"Fringe," the only prime time SF show to make it through a fairly natural lifespan without becoming a disaster, concludes tonight. I did not want to love "Fringe," but it happened anyway. From its beginnings as cheerful but fresh Mulder and Scully redux to its rampaging full-on SF freakout middle period to its dark dystopian final season, "Fringe" avoided the varied and terrible pitfalls of often-great shows like "Lost," "X-Files," "Dollhouse," "V," "Firefly," "Heroes" and "Battlestar Galactica," all of which were either tortured by networks or tortured by showrunners. Or both.

(Sure, on the "natural lifespan" thing: I mean, yes, it is slightly awkward that the show concluded at [...]

Lost was a travesty. It was always a story of characters haunted and driven by their pasts, of absent fathers and shrewish mothers, of moral ambiguity in the guise of righteous conviction, of the struggle for free will in a universe in which your every action might be predetermined. And in the end, the writers went to extraordinary lengths to dispense with these complications.

There are so many lists about "Lost" now, with the show finally creaking and/or screeching to a halt this weekend. But how do you know which "Lost" list you have time to skim? Here, we rank the top ten lists about "Lost" in order for you.

Hurley from Lost teaches the Internet how to turn a cupcake into a sandwich. With pictures! If this revelation does not spawn at least four food-truck concepts by the end of the week, we all will have failed.

11 p.m., 2010. It ends.

How unfortunate! Relax, "Lost" enthusiasts, you didn't ingest episodic secrets!

Here you will find a collection of underground art inspired by the television program "Lost." Do with that what you will.

I do a lot of pretty random stupid shit thinking that I will write about it. Most of my activities turn out to be useless, though there’s always the idea that I could hit upon something so I live in this constant state of expectation that’s not as exciting as it sounds and is actually mildly depressing. This is because the pretense of adventure, day in and day out, when hardly anything actually ever happens eventually wears on you, especially when you are not rich. As much as one tries to tell oneself that things are being accomplished, such encouragement is no match for the more persistent mantra which goes [...]

I am a "Lost" apologist. Best to get that out of the way first. The show came to me at an important part in my life. I had just moved across the country and into my cousin's guest bedroom about 40 miles north of Los Angeles proper. I knew no one. ABC premiered the show two days after I settled in. I spent the first year of my West Coast existence logging onto every "Lost" message board on the Internet. You know those people who were obsessively dissecting the Blast Door map in season two? That was me.

Six possible "Lost" spin-offs! I'm pro "SurroKate." Although I would also accept Hurley starring in a "Touched by an Angel" reboot, since HE DIES TONIGHT. (Spoiler!)

Program note: We will be liveblogging the season premiere of "Lost" tonight. Well, technically, Choire will. I'll be too busy mourning the death of Hurley to be anywhere near a computer. Anyway, see you here a bit before nine!

Update!

Won't someone come to the aid of this poor person?

My offer is that I will buy you breakfast (anywhere you want) in exchange for an hour of your time and intimate knowledge of the TV series Lost. First, a bit of background: 1) I have seen every episode of Lost 2) I’m not a complete idiot 3) But I’m not a Mensa member either. Also, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why don’t you just look the information on the ‘ol World Wide Web?” Well, I have a series of questions that aren’t really answered by specific web posting(s). And while one posting might answer one question it [...]

Cats! Talking ones! Given voices with slightly overexaggerated accents! Making the funnies about a television program that ends its long, frustrating-to-many run in three days! Is this Lost-themed clip just a mildly funny/aw-inducing video designed to get passed around by people who are already bored with the icing epidemic, or something more sinster… namely, the latest sign that the Internet is almost about to run out? I guess we'll see Monday. (Or will we?) [Via]

The scoring on "Lost" is, in a way, extremely successful. Musical cues frame intended emotional response particularly well on the show. The scoring is also extremely repetitive and full of overworked tics. It works, in terms of familiarity; for me, it can grate. Still, the video guide to the sounds of "Lost," hosted by the delicious Alex Ross, serves to make me newly appreciative of the scoring, particularly when you think about someone rubbing a gong with a superball. (And yes, the woman playing those horrid boring harp parts is the very same who played the harp on "The Simpsons" theme. You can be her friend!)

I do wonder a little what happens to Lost's ratings tonight when all the homosexuals suddenly disappear to watch Johnny. (Although homosexuals are historically underrepresented in Nielsen households, obviously!) Anyway-we don't care if tonight's the night that Hurley finally dies. See you next week, eternally irritating TV show!

"We are ending this story with these characters, and that's all we have planned. We're not setting up a sequel. We're not planting elements for future shows. We certainly understand and absolutely respect that ABC and Disney have an incredibly valuable franchise and they want to do more things with 'Lost,' but the story we're telling ends in May." -"Lost" executive producer Carlton Cuse discusses the show's final season. There are no spoilers for how the series will end, but the producers "praise the ambiguity" of "The Sopranos" finale, which may indicate that things will be left unresolved. Also, "Hurley dies."

"I live in a republic where once a year, our President delivers an address, the State of the Union, that beyond being mandated by the Constitution, also helps to constitute our union by focusing all eyes on all three branches of our government. The annual address sets the tone for the year ahead, and helps remind us of our elected leaders' solemn obligation to communicate their intentions to a public they so often fail while in office." So shut the fuck up about Obama potentially pre-empting the premiere of "Lost," Season Six, okay?