The end is near: Let the "Lost" countdown begin!

When we last saw the "Lost" gang in May, Jack had been hit in the head with a flying toolbox, weaselly Phil impaled by a magnetically-drawn pole, and oh yeah, Juliet fell down a large hole in dramatic -- and rather noisy -- fashion.

Ben and Faker Locke (who would have been so much cooler with blue skin like the old He-Man character) traveled to Jacob's lair ... and the visit quickly turned a bit, shall we say, stabby? At the bottom of her hole, bloody and battered Juliet desperately slammed a rock against the hydrogen bomb, turning the screen white and presumably, erasing the entire Oceanic crash and the "Lost" world we've known for five previous seasons.

And now we're FINALLY four days away from finding out the destiny-filled fates of our fabled island-dwellers. A five-year investment in a show -- that let's face it, has swallowed up way more time than say, four years of studying for a bachelor's degree ever did -- is finally coming to a close.

We can't wait to enjoy the ride -- and honestly, there's no reason why you can't join us. Just watch this hilarious (yet seriously informative) video and get caught up in 8 minutes like every other slacker.



Back with us? Good.

If ABC can air a clip show before the Season 6 premiere at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Channel Surfing figured it could do a little archive digging, as well. In honor of five brilliant seasons on the island, here's an updated version of our 10 favorite "Holy Crap" moments from "Lost."

Got your own favorites? Leave us a comment. And let's get talking before Tuesday!

10. Not in Portland: Edmund Burke is killed by a bus.

It might seem minor. After all, who is Edmund Burke? But that it was set up by Juliet's wishful thinking in front of the enigmatic Richard Alpert, well, it's the rare non-cliffhanger that made the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Man, those creepy "Others" are gooooood.

9. Live Together, Die Alone: Desmond discovers what happened when he didn't push the button.

"I think I crashed your plane." Classic. And then the sky turned purple.

8. The Man Behind the Curtain: Jacob to Locke, "Hellllpppp meeeeeee."

Locke turns into a doubting Thomas as Ben puts on a "show" in front of an empty chair. And then the fireworks really begin.

7. The Man From Tallahassee: Anthony Cooper is shown tied up in a closet via Ben's "magic box."

Locke getting shoved out an eight-story window by his old man may have helped solve one of the show's longstanding mysteries. But that was only the opening act. How did Ben conjure up the real Sawyer/Locke's father via the "magic box?" No one saw it coming.

6. The Incident: Jacob revealed, along with the mysterious Man in Black.

Just an amazing, awe-inspiring opening since viewers had no idea who or what they were looking at when the Season 5 finale began on a secluded beach. It's rare to see a scene this pivotal, or be introduced to characters this grandiose, five full seasons into a series. But "Lost" can pull that kind of maneuver off, and the accompanying conversation between the two longstanding rivals -- with its end line, "Do you know how badly I want to kill you?" -- makes the Widmore-Linus chess match seem like tiddly winks.

5. The Man Behind the Curtain: Richard Alpert appears to Ben having never aged.

Ben’s arrival on the island is pretty nondescript — at least until he starts to see his dead mother roaming in the woods. In his child-like haste, he tries to track her down — only to bump into another familiar face — one that’s too familiar when you consider Ben’s age at the time. Alpert as Ponce de Leon? Believe it.

4. The Incident: Ben finally meets Jacob, stabs him in a fit of rage.

Ben had previously used the mysterious Jacob as a prop for power in his interactions with Locke. But when Locke (or at least Ben believing it was Locke) brought the subservient leader of the Others to Jacob’s lair for the first time, it was the soul-crushing rejection from one simple line — “What about you?”— that drove Ben to an act of pure anguish.

3. Through the Looking Glass: Charlie drowns, but not before warning Desmond of the freighter.

Perhaps the most poignant death in the show’s history. A heart-wrenching slo-mo scene for Driveshaft fans everywhere — Charlie accepting his fate and making one last sign of the cross. Lighters in the air, please.

