Finally!! I'm sure a lot of other fans (as well as ABC executives) are breathing a sigh of relief! LOST is coming back, and with 4 hours of programming to boot! Considering that ABC's schedule has fallen off a cliff (ratings are off by 30% or more compared to last year, while Fox and NBC are rising), this is not only a welcome event for fans but also ABC execs.
To that point, ABC has added the 2-hour 3rd season finale on Wednesday, the day before Thursday's premiere, giving LOST 4 hours of programming next week, including the 1 hour recap special on Thursday leading into the 4th season premiere. I don't know about you, but I'm watching all 4 hours. In fact, I was just thinking about the fact that I wanted to rewatch the 3rd season finale since it's been so long, and I'm sure there are plenty of other fans that feel the same way.
There's a very good story on the 4th season on USA Today, and according to it the castmembers love the 4th season episodes, which are much more self-contained and also have a faster pace to them.
I've edited this to add another story from Canada's Globandmail:
Patience is a necessary virtue for those supporting the Lost cause. As befits a TV phenomenon, the first three seasons of the castaway drama were doled out sparingly to viewers - over four years, with interminable breaks between new episodes - but patience brings a payoff.
Yes, Lost returns next week (Thursday, ABC and CTV at 9 p.m.; repeats Saturday on Space at 8 p.m.), albeit in a condensed format. With production shut down by the writers strike, the top-rated ABC drama is back with eight new episodes - not the 16 originally planned for this season.
Last spring's cliffhanger finale hinted at rescue for the bedraggled plane-crash survivors trapped on the uncharted desert isle. But the story is barely halfway over. ABC, in a gesture of extreme confidence, has renewed Lost for a fifth and sixth season. Barring interruption by the writers strike, there are 48 more episodes to come before the series finale in the spring of 2010.
Which raises a question: How much more can happen on one little island? As decreed by creator J.J. Abrams (of Alias and Cloverfield fame), the show has been rife with clues that would supposedly lead viewers to the big picture. The first three seasons of Lost were riddled with hidden numbers, inexplicable healings, ominous corporations (Hanso?), the Dharma Initiative, nanobot clouds, The Others and, of course, The Hatch.
Most likely, says one expert viewer, it's all in the master plan. "The show's creators have stated they've always known exactly where the show is going, but they didn't know how many more episodes they had to tell the story," said Nikki Stafford, author of Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide, which covers seasons one and two, and Finding Lost - Season Three: The Unofficial Guide. "Now they know."
Most likely, this season's long and winding storyline will be filled with more flashbacks and, hopefully, further insight into the personal lives of the Lost players. Also, Lost continues to add new characters - not an easy task for a series set on an island.
One thing is for sure:Fans will follow every twist and turn religiously. The TV equivalent of the thirties-era movie serial, Lost has rolled out over 69 episodes since making its debut in September, 2004, and has lost little heat from its breakout season. Unlike other shows launched that season (where are you now, Joey Tribbiani?), Lost was an immediate ratings hit, and its profile has multiplied tenfold in post-network repurposing: It was the first significant show made available for download, and one estimate suggests that more than half the people who watched the first three seasons of Lost did so on their computers.
Since the first season, the lucrative Lost franchise has expanded to include DVD box sets, video games, online gaming, books, clothing and action figures (with Hurley being the bestseller). This month, Marvel comics is placing Lost references into several of its comic books.
Also unlike other network shows launched that season, or since then, Lost made viewers think. The show was split between the real-life drama of roughing it in the bush and constant flashbacks telling the backstories of the air-crash survivors, played by Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly and other good-looking actors.
Viewers have got dizzy with the details. Public theorizing on Lost has spawned fan sites and a thousand chat rooms - one early theory suggested the entire island sleepover was but a dream - and the characters and plotlines have become increasingly complicated.
"It's the mythology that keeps the diehards chattering," Stafford said. "The mystery and subtle allusions cause the fans to be participatory. They're going online to chat with others, they're reading books and learning about philosophers, all in hopes of gaining some insight into the Lost mythology. It's the reason why fans have become a lot closer to this show than fandoms are of other series."
As if to provide evidence of the show's ornate mythology, each new season of Lost is accompanied by a retrospective rewind to refresh viewer attention. Lost: Past, Present and Future (Thursday, ABC and CTV at 8 p.m.) recaps the story so far and touches on mysteries already resolved. "Some of the questions were answered in season three, but of course more questions were added on," Stafford said. "The biggest question seems to have been answered in the finale: The survivors will get rescued, it's just a matter of when."
And despite the half-order for this season, the show's creators have promised it will have a beginning, middle and end, more or less. "It will feel a little like reading half a Harry Potter novel, then having to put it down," executive producer Carlton Cuse said last week. "There is a mini-cliffhanger at the end of episode eight, but it's like the end of an exciting book chapter; it's not the end of the novel." For that, we'll have to wait two more years.
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If the strike were to end immediately, the producers of "Lost" could conceivably finish an additional eight episodes and meet their goal of 16 for the season, says co-star Jorge Garcia, who plays lovable fat man Hurley.
"I believe we are still within the timeframe that would allow us to finish the season without disrupting the flow of the season . . . but obviously that window is closing fast," Garcia wrote in a post on fuselage.com, the unofficial "Lost" Internet forum. Garcia is among the most prolific cast members on the site and communicates frequently with his fans there.
I highly recommend watching the 3rd season finale again on Wednesday -- knowing the ending scenes actually make a lot of the aspects of the episode (Jack's flash-forward, Charlie's sacrifice) even more rewarding.
Here's more from the Boston Herald:
On repeat viewing, the two-part season finale (now available on DVD in “Lost: The Complete Third Season”) is even more rewarding.
