Lost (spoilers)

[polkablues]

What the fuck is her character's name again, anyway?

Juliet.

[Gamblour.]

When did Matthew Fox turn into a real actor?  He always used to seem like more of just a genial screen presence, but he's been cranking it up to eleven recently. 

Only recently? That guy has been rocking all three seasons, I've always thought he was the best of the bunch, next to Locke.

[grand theft sparrow]

What the fuck is her character's name again, anyway?

Juliet.  Smirky McGee.

[A Matter Of Chance]

Oh man. I just saw this because I was away on Wednesday. For a while I was like, "eh," frustrated and jet lagged. Then when Jack went into insane-mode I too went insane. This was really great.

[Kal]

Only 3 more months... people try not to post in this thread until February because everytime I see it I want to destroy my TV

[Pozer]

ok

[pumba]

For those of you that havn't heard, during each episode of "Black Groundhog Day" there are new 'Lost' moments from the 2007 season.

Here's moment #1

[Pas]

Lost is my new favorite TV series, movie, book, song, country and meal 

[MacGuffin]

The Maine Event
EW.com tagged along as the executive producers of ''Lost'' traveled north to meet their show's most famous fan, horror maestro Stephen King
Source: Entertainment Weekly



In the Dec. 1 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Lost fans will find a nice treat to help get through this weird winter hiatus. It's actually something that's been cooking in the EW oven since last summer, and we decided to serve it up in our special ''Inspirations'' issue, in which we asked a bevy of your favorite pop culture people to discuss their influences. If you know Lost well, then surely you know that the producers of the show are huge fans of Stephen King. And if you read the author's monthly column in EW, you know our resident It man is a huge fan is a huge fan of Lost, too. In light of this mutual admiration, we thought it was about time these guys got together and talked — with us listening, of course.

Officially, their 90-minute conversation took place on Aug. 11 at Stephen King's office in Bangor, Maine. I had the privilege of hanging out with this fab foursome — King, plus Lost producers JJ Abrams, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. I say ''hang out'' because even though I was technically there to moderate, no moderation was necessary. King took charge from the start, serving the role of interlocutor with ease. The producers were candid and had questions of their own.

The conversation unexpectedly stretched well beyond the initial back-and-forth in King's office. ''Unexpectedly,'' because somewhere in the chat, when the subject of movies came up, the following exchange took place:

DAMON: I heard The Descent is awesome.

STEPHEN: Oh yeah. Oh, I saw that the other day.

DAMON: Did you like it?

STEPHEN: Are you guys going to be around tonight? We ought to go see that.

DAMON: Yeah, we're around!

CARLTON: Yeah!

DAMON: I hear it's scary as all hell.

STEPHEN: It is. It's great. It's a horror movie for big people.

DAMON: Let's go.

JJ ABRAMS: Should we have dinner?

It went from there. After King brought an end to the official conversation (''I'm hungry! You got everything you needed, Doc J?"), we went to his house for a little bit and hung out in his basement library, where Damon and Carlton revealed a few secrets about the upcoming season, all of which you've now seen — The Hydra Station, Sawyer figuring out the feeding mechanism in his cage, and Desmond's precognition powers.

Afterward, we went to dinner at one of King's favorite places, and the patrons greeted him with the perfect combination of warmth and respect and healthy distance. In general, I was struck by how the good people of Bangor seemed very protective of their famous neighbor. Or maybe they just like to mess with out-of-towners. Earlier in the day, when I drove Damon and Carlton from the airport to King's office, I kinda got mixed up with the directions. So we stopped and sought help from two different people with offices in the general vicinity of where we needed to be, and they obliged by giving us very specific instructions on where we should go. They told us where we could go, all right — in the exact opposite direction of where we needed to be. At the time, this was very frustrating, but in retrospect, we all found this very, very cool. Good on you, people of Bangor.

And by the way, when we finally found King's office, he couldn't resist the joke waiting to be made: ''Ah, so you were... lost?'' Rimshot!

During dinner, I wrestled with a Maine lobster as King and the producers talked. I could barely follow their dishy chatter, because Messy MacLobster was giving me some serious problems. Afterward, we went to the movie. When we arrived, a backpack-wearing young man sitting outside the theater looked our way, then did a double-take. He stood and drifted toward us, as if in a trance. ''Mr. King,'' he said, ''I just wanted to say I'm a big fan...'' A sledgehammer joke was waiting to be made, but not by King, who was nothing but gracious: He shook the dude's hand and thanked him as we walked toward the entrance.

JJ paid for our admission, Damon picked up the snacks, Cartlon got to sit next to King. ''Talk about an iconic moment in one's life,'' Cuse said later. ''To be sitting there in the movie theater and discovering that he was a guy who talked back to the screen was an incredibly revelatory moment. We were watching a horror movie trailer, and somebody in that trailer said 'What am I doing here?' and King called out in his Maine accent, 'You're in a bad horror movie!' He was such a good guy.''

