Cuse, Lindelof Recap LOST

The producers of ABC's hit series LOST Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof are for the first time a part of a LOST recap special airing on ABC at 9pm tonight, telling casual viewers what they need to know before an all-new episode begins at 10pm.

In the special, the producers explain that in addition to being a show about survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island, LOST is primarily a complex character drama.

They depict Jack as a reluctant and insecure yet noble hero who is afraid to make mistakes and who had lived in the shadow of his father, a great surgeon and a fallen idol.

Kate is portrayed as a woman who likes to run, afraid of commitments in her life and a fugitive pursued by a US Marshal for the crime she committed in the past.

Sawyer is a man who makes his living conning people. There is goodness in him, but it is hard for it to come out, and whenever he does something good and people start to like him, he feels the need to do something bad, so they start to hate him.

There is a romantic triangle between the three characters. The producers believe Jack is the right man for Kate, but she is drawn by Sawyer as he is the prototype of the kind of men she had been with, mysterious and sexy.

Locke is a man who tries to shed his past and the pain he suffered as a disabled man. He miraculously begins to walk after the plane crash and seeing that as a gift he becomes spiritual, seeking answers and purpose.

Sayid is a former member of the Iraqi Republican Guard, who is burdened by his past torturing people, trying to track down Nadia, the love of his life. In search of answers he meets the French woman who reveals they are not alone.

Sun and Jin are, according to the writers, an incredibly estranged couple who do love one another. Nevertheless, a flashback had revealed Sun was unfaithful to Jin before the plane crash, and "she doesn't know herself very well".

Charlie and Claire have a complicated history together. He loves her very much, and although she likes him, she can't trust him, because of his past as a drug addict. And yet they're closer to being a little family than any other survivors.

Hurley is not only a funny man who says "dude" all the time, but someone who helps others lift their spirits. When life gives him lemons he makes a lemonade. Despite that, he also has a troubling history including a stay in a mental institution.

When Locke guided by his belief in destiny located a secret hatch, the survivors decide to blow it open. But, Hurley who saw six familiar numbers engraved on the hatch door anticipated it would be a disaster.

So, what's in the hatch?

A man called Desmond. A hero who tried to win a sailing race to prove himself to the woman he loved. He crashed on the island and ended up being dragged into the hatch by a man called Kelvin, who told him to push a button on a computer every 108 minutes, entering the same numbers from Hurley's lottery win and the hatch door. And if he doesn't? Apparently, the world would come to an end.

What does a man do in a ridiculous situation like this? It turns out, they push the button on the faith alone as it seems essential for survival.

The survivors learn the hatch was a scientific research facility built in the 70s by a mysterious organization called the Dharma Initiative that may have been connected to the billionaire father of the woman Desmond loves.

An insane coincidence? The producers go on to remind viewers that the show is filled with the so-called Easter eggs, little clues sprinkled across the series, not easy to spot for a casual viewer.

A character would walk by another character in their pre-crash flashback although we originally did not think the two had any connection. Or there would be a little clue on a TV screen someone was watching. If you put all clues together, producers claim, you can connect any character to any other character.

The overall idea here is to ask the question - were these people connected before they crashed together? Was the crash just a culmination of a much grander plan? Is there significance why these exact people are together on the island?

Also, how is the island capable of manifesting visions that some of the people have? Kate sees a horse that played a significant role in her past, Mr. Eko sees his deceased brother, Jack sees his father.

Also, if these people are trying to seek redemption by putting their past behind them, why is the island constantly testing them? Why is it putting them into situations where they are tempted into going back to their past sins?

Just some of the zillion questions the viewers will be asking as the island's overall mystery is revealed one slow step after another.

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