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Tavis: I think it's pretty safe to say it's been an awfully good year for actor Matthew Fox. The former 'Party of Five' star heads up a strong ensemble cast on one of TV's brightest and most acclaimed new shows, 'Lost.' Along with 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Lost' is being given credit for helping to turn around the fortunes of an entire network. That would, of course, be ABC. Tomorrow night, the show concludes its first season with a special 2-hour finale. Here now a sneak preview of the season finale of 'Lost.'

Jack: You and me then.

Kate: No. I'm taking one.

Jack: It's not gonna happen. No.

Kate: This is why I came.

Jack: Then you wasted a trip.

Kate: I need to do this.

Jack: Kate, no one owes anyone anything.

Kate: I'm carrying one.

Jack: We're done here.

Kate: This is not your decision.

Jack: Kate, yes it is.

John: We'll draw straws. We don't have time to argue about who gets to risk their life, so... We'll let fate decide.

Kate: Works for me.

Jack: What about you? Want to carry some dynamite, too?

Tavis: Great line. We'll let fate decide. Matthew, nice to meet you.

Matthew Fox: Nice meeting you.

Tavis: Glad to have you on. I'm delighted to have you. Felicity Huffman, from 'Desperate Housewives', which I just mentioned a moment ago, was on this program I guess weeks before the show actually came on the air. I saw that first episode before it ever aired. And I was thinking, I wonder how this show was gonna do. I wonder sometimes whether she and the other cast members ever thought that show would be as big as it is now in its first season. The number one show on television, and 'Lost,' you guys are right up there. When somebody called you, when somebody sent you a script about this, did you have any idea that this show could turn around an entire network?

Fox: I had a very strong feeling that it was gonna be good. I mean, you know, I read the script. I thought the script was incredible, and I loved the premise. But I've also been in the business long enough to know that even, you know, having something be very well written and well executed and having something you believe in that strongly, it doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna communicate to an audience, so I went into the premiere of the show cautiously optimistic. And waking up the next day and getting those phone calls from Los Angeles and finding out that the show had done so well was really rewarding and, I just felt great that something that I believe in that much was actually reaching a huge audience. That's the first time that's ever happened to me and, you know, my past has been sort of, you know, quality shows that nobody really watched.

Tavis: Kind of like this one. No, just teasing. Go ahead.

Fox: No, but it's--so it's been a fantastic year in that respect. I mean, to be working on something that I believe in that strongly and is reaching the kind of audience that it is, it's been great.

Tavis: Yeah. Tell me what you think it is about the show that does connect. To your point, when you read something just because it's well-written, just because it has a good cast doesn't mean it's going to work. What do you think about this thing? I mean, it's very different, of course, than 'Desperate Housewives' on the same network, but both have connected. What is about 'Lost' that people connect to?

Fox: I really think it's, you know, there's a lot of-- for years now, there's been these, you know, cop shows, lawyer shows, doctor shows. And not to say that they're not incredibly well-executed, but I think that television audiences, they sort of become accustomed to the idea that they know what to expect from week to week. You know, there's gonna be another case, there's gonna be this, and they sort of become conditioned to have an idea of the pattern of what's gonna come next.

I really think that 'Lost' is so original--I mean, this story has never been told before--that it leaves the audience at the end of every episode not having any idea what's gonna happen next and dying to know. And ultimately, that's what good storytelling is all about. I mean, you want to get people hooked into a story, and you want to leave them, um, dying to know what's gonna happen next and I think 'Lost' does that-- does that very well. I mean, I think that it also, it gets them thinking, you know? They're hypothesizing and theorizing about what's gonna happen next, what the bigger epic themes of the show are, what the long-term themes of the show are, and anything that's provoking thought like that and making people talk about it, I think that's great. I mean, it's smart stuff.

Tavis: Now, granted, Hawaii is not Los Angeles in terms of the overpopulation of this city, but I'm still impressed at how you guys shoot on location in Hawaii with all that activity, and it comes across as a deserted island somewhere. So how do you guys pull this off every week?

Fox: Well, you know, Oahu is the most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands, and it's got Honolulu and Waikiki and that big city there, but the rest of Oahu is pretty sparsely populated. I mean, we don't have a lot of trouble finding really remote parts of the island. I mean, all those jungle sequences and, um, Kualoa Valley, where we do all that valley stuff, and the North Shore we do all the beach work on. And then also there's technology. I mean, we do have stuff in the background of certain shots, and they just wipe it out with CGI now. You know, that's getting cheaper and cheaper to do, and it's certainly something that's important to our show for that kind of thing, for stuff in the background, scenery things, but also just for the special effects that we do on the show, so it's a combination of those two things.

Tavis: Speaking of combination, I was cracking up reading your vitae for our conversation. So you were raised in Wyoming...

Fox: Yes.

Tavis: Later lived in New York, married somebody from Italy...

Fox: Yeah.

Tavis: And now you live in Hawaii.

Fox: Yeah, it's been a long, great journey.

