Jin is believed to be dead by the members of the Oceanic Six.

Why was the date on Jin's tombstone the date of the crash?

Remember that the Oceanic Six are lying about what happened. They maintain that only three people besides themselves survived the crash; Charlie, Boone, and Libby. As part of their charade they would pretend that everyone else, including Jin, died on the date of the crash.

If Bernard was sitting in the middle section with Rose then how was he in a seat when Ana Lucia found him?
Bernard had been sitting next to his wife, Rose, in the middle section he had gotten up to go to the bathroom and thus was with the tail section survivors after the plane crash. However, when Ana Lucia found him he was strapped into a chair as if he had been seated there all along. The answer to this question is simple. When the turbulence started on the plane Bernard sat down in a nearby empty seat in the tail section and buckled in.

Why hasn't Hurley lost any weight?

Jorge Garcia who plays Hurley has lost weight. He's noticeably heavier in the first season than in the fourth season. However, the producers have said before that they were not going to force Jorge to lose weight just to maintain verisimilitude on the show. In season 2 Hugo was in charge of the food from the hatch, and he ended up eating a lot of it, and we can assume he kept some for later because he is often seen eating Dharma food in later scenes around the Island. One must also remember that the Oceanic 6 did not spend more than 100 days on the island.

If all the bodies were found in the fake wreckage then how can we explain the Oceanic Six turning up alive?
The answer is simple. When the robot subs investigated the faked 815 crash they did not do an actual head count of every single body. They merely went inside and saw a mass amount of dead bodies and assumed that everyone on board was dead.

SPOILERS: How can Aaron be one of the Oceanic Six? He wasn't on the flight manifest!
Some people have raised this objection to Aaron's inclusion in the Oceanic Six. The truth is that the name "Oceanic Six" is a media term applied to the six people who were rescued from an Island after the crash of flight 815. The fact that Aaron was not actually a registered passenger of Flight 815 (since he had yet to be born) is irrelevant (and one could point out that he definitely was on the plane when it crashed, even though it was in his mother's womb).

Was that Richard that Ben met in the past? Is Richard immortal?
Yes. In "The Man Behind the Curtain" we see Ben, aged approximately ten years, meet Richard in the jungle. While Richard has long unkempt hair, stubble, and is dressed in rags, he appears no

younger than he is in the present. It is clear from this episode that Richard either does not age or ages very slowly. Some have suggested that the man who Ben meets may be Richard's father. However, in the same episode Ben comments to Richard "You remember birthdays don't you?" This is a clear indication that Richard does not age and therefore has less reason to be aware of birthdays. More evidence is presented in episode "Cabin Fever", where Richard visits the young John Locke. We can assume this scene takes place even before the first time Richard met young Ben, and Richard still looks like in the present day scenes. In Season 6, episode Lost: Ab Aeterno (#6.8), it is revealed that Richard is indeed immortal and has been since the 19th Century. He is shown being granted immortality by Jacob, after requesting the gift to live forever, following his wife's death, so he can act as Jacob's intermediary to other inhabitants of the island. This longevity probably lasts only as long as Jacob lives, because in episode Lost: The End (#6.16), Miles pulls a grey hair from Richard's head, suggesting he is aging again and no longer immortal.

SPOILER: Why didn't Charlie swim out the window?

In the season three finale Charlie drowns in the underground "Looking Glass" station when Mikhail blows out a window, causing it to flood. Some people have asked why Charlie did not swim out the window. The simple answer is that the window was too small. Another reason Charlie could not have swam out the porthole is because the ocean water was vigorously flowing in to the station through that window, and the force of it would have been too powerful for Charlie to push through. A more reasonable question is why Charlie shut the door to the room, allowing himself to drown. There was breathing apparatus in the station and the moon room was large and would take some time to fill. Conceivably he could have simply run out of the room and swum out of the station along with Desmond. The closest thing to a good answer that fans have come to is that when Mikhail blew open the window, Charlie decided that he had to fulfill Desmond's vision after all. If he drowned then Aaron and Claire would escape the island per helicopter. If he did not die then anything might happen. It's also reasonable to believe that he locked himself in to prevent Desmond from potentially killing himself by trying to communicate with Penny while the room flooded. A vision which ultimately proved to become true, as both Claire and Aaron ultimately got off the island. It was actually only Aaron who got off by helicopter, though; Claire did not get away until three years later, by plane. Perhaps Desmond's vision wasn't too clear, he may have seen Aaron in a helicopter and assumed it was Claire who was with him.