Afterward, we found our cars in the parking lot. We said thank you, like, a million times, and King said he had fun, wished us well, and drove off. It started to rain, big fat drops, but we didn't leave. We couldn't. ''We absolutely must process what just happened here,'' said Abrams, who had driven down for the day from his own home in Maine. ''Did that just happen?''

''It's always great when you meet your idol and he fulfills all your expectations," Cuse said. "I thought he was enormously charming and so... normal. I loved the moment when we were driving up, and you were lost driving, and I was on the phone with the assistant who said 'Stephen will come out and meet you. He's wearing a black Halloween T-shirt'' — and there he was, waving us in. He was such a good guy. It was kind of mind-blowing to find out he was as big a fan of Lost as we are of his work. That was actually kind of hard to accept.''

Lindelof has similar thoughts: ''I kept waiting to see the chink in the armor. I never did. My favorite moment was this: We all had opportunity to drive with Stephen King during the day, and he drove me from dinner to the movie theater. As we were driving over there I saw — down at my feet in his car — a scratch off lottery ticket. I picked it up and looked at it and asked: 'Is this yours?' And he said, 'Yep.' And I said, 'You buy scratchers?' He said, 'Yep, Someone's gotta win.' I just thought it was just so awesome that Stephen King, who really has won the lottery in every way, shape, and form, is still the kind of guy who stops at the local convenience store to buy a scratcher.''

Anyway: It was a cool day, and I was lucky to be there. And if you pick up the new issue of EW, you can get a great sense of what it was like, as well as hear some provocative talk about the current state of Lost. And in the coming weeks, I'll share some stuff that I saved just for you faithful EW.com readers. Until then: Namaste!

[MacGuffin]

ABC protects 'Lost'
Shift ensures the show won't have to battle 'American Idol'
Source: Variety

ABC is moving "Lost" out of the way of the "American Idol" juggernaut.

Alphabet on Tuesday unveiled a January sked that has the spooky Wednesday drama moving back an hour to 10 p.m. when it returns Feb. 7. Shift -- the third timeslot for the show in as many years -- ensures the skein won't have to battle the Fox behemoth.

A year ago, "Lost" scored boffo numbers at 9 p.m. during the fall but took a notable ratings hit once "Idol" returned in January. Skein has since held steady in the ratings, but ABC execs clearly don't want to risk further slippage.

Net's affils should be happy with the shift. With "Lost" at 10 p.m., ABC will likely deliver local stations their best new lead-in numbers for the slot in years.

In addition to shielding "Lost" from "Idol," ABC is also protecting it from rising CBS drama "Criminal Minds" and NBC's "Deal or No Deal," which moves into the 9 p.m. Wednesday slot next month.

As for what will compete against "Idol," ABC has decided that laughter -- and games -- are the best medicine. Net has slotted its laffer "Knights of Prosperity" Wednesdays at 9 p.m., directly against the "Idol" results show. It'll be paired at 9:30 with another new comedy, "In Case of Emergency."

Laffer hour is set to debut Jan. 3, a month before "Day Break" was set to end its run. ABC News programming will fill the 10 p.m. Wednesday slot in January before "Lost" returns.

"Day Break" will either be yanked after its Dec. 27 broadcast or moved to another night. No word on what will happen with the remaining five episodes of the skein, if ABC doesn't move the show to a new night.

ABC will round out its Wednesday lineup with new episodes of "George Lopez" and "According to Jim" from 8-9 p.m. Net will double-pump "Jim" for a few weeks starting Jan. 3, with "George" bowing Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.

On Tuesdays, William Shatner is expected to take on Simon Cowell and Co. as quizzer "Show Me the Money" shifts to 8 p.m. on Jan. 2. It'll be paired with "Big Day" and "Help Me Help You" at 9 and 9:30, respectively.

"Help Me" may eventually be replaced by newcomer "Notes From the Underbelly," though ABC didn't announce any firm plans for that show.

ABC's Sunday, Monday and Thursday skeds are unchanged for now. At some point, the net will have to make room for the return of "Dancing With the Stars" in March, prompting another round of sked shuffles.

On Fridays, ABC will continue to vamp with repeats. Saturday will be a mix of movies and specials.

Still on the bench: six unaired episodes of "The Nine" and "Six Degrees," as well as midseason contenders "October Road," "The Traveler" and "Masters of Sci-Fi."

