Lost Season 4 News (may contain slight spoilers)

[Geekyfanboy]

This is from TV Guide "Ask Ausiello" Report

Question: What does the strike mean for Lost? Any idea how many episodes they finished pre-strike? Is it still scheduled to air some time in February? — Mike


Ausiello: Why do I suddenly feel as if I'm talking to myself, Mike? Why do I also suddenly feel like I'm not going to like what I have to say? At least I know the answer to that second part — it's because I don't like what I have to say. If the strike extends into the new year and beyond, there is a chance ABC may opt to delay the new season until the fall. Or worse yet, February 2009. Another scenario has the network simply airing the eight episodes already in the can this February as originally planned — something Team Darlton would not be in favor of. Says Lost cocreator Carlton Cuse, "Damon [lindelof] and my concern about running the [eight] episodes we will have made is that it will feel a little like reading half a Harry Potter novel, then having to put it down. There is a mini-cliff-hanger at the end of Episode 8, but it's like the end of an exciting book chapter; it's not the end of the novel. Damon and I didn't write [the ending of Episode 8] differently [with the looming strike in mind]. We wrote it to be the ending of Episode 8." In any case, he concedes that the decision to hold or air the episodes isn't ultimately theirs. "It's really [ABC honcho Steve MacPherson's] call," Cuse notes, adding, "No one was happy with the six-episode run last season."

[jedijeff]

That would be a shame if there was no lost this season. An eight episode season would be a disappointment as well. Would hate to have to wait until 2009 for more lost.

[Darth Gaos]

I would also worry that a good portion of the fanbase for the show woul;d completely evaporate if they decided not to show anything for another full year.

[Blackride]

I hope that they get the whole season in. I love this show but I feel that they may loose a lot of viewers.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

/sigh.  I was already annoyed they had delayed it till next year, and this is their own dang fault that it may be delayed again....

King Linksr

[Geekyfanboy]

Lost Deaths Necessary

Producers of ABC's Lost told reporters that they did a lot of soul-searching before they killed off characters at the end of the third season to pave the way for the upcoming fourth.

"This year was about the Others," co-executive producer Carlton Cuse said in a news conference. "The ending of the show we felt had to resolve the story of the Others. We promised a showdown. That showdown had profound consequences on both sides."

Damon Lindelof, the show's co-creator and producer, said the character of Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) was the hardest for him to accept. "It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to Charlie," he said. "We really felt the season needed to end with the loss of one of the major characters and began setting it up very early in the year. Charlie's sacrifice was brutal for us to write, and Dom's performance made it particularly brutal to watch. The reverberation of that death echoes right into the premiere of season four."

Less difficult to lose were Nikki Fernandez (Kiele Sanchez) and Paulo (Rodrigo Santoro), who were buried alive in the middle of the third season. They were introduced at the beginning of the third season because "people asked questions about the other characters on the beach," Cuse said. "Are we ever going to learn anything about them? So we decided to bring Nikki and Paulo out of the chorus. But once we did it, people were angry that we were taking time away from our main characters and giving it to Nikki and Paulo, so we listened to the fans and decided to bury them alive."

The fourth season of Lost starts Feb. 6, 2008. The DVD of the third season hits retailers on Dec. 11. --Mike Szymanski

[Blackride]

Less difficult to lose were Nikki Fernandez (Kiele Sanchez) and Paulo (Rodrigo Santoro), who were buried alive in the middle of the third season. They were introduced at the beginning of the third season because "people asked questions about the other characters on the beach," Cuse said. "Are we ever going to learn anything about them? So we decided to bring Nikki and Paulo out of the chorus. But once we did it, people were angry that we were taking time away from our main characters and giving it to Nikki and Paulo, so we listened to the fans and decided to bury them alive."

The fourth season of Lost starts Feb. 6, 2008. The DVD of the third season hits retailers on Dec. 11. --Mike Szymanski

Thank god they killed that story line. It was worthless. I can't wait for the next season though. I always enjoyed this show, especially the HD as the setting is great for it.

[jedijeff]

I never cared much for Charlie, until the last few episodes before they killed him, that was the same way I felt about Shannon as well. It is good to hear that the producers put a lot of thought into what characters they kill off. I did not care for Nikki and Paulo, but did enjoy the episode that they killed them off in.

[Geekyfanboy]

Lost Answers Offered

The producers of Lost offered up a few answers behind the mysteries in season three and a few hints about the upcoming fourth season. The third season drops on DVD on Dec. 11.