Jack’s (Matthew Fox) brutal beating of Ben (Michael Emerson) is the most deserved smackdown of the year, bar none. Charlie’s (Dominic Monaghan) sacrifice balances equal parts heroism, redemption and tragedy.
The B-story of Jack’s descent into suicidal depression and drug use took a dramatic swerve when Kate (Evangeline Lilly) stepped out of the dark. You practically could hear heads popping all across the country. A network series hasn’t spun a story so confidently in years.
The flash-forwards open up a world of possibilities. In their most recent podcast for the series in September, producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse joked that there are only two things we know for certain about the “Lost” future: There are Razr phones and men have beards.
OK, we know a little bit more than that. We know Jack and Kate aren’t dying any time soon; several people do get off that island; and one ended up in that coffin, unloved and unmourned.
The eight episodes unspooling Thursday at 9 p.m. on WCVB (Ch. 5) (a one-hour recap special precedes at 8 p.m.) follow the castaways’ initial encounters with the crew of the mysterious freighter they think offers rescue. Viewers will get clues as to who is in that coffin and the identity of the man Kate lives with. (Kate doesn’t end up with one castaway - she ends up with two.)
The producers also have confirmed that Michael (Harold Perrineau) is back, perhaps due for some payback for murdering two of his island mates. And that’s definitely our favorite Hobbit in the preview trailer, brunet and clean-shaven. Has the smoke monster found a new form with which to torment our hapless castaways?
I just read where Cashmere Mafia was pulled off to make room for an extended edition of Lost. Fantastic move by ABC. It'll get double Cashmere's ratings with Lost. If they really wanted to save Wednesday, take off Cashmere Mafia and do re-runs of Lost Wednesday 10 PM. A lineup of Wife Swap/Supernanny/Lost repeats would help out.
Originally posted by WelcomeToK-VilleAmericanGladiators: If they really wanted to save Wednesday, take off Cashmere Mafia and do re-runs of Lost Wednesday 10 PM. A lineup of Wife Swap/Supernanny/Lost repeats would help out.
WOW, that's a really good idea! I hope they take your advice. Even though LOST reruns don't usually do great, if they do always rerun last week's episode in that Wed @ 10pm slot, then they will be airing consecutively making it easier for people to follow and/or catch-up ones they missed. Plus, if some people didn't realize it moved to Thursday, they can catch it in last year's day/time.
Again, really good idea. They could probably then move Cashmere Mafia to either Tuesdays or Fridays to burn them off. I like it!
Originally posted by WelcomeToK-VilleAmericanGladiators: If they really wanted to save Wednesday, take off Cashmere Mafia and do re-runs of Lost Wednesday 10 PM. A lineup of Wife Swap/Supernanny/Lost repeats would help out.
WOW, that's a really good idea! I hope they take your advice. Even though LOST reruns don't usually do great, if they do always rerun last week's episode in that Wed @ 10pm slot, then they will be airing consecutively making it easier for people to follow and/or catch-up ones they missed. Plus, if some people didn't realize it moved to Thursday, they can catch it in last year's day/time.
Again, really good idea. They could probably then move Cashmere Mafia to either Tuesdays or Fridays to burn them off. I like it!
Although reruns on Thursdays @ 8pm every week leading into a new LOST @ 9pm would be at least as good, probably better for LOST...
Originally posted by WelcomeToK-VilleAmericanGladiators: If they really wanted to save Wednesday, take off Cashmere Mafia and do re-runs of Lost Wednesday 10 PM. A lineup of Wife Swap/Supernanny/Lost repeats would help out.
WOW, that's a really good idea! I hope they take your advice. Even though LOST reruns don't usually do great, if they do always rerun last week's episode in that Wed @ 10pm slot, then they will be airing consecutively making it easier for people to follow and/or catch-up ones they missed. Plus, if some people didn't realize it moved to Thursday, they can catch it in last year's day/time.
Again, really good idea. They could probably then move Cashmere Mafia to either Tuesdays or Fridays to burn them off. I like it!
Although reruns on Thursdays @ 8pm every week leading into a new LOST @ 9pm would be at least as good, probably better for LOST...
I like that idea. Reruns of Lost on Thurs at 8 would be good right now w/o Survivor on, when Survivor does come back move the reruns to Wed nights. Cashmarie Mafia should be done by then.
Originally posted by tvfan300: I can't wait! Very interested to see where the show goes after that sensational finale last year...
I forgot to mention that Wednesdays rebroadcast will be "enhanced" with special clues and other info on the bottom third of the screen, to entice both regular viewers as well as help new/casual viewers catch up.
I am so excited for Lost to come back. It is by far the best show on tv, and 8 episodes of Lost are better than none at all..
But, like ive said for weeks now. With the end of new episodes of Chuck and Heroes, my patience with the writers started to dwindle, than with no 24, my patience evoprated even more, once House goes, it will be very minimal, and if the 8 episodes of Lost air, and the strike isnt over, I will officially shift away from the writers.
But lets hope the writers strike a deal and get back to writing episodes for shows like Heroes, Chuck, 24, House, and most importantly Lost..
Originally posted by tvfan300: I can't wait! Very interested to see where the show goes after that sensational finale last year...
The finale attracted me back to a series I had grown somewhat indifferent to. The flash forward, imo, was definitely fresh air.
That finale was awesome -- much better than the second season finale. Glad you're coming back to it, and from what I hear, these episodes will all be very satisfying. No "filler" here...
If the "enhanced" episode on Wednesday does decent numbers, I hope the reruns of the prior week's episodes (Thursdays @ 8pm leading into new episodes Thursdays @ 9pm) are all "enhanced" with those additional tidbits of information.
