The hit TV series banks on the appeal of the mystical.

In the 80s, there was The Twilight Zone. In the 90s, there was The X-Files. And now, there’s Lost that gives us the weekly creeps. The story begins with a plane experiencing turbulence, and then tragically crashing into an island with no immediate hints of rescue. (Note:the plane crash sequence was actually produced so well, the pilot episode is not recommended viewing for people who are scheduled to fly the very next day.)

Still, what initially would look like a standard survival of the fittest show would prove right within the first hour that something is not quite right on the island.

First, there is the unseen but extremely dangerous monster that kills the plane’s pilot. Then polar bears emerge from nowhere. Imagine such a bear on a tropical island and you easily get the idea that the island is no ordinary one. Those mysteries, including that of a French woman’s recorded voice and a crippled man suddenly regaining his ability to walk, have us kept right on the edge of our seats every episode.

Midway through the show’s first season, it will be evident that all the survivors are battling personal demons even before boarding the doomed Oceanic 515 flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. (Oceanic Airlines, of course, is a fictional airline, but there’s an “Oceanic” website that gives out clues on what may or may not happen in the show’s next season.)

There’s Jack (played by Matthew Fox), whose life-saving instincts as a doctor instantly make him the leader of the group and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) who, in the pilot episode, comes to his rescue to attend to his wounds. It does not lake long before we discover her ‘criminal’ secret.

There’s also former boy band member Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) who is struggling to kick the drug habit and the man we know as “Sawyer” (Josh Holloway, undeniably the show’s resident hunk) who becomes the “most hated man on the island” until someone more dangerous comes along.

Korean couple Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim), who at first only communicate in their native tongue, turn out to have their own sob story, just like perennially quarreling siblings Boone and Shannon.

Others on the island include: Sayid (Naveen Andrews), a former member of the Iraqi Republican Guard, is determined to use his military training to find a way to communicate to the outside world. Michael (Harold Perrineau) and son Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) are just getting to know each other.

Hurley (Jorge Garcia), whose role seems to only serve as lame entertainment to the survivors, has a tar larger connection to the island, as well as to how much the pregnant Claire is wanted by “the others.”

So far, it seems that only John Locke (Perry O’Ouinn) has the answers. He is smart enough to disclose very little to keep us coming back for more.