"Lost" In A Sea Of Questions

Amidst plenty of fanfare, Season 3 of “Lost” debuts tonight on ABC. Rumors are that the season premiere was postponed due to the show’s Emmy snub, but that has not slowed audience anticipation at all. Blogs and media outlets are frantically trying to guess what this season will – or won’t – reveal.

Here are just a few of the questions that are foremost on the minds of “Lost” diehards:

• Did Michael and Walt actually use the coordinates to find a way off the island? Will they actually turn their backs on Jack, Kate and Sawyer? What kind of “tests” was Walt forced to take?
• Where have Jack, Kate and Sawyer been taken? Why? And are they supposed to symbolize some weird reincarnation of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo?
• Will Sayid wake up from his sleepwalking and do something proactive? Will he and Jin team up to track down those taken by the “Others”?
• Why was Hurley rejected by the Others? What will his role be – if he doesn’t get over the death of Libby and stop seeing visions? Is it possible that he could get any fatter on a deserted island?
• What happened to Mr. Eko and Locke? How severely were they injured in the hatch blast?
• What is up with Charlie – why was he acting so strangely after the blast? Will he and Claire become an item again? What will be the result of Aaron taking the vaccine?
• What will happen with Sun’s pregnancy?
• Will we have anymore flashbacks involving Boone and Shannon?
• Is Henry Gale really an authority figure for the Others or is he the right-hand man to someone higher up the ladder? What are the roles of Mr. Friendly and Ms. Klugh?
• Where the hell did Desmond go? Will we find out more about his relationship with Penny Widmore, and why Penny’s father was so determined to keep them apart?
• Will there by any more explanation of the “smoke” creature?
• What the frick was going on with the enormous four-toed foot statue?
• Will we hear any more about Kelvin and the message he was really trying to pass on to Desmond?
• Will there be any type of resolution to Bernard and Rose’s differences?
• Will Rousseau pop up again out of nowhere for no apparent reason? Will her daughter Danielle make any more appearances?
• Will the connection between the various hatches be explained any more clearly? Will anymore hatches be revealed?
• How do the Degroots and Dr. Candle fit into all of this? For that matter, what do the Hanso Foundation and the Dharma Initiative really represent?
• What’s up with the guys in the snow speaking Portuguese and finding something they had to call Penny about?

Outside of “The Sopranos,” no show currently on television has the ability to infuriate its viewers – while still retaining the entire lot of them. Will J.J. Abrams & Co. be able to continue to get away with bringing up five new questions for every answer provided in Season 3 or will the audience finally begin to throw up its hands? Or will some tangible, logical, connected truths at long last be revealed? Hopefully, the answers will begin to come into focus starting tonight.