Tavis: That's a long journey, so do you like living in Hawaii? I mean, I know you're there now because you work there. Do you like being in Hawaii?

Fox: I do very much. Very much. I mean, I've been traveling to Hawaii with my wife and with my daughter and son now for, for about 8 years just taking vacations there. And we've been to several different islands and my wife and I have always joked about how great it would be to get a gig that took us there for a little while. And I remember the day that I went in to meet J.J. and Damon on 'Lost,' and I said to Margherita sort of, you know, as I was heading out the door, I said, 'By the way, this one shoots in Hawaii.' and here we are, you know? So, you know, the kids--it's--I've been looking for a way to get out of Los Angeles for some time now. I have 2 young children and, you know, we have--

Tavis: Hey, what's wrong with L.A., man?

Fox: Well, I love L.A. And we have a great--we live in Manhattan Beach, actually, and I have a home there, but I must say, you know, being from Wyoming, having outdoor space, and having some--a little more freedom for the kids to move around outside. And, you know, you don't really realize how much--that when you live in a big city, when you walk out of your home with your children, you immediately sort of grab their hands and you hold 'em tight and you gotta wonder just on sort of a subconscious level what kind of energy level that puts in them, you know? And in Hawaii, they can just run. I mean, they're just having a great time outside. They spend a lot of time in the water, and we have a big yard, and we have a pool for the first time in their lives, so they're spending a lot of time just--

Tavis: Well, you can afford that when you got a hit TV show. You can buy a lot of pools.

Fox: Well, we're spoiling ourselves right now for sure.

Tavis: So tell me, speaking of Wyoming, you know, I think of all the states, I have never been to Wyoming. What am I missing?

Fox: It's a beautiful state. It's a beautiful state. I think, per square mile, it is the most sparsely populated state in the United States of America, and it has the Rockies running right through the western side of the state. I grew up in the northwestern part of the state, up in a valley called the Wind River Valley. And it's absolutely beautiful. I mean, you know, it's got some interesting elements to it. If you're on the run from the law, you might end up working on an oil rig in Wyoming. So there are some interesting elements to it, but as far as the countryside. And what it does for me is I always think of it, as I go back there, as sort of recharge my batteries. It's really good for my soul, and I feel like I'm connected to that place very deeply. So I love it there.

Tavis: So how'd you make the transition? What must it have been like for a kid growing up in Wyoming who heads off to New York to go to school?

Fox: It was tough.

Tavis: Columbia?

Fox: Well, I took a post-graduate year in high school in-between there. I went to Deerfield Academy for one year. And just to give you an idea of how long that transition took me to make, I was voted most likely to appear on 'Hee Haw' in my yearbook at Deerfield. So I obviously didn't make that transition very quickly. And then I went on to Columbia and New York. So it was sort of a two-stage process, and by the time I got to New York--I guess I kind of like extremes, you know? Wyoming, certainly, where I grew up, is an extremely remote place. And being in the city and going to the Big Apple when I was, you know, 18, 19 years old was just so exciting, and I really loved it there.

Tavis: All right, so what can you tell me about the season finale tomorrow night? I know the answer already if I ask the question, but I'm gonna ask anyway; see if I can get something out of you.

Fox: I can tell you that...what can I give away here?

Tavis: Before you answer that, I'm just curious. Tell me how this works. So you guys shoot this last scene. So what do the producers, what do the networks, do they threaten you guys with cutting your checks off? How do they keep you guys from not telling what's gonna happen.

Fox: No, they don't-- I think everybody understands how important it is to sort of try to tease the audience whenever we're promoting the show. Obviously it's important to sort of tease the audience a little bit, but also, they understand that the real--it's like a good book. I mean, you want to savor it. I mean, I don't think people want to really have anything tipped off to them before they see it.

Tavis: OK, go ahead and tease me then. Tease me.

Fox: All right, I'll tease you a little bit. It's gonna be vague. It's gonna be very, very vague.

Tavis: You big tease, you. Go ahead and tease me, man.

Fox: Well, I'll tell ya. I think, um, I'll say this. There will be questions answered in the final two hours, and I think that, obviously, when you're dealing with a show like 'Lost,' that's important. I mean, you cannot continually ask bigger and bigger questions, and not give answers to some of those questions. So that will happen. I think some of that will be very satisfying to the audience. And then there will be bigger questions asked, as well, which will be slightly--

Tavis: I'm outta here! That's what I get. There'll be questions answered, and there'll be bigger questions asked. Tune in tomorrow night to--

Fox: And someone will die.

Tavis: And somebody will die. Tune in tomorrow night to the 2-hour season finale of 'Lost' on ABC. Matthew, nice to meet you.

Fox: Nice meeting you.

Tavis: What a tease you are. That's our show for tonight. I'll remind you, you can catch me back on public radio this weekend, and for that matter, now every weekend on public radio. Public Radio International, I guess I should say it. PRI. Check your local listings. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, good night from L.A., thanks for watching, and keep the faith.