Lost is incredible. It is by far the most intellectual show on television, and like the Simpsons, it appeals to low-brow and high-brow tastes. Some viewers may watch it purely for the adventure and supernatural element Lost (it's Jurassic Park and the Shining and Robinson Crusoe---together at last). Others may watch it for the richly nuanced characters (what other show has a regular character who speaks only Korean?). And others still may watch itfor the philosophical undercurrent.

What's great about the philosophy is that the writers present it without pretentiousness. Most of it is subtle. The most philosophical character is, of course, John Locke, who happens to share his name with the great seventeenth-century English philosopher (who had some interesting things to say about the behavior of humans in the State of Nature). Also on the showis a mysterious and ambiguous French female character named Rousseau, who also happens to share her name with the great eighteenth-century French philosopher (who also had some interesting things to say about the behavior of humans in the State of Nature).

Lost is very existential. The main themes of the show, expressed a few times by Locke, are the inevitability of fate and the opportunity to change oneself for the better. These Lost 47 (and dwindling) survivors are given the rare chance to focus on their lives, question their past mistakes, and become better people. And these characters have a lot to think about. One character is a drug addict; one was a torurer for Saddam Hussein; one was a hitman; one had an (arguably) incestuous relationship with her step-brother; two are murderers. Only Jack, the doctor, seems to have a sense of morality and decency, Lost but this could easily change with a surprising flashback (for being the main protagonist, we know little about Jack's past).