[MacGuffin]

'Lost' Landings
Fans and the show's exec producer disagree over the recent casting
Source: EW

When word recently leaked that Lost had cast actress Bai Ling for a three-episode stint starting in February, even loyalists began to wonder whether Lost had finally lost it. It seems that Ling — known for her work in Red Corner — doesn't exactly command much respect. Wrote one poster at thetailsection.com: ''I kind of view [her] casting as a jump the shark situation. I hope I'm wrong.'' Well...you are! At least partially. Contrary to reports, the actress will appear in just one episode of the ABC drama — flashbacks in which the secret of Jack's (Matthew Fox) made-in-Thailand tattoos will be revealed. Moreover, Lost thinks Bai Ling is awesome! ''She's off-the-charts sexy and a damn good actress,'' says exec producer Carlton Cuse. On the other hand, Losties seemed rather high (and then very, very hungry) about another bit of quirky casting: Cheech Marin, who is somewhat short, has been tapped to play father to Hurley, who is somewhat...not short. ''He's quite a good actor,'' says Cuse, who used to be Marin's boss on Nash Bridges. ''People only think of him as the doobie-smoking '70s dude. But he played Tyne Daly's love interest in Judging Amy. C'mon!'' While we're being wacky: How about asking Don Johnson to match stubbled cheeks and drawls with Sawyer? ''No,'' says Cuse. See? Those Lost guys do know what they're doing.

[Ravi]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_en_tv/tv_abc_lost

'Lost' producers in talks about end date
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

Makers of the tropical island drama "Lost" say they're talking with ABC executives about setting an end date for the series.

There's no sense the finale is coming anytime soon. But knowing they have a deadline will help writers of the convoluted drama lay out how they want the story to end, producers said Sunday in a meeting with TV critics here.

"Once we figure out when that will be, a lot of the questions will go away," said Carlton Cuse, an executive producer. "Lost" is in its third season.

The producers, citing Fox's "The X-Files," said they didn't want to wear out their welcome. "That was a great show that probably ran two seasons too long," Cuse said. "That is a cautionary tale for us."

"Lost" is due back on ABC's schedule next month following an extended hiatus after the season's first six episodes and will air uninterrupted through May. The schedule was a direct result of fans' complaints about reruns disrupting their concentration in past seasons, producers said.

It's likely next year that all 22 episodes will run consecutively, much like Fox is doing with "24."

One prominent critic — ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson — said he thought the first six episodes this season concentrated too heavily on the stories of Jack, Kate and Sawyer at the expense of other members of the large cast.

The producers said that will be rectified right away for the season's second half as "Lost" goes back to the beach.

"Lost," which is shifting back an hour to 10 p.m. Eastern time, Wednesdays, on ABC's schedule, has seen a 14 percent drop in its audience this year, according to Nielsen Media Research. Producers contend the numbers are deceptive because of a comparison with the second season, when "Lost" was a cultural sensation.

The producers concede that it's a demanding story for viewers to keep up with, and not one that people can join in the middle.

"We want them back," executive producer Damon Lindelof said of the lost fans. "We really believe in the show and the audience we're getting. But if we write towards getting them back, we may alienate the audience that we already have."

[MacGuffin]

McPherson: 'Lost' on track, ready for marathon
Source: Hollywood Reporter

PASADENA -- Speaking to the assembled television press bright and early on Sunday morning, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson -- more relaxed and jovial than during similar sessions in recent years -- insisted that despite claims that the megahit "Lost" had literally lost its way creatively during the kickoff of its third season this past fall, he believes the show is in fine shape, thanks very much.

"You know, I liked it. I think that (executive producers) Damon (Lindelof) and Carlton (Cuse) made a clear choice that that first installment would be really about the experience of Jack and Kate and Sawyer and The Others," McPherson said. "I thought it was really a riveting six episodes, and the production values, I think they exceeded even their own standards. But I like it when they're all together, and I think we're headed toward that when you come back after (the hiatus)."

Indeed, some have criticized the decision to launch "Lost" in the fall for seven weeks and then give it a four-month rest throughout much of the fall and winter. (It returns to ABC's schedule next month.) In hindsight, McPherson admits this way have been something of a mistake in hindsight and looks to go the route Fox does with "24," running all 20-something episodes consecutively with no repeats, next year.

"I even said last fall, ideally the way you would do 'Lost' is 22 straight (episodes), 23 straight, as many as we had done," McPherson said. "I think for us, given where we were in our development, we really needed to (launch it) in the fall. ... I think coming into next fall there's a good chance we would run it 22 straight either in the fall or in the spring."

McPherson also spoke to the idea that committing to so many serialized dramas last fall may well have been a tactical error, certainly considering the weak performances of "The Nine" and "Daybreak." But he stands behind having committed to them despite his admission they were both "big disappointments."

"The shows were incredibly well-produced," he maintained. "We loved the shows creatively. ... It may have just been the timing."

