One of the big topics we discussed at the Paley Center Lost panel was: how has Lost managed to draw in such huge audiences for what is basically a sci-fi show? And more important, now that it has blatantly introduced the elements of time (and space) travel (with the moving of the Island, Ben’s journey via donkey wheel, Faraday, etc.)—can it keep those viewers, or will it become too geeky for a mass audience? (I won’t spoil anything by saying how these elements factor into the three episodes I’ve seen. Suffice it to say they factor in big.)
For most of its first four seasons, Lost has been able to play out its mystery without having to come down decisively on one side or the other of the sci-fi vs. fantasy divide. The mysteries of the Island could be explained by science, or they could be spiritual. But unavoidably, if Lost was going to answer its questions it was going to have to put up or shut up, and make some commitments.
So a few questions: do you think Lost can keep its audience as a harder-core sci-fi show? Are you pleased or disappointed it’s gone in this space-time bending direction? And do you think the mysteries of the Island (the amazing reappearing Christian, for instance) are all explicable by science and physical laws… or is there more to that smoke monster than meets the eye?