As well all know, 'Lost' is a difficult show to understand, even if you're a regular viewer. A couple dozen characters, various timelines, various locations all add up to a confusing (though great) show.

Wired has a handy character chart (yes, there might be spoilers!), created by bioinformics scientist Martin Krzywinski using Circos software (even that sentence is confusing) that shows how all of the characters are related. The chart showing the entire cast is just a mess of colored lines that might be hard to follow, but you can use the list on the left to narrow down the list of characters and plot points you want to examine.
For example, if you're wondering how many of the characters are related via "romance," click on romance and the chart will change to show you that. Same with Chance, Family, Occupational, Touched By Jacob, Undisclosed, Visit By Richard and Visit From 'The Wire''s Lt. Daniels (!).

Notably missing from the chart: Nikki and Paolo.

Meanwhile, the article also features an in-depth interview with Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, a list of hidden clues you might have missed and a profile of some of the people who work on the show behind the scenes. There's also a great picture of a blackboard the writers use to plan the show. Not sure if there are any clues and/or spoilers on that board or not (there might be in the article), but it's even more fun to examine than the chart above. You can zoom in on various parts of the picture so you can read what exactly is written on the blackboard. Knowing the 'Lost' guys there's probably some giant clue to the conclusion of the show on that blackboard or on the desk or on the wall in the background.

Back to that chart. Now this is the point in which 'Lost' fanatics nitpick and explain all of the mistakes and/or inconsistencies that are in the chart. Go at it in the comments.


[via Jezebel]