Was there a Dharma logo on the plane wreckage?

An image, taken from an early episode in season one, has been circulating on the web which shows Walt standing in front of some of the wreckage. Some claim to be able to see a Dharma

logo on the fuselage, which led to speculation that maybe Dharma was involved in the crash somehow. However, the producers confirmed that at that point in the first season they had not yet conceived of the Dharma Initiative, let alone designed the logos for it. The markings are instead standard markings present on many jet liners.

What is the missed clue in the pilot? Did the smoke monster attack the plane?
In one podcast Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse implied that there was an important clue in the pilot that everyone had missed. They have since confirmed that this was just misdirection on their part. Some, however, continue to speculate that something which was missed in the pilot was the smoke monster attacking the plane. There is a piece of footage which, when viewed at slow speeds, clearly shows a dark shape zooming towards one of the engines, which then explodes. However, the producers have stated that this is not the monster, but is rather an improperly rendered CGI effect. What was supposed to be a piece of debris flying away from the exploding engine instead became a dark shape flying towards it. Some also believe that the hidden clue is the Back Gammon game that Locke describes on while introducing it to Walt. He explains that it is the oldest game in the world dating back thousands of years as ancient artifacts from Mesopotamia were found that resemble Back Gammon. Also, he describes how one side is white and the other side being black. This could be describing Jacob (white) and his Nemesis (black). Jacob and The Man in Black can indeed be seen playing a similar game (Senet) in the sixth season episode Lost: Across the Sea (#6.14).

How long have they been on the Island? Has it been four years? How come no one's hair or beards have grown?
The first four seasons of Lost take place on the island across 101 days, from the plane crash on September 22nd, 2004, to the season 4 finale which takes place on December 30th and 31st of 2004; on the 31st, the Oceanic Six are rescued by Penelope Widmore and her crew on the ship The Searcher. On January 7, 2005 (108 days after the crash) the "Oceanic Six" leave The Searcher on a raft and 8 or 9 hours later reach the shores of Sumba, where they are later rescued by the US Government. So, for the Oceanic Six, they spent a total of 108 days stranded. Those left behind - after the island "disappears" - spend a considerable amount of time longer on the island, up to three years longer when we see them again in Season 5. The hair of some of the people has grown. In particular Jin and Sun show quite a bit of growth. Jack, on the other hand, seems to not have grown his hair at all. Presumably Jack simply doesn't grow hair very fast. In the Official Lost Podcast, Damon and Carlton jokingly say that the Dharma Initiative have a hair research station that emits radioactive waves that affect Jack more than the other castaways. This also affects the womens' underarms and legs as well (but only the women), negating the need to shave.

There are also various scenes in which we see some of the characters getting a haircut. In the episode "Born to Run" we see Claire cutting Charlie's hair and in "The 23rd Psalm" we see Kate giving Sawyer a haircut. We also see the characters shaving on more than one occasion as well.

Where do they get their food?

Originally they get their food from boar hunted by Locke, fish caught by Jin, and various fruits and nuts harvested by random people. In season two they discover the Hatch which has plentiful Dharma Initiative brand food. This is augmented by a resupply drop of food later in season two. In "The New Man in Charge" epilogue it was revealed that the pallet drops were sent by two men in Guam who still thought they were working for the Dharma Initiative even though the organization had been defunct for many years.

Were the writers making it up as they went along?

