Lost better than ever

To anyone who cried foul over the first half of the third season of "Lost" -- what were you thinking? \nFrom its 2004 inception, "Lost" has evolved like an epic novel, with each episode acting as both a stand-alone chapter and an involving piece of an elaborate mosaic. No one, however, had the stones to balk at Season 3's concluding half. The ever-deepening mythology, biting humor and final fearless plunge headlong into the future witnessed during the show's March-to-May run still has fans and casual observers alike talking. With a temporarily shortened Season 4 about to begin, the excitement among those who have stuck with the show from the beginning is palpable.\nThe cast of "Lost" remains uniformly excellent, with Terry O'Quinn (Locke) and Michael Emerson (Ben) rising slightly above the rest. The season, which started away from the beach and deep amid the land of the mysterious "Others" (probably the reason some fans protested), eventually returned to the beach and ended up off-island in real time. It's some journey and, after all, that's what "Lost" has always been about: getting found. Where it goes from here is bound to polarize some, intrigue others and blow the minds of even serious fans.\nThe seventh and final disc of this set is chock-full of enough behind-the-scenes material and Easter eggs to keep die-hard "Lost" fans occupied for a full day. Along with featurettes on the lives of the mysterious "Others" and a host of never-aired flashback scenes for specific characters, there are also the traditional blooper reels and obligatory deleted scenes. Full-episode audio commentaries are sprinkled throughout the first six discs, but the meatiest material here comes in the form of multiple "Lost on Location" segments chronicling the macro and micro levels of production, as well as the exhausting "Lost in a Day" feature that documents a given 24-hour period when several different episodes go through various stages of creation.\nThe fourth season of "Lost" begins Jan. 31 after an eight-month hiatus, and with only eight of 16 episodes set to air pending the Writer's Guild of America strike's conclusion, fans may have to wait longer than expected for the remaining episodes. I'm thinking that being one of the best dramas in television history earns "Lost" and its creative team a pass on time.