As the cast of ABC's "Lost" can attest, success is a relative, relative thing.

This time last year — with the most expensive pilot in history in final edit and skeptical industry reporters readying their best air-disaster jokes — all the show had to do to exceed expectations was not become the TV equivalent of "Heaven's Gate."

After that, the unanimous critical praise, week-by-week ratings dominance and 12 Emmy nominations were all icing.

This season, however, the bar is set palm-frond high.

Critics who credited the show with helping spur a rebirth of scripted drama will be examining the show's intricate plot lines with more teeth in their fine-toothed combs.

Obsessive fan-boys who deconstructed every potential symbol and portent in exhaustive online discussions are demanding answers after 24 episodes of mounting confusion and speculation.

"Obviously, there's more pressure on us this year because of the success of the show," said Matthew Fox, who plays Jack. "The audience is as big as it's ever been, and it's growing. I'm not saying we're not feeling pressure, because we are.

"But," Fox continued, "I think the cast and creators of this show are people who thrive on that kind of pressure. I think everybody is sort of going, 'Yeah, bring it on.' "

Hawai'i fans will get an advance screening of the first Season 2 episode, "Man of Science, Man of Faith," tonight at Queen's Surf Beach as part of the city's Sunset on the Beach program. The event also features the premiere screening of the new ABC series "Invasion.

For the rest of the country, Season 2 kicks off Sept. 21. The network broadcast will be preceded by the one-hour "Destination Lost," a series primer that will bring new and old viewers up to date with the main story lines.

This season will include a few new faces: Michelle Rodriguez ("Blue Crush") as passenger Ana-Lucia Cortez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ("The Bourne Identity") as the mysterious stranger Emeka, and Cynthia Watros ("Drew Carey Show") as Libby, a former therapist.

After filming the first couple of episodes, Fox said he was confident about the show's sophomore prospects.

How confident?

"We're going to take you for a ride, and it's going to be great," Fox said at last month's "Lost: The Complete First Season" DVD release party. "You're going to love it, and you're going to beg for more."

For its final episode of last season, "Lost" drew a powerful 7.8 rating/19 share in the coveted 18-49 age demographic and nearly 21 million viewers overall — despite going head to head with the Fox smash "American Idol."

(Ratings represent the percentage of TV households that are tuned in to a given program; last season, each ratings point was equivalent to 109,590,170 households. A share represents the percentage of televisions being used that are tuned in to a given show at a given time.)

After its groundbreaking run in the United States, the show spent its brief summer vacation conquering Europe, debuting as the most-watched U.S. import on British TV since "Dallas." "Lost" also has been a sensation in France, Germany, Spain and other markets.

Yunjin Kim, who plays Sun, said she's amazed at the broad audience the show has attracted in such a short time — a reality brought home last month by the throng of international journalists who descended on the Turtle Bay Resort for the show's DVD release party.

"People are so mellow here in Hawai'i — they don't swarm you just because you're some sort of celebrity — that I didn't realize how big the show is out there," Kim said.

Actually, Kim and fellow cast members need only have scanned the magazine racks recently to get a fix on their newfound fame. TV Guide, one of literally dozens of magazines to pick up on the "Lost" craze, last month published a complete Season 1 episode guide, a DVD preview and scoops on the new season. "Entertainment Weekly" put a wet T-shirt-clad Matthew Fox on the cover of its Sept. 9 fall TV preview. (Last week, ABC ran an advertising insert that included "Lost" trading cards in the magazine.)

Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk have been promising for months that many of the mysteries of Season 1 will be revealed early on in Season 2, setting the stage for the larger arc of the story.

Still, Fox said, the show won't stray too far from it's strengths.

"It's just really riveting storytelling," Fox said. "This is a story that hasn't been told before, and there are no preconceived notions and no parameters.

"I think we've been conditioned with all of the investigative dramas and all the cop shows, lawyer shows and doctor shows of knowing what's happening next week," Fox said. "I think each episode of 'Lost' leaves you in a place where you're thinking, 'Oh my God, I don't know what's going to happen next week but I can't (expletive) wait to find out."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.