I don’t mind the information at all. I have visited several sites which feature a description of the episodes, characters, etc.
From what I have gathered, the jest is that the characters I asked about all died in the plane crash.
I don’t know about the Others (where they came from, but I’m assuming they’re like the rest of the castaways) or the Man in Black vs. Jacob. I may find out; my family may buy the entire series.
There were 48 characters who survived the plane crash In the opening episode. As the seasons wore on, some died here and there to various causes but by no means did the plane crash kill everyone. In fact, as a minor spoiler, 6 of them manage to get off the island at the end od season 4 and return home - they were very much alive on that island. In fact, season four goes into why it was basically impossible for them to be rescued or get off the island themselves.
I can count on one hand the number of shows I watched in the last 5 years because I can’t stand much of TV these days either. Lost, 24, and Battlestar Galactica...I don’t think you would like any of them, but to me they beat shlock like American Idol and Survivor hands down.
Somebody else already answered, but you are not correct. There is an element where the ‘characters...all died in the plane crash’ is included, but that is apparently not what happened. To say more is to provide a spoiler.
The origin of the Others (there is not just one group of them) is also a spoiler, which would ruin an entire season if said out. As I said elsewhere, go find the ‘Lost’ analysis threads if you actually want to know and are willing to read extremely long, intensely detailed studies, which trace the episodes shot-by-shot in order. I only read a few of them (having already seen the episodes) but I did find them interesting.