Call me a dork, but I'm counting down the minutes until the season premiere of "Lost" on Thursday. I'm not generally a science fiction fan. Even as a child, I didn't enjoy Madeline L'Engle books in the same way that most other kids in my class did. I never became embroiled in Star Trek or even Star Wars or even the new incarnation of Battlestar Galactica. I enjoyed the shows without becomng fanatical.

But I'm fanatical about "Lost." If you've never seen it, you should give it a try (but rent the DVD's to start from season 1). What I love about "Lost" is that the story always remained centered on the characters as much as it does the "science fiction" of the island and the mythology and mystery. Storylines ask interesting questions about faith, science, religion, time travel, sacrifice, redemption, revenge, and more. Yes, I do want to know what on earth is up with the big smoke monster that gobbled up Mr. Ecko last season, but I'm also dying to see how Clare will deal with the death of Charlie and whether those helicopters racing to the island are there to save the castaways or not. And what does it mean to be saved, anyways? The season finale from last season made it clear that our assumption that being saved from the island would necessarily be a good thing was completely off-base, at least for our lead hero, Jack.

Ok -- off my fanatical bandwagon. But seriuously -- watch "Lost." And then chat with me about your favorite parts!