If Hawaiian showers truly are an auspicious blessing, as Mayor Mufi Hannemann assured the thousands gathered for last night's soggy Sunset on the Beach show, then ABC's hit series "Lost" is in for one heck of a second season.

An overflow crowd at Queen's Surf Beach braved visible humidity, a heavy drizzle and finally an all-out shower just to catch a glimpse of the "Lost" actors and to watch — a week before the rest of the country — the much-anticipated first episode of Season II.

Cindy Kuhne, a 51-year-old substitute teacher from McCully, staked her spot at noon, more than five hours before the actors were scheduled to arrive, determined to get an autograph from Naveen Andrews, who plays Sayid on the show.

"It's his eyes," she explained. "And his voice, too. But mostly his eyes."

And it was Kuhne's voice that rose above all the others when Andrews, wearing a denim jacket (with a Sex Pistols button), black tank top and jeans and clutching a pack of Marlboro reds and his car keys, took the first stroll down the red carpet.

"I love you, Sayid!" Kuhne screamed as she strained over the barricade separating the crowd from the actors and media. "You're the only one!"

Kuhne was still standing there hours later as the rains fell and the crowd thinned.

"He said he was coming back," she said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Despite the weather, the crowd was larger and the vibe decidedly more electric than a year ago when ABC gave Ho-nolulu the first look at the show's much hyped two-hour pilot.

"There is a slight difference isn't there?" Andrews said, surveying the throngs of sign-waving fans across the beach and down Kalakaua Avenue. "It's quite shocking really."

Andrews admitted that with great success has come great expectations — from the public and from the actors themselves.

"We're dealing with an immense kind of pressure to keep the quality up and to concentrate on the work outside of all this," he said, gesturing at the crowd. "It's about how good the show is, how good the writing is and how good we are as actors. This is make or break this season."

Maggie Grace, who plays Shannon, could only laugh at the rock-star reception that greeted her, Andrews, Matthew Fox, Daniel Dae Kim, Harold Perrineau, Dominic Monaghan, Josh Holloway and new cast members Michelle Rodriguez, Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje and Cynthia Watros.

"I feel like I should have more of a Morrison-type of thing on," Grace said.

Kim, who plays Jin, said he was happy to share the evening with his new fans.

"Last year we were here before the show ever came out and we didn't know what we were going to have on our hands," he said. "This year, we know that the show is successful and it's more a show of support for our fans and to show our appreciation."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.