Executive producer Carlton Cuse admitted that the people who were on the jet that crashed into the island all have to pay a price for being there. "Yes, and that price is $3.95," he kidded. "In seriousness, the show is about redemption. All the characters on this island are confronting the failures of their past and revisiting issues that go to the core of their emotional make up."

Cuse also 'fessed up about the person in the coffin seen at the very end of season three. Was it someone we've seen before? "Yes," he said without elaboration.

Damon Lindelof, a co-creator and producer, was asked about why the expectations set up for the return of young Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) never seemed to materialize in the third season. Will they be seen again? "Oh, you'll see him again. But you're going to have to be patient. Sorry."

Fans first complained that not enough answers were revealed in the first half of the split-up season, but Cuse said, "We think the balance at the end of the season was right. We see each season of the show like a book. The answers were essential for this book of the show to feel complete."

One of the pressing questions by hardcore fans is how many days the survivors have been on the island. Lindelof said, "By the end of Season Three, the survivors have still be on the island for less than a hundred days ... but don't forget that you may be jumping into the future next year, so anything goes!"

The space-and-time-travel element was explained when the creators nailed down an end-time for the series. "When ABC/Disney allowed us to end the show in 48 more episodes, it was time to begin a new modality of storytelling, which includes flash-forwards," Cused said. "The show is like a mosaic. There are tiles in the present, in the past and now in the future as well. When all the tiles are in place, the story of Lost will be complete."

The third season seems to push Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Jack (Matthew Fox) even further apart and more toward Sawyer (Josh Holloway), but the last episode muddied the waters a bit. Cuse teased, "The Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle is something that will go on for a long time. And who says they don't have a chance?"

The creators don't think of their characters as ambiguous when it comes to good and evil, specifically Ben (Michael Emerson) and Locke (Terry O'Quinn). "We would use the word complex," Cuse said. "We are interested in exploring how good and evil can be embodied in the same characters and the struggles we all have to overcome the dark parts of our souls."

The unveiling of Jacob, the mysterious leader of the Others, didn't necessarily satisfy questions in season three. "If you felt the unveiling of Jacob provided answers, you are probably in the minority! We felt it was important to introduce Jacob as more than just a name at this point as he will become important downstream," Cuse said. The fourth season of Lost starts Feb. 6. --Mike Szymanski

[Geekyfanboy]

Okay.. this gave me chills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KingIsaacLinksr]

hot diggidy dog!!!   LOST IS COMING!!!

hee hee

King Linksr

[jedijeff]

Wow, cool, looking forward to Lost,  looks like there is going to be some action in those 8 episodes

[Geekyfanboy]

Lost Moving Timeslots?

TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello reported that ABC is expected to shift Lost from its usual Wednesday timeslot and begin the fourth season in February.

Ausiello didn't say which night would inherit Lost but added that an announcement is coming soon.

Eight episodes of the show were completed before the writers' strike began. It's unclear when or if new episodes will be produced if and when the strike ends.

[Geekyfanboy]

ABC Unveils the New Night for "Lost"


We reported earlier how TV Guide found out that "Lost" would no longer be on Wednesday night, so as to not have to compete with that mega ratings hog "American Idol." At the time ABC hadn't announced what night or time viewers could find "Lost."

Now we can report that the show about island-stranded airline passengers will find new life on Thursday at 9PM EST.

With the writer's strike cutting back on the number of new episodes for old shows and a lack of new programming, "Lost," now sitting in the coveted "Grey's Anatomy" time slot, should have no problem gaining back much of the audience it 'lost' last season competing with Fox's music talent show.

It's biggest competitors will now be repeats of C.S.I. and ER, until the NBC hospital show goes on its winter hiatus. The only problem looming for the ABC hit show will be the number of episodes available. J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and crew were only able to get out 8 new episodes before writers hit the picket lines, so ABC, like all other networks, will be hurting if the strike lingers much longer.

"Lost" returns on January 31, 2008. It will be followed by another new SF drama on the alphabet network called "Eli Stone," a legal drama centered on a lawyer, played by Jonny Lee Miller, who just might be a modern day prophet, at least he thinks he is.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

 >:(  >:(  >:(  >:(  >:(  >:(  >:(  >:(  >:(

Yea, great idea, switch to the night that is basicly owned by CBS or NBC......great idea ABC.....sorry, but CSI and Without a Trace are the leader on that night.  If not them, then its ER....I cannot fathom why they chose Thursday over Wednesday.....oh well......

King Linksr