Losing the plot with island's castaways

The cast of Lost are kept in the dark about the plot as much as the viewers.

The cast of hit US TV show Lost are kept in the dark on future script developments, just like the rest of us.

With the show well into production on its second series, creators J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber haven't given much away.

"They really don't tell us anything," said Yoon-jin Kim, who plays Korean housewife Sun Kwon on the show.

"As soon as we get the script, that's when we find out what things will happen.

"For parts of the [season one] finale, some pages we weren't even allowed to see. We were told to call one of the executive producers to find out. It is all about secrets, and that is part of Lost."

The first series of Lost is now available on DVD. With Desperate Housewives, the show is among the most popular programmes around the world.

Shot on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, the show revolves around a group of survivors from Oceanic Flight 815.

The plane crashed en route from Sydney to Los Angeles, leaving the group stranded on a mysterious tropical island in the South Pacific.

Lost focuses not only on the castaways' struggle to survive in a hostile environment but also features flashbacks of the characters' lives before they were stranded on the island.

Other castaways include mysterious criminal Kate Austin (Evangeline Lilly), druggie rocker Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan), cursed lottery winner Hurley (Jorge Garcia), conman Sawyer (Josh Holloway), and the only Australian character, Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravens).

The US drama screened on TV2 and was a ratings winner for the broadcaster last year with each episode attracting more than two million viewers.

"My general impression was that by the finale, people were a little disappointed that there wasn't more information given in the cliffhanger," said Matthew Fox, who plays the lead character, neurosurgeon Jack Shephard.

"I would say then that the first three episodes of this year (season two) are going to blow their minds and almost rock them back on their heels.

"I would say, hold on to your hats and pay attention."

In that final episode, a group of the castaways on a raft were given a huge surprise while their friends on the island continued to try to find out what was in the mysterious hatch.

Evangeline Lilly, who plays prison escapee Kate, said fans would be rewarded next year.

"You will be rewarded for all of your many, many episodes of watching and receiving no answers to your questions," she said. "You will get answers this season. You will have a lot of new exciting things to explore as well, but I don't think there will be as many frustrating questions asked as there were in season one."

For Australian actor Emilie de Ravens, Lost provided a lucky break.

She had only ever done bit-parts on Australian TV shows and was virtually unknown prior to scoring the gig.

She said the show's constant mystery kept people interested.

"The fact that this island is possessed or strange in some way, that things are able to happen that generally wouldn't, lets them write whatever they want to write, which is really cool," de Ravens said of the show's success.

"There are endless storylines where I can go with this. "They are just a great bunch of people and different personalities."

De Ravens wouldn't give much away about the second series:

"The hatch is very interesting, that is about all I know," she said.

"It is definitely going to change season two for us, the group dynamics."

Terry O'Quinn, who plays Locke, prefers not to be told what will happen in future episodes.

"They don't tell us anything," he said.

"I am perfectly happy with that, it is like not having the burden of knowledge."

O'Quinn, a veteran actor, attributed the show's success to strong storylines.

"It is a hit around the world for a similar reason that it is a hit in the States, because it is a mystery, adventure, romance," he said.

"It is an international cast and it is honest, clear entertainment."

Fox agreed, adding that mythology was also an important aspect of the show.

"I honestly just think it is really riveting storytelling," Fox, who is also known for US series Party of Five, said.

"This story has never been told before so there are no preconceived notions of it.

"There are no parameters, you can go anywhere."

Rumours have suggested that some characters will be killed off in the second series and new ones introduced.

"All of us are in jeopardy, all the time, that is the premise of the show," said Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin Kwon.

"There are a lot of different storylines colliding at the same time and I think everyone will be involved with everyone at some point."

- AAP