Lost
In a way it's a misnomer to call Lost one of TV's best shows—it's a fine show on the level of character and writing, but what makes it a classic is that it's the finest interactive game ever to appear in your living room once a week. An elaborate fractal pattern of intersecting stories concerning plane survivors on a not-quite-deserted island, a secretive international organization and a monster made of smoke, Lost only begins with the 60 minutes you see on TV. Its mysteries, clues and literary-historical allusions demand research, repeat viewing, freeze-framing and endless online discussions. And in a medium where executives assume that viewers will flee anything that remotely challenges them, Lost proves that millions of people will support a difficult, intelligent, even frustrating story—as long as you blow the right kind of smoke at them.
Ice Age vs. Transformers: It's a Draw!
Ask Your Questions: The New York Times' Bill Keller
Top 10 Tour de France Moments
Photos: Inside Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch
The History of the Bikini
Cartoons of the Week
Canada Spends Big to Save GM, So Why Not Mexico?
Photos: U.S. Marines Open a New Offensive in Afghanistan
The Incredible Shrinking Sheep of Scotland