The television was always on at Damon Lindelof's Teaneck, N.J., childhood home. Despite being advised by his parents that his brain would rot, Damon spent the majority of his childhood watching typical guy shows like "The Incredible Hulk," "Twin Peaks," "Dukes of Hazzard," and "Miami Vice." In between, he would read Stephen King novels -- no surprise there! But Lindelof's brain didn't turn to mush; rather it became the creative force behind the hit TV series "Lost," where he is executive producer and head writer. Recently signing a mega deal to keep the doomed plane crash victims of "Lost" stranded on the mysterious island until 2010, Lindelof says he couldn't have imagined the success and financial stability this show has brought him.

Prior to "Lost," Damon wrote for "Nash Bridges" and "Crossing Jordan." And even further back -- to his New Jersey days -- Lindelof was into the theater crowd and had a brief flirtation with movies by way of a film degree from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Upon graduation, he hopped in his rundown car and traveled west to Los Angeles, which is where we caught up with him for a brief chat.

Bankrate: What were you voted "Most Likely To Succeed" at in your high school year book?

Damon Lindelof: I wasn't voted mostly likely to succeed at anything. I was the class thespian.

Bankrate: What were you childhood dreams?

Damon Lindelof: I wanted to be making movies or doing something in television or even writing a novel. I've always liked making up stories that had elements of the fantastic or supernatural in them.

Bankrate: OK, so where does the number 23 come into play? Is 23 your lucky number?

Damon Lindelof: Well, yes it is my lucky number and it was my father's lucky number. It is a number that has great cosmic importance according to some science fiction circles and 23 is also one of the numbers in Hurley's string of lucky numbers. But 815 -- Oceanic flight 815 -- is 15 plus 8 equals 23 so all of the numbers are derivations of 23 in some way or another.

Bankrate: Did you ever anticipate the response you would get with "Lost"?

Damon Lindelof: "Lost" was never supposed to be a hit. It was always supposed to be more of a cult success. The fact that it has crossed over and has this big broad audience can be petrifying, but it also emboldens us to say 'let's keep doing what we think is cool and hopefully the audiences will too.' I always thought it would have a cult audience and not be a big deal in ratings or bring in the money it has for ABC. But it is a global phenomenon now so that's really exciting for us.