The programming guru added that both "The Nine" and the poorly rated freshman drama "Six Degrees" still have a chance to return to the sked this spring despite having been pulled. "Six Degrees," in fact, is currently in production to finish out its original 13-episode order.

In the main McPherson stressed that things are pretty good in ABC-ville. The ballyhooed move of "Grey's Anatomy" to Thursdays opposite "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" this season has worked out better than anyone could have expected, with "Grey's" regularly beating "CSI" in the coveted adults 18-49 column, and "we have two of the top three new shows in 'Ugly Betty' and 'Brothers & Sisters,'" he pointed out. "We're up in total viewers on Monday night without 'Monday Night Football.' We're the number one network 18-49."

That said, many of ABC's rookie series have struggled to find their footing. That includes the comedy "The Knights of Prosperity," a half-hour built around the antics of an oddball group of New Yorkers who set their sights on robbing Mick Jagger. But McPherson maintains he is still committed to the genre. "The great thing is that people are taking chances," he believes. "I mean, for us, taking chances is what redefined us. ... We hope we can get a bigger audience for (comedies). But I also don't think that the sitcom is dead. I don't think I could point to a great multicamera show that has been put on the air, marketed well, and failed. So it's frustrating. It's challenging. We definitely want bigger audiences for them. I believe that comedy is due to kind of explode."

McPherson gamely fielded a number of other conversation threads during the Q&A that ranged from his opinion of the controversial "The Path to 9/11" -- which he said the network "loved" and stood by despite accusations that key facts were distorted to make the Clinton administration look bad -- to the bleak state of TV movies on broadcast TV.

McPherson noted that ABC is likely to go the entire season without airing a made-for ("Path to 9/11" aired on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks and outside of the regular season.) but he said he still believed there were "select opportunities" for longform programming on the network. McPherson's sole news bulletin for the scribes who turned out for his Sunday early-a.m. session was that "Dancing with the Stars" will return to ABC's schedule with a pair of two-hour editions on March 19 and 26.

[MacGuffin]

Lindelof Talks Lost's End
Source: SciFi Wire

Damon Lindelof, co-creator and executive producer of ABC's hit show Lost, told SCI FI Wire that 100 episodes is the magic number for the series, and that he would like to see it end in the fifth season. "Personally speaking, from the word 'go,' it always felt to me somewhere in the neighborhood between 90 and 100 episodes was going to be a version of Lost where we never had to do the bad season," Lindelof said in an interview after a press conference at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 14. "We knew season one was going to be introduction, season two was going to be into the hatch, season three was going to be the others. I don't want to tell you what season four is going to be. And then there was a wrap-up season, a shortened version, that would put you somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 episodes. At the end of season four we'll have produced 93 hours of the show. And I would imagine that would be very close to where it would end, ideally."

Lindelof and co-producer Carlton Cuse created a stir at the press tour when they announced during the panel that they are in discussions with the network about finding an end point to the show. They didn't give any details on the discussions, or a specific end date for the show, but Lindelof said in an interview that they have always had one in mind.

"We all looked at each other at the very beginning and said, 'By the grace of God will this show even survive 13 episodes,'" he said. "So Carlton and I are able to now sit down with [the network] and say, 'Remember in the very beginning when you were having us convince you that this thing could go on for years and years and years and we all agreed it couldn't? Well, now, just because it's successful doesn't mean that that's changed.' The reality is, they can produce a sixth or seventh or eighth season, but would anybody be watching? Because the show will be so miserable by that time. Was it really The X-Files anymore when [David] Duchovny and Gillian Anderson weren't on the show? For me, The X-Files wasn't about, 'Have aliens invaded?' It was about Mulder and Scully—a skeptic and a believer—and once that element of the show was gone, the show was over. So we don't want to produce those episodes of Lost, and in fact, we're not going to produce those episodes of Lost."

As for what Lost is about, Lindelof has a clear idea, and a specific plan about what needs to happen to the characters before the story concludes. "This show is about people who are metaphorically lost in their lives, who get on an airplane and crash on an island and become physically lost on the planet Earth," he said. "And once they are able to metaphorically find themselves in their lives again, they will be able to physically find themselves in the world again. When you look at the entire show, that's what it will look like. That's what it's always been about."

Lost returns with the first of an uninterrupted run of episodes on Feb. 7. It will still air on Wednesdays, but in a later timeslot, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

[Mikey B]

The number of 100 episodes seems logical and the really the way to go. It makes sense that all the weird unusual mysteries would be discovered and done by that time. Its now only a matter of how and and what the answers are. I'm so glad they made that decision for it not to be dragged out, like a mental patient kicking and screaming and intead they're just gonna end it, peiod during the middle or late begiing of the first season.