Mission: "Lost" in Star Wars -- J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof

Even though the show's intricate plot points, unusual obstacles and continual cliffhangers make it stand out from other TV dramas, it's the characters whose lives intertwine and reveal key themes throughout each episode that make the fans come back each week for more and discuss the show ad naseum on blogs, boards and web sites. Lindelof and Abrams are first to admit that their appreciation for the memorable characters of Star Wars saga, as well as the films' extensive back story and underlying mythos, has been a significant influence on the "Lost" series.

"What was so involving to me as a kid (and is the reason I still watch the movies over and over and over) is the complex mythology of the Star Wars universe -- the heroes, the villains, the quests -- but most importantly, the characters," Lindelof explains. "Therefore, we always approach 'Lost' through the prism of the people instead of the island. After all, no one's ever really blown up the Death Star, but we can all relate to how it feels to be Luke in that moment because we've been with him for the whole movie."

"I don't know how many times in developing stories I have referenced the archetypes of Star Wars," Abrams says. "As a fan of Joseph Campbell and the use of myth in storytelling, you could argue that it is a classic paradigm but it is the common language among all of us because we are all so familiar with the Star Wars canon. It's hard to remember breaking a story for an episode of a show whether it was 'Lost,' 'Alias' or even 'Felicity' and not feel like there was some way to reference the love triangle you felt in Episode IV or the struggle of good and evil that you have seen in all six of the films."

"Star Wars is probably the most influential film of my generation," Abrams adds. "It's the personification of good and evil and the way it opened up the world to space adventure, the way westerns had to our parents' generations, left an indelible imprint. So, in a way, everything that any of us does is somehow directly or indirectly affected by the experience of seeing those first three films."

While the creative team finds inspiration in the saga, they also can't resist showing off their characters' more humorous sides with numerous pop culture references to Star Wars sprinkled throughout the episodes.

"The Star Wars movies really defined my entire generation of storytellers," Lindelof explains. "For most of us, A New Hope was the first movie we remember seeing and unlike other movies and TV shows, we saw it over and over and over again. The trilogy was a cultural event and a great story, so when one of our characters uses a Star Wars reference everyone in the audience knows what they're talking about."

Out of the multitude of references to the films, it's the wisecracking conman James "Sawyer" Ford's comments that entertain the creative duo the most. "I personally love that Sawyer refers to Jin as Chewie because he and Michael speak different languages, but somehow understand each other," Lindelof says.

"I agree with Damon," Abrams says. "That moment when Sawyer called him Chewie, it was obviously about this lack of communication but it was also classic Sawyer because he is an absolute hideous bigot and racist who believes that anyone who doesn't speak his language is some type of alien creature."

Star Wars References in "Lost"

Season One:
Episode: "Confidence Man"
Air date: 11/10/04
Dr. Jack Sheppard helps Shannon past an asthma attack.
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes: "Whoa! Dude, that was like a Jedi moment."

Episode: "Exodus Part 1"
Air date: 5/18/05
(Shares the same date as the 1980 The Empire Strikes Back release.)
Michael to Jin as they are fixing the raft: "No, no, no! This one goes here, that one goes there".
(Empire reference of Han and Chewie as they fix the Millenium Falcon).

Episode: "Exodus Part 2"
Air date: 5/25/05
Because Jin speaks only Korean and Michael only speaks English, the "Lost" writers often like to make Han and Chewie references due to the language barrier.
Michael: "It's closer, I'm telling you. Look at it. Look, I know, okay? I got one flare. One flare. What? Okay. I know. You don't see anything. Okay. What the hell are you expecting to see? In case you haven't noticed, it's dark. What is it? Is it a ship? Starboard, port? U...port. Port.
[Jin speaks Korean]
Michael: "Okay, what, what the hell am I supposed to do about that?"
Sawyer: "Hey, Han, you and Chewie want to slow down a second and talk to me here? We have to fire the flare."

Season Two:
Episode: "Orientation"
Air date: 10/5/05
Sawyer refers to Jin as "Chewie" again.

Episode: "Abandoned"
Air date: 1/9/05
Sawyer again makes another reference to Jin when he says: "Yeah, yeah, I know, Chewie"

Episode: "Fire & Water"
Air date: 1/25/06
Sawyer calls Hurley "Jabba"

Episode: "Dave"
Air date: 4/5/06
Dave to Hurley: "You think they blew up the Death Star?"