Is ‘Lost’ one big homage to ‘Get Smart’?

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The endless subplots and surprise revelations of the desert-island thriller ‘Lost’ have driven viewers to embrace all sorts of theories about What It All Means. But maybe the answer lies close to home. At least if your home happens to contain DVDs of the 1960s spy sitcom ‘Get Smart.’

‘Lost’ is in the middle of its fifth season, which some fans have described as one of its most challenging (or frustrating) ever. But it spoils nothing to report that much of the ABC series’ mystery has depended on an unusual phenomenon in which electromagnetism causes the island to move, rendering it impossible to locate.

But was all of this actually prefigured in ‘Get Smart,’ Mel Brooks’ classic parody starring Don Adams as the bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart?

A friend of ours pointed out (half tongue-in-cheek, but still) that during the 12th episode of the fourth season, which originally aired on Dec. 21, 1968, Max and his new bride, Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon), are stranded on Schwartz’s Island.

It just so happens that Schwartz’s Island moves. And what do you know? In the center of the island sits ... a giant electromagnet. Freaky, isn’t it?

So, is it all just coincidence, or do ‘Lost’ producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof secretly worship at the shrine of Brooks and Adams?

‘Yes, that is in the category of complete coincidence,’ Cuse e-mailed back when we ran the notion by him. ‘Never heard of that until now — among ALL the theories!’

Lindelof added: ‘But, for the record, we DO worship at the shrine of Mel Brooks and Don Adams!’

Some ‘Lost’ mysteries are resolved more easily than others.

— Scott Collins