What's in a name?

What does a name mean on Lost? We've analyzed and even over analyzed the meaning of character's names.

(See picture at right: C.S. Lewis = Charlotte Staples Lewis.)

From Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly:

In Lost, names mean something. So when the season premiere included a fleeting scene involving a new character who made a point of identifying himself, I began searching the Web for ''Dan Norton'' in hopes of unearthing a connection to Lost. But after a few weeks, the best I could do was find a comic artist named Dan Norton who has such a wide array of credits, one of them was bound to have something in common with a time-travel TV show with a blood-seeking lawyer. (Vampire By Night, perhaps?) I wasn't satisfied, so I kept digging, and just when I was about to quit, I stumbled upon a 1952 academic tome called Classical Myths in English Literature, co-authored by...Dan S. Norton. More than that, my Google search took me to one page in particular, and I was electrified by a sense of Eureka! discovery. It was like stumbling across a hidden hatch in the middle of the jungle and finding my purpose inside.

Washington Post chat for episode 5.3

Check out this chat by Washington Post Losties.

Mostly rank speculation with some amusing banter. It also ties together things we may not have thought of.

Looks to be a spoiler free zone.

Lost Redux 5.3

E!Online's Watch With Kristin may have said it best in summing up last night's Lost: "What the hell?" "Who the hell?" "When the hell?!"

She wraps up what we learned and what could lie ahead.

If you don't want even mild spoilers, stop reading after the picture of Juliet and Sawyer after you click the link above. Sawyer is holding a gun.

And here's Entertainment Weekly's recap of the episode.

Why do the Others speak Latin, you ask? ... "One idea — suggested to me by Joley Wood of powells.com — is that it's a link to the novel Utopia, which was written in Latin. The best bit: The leaders of the Island utopia in the novel were called... Bencheaters. (Ben-cheaters.)" Huh. Me, I just assumed it was because (A) Latin is very old and the island is very old; and (B) pretty much no one else on Earth outside the Vatican is going to understand it. Latin also has an extracurricular resonance for this episode that I'll touch on in a bit.

UPDATE: And here's another EW review by Doc Jensen.

Discussion: Episode 5.3 ... What did you think?

Three down for the season.

What did you think of tonight's episode?

Where is the season going?

What question do you most want answered?

14 Enduring Mysteries of Lost

Here are 14 enduring mysteries of Lost, as detertermined by Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly.

He poses 14 mysteries and ponders whether we will learn the answers to any during the fifth season.

From the smoke monster to that four-toed statue to why do pregnant women die to what's the deal with Aaron, Jensen reminds us of what's out there and what we know.

And, what do those damn numbers mean anyway?

What mystery are you most curious about? How will it be resolved? How should it be resolved? Will it be resolved?

What did Jensen leave out that you're dying to know?

Sneak peaks of tonight's episode

Of course, there's only mere hours until we get another Lost fix.

If you can't wait, check out these video clips provided by E!Online's Watch With Kristin.

All minor spoilers. But don't watch if you want to be unspoiled about everything.

Discussion: What did you think of the first episode?

So, what did you think?

What surprised you? What was predictible? What annoyed you? What did you like?

What was the OMG moment for you?

Where does the season go from here?

Season 5 of 'Lost' begins tonight...

...and that officially makes this the best week of the new year so far. Tune in to ABC at 7 p.m. (CST) for an hour-long clip show to refresh your memory of events. Then stick around for the first two new episodes: "Because You Left" at 8 p.m., followed by "The Lie" at 9. Word is that "Because You Left," in particular, will leave fans gasping. Here on Losties Island, of course, we'll blog about the show ASAP afterward.

So many questions to be answered, although most of them probably won't be resolved conclusively until the series ends in its sixth season. Among the mysteries bugging me:

Is Claire dead or just MIA? Miles seemed more than usually interested in her fate. That's never a good sign, having a ghostbuster interested in you.

What's Charlotte's connection to the Island? Was she a Dharma Initiative child who escaped the purge but grew up elsewhere? Is that why Ben tried to kill her -- because she knows things he doesn't want anyone else to know about the bad old days?

Are we going to become reacquainted with Annie, Ben's childhood sweetheart, and learn what became of her?

What will we learn about that four-toed statue? (Spoiler warning: On EW.com, the Ausiello Files reveals that showrunner Carlton Cuse says the statue helps to illustrate the Island's long, rich history. Could it really be so simple? Nah...)

How do Ben Linus and Charles Widmore know each other? Obviously, they go way back. Why is Widmore so assertive about the Island belonging to him?

Do Desmond Hume and Frank Lapidus also have to return to the Island, along with Ben and the Oceanic Six?

Why does the ageless Richard Alpert remain so extraordinarily well-preserved? Is he perhaps a centuries-old survivor of the Black Rock?

Are Bernard and Rose destined to become "Adam and Eve"?

Will we finally meet Dr. Pierre Chang, aka Edgar Halliwax/Mark Wicklund/Marvin Candle? And was he, like the other Dharmaites, really doomed to die in the Purge?

Does Daniel Faraday get involved with trying to change the Island's fate, or its timeline? Will we meet Desmond's enigmatic Ms. Hawking again?

Will Penny evade Ben's stated goal of killing her as revenge for the death of his adopted daughter, Alex, at the hands of Charles Widmore's mercenary?

Will we learn more about the late Libby? About Danielle Rousseau?

