Front page of the minutes from a LOST storyboarding meeting in February, 2004.

In a bit I’m going to ask you to click a link, get some comfort food to sip or snack on, and then sit back for a wonderfully interesting read on the “secret origins” of LOST.

For many, the origins of LOST have been the stuff of myth and legend.  Who was the series full-fledged creator?  When did the staff know what the nature of the island?  What were we to make of tidbits of knowledge like the fact that Jack, the surgeon and show’s through-line character, was intended to die in the pilot episode?  One of the major forces behind the first two seasons of the show, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, just posted his best recollection of those early days, and it is a brilliant thing to read.

I say this as someone who was ultimately pleased with the way the show ended and who feels like the show holds up better the second time around ( I surprisingly accomplished that feat last year in honor of the tenth anniversary of the show’s debut).  So I’m at the place where I can enjoy taking a critical eye to the work and appreciate the creative process.

Let me warn you, the article is a doozy: long and winding, just like the series.  Lots of talk about things pre-pilot and post-pilot episode.  Lots of things that you might find as frustrating as some of your least favorite moments from the show itself (like was Walt really some kind of psychic?).  But it could be the best things you’ll read all week (and there are lots of great things out there to read).

So grad some goodies to eat or drink, settle into a nice seat, and click here for an amazing read.

Tip o’ the hat to Andy Greenwald’s Twitter feed.  He pointed this out yesterday.  Greenwald writes about television regularly for grantland.com.