"LOST" Thread - Part 2

[Tstormwatcher]

That was pretty good. lurker.

[southerngale]

I loved it... thanks!

[Miss Mary]

February 7th is getting closer and closer now......and my former annoyance/frustration with the writers and network is waning now. Imagine that!

Time will stand still on February 7th @ 10 pm - oh yes it will! At my house anyway.....phone ringing? That is what an answering machine is for!

Watch a fan tune in an hour earlier! LOL Seriously, if a fan does that, they've been living under a rock for 13 looooooooooong weeks!

Mary

[Tstormwatcher]

ARGGGGGGGG. My local station will be showing a college basketball game instead. I will have to wait until Thursday at 7:00 pm. Thats when the station will show the episode.

[lurkey]

ARGGGGGGGG. My local station will be showing a college basketball game instead. I will have to wait until Thursday at 7:00 pm. Thats when the station will show the episode.

What game?

[Brent]

February 7th is getting closer and closer now......and my former annoyance/frustration with the writers and network is waning now. Imagine that!

Time will stand still on February 7th @ 10 pm - oh yes it will! At my house anyway.....phone ringing? That is what an answering machine is for!

Watch a fan tune in an hour earlier! LOL Seriously, if a fan does that, they've been living under a rock for 13 looooooooooong weeks!

Mary

A recrap airs at 9pm.

[Tstormwatcher]

ARGGGGGGGG. My local station will be showing a college basketball game instead. I will have to wait until Thursday at 7:00 pm. Thats when the station will show the episode.

What game?

Duke vs UNC, and I hate basketball. Could care less about this game.

[brunota2003]

ARGGGGGGGG. My local station will be showing a college basketball game instead. I will have to wait until Thursday at 7:00 pm. Thats when the station will show the episode.

What game?

Duke vs UNC, and I hate basketball. Could care less about this game.

Yep...saw it a couple nights ago...I was mad...but I hate Duke, go UNC! the biggest rivialty in this state!

[lurkey]

ARGGGGGGGG. My local station will be showing a college basketball game instead. I will have to wait until Thursday at 7:00 pm. Thats when the station will show the episode.

What game?

Duke vs UNC, and I hate basketball. Could care less about this game.

Yep...saw it a couple nights ago...I was mad...but I hate Duke, go UNC! the biggest rivialty in this state!

go Duke, only 'cause I hate UNC more than Duke ...good thing the game is on CBS up here.

let's see back on topic.. http://www.lostblog.net/lost/tv/show/lo ... ap-episode

[lurkey]

Pictures from upcoming episodes

[Miss Mary]

3 Days to go until Lost returns!!!!

We were at a local convenience store yesterday and my daughter gasped while walking past the magazines - saying simply, OMG, Lost......well, guess what? It was this week's TV Guide issue, flipped to the back page. Yes, the entire back page is devoted to pictures of Lost characters......but another show is on the front cover (with one tiny Kate/Sawyer pic on the front cover)! My daughter is drooling over the back cover, meanwhile I'm was having my little rant with TV Guide, saying - Lost needed to be on the front cover! But it's on the back cover Mom......

Yes we had this conversation IN the store, while paying for the magazine, while walking to the car, while driving home.

LOL!

But the printed newspaper TV Guide that