Rumble young man rumble

I’ve missed the past two episodes of the show Lost — so it might seem a strange topic for me to blog on, but bear with me.

I am still trying to figure out 99 per cent of the show — I understand the basics: a) that the characters are lost on an island (for some strange reason after they are rescued they do everything in their power to return to said island) and b) the island is not what it seems.

Questions:

1) What is the black smoke?

2) Why do so many of the characters love living on the island?

3) Who’s the strange dude who never ages?

4) What is the black smoke — spirit of the island? An extraterrestrial from Planet X with the power to turn itself into a gaseous substance? A spiritual being?

5) What does the island want with the Oceanic Six?

6) If another group lands on the island, what do you call them? The other-others?

7) Does Jack’s father inhabit the island?

If you have answers to any of these questions, please post a comment.

At the end of the series, the commenter with the most accurate guesses will win a no-prize.