while watching monday night football yesterday, a commercial came on for the most recent show by j.j. abrams, the creator of such awesomeness as "felicity" and "alias." the show's called lost, and i made a conscious decision within 30 seconds of the commercial to become entirely obsessed with it, based on practically nothing, except the fact that it's from j.j. abrams, it stars matthew fox, my freshman college crush lover from party of five, it's got the painfully hipster hobbit as a british rock star. and i think there are dinosaurs involved somehow.

here's a summary of the show, which has garnered positive reviews across the board:

Survivors of a mid-Pacific plane crash have landed on an island of harsh terrain, cruel weather and dark secrets, including a frightful creature that stalks the jungle. Strangers all, even those related by blood, the survivors' pasts — their ethics, religions, politics, and attitudes — threaten to jeopardize the group's ability to endure.

Also, there might be a man-eating dinosaur sucking people up its nostrils.

okay, i added that last part. but there IS something large and in charge hunting the people on the island. we were speculating about it last night:

aaron: i hope it's silverback gorillas.
everyone else: blank stare.
tommy: um, i hear it's like x-files. i'm betting there's some sort of evil government project or conspiracy.
aaron: that would be totally awesome. silverback gorillas are awesome.
catherine (reading online spoilers, as she is wont to do with every show ever): well, i don't think there are gorillas, but apparently there IS a polar bear!
aaron: close enough!

the addition of lost to the wednesday night lineup could possibly create the most perfect two hours of tv watching EVER, certainly creating a wormhole in the tv universe, as during the hour post-lost comes (drumroll, please), AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL: CYCLE THREE. (why do they call it a cycle? that is ridiculous branding. it makes it sound like a washing machine.)

in checking out some of the new season's contenders, i was astonished at, well...the nastiness of some of them. i know tyra bank's team of gay midget makeup/style artists can transform even the fugliest girl into a shandi-worthy looker, but i'm starting to think that tyra's getting a wee bit insecure about her age, so that's why she's surrounding herself with the uglies.

but in any case: this fall, it's all about the wednesdays. you'll find me at home, on the couch with a bottle of merlot, watching "lost" with rapt attention, and then being so drunk by the time ANTM comes on that i'm hurling rabid comments at janice dickinson's plastic face.

don't forget! tomorrow from 5-8 p.m. at front page.