Alcatraz

'Lost' (2004-2010, ABC)

Show creators J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse all must be big fans of Kurt Vonnegut's hero Billy Pilgrim from the seminal novel "Slaughterhouse-Five." Because, like Pilgrim, this show's characters became "unstuck in time."

The show's ... morecharacters, survivors of a horrific plane crash, faced all kinds of dangers in their new surroundings. Several of them also, apparently, traveled in time and space, or to alternate realities. At least that's how we're choosing to interpret things.

While the debate rages on as to whether the show's much-ballyhooed conclusion was brilliant or pure rubbish (only the "Sopranos" wrap-up is as hotly debated to this day), "Lost" had as passionate a group of fans as any series ever, and the initial rush of excitement when it originally debuted was something to see.

(ABC)