2. The Constant: “I know about Eloise.”

Desmond episodes have always been fascinating, but “The Constant” bent the parameters of time beyond recognition. Daniel Faraday’s Eloise experiment added dramatic depth to the island's warped properties, but allowing viewers to flash in and out with Mr. Hume, well, it was (nose) bloody brilliant.

1. Through the Looking Glass: “We have to go back, Kate!”

THE ending that Season 6’s finale may never be able to top. That completely twisted, out-of-left-field, you’ve gotta be kidding me, “we have to go back to the island” game changer. Past, present, future — it completely flipped the script for our favorite fatally-flawed island inhabitants.

— Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com


10. The Variable: Eloise shoots Faraday.

In search of the buried hydrogen bomb, which he intends to detonate to reset the past, Daniel Faraday infiltrates the Others' camp and confronts Richard Alpert, gun drawn. Unbeknownst to Faraday, however, his mother, Eloise (a younger version of Eloise, as this is all happening in the ‘70s), sneaks up behind him and shoots the belligerent stranger in the back, killing the son she didn't know she had.

9. The Man Behind the Curtain: Jacob's cabin freak-out.

Not only one of the scariest moments in "Lost" history, but it actually increased our interest in Jacob, the enigmatic island honcho whose "lists" determine the actions of the Others. Our brief glimpse of his profile, his wide, wild eye, and his plaintive cry of "Help me" were only the start of a long, fascinating relationship with his ghostly presence.

8. Deus Ex Machina: A light comes on in the hatch.

When Locke and Boone discovered a mysterious door in the ground, that was crazy enough. But it was this episode where, after Boone's accident, Locke pounds on the hatch in a fit of despair and doubt, only to be answered by a glowing, humming light, coming from inside.

7. Exodus: Arzt gets careless with the dynamite.

This moment has no bearing on island mysteries, offered no development of major characters, nor added to show canon in any way. But the sudden, explosive death of Dr. Arzt served as a reminder that anything can happen on "Lost" at any time.

6. Raised By Another: Ethan wasn't on the manifest.

This episode marked the first appearance of an Other -- even though we had already been introduced to him as a castaway. Hurley's discovery that Ethan wasn't on the plane, followed by the immediate kidnapping of Claire and Charlie, began our ongoing adventure with the mysterious island originals.

5. Two For the Road: Michael shoots Ana Lucia.

We knew Michael, distraught over the loss of his son, would do anything to get Walt back from the Others. But his shooting of Ana Lucia was still shocking and brutal. Add blanket-seeking Libby to the body count and a desperate, cold-blooded hero-turned-villain suddenly emerged.

4. Catch-22: “They found the plane ... there were no survivors.”

There were always Internet rumors swirling around that the castaways never survived the plane crash and that the island was purgatory. But when parachuter Naomi revealed to Hurley that Flight 815 was found and that everyone on board was dead ... well, holy crap.

3. Walkabout: Locke was in the wheelchair.

Established knife-enthusiast and man of action John Locke is revealed to have been a bit of a loser pre-island. But it was all a distraction from the real surprise, that Locke couldn't even walk before Flight 815 crashed. A brilliant revelation that established the series as one deserving of total fan obsession.

2. There’s No Place Like Home: The island disappears.

The Oceanic Six head back to the island after Charles Widmore’s ship – and their hopes of rescue — are blown sky high. Just as they're about to land, Ben is in a secret chamber, pushing a mysterious wheel, and — POOF! — the island disappears, leaving only ripples in the water below.

1. Through the Looking Glass: “We have to go back, Kate!”

Until this, the third season finale, we only saw glimpses of the castaways’ pasts, and the struggles that led them to the island. But when Kate stepped out of the shadows and into what we had presumed was another Jack flashback, not only was it clear that they made it off the island, but in Jack’s case — “We have to go back, Kate! We have to go back!’’ – that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

— Adam Reinhard, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.com