Smith's sentiment is shared by other Lost fans, too — some more credible than others. Over at the WashingtonPost.com, ace Lost watchers Jen Chaney and Liz Kelly have been keeping busy with a ''Lost Book Club.'' (Yours truly participated in a discussion last month about the show's links to the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen.) Fellow nutjob theorist Bigmouth has been fine-tuning his theories over at eyemsick.blogspot.com. Meanwhile, darkufo.blogspot.com — which has kept me highly amused with a series of increasingly ridiculous round-robin contests (from asking fans to vote on their favorite Lost character to...their favorite Lost prop) — continues pushing the rumor that ABC is moving Lost to a new night (the hubbub is that the show will be migrating to Monday), although its most recent report is that the network may be changing its mind. (My sources tell me that the plan is to keep Lost on Wednesday nights, though the timeslot is still TBD.)

And then, there's this MySpace guy, who goes by the handle ''The ODI.'' For many months now, The ODI (male; 33) has been causing controversy — and inspiring mad speculation — among Lost obsessives with a series of posts filled with alleged season 4 intel. A couple months back, I announced that I'd be spending the hiatus investigating these rumormongers, but I've had a change of heart. There's so much contradictory information out there about the new season, clarifying what's right and what's wrong would run the risk of...well, spoiling the show. For now, maybe utter confusion is for the best. So ''spoil'' away, Mr. ''The ODI.'' Time will tell how credible you really are.

+++

BURNING QUESTION OF THE MONTH

''Hi Doc — My biggest problem with the season finale was Locke killing Naomi. It seemed really out of character and unnecessary. Couldn't he have just injured her enough not to make the call? Did he really have to kill her? Could you probe the producers to find out if the audience will eventually find out Locke's motivation for killing her?'' — Tricia

Dear Tricia: Actually, Locke was aiming for her arm. Oops! Seriously, my read on that scene was that Locke was just trying to stop her from calling the freighter — her death was incidental, though acceptable given the stakes (which at this point only he seems to know). Also: do we know for sure she's dead? First rule of Lost Theory Club: Assume nothing.

But you didn't want my theory, did you? And so, because I aim to please, I gave exec producer Damon Lindelof a jingle, and while the experience fell far short of a ''probe'' (creeeepy), here's how he responded:

''After lying, gutshot, in a pit of Dharma corpses for two days and on the verge of taking his own life, an apparition of Walt appeared to Locke and said ''You have work to do.'' I would dare say that we might be willing to give John the benefit of the doubt for any action he took in response to this series of events, even if considered slightly ''out of character.'' I, for one, become VERY cranky when I get gutshot.''

A valid point, although I think Tricia's fuzzyness on the matter is understandable: the finale — focused and stuffed as it was on Jack, Charlie, The Others, and other non-Locke momentousness — wasn't really about capturing Locke's state of mind. My guess is that very early in season 4, Lost will give us a story that will zero in on the very weird-and-warped place Locke finds himself in.

NEXT: Doc J's Countdown to Season 4 Theory of the Month

You Might Also Like

• Doc Jensen 'Lost': 4 open questions | Jeff Jensen
• Television News 'Lost' star Harold Perrineau in ABC pilot
• TV Watch 'Lost' season finale recap | Jeff Jensen
• Doc Jensen 'Lost': A night to 'move' on? | Jeff Jensen
• Cover Story ''Lost'': Dr. Jack spills secrets | Dan Snierson
• Television Commentary The battle of the beards | Jeff Jensen