LOST

Of all the things to be addicted to, a television show has got to be the silliest.

Nevertheless, my wife and I find ourselves anxiously awaiting each new episode of our favorite TV show – LOST.

It’s a crazy show.

You need a scorecard to keep up with the cast of characters (there has got to be more than 100), and you need another one to keep track of all the intertwining plotlines, timelines and relationships between all the different characters.

The show is about a group of passengers on an airplane.

Their plane crashes on an island and they find themselves "lost" – stranded, and trying to find a way to be rescued.

It’s kind of like Gilligan’s Island, when you think about it.

LOST is full of surprises.

Just when you think you’ve got things figured out, there is usually some astonishing and often dramatic turn of events that forces you to scratch your head and think, "Now, just what the heck is going on, here?"

We had to attend a church event recently on a Thursday night (that’s when LOST is on) and when it suddenly occurred to my wife that she had forgotten to set the machine to record the show, I really thought she was going to burst into tears.

"Don’t worry," I reassured her. "There’s always iTunes."

So, the next day, we splurged and spent $1.99 to download the LOST episode from iTunes.

It was worth every penny.

Television programs with actual stories written by actual writers are becoming more and more rare in this age of "reality television." I suppose shows such as LOST are throw-backs to an earlier time when there were serial installments of dramatic programs that kept you hanging on with a "cliffhanger" type ending each week.

There aren’t many shows like this any more, and I suppose it’s possible that one day there won’t be any at all.

So, I guess, maybe, our addiction is justified.

After all, we are just die-hards who are appreciating what may be a dying art form.

One thing is for sure.

On just about every Thursday night you’ll know where to find the Bakers.

Parked on the sofa in front of the Sony with popcorn in hand and eyes wide open.