Spoiler alert! If you haven't caught up with the previous season of the most mind-bending show on television, or if you haven't ever watched the show (for some inexplicable reason) but plan to at some future date, there are major spoilers in this article and in this video. You should probably go read about Paul Blart: Mall Cop right now.
For those who still remain — OMGLOSTSEASONFIVESTARTSTONIGHT!!! And this skit, put together by comedy troupe Animosity Pierre, cleverly conveys how easily and quickly one can become obsessed with the mysteries, non sequiturs and cliff-hangers of life on the island.
Opening with a close-up of an eye — a series trope and the very first shot of the first episode — "Previously on Lost" hits a number of familiar notes and includes oodles of inside jokes. The cell-phone ring is "You Are Everybody," by Charlie's rock band Drive Shaft. The office phone is answered with a Dharma Initiative–esque "Namaste!" And if we accept that fans can sometimes be the best critics, the skit takes the mickey out of two of the show's most overused transitions — the whooshing sound that indicates an imminent jump in time (either a flashback or a flash-forward) and the absurdly overused cliff-hanger cue. "If you say something cliff-hangery on the show, all the shrill, like crazy dramatic music comes on, and it cuts to black," notes one of the characters. "It's like the coolest thing ever."
But the best part of this clip is its note-perfect rendition of the process, similar to those of yoga and crack cocaine, by which many viewers are introduced to the show in the first place. A friend says, "You've never seen Lost?" in a disbelieving tone of pity and disgust. Then — as night follows day — comes the inevitable binge. It's fair to say that many Lost fans have caught up with the show in long, slothful, weekend-consuming, sofa-denting DVD sessions. Its peculiar mysteries (smoke monster? four-toed statue? the island moves?) lend themselves well to this approach. Don't be ashamed. Just catch up, already.