TVSquad

I love it when people create a website to advance their particular view of pop culture. I mean, it's one thing to get into an argument at a bar over just what the hell was going on in The Matrix; it's another thing entirely to actually spend the time getting a domain name in order to preach your theories about it.

So, when I stumbled onto Jason Hunter's "Time Loop Theory of Lost" website, I figured I would spend a few minutes mocking it and then move on. Instead, like Rerun and his run-in with the Babarambaba cult, I found myself completely converted. Seriously, I'm about to start worshiping a head of lettuce carved into a likeness of Locke. For my own sanity, I thought I'd share the theory with you guys and let you help me decide whether or not I'm insane for thinking it has merit.

Ever since the Lost season finale aired, fans have been speculating about the newspaper clipping that Jack was reading in his flash-forward. The article, an obituary for a mysterious person, caused Jack a great deal of distress. Was the deceased an Other, an 815 survivor, or someone we haven't met?

Text of the newspaper clipping has turned up on some of the major Lost websites, including The Fuselage and Lostpedia. There's no word on whether the text is official, but it does fit with the excerpts of the article that were visible in the episode. The text is available after the jump.

An earlier podcast recap revealed that Tufts University offers a class based on Lost. This week, The Boston Globe posted an article covering this unusual one-credit course. The course's title, "The Future is Lost: Economic, Social, and Technological Impact of a Cult (and Cultural) Phenomenon," makes it sound far more advanced than simple TV watching. Rather than discussing the Kate-Sawyer hookup, the students analyze Lost as they would a novel.

Lost fans also make it into the course's discussion topics. Students examine what effect, if any, that fan blogs and comments have on the overall outcome of the show. They also discuss the decline in viewers that the show has experienced this season. Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have been aware of the course for several months, and even held a conference call with the class recently.

DocArzt over at The Tailsection has come up with a very intriguing theory about the upcoming Lost episode "Exposé." The theory covers Paulo and Nikki's pre-island past, their relationships with the island's inhabitants, and some dark events that may be in their future. DocArzt's theory is based on more than a few spoilers, rumors, and screencaps, so anti-spoiler types should stop reading ASAP.

I thought that it would be fun to go over the main points in DocArzt's theory and open things up for discussion in the comments section. If even some parts of the theory turn out to be true, this week's episode will be seriously cool. In the newest Lost podcast, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse mentioned that they are curious to hear fan's reactions to "Exposé," and that opinions may be split on the episode.

Last night on Lost Sawyer and Kate got busy in broad daylight right under the Others' surveillance cameras. Sawyer loves Kate, we know. I'm guessing he is pretty sure now that Kate loves him too.

I hate to break it to Sawyer, but I see things completely differently. If I'm right, which is far from certain, of course, Kate doesn't love Sawyer, although she is attracted to him. She may or may not have admitted it to herself yet, but Kate loves Jack. Here's why I think so ...

There are all sorts of Lost forums out there that make it really hard to stay on top of all the theories, but the highly organized folks over at LOST-Theories.com have taken the time to sift through the mayhem. They're doing it methodically and diplomatically. The theories (minor and major) are organized by episode and broken down by characters, themes, locations, and events. But wait, there's more! You can also vote on the theories that are most likely, for instance, the highest rated theory on the site right now is that the Monster (aka Security System) can read a character's mind. There's also a category for Debunked theories which, so far, only includes the theory that it's all Hurley's dream.