ABC Gives Fans a "Lost Experience"

ABC has devised a way to keep fans of its hit show confused, guessing and on the edge of their seats during the lazy days of summer reruns.

The network announced Monday the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure-hunt game called Lost Experience that will introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost's signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.

The Lost Experience will require players to trade email messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and Websites to gather all the necessary clues.

"Cutting edge technology has vaulted us into a new era," ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said in a statement. "Audiences are demanding greater depth of content and more creative ways of storytelling."

In a savvy stroke of synergy, the game's first clue, in the form of a toll-free number that you must call, will air during a May 3 Lost episode. The first clues for Others in the U.K. and Australia are being released May 2 and May 6, respectively.

One of the most exciting parts of the Lost Experience will be the interaction it fosters among people all over the world, according to Michael Benson, a senior VP at ABC. He said that Lost's writers, not ABC marketers, were responsible for plotting the game's course. More than 20 broadcastes on five continents will air the series of clues in different ways and ABC would like to see fans reaching out to each other to stay up to date on the latest Lost Experience info.

"We wanted to tell stories in a nontraditional way," Lost writer and executive producer Carlton Cuse told the New York Times, "and there were certain stories that Damon [Lindeloff] and I were interested in telling that don't exactly fit into the television show."

Read more at: Eonline.com

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