Lost Overload

I have watched 23 episodes of Lost in the last 72 hours. (Don't judge me too harshly -- most of that was Memorial Day.) I'm a little behind -- it's season three. But, I have to watch it all sometime, and I want to know as much as I can before tonight's two hour season finale. Yes, I should probably watch in order, but I can't stand knowing Lost is on and not watching it.

I love Lost. Obviously, you're thinking, but like most true fans of the show, I really, really love Lost. I think television was invented so that one day something as amazing as Lost could be shown to the world. A few weeks ago, I asked my cousin if he was in to the show.

"Nah," he said, "I missed the first season and I can't imagine that I'm missing all that much by not watching."

"But, you are," I said. "You are missing out."

"OK," he said, smirking as if I was joking as per usual.

"No, really," I said. "There is something missing in your life that you don't even know is missing until you see Lost. You have no idea what television can be without it!"

Then he got scared and suggested we drink more change the subject.

Although, as much as I love Lost, and as excited as I am about the season finale, I do not recommend watching this many episodes in a row. When I e-mailed a friend about my viewing habits, he e-mailed back, "I am not sure that is healthy. You may need to take a break. Has your reality been compromised?"

It's a frighteningly intuitive question: has your reality been compromised? When I spent the weekend watching season one of House, I expected people around me to collapse at any moment from bizarre illnesses. With Quantum Leap, I looked at my friends and family members a bit more closely. (Could they be time travelers in disguise?) Arrested Development led to an even more pronounced inner monologue.

As for Lost, well, other than having spent most of my day wondering how Jack and Kate are doing and looking at maps of the Pacific Ocean, nothing has been that different ...

On the other hand, it might be time to take that break ...