Just finished watching the last episode of the first season of "Lost" with Elizabeth this morning. Curse the show's creators for doing this to us -- we're hooked!

I'm just sitting here try to do a little prep work for the new job, starting tomorrow, and maybe get some words scribbled into my Moleskine for chapter 12 of Sixteen Miles, but I keep thinking about those marooned characters and that hatch and "the others" and the poor guys out at sea, and the young kid taken by the pirates or whoever they are. And those damn numbers! Or the "security system" creature in the forest. I'm hooked, I tell you.

I want to watch more, but at the same time I'm inspired -- watching these episodes more or less back-to-back is like getting immersed in a good novel, one with some great supernatural, spiritual, and heroic elements. I like the fact that all the character have detailed back-histories, and even unlikeable characters like spoiled-girl Shannon and even the surly Jin are full of surprises. In a way, this plane wreck was the best thing to happen to them -- it's making them into the people they need to be. And nobody is who they first seem to be -- just think of all those faceless, anonymous people you pass by on a plane that's boarding, or on a bus or the subway. Everyone has a story, and the show's creators are running with that concept.

And of course, on this show, the island is its own character, and probably the most fascinating of them all. What the hell is down that hatch in the tunnel???

This show gives me a lot of hope for the speculative fiction genres, actually, because it's showing people that you CAN create thought-provoking horror/fantasy/SF without resorting to cardboard characters or cheap gross-out effects. It's all about the characters, man! That, and the constant need to figure out mysteries -- both the big ones like fate and faith, but also the little ones, like why is she so mean, or why is he so arrogant? You can do this stuff, and also have heroes and flawed characters and action.

Yeah, I'm digging this show. Now to find out a way to get ahold of the season 2 episodes, in order. Hello, iTunes store!

But first, I think I have to do some writing on my own speculative fiction novel set in a slightly warped version of reality... Where's my Moleskine? Later!