J-Bo:
What really gets me about this show is that ultimately every series they make is just killing time with more nonsense plot threads until the last 10mins of the very last episode when everything (I would assume) will all come together.
The result is that the last however many years people have spent watching this are rendered moot when the entire story can be summarised as 'People crash land on an island.........and this is the reason why.'
I gave up on Lost about half way through season 2 when it became apparent that it was being made for its own sake. I've kept loosely in touch as my housemate watches it but I generally only pay any attention so I can mock him for watching it.
Having said all that Ignorant Pom probably summed it up just as well.
You could summarise every single TV show, Movie, Book etc in this manner.
The show is about so much more than it's destination, it's the journey of getting there. The development of characters is well beyond most TV shows out there, certainly beyond any sci-fi show I can think of. The writing is excellent, if they are making it up as they go along (doubtful) then they're doing a very good job of it.
The funny thing about the making it up as they go along statement is that technically every TV show is done like this. They all begin with a pilot that they have no idea will get picked up, they have no idea if the show will make it through a full season let alone get a second. Generally they have an outline of where the show is going but the writing of each episode is done almost up to production of said episode.