The answer is both yes and no. The writers have stated that they had a long range plan for the series, and that they generally had long range plans for each season, with the freedom to elaborate on the major storylines and add subplots as they went along. For instance, the Dharma initiative was not conceived from the beginning, but came about during pre-production for season 2. New characters like Ana-Lucia and Nikki & Paolo were introduced, but killed off when they proved to be unpopular characters. As it was unknown how long the show would run, the writers had to slow down the progression of the main storyline in the first half of season 3 with new subplots; when it was finally decided that the show would end in its sixth season, they could finally start wrapping up storylines. However, sometimes the long-term plans changed. One example of this is Michael Emerson is Ben. Originally he was hired only for the one story arc in season two. At the end of that arc he would have been revealed to either be an innocent man, or some low level Other who we might see occasionally as a recurring character. However, the producers were so impressed with Emerson's performance that they decided to hire him as a series regular and made his character the leader of the Others and of major importance to the plot. Another specific example is Mr. Eko, who was originally supposed to remain on the show. But Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje had asked to be written off Lost, citing a desire to return to London after his parents' recent passing and to direct a film there. In an interview with Lostpedia, David Fury, who wrote a number of important first series episodes, commented that the "Whispers", which were eventually explained as trapped souls and which were first shown in the episode Solitary which he wrote, were initially supposed to be the Others who at that time were conceived of as feral jungle dwellers. After season six ended Fury also contended that there was no long term plan for most of the shows mysteries and that, as in any tv show, LOST made up some of its stories as it went along.

What song was Jack listening to in "Through The Looking Glass"?

Scentless Apprentice, by Nirvana.

Why was Jin caught in the "time jumping" and the helicopter was not?

The simple answer is that Jin was simply within the area of effect while the helicopter was not. The line has to be somewhere and the helicopter was near it but on one side while Jin was on the other side. Another explanation is that the area of effect around the island is like a dome, the helicopter was above that dome and Jin was within the dome.

Why are the seasons so short?

A regular American tv season will have between 22 and 24 episodes. That was the case for the first three seasons of Lost. but since season four the seasons have only been scheduled to have 14-16 episodes. What happened was that after season three the producers only wanted to do two more seasons. They didn't want Lost to go on too long and wanted to give themselves a timeline for wrapping up the shows mysteries. ABC wanted to get as much value out of Lost as possible, and wanted them to do at least three more seasons. The two sides compromised. They would do three seasons but these seasons would be short. So instead of having two seasons of twenty four episodes, for a total of forty eight episodes, they will have three seasons of around 16 episodes, for a total of 48. This plan was disrupted somewhat by the writer's strike of 2007-2008 which occurred mid way through Lost's fourth season. Since Lost had begun production so much earlier than most dramas that season they were less affected than some, but the strike still caused them to shorten their season by a few episodes. Those episodes will be added to seasons five and six.

Are Nikki and Paulo who were "killed" by the spiders still alive? They were buried, but opened their eyes.
Nikki and Paulo were not dead upon burial, but it is assumed they died shortly after as they were buried alive. In a scene in later seasons, Miles walks along an area of the beach, and seems to feel uneasy for a second, in a similar manner to when he communicates with the deceased. It is possible that he felt this from Paulo & Nikki. SPOILER! They are dead because when Ben tries to bribe Miles in Season 6, Miles replies that he wouldn't want Ben's money because there are two people buried "over there" (they are on the beach) with millions in diamonds.

Is Locke really dead?

Yes. The Man in Black took on his form after his body was brought back to the island. The real Locke was subsequently buried, and is really dead.

Why was there a large statue on the island, and why did it have four toes on each foot?
The season 5 finale and the final season revealed that many people prior to the crash of Oceanic 815 have found their way to the island, either by accident, or because the island (or Jacob) made

them come over. The most logical explanation would be that a number of ancient Egyptians once arrived on the island. We know from season 3 that one of the island's properties is that men become more fertile, producing more sperm cells. The Egyptians must have noticed this in the increasing amount of offspring they produced, and therefore built the statue, which represents Taweret, the Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility, and also the protector against evil, as a sign of gratitude to the gods. Egyptian gods are usually hybrids between humans and animals (Taweret displays characteristics of hippopotami, lions and crocodiles), and the four toes instead of five may reflect this. These Egyptian inhabitant are probably also responsible for many, if not all the hieroglyphic-ornamented ruins on the island. They probably also had run-ins with the Smoke Monster, which would explain why they built a special temple for him: they see him as the aid of Anubis, god of Death, and built the temple to appease him.

What lies in the shadow of the statue?/What did Richard say in Latin in The Incident
In season five Ilana and Bram use the question "What lies in the shadow of the statue" as a shibboleth to determine who is on their side. In the s5 finale they ask the question of Richard and he answers them in Latin. What he says, an answer which apparently satisfies them, is "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" - "He who will protect/save us all."

Is Caesar really dead?

Yes, he is in fact dead.

Who is Jack's sister that Dogan refers to?

Claire. Although technically only his half sister we learn in season three that Christian Shepard is the father of Claire Littleton.

If the Island is sunk then how are Ethan and Ben alive?
It was revealed in "The End" that the "flash sideways universe" takes place in the afterlife, so Ethan & Ben were not alive in those segments and the island was only underwater in the afterlife.

Why is Richard wearing eyeliner?

He isn't. Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard, has naturally dark eyes with thick, well-defined eyelashes. If you see him in other roles, such as in The Dark Knight, where he plays the mayor, he looks the same. Also, in one of the season 5 featurettes, while Nestor is getting his make-up applied, the make-up artists apply make-up to his eyelashes, so that they do not appear to be as dark.

How much is JJ Abrams involved with this show?

The basic answer is not at all any more When ABC was developing Lost, they approached JJ Abrams, who at the time was producing Alias for the network, to revamp the original proposal. Abrams brought on Damon Lindelof, and the two of them created the premise and characters of Lost. Abrams developed the opening sequence and theme song and developed or co-developed many of the ideas in the show such as flashbacks, and the hatch. He also wrote and directed the two part pilot. Abrams production company, Bad Robot, continues to produce the show. However, early in season one, Abrams began devoting more and more time to developing Mission Impossible III. At this point Carlton Cuse came on as a show runner with Damon Lindelof, and Abrams stopped having any day to day input into the show. His last credited contribution to the show was co-writing the season three premiere "A Tale of Two Cities."

Who is Jeffrey Lieber and what is his contribution to Lost?

Lost began as a suggestion from ABC executive Lloyd Braun for something like "Castaway: the Series". Jeffrey Lieber pitched an idea for a series he called "Nowhere" which would lack the science fiction elements of Lost and be more focused on group dynamics and conflict. He developed a number of characters for the show and wrote a pilot. ABC ultimately passed on Nowhere and brought in JJ Abrams to develop the idea into a series. Liber felt that a number of the characters and concepts which eventually made their way into Lost were similar to his own ideas for Nowhere and he asked the Writers Guild of America for arbitration. The WGA ruled in favor of Lieber, saying that his ideas contributed substantially to the characters and pilot of Lost. Lieber is credited as a co-creator on all episodes of Lost and receives appropriate paychecks, but he has had no creative input since ABC rejected Nowhere.

Why doesn't Richard speak with a Spanish accent?

In the episode Ab Aeterno we learn that Richard came to the Island in the 19th century and spoke Spanish as his native language. Several Spanish speaking fans have noted that Richard doesn't speak Spanish with the accent used in Spain but with one that sounds more Latin American. However, as the title card in the episode reveals, Richard is not from Spain itself but rather Tenerife in the Canary Islands, a Spanish colony off the coast of Africa. Canary Islanders speak a dialect of Spanish closer to Latin American Spanish than that spoken in Spain and at least one fan native to the Canary Islands felt that Richards accent was a reasonable approximation of a Canary Island accent. Also, he speaks perfect American English in the present because after a couple hundred years on the island, it would be more than enough time to perfect a language.

How come Sawyer is a cop in the alternate timeline? How come Jack has a son? We never saw this before.
Some fans assumed that the alternate timeline seen in the "flash sideways" of season six, was one where the only difference was that Flight 815 did not crash. Given that presumption they were confused by the fact that Jack has a teenage son who was never previously mentioned on the

show and that Sawyer "suddenly" became a cop when he was previously a con man. In reality, the flash sideways timeline has differences which predate Flight 815. It is revealed that the island is under water, and therefore, it has not affected the lives of the characters to the extent it did in the other timeline. In addition to Jack's son and Sawyer's career choices, there's the fact that Hurley is lucky rather than unlucky and has never been in a mental institution. Desmond was onboard Flight 815, and has never been on the island. Daniel is a mucisian instead of a scientist. Kate was charged with murdering an employee of her stepfather rather than her stepfather, and Locke is engaged to Helen and had gone to Australia on a fake business trip rather than being separated from Helen and using his vacation time to attempt a Walkabout.

How many people are in the entire main cast?

The entire series of LOST has a total of 34 main cast members. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Mr. Eko Sam Anderson - Bernard Nadler Naveen Andrews - Sayid Hassan Jarrah L. Scott Caldwell - Rose Nadler Nestor Carbonell - Richard Alpert Franois Chau - Pierre Chang Henry Ian Cusick - Desmond David Hume Jeremy Davies - Daniel Faraday Emilie de Ravin - Claire Littleton Michael Emerson - Benjamin Linus Jeff Fahey - Frank J. Lapidus Fionnula Flanagan - Eloise Hawking Matthew Fox - Jack Shephard Jorge Garcia - Hugo Reyes Maggie Grace - Shannon Rutherford Josh Holloway - James 'Sawyer' Ford

Malcolm David Kelley - Walter 'Walt' Lloyd Daniel Dae Kim - Jin-Soo Kwon Yunjin Kim - Sun-Hwa Kwon Ken Leung - Miles Straume Evangeline Lilly - Katherine 'Kate' Anne Austen Rebecca Mader - Charlotte Staples Lewis Elizabeth Mitchell - Juliet Burke Dominic Monaghan - Charlie Hieronymus Pace Terry O'Quinn - Johnathan 'John' Locke/The Man in Black Harold Perrineau - Michael Dawson Zuleikha Robinson - Ilana Verdansky Michelle Rodriguez - Ana Lucia Cortez Kiele Sanchez - Nikki Fernandez Rodrigo Santoro - Paulo Ian Somerhalder - Boone Carlyle John Terry - Christian Shephard Sonya Walger - Penelope 'Penny' Hume Cynthia Watros - Elizabeth 'Libby' Smith

What are the numbers?

The reality games for Lost, written by the writers of the show, shows that 4, 8, 15, 16 and 23 are constants in the Valenzetti Equation. In Lost lore, the Valenzetti Equation calculates the time left until humanity destroys itself through nuclear war, disease, whatever. One of the goals of the DHARMA Initiative is to change these numbers (give humanity more time until it destroys itself). Why DHARMA would have this as the code to activate the magnetic discharge under the Swan is unknown; perhaps they simply needed an activation code, and they thought it would be appropriate to use the factors of the equation they were researching (and, to make sure no one would accidentally forget it, they may had it marked on the side of the hatch as well).

The Numbers, 4, 8,15, 16, 23, and 42 are revealed in Season Six to be the numbers associated with the final six candidates to replace Jacob. It isn't clear if this is coincidence or fate or if the writers included it because the numbers have become so recognizable with Lost. One could argue that having the Man in Black/Smokey leave the island would be bad news - and somehow bring the end of humanity, ergo, the numbers COULD be related to the Valenzetti Equation. But Jacob is sort of pseudo-omnipresent and since the Valenzetti Equation was written in the 1960's by the UN, he probably wouldn't know about it. The presence of the numbers, however, precede the formulation of the equation, as Hurley heard the numbers from a fellow patient in the institute, who in turn heard them broadcasted over the radio in a submarine during the Second World War. It is safe to say that the numbers themselves existed quite some time before they ended up in the Valenzetti equation. The individual numbers also pop up a significant number of times on other occasions during the show. So whether the emergence of the numbers in seemingly independant places is coincidence of fate is one of the returning themes in Lost.

The end had me confused. What happened?

What did Daniel Faraday try to achieve with the nuclear explosive? And did it work?
This is a VERY complex matter, so let's start with some simple theory of temporal dynamics. Daniel maintained that altering the present by going back into the past and changing the chain of events is impossible. Let's say you have event A, which leads to event B, which in turn leads to outcome C: Equation A --> B --> C. Let's assume event A is the building of the Swan Station/the Hatch. Building this hatch in 1977 leads to the event that Desmond, who works there, forgets to push the button one day in 2004 (event B). This, in turn, causes a large buildup of electromagnetic energy, leading to the crash of Oceanic 815 (outcome C). When outcome C has occurred, this chain of events has become fixed. A, B an C are constants that cannot be influenced anymore. Following this theory, travelling back in time and intervening (Iv) to disrupt event A in order to prevent B and C from occurring, would be of no use. Either those actions fail to prevent event A, or they will actually cause A to happen. The chain of events is maintained in any way: Iv --> A --> B --> C. Another example: Said tries to kill Ben in order to prevent him from becoming an evil adult. This causes Kate and Sawyer to take Ben to Richard, who cures him, but through which he becomes one of the others. Later Daniel revises this theory, stating that it IS possible to change the present, as long as there are variables present (in this case, people who travelled in time and and try to alter it). In this new theory, it is possible to intervene (Iv) and prevent A, by changing it into another event (say D) which will lead to a whole new event E and a new outcome F: Equation Iv --> D --> E --> F. For instance, by destroying the pocket of electromagnetic energy with a nuclear bomb (Iv), the Hatch cannot be built and A will not occur. Event D is that no station is present from 1977 on. This will cause E: no energy buildup is present to disrupt Flight 815, and this will lead to outcome F: Flight 815 does not crash and lands safely on LAX.

Juliet eventually succeeds in detonating the bomb, but it has an unforseen effect: instead of being killed in the blast, the survivors find themselves in 2007, but still in the same timeline they had once left when the time-jumps occurred. Perhaps the bomb triggered the electromagnetic energy on the island to cause a final time-jump to the future. Whatever the explanation of this unforseen time-travel is, the remains of the imploded Hatch are still there, indicating that the attempt to prevent it from being built has failed, and the first theory seems to apply: it has been impossible to change the present. However, it seems that the intervention has caused another timeline to branch off from 1977, in which the Hatch has indeed not been built and Oceanic 815 does not crash (second theory). So it appears that from the point of intervention, two timelines have sprouted, one following the A --> B --> C equation, and the other the D --> E --> F. However, the final episode reveals this to be untrue. The new timeline is revealed to be a form of the afterlife or Purgatory, where everybody ends up after their death. So we can assume that there was only one timeline after all, in which the present cannot be changed: Iv --> A --> B --> C. It can be postulated that the explosive power of the bomb and the electromagnetic power of the pocket cancelled each other out, or the electromagnetic power absorbed the blast of the bomb. In any way, this (temporarily) drained or closed the electromagnetic energy source, long enough for the Dharma Initiative to build a station around it and regulate its power. Years later, the survivors watch the infamous DI instruction videos, in which Dr Chang mentioned an "incident" taking place (probably referring to the opening of the energy pocket and subsequent electromagnetism being released, but he could also have referred to a group of colleagues starting a riot and throwing a nuclear device inside the pocket). Note also that the intervention by Jack and his friends caused Dr Chang's hand getting crushed, explaining his prosthetic hand in the videos. So when they watched these tapes from the past, they never realized that they themselves had already played a part in that history (although from their perspective, this still had to happen). All events finally lead to Desmond forgetting to push the button one day, causing Oceanic 815 to crash. So in travelling back in time and trying to prevent their crash from happening, Jack and his friends actually caused all the events in the past to happen. So in short: no, Daniel's plan did not work.