The final season of the hit TV series Lost - a show which has thrilled viewers with its unique blend of science fiction, soap-opera-style drama, engaging characters and more questions than you can shake a stick at - begins on Tuesday, February 2nd. For the millions who have followed the passengers of Flight 815, it is the bittersweet beginning of the end.

A Historical Newspaper Perspective

Lost premiered in 2004 with the seemingly done-to-death story of a group trying to survive after being marooned on a tropical island. The story proved to be much more than it originally seemed. "What is that monster on the island? What if they're really all dead? And why is that bald guy so creepy?," asked The Facts on May 8, 2005. "If you've been anywhere near a water cooler or, say, another human being lately, you know these are the questions consuming America this TV season, thanks to the astounding popularity of ABC's Lost... We don't just watch this show; we obsess over it, cancelling Wednesday-night plans, joining online forums, and discussing plot points and character flirtations ad nauseam. It's fandemonium at its finest, with the cast a cult-TV version of the Beatles."

On January 20, 2009, the Gazette reported, "'Lost' returns for its fifth season Wednesday with a continuation of the lingering mysteries that make the drama such a mind bender. The series began in 2004 with a plane crash on a mysterious island, rolling out a man-hungry smoke monster, displaced polar bear and unfriendly natives called 'The Others,' among other oddities. As the show's cast and mythology expanded, there were romances, rivalries, kidnappings, murders, attempts to escape and a character's emotional journey through time."

Tuesday will promise to be an entertaining and interesting beginning of the end.