These ideas were in the DNA of Lost from jump street and were presented to us as take-off points from which to work out our brainstorms. The reason I bring this up is not to argue that we had a plan all along — although I suppose I could wave that notes document around and reasonably say, «See, our mythology was there from ground zero.»

No, the reason I mention it is because one of the ongoing themes of this piece is that nothing springs fully formed from anyone’s mind… not even something as seemingly magical as Lost, and the answer to the question of «Were we making it all up as we went?» is inextricably tied to this truth.

As much as many — fans, critics, and sometimes even those of us who create the stuff — want to believe in the possibility that greatness is sui generis (or conversely the cowboy myth that «We didn’t know what we were doing — we were just kids with a dream and gosh darnit we pulled it off with spit and bailing wire») both of these explanations rob us of the truth: inspiration is always augmented through improvisation, collaboration, serendipity, and plain, old, unglamorous Hard Work.

«The Lost Will and Testament of Javier Grillo-Marxuach»
The Grillo-Marxuach Experimental Design Bureau