PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- It's not unusual to hear a friend or co-worker talk about polar bears or the Dharma Project these days. It's all because of the television show "Lost," which has become a hit in part because of its symbolism and hidden meanings.

"Lost" fans spend hours online with friends and family and at work talking about the show. Hundreds of Web sites are devoted to analyzing the cryptic details of the program.

In short, the Wednesday night ABC show is about a plane crash on what seems to be a deserted island. The survivors of the crash band together, but then strange things start happening.

At Browning Co. Graphic Design in Portsmouth, not much work gets done on Thursday mornings. Terri Nulph is one of several employees who don't just watch "Lost," but analyze it.

"It's fun to try to find stuff that these guys can't and come in and make myself look smarter than the rest of them, which is truly the best part of it," Nulph said.

Like other devoted viewers, the Browning workers have noted several repeating themes and symbols in the show.

"When Michael sees [his son, Walt] for the last time, he gives him a stuffed polar bear," "Lost" fan Brenda Gaudet said. "He's reading the polar bear comic that ends up being Hurley's, so everything for the polar bear is with that kid. And the polar bear is on the orientation video."

Despite the presence of a polar bear on the island, it's not known what the repetition of the symbol means. Former "Lost" star Ian Somerhalder didn't have many specifics to share while in New Hampshire recently to film a movie.

"'Lost' is a metaphorical beast, if you will," Somerhalder said. "And there's a lot of symbolism, and a lot of them are literary references."

Somerhalder played the character of Boone, who died in the show's first season following an accident. Boone has only been seen since in flashbacks.

One of the most common repeated symbols is the series of six numbers that seems to be central to the plot. The character Hurley won the lottery with the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. Those numbers were inscribed on a hatch found on the island and must be typed into a computer every 108 minutes.

The numbers also add up to 108.

There are no solid answers about what the numbers actually mean. Some viewers say that the mystery is more fun than having definitive answers about what's going on.

"I heard that the writer's scan all these message boards that are out there and they try to read what people are thinking and write based on where it's going to go or go against what people think is going to happen," said "Lost" fan Shelby Barsalou.

Wednesday is a big night at the Barsalou house in Pelham, N.H. Jeff and Shelby Barsalou both work, and "Lost" puts the family in one room at the same time.

"One Wednesday night we picked it up and watched it and we're, like, 'Oh, wow. That's pretty cool, and then we just as a family started to watch it. And then we're, like, hooked," Shelby Barsalou said.

All the symbolism and hidden clues might make the show confusing for new viewers, but a DVD collection of the first season was released this fall, and many are buying or borrowing it to catch up.