Lost for Dummies, courtesy of Paul Scheer

I think I'm one of only five people in the country who has never watched a second of Lost (yeah, I know... even I'm surprised I got a job here). No complicated reason; I just wasn't interested at the time.  By the time I got interested, I was so far behind that I knew I wasn't going to understand one bit of the show. It's quite a predicament, to be sure. What's a TV fan to do?

Well, Paul Scheer, of VH1's Best Week Ever, is here to help. He has provided a "Lost for Dummies" guide at Paper Magazine's web site.

Now, knowing Paul from BWE and from his stint at the UCB Theatre in New York, I thought that this article would poke fun at either Lost or those who are obsessed with it. But it's actually a fairly straightforward summarization of the first season-and-a-half of the show, although some of his "ready-made" Lost conversation starters are pretty good, such as "Why don't the dudes' beards grow past perfect stubble?"

Does it persuade me to start watching new episodes? Not really. But, the next time I'm at Blockbuster, I may pick up the Season One DVD and start in on it. Or I may pick up Season One of Gimme A Break! Chances of either are about even.