Is Locke really dead? Or will he, like Christian Shephard, appear to be alive again once his body is back on the Island? Was Christian also connected to the Island before his death?

Is Jin really dead? What exactly does Sun have planned for Charles Widmore?

How will Sawyer and Juliet cope with the presumed deaths of Kate and Jack? Will they turn to each other for comfort?

When will we ever find out the real scoop about the mysterious Jacob and his watchdog, Smokey?

And finally: Why does everybody on this show have so dang many daddy issues?

Gregg Nations, keeper of 'Lost' secrets

The Sunday New York Times features a story about Texas native Gregg Nations, who as script co-ordinator is the man charged with writing what is known as "the Bible" on the set of Lost.

Nations functions as the show's own official Lostpedia, keeping track of continuity and the myriad details of Lost's many interlocking plotlines and the stories of its nearly 100 characters. Or, as executive producer Carlton Cuse puts it, the "timelines, charts, dossiers" by which true Lost obsessives live and die.

The NYT story is a fun read for devoted fans of the show, and it reveals no Lost Season 5 spoilers, so enjoy.

Another S5 sneak peek is coming online...

...according to Lost showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, in this week's special preview -- e-mailed to fans who were Dharma Initiative volunteers in ABC's most recent ARG:

Hello Dharma Friends,

In less than a week, LOST season 5 premieres! You're hopefully excited.
We're heavily medicating ourselves to overcome our anxiety.

What you'll be seeing on premiere night is, first, a special clip show
designed to get you back up to speed after our eight months off the air. The
clip show is followed by episodes one and two of this season. While we did not
write them to air as a two-hour block, we are happy that you are getting to see
both episodes on the first night.

Episode one, entitled "Because You Left," picks up where the finale left
off, and the second episode, "The Lie," is a Hurley-centric episode.
Honestly, we're very excited for you to see them.

Speaking of the Hurley episode, this week we've got a special sneak peek at
a scene from that episode just for you...

What follows is a 45-second flashback clip from "The Lie" of the Oceanic Six, plus Penny and Desmond, on board the Searcher, Penny's rescue boat. Jack's explaining to Hurley and the others why they must lie to protect their friends who remained behind. It's not really spoilery, but as always, don't watch if you do want to be totally surprised next Wednesday night.

Click here for more details and a look at that newest video clip from the Jan. 21st premiere. It's not posted on www.abc.com/lost yet, but should appear there within the next 48 hours.

Doc J: It's all about the time travel

Over on EW.com, Doc Jensen says that Lost's Season 5 (starting next Wednesday, Jan. 21) will involve lots of time travel -- something we had been suspecting for a long time.

He says there are five episodes from previous seasons that hold essential clues to the coming season's plotlines. I've seen most of the five in recent reruns (on the SciFi Channel and G4) and found myself replaying the scenes he mentions from "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and "The Constant," two of my all-time favorite eps. Which also, quite concidentally, happen to feature my favorite Lostie time traveler, Desmond Hume, aka the Hot Scot.

SPOILER for Season Five

In a video, Kristin at E! Online says she's seen the first two episodes and that they were "worth the wait."

MINOR SPOILERS:

She says that Sawyer believes everyone on the island is dead. This makes for a "very angry and shirtless" Sawyer.

Someone we thought was dead isn't.

No Lost nominees for tonight's Golden Globes

Lost didn't make the cut for any categories in tonight's Golden Globes.

Here's who was nominated. Should Lost have been nominated? In what categories.

That cast won best drama show in 2006. (See picture above.)

Let Sawyer nickname you

So, are you a Freckles? A Mamacita? Mr. Clean? Or Lardo?

Those are actually taken by Kate, Claire, Locke and Hurley, repectively.

But you can get your own Sawyer nickname by answering a couple of questions.

Can't remember what Sawyer has called everyone over the last four seasons? Here's a list.

Use the comments section to tell everyone what nickname Sawyer gives you.

Lindelof and Cuse answer viewer questions, well sorta

Check out this post from E! Online with a video of Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse answering viewer questions.

Well, kind of.

If you want to check it out, it's not too spoilery. It gives you an idea of what questions will be addressed in season five but doesn't give answers. Questions include: why does Jack's dad wear white shoes and will we see more about the four-toed statue?

TV Best in Show

Over at Entertainment Weekly, Michael Ausellio has named his TV best in show for 2008.

Lost was a runner up for Best Drama Series (The Shield Won) and Michael Emerson was the runner-up for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. ( Walton Goggins of The Shield won.)

Lost in love: more hints about Season 5

Are you a Jater? A Skater? A Jacket fan?

If you love the love relationships on Lost, and IF YOU LIKE SPOILERS, you might want to click on this post from TV Guide's "Watch With Kristin" blog -- this one's written not by Kristin, however, but by Jennifer Godwin.

Jennifer's also seen those first two eps of Season 5, and she is all about the romantic relationships both on and off the Island.

However, beware and don't go there if you really don't want to know anything in advance of the Jan. 21 premiere -- because this one is somewhat more spoilery than other S5 previews I've read, especially when it comes to the subject of Sawyer and Kate.

Evangeline Lilly as Kate (ABC photo)

TV Guide reviews the first two hours

There's not tons info, but definitely don't link to the review if you prefer to know nothing.

There's a lot of hints about the first two hours for those who like to be teased without being totally spoiled.

The review says that the first hour is better than the second. It also hints that there will be a new storytelling device to compliment the old flashforward and even older flashback.

Any thoughts on what that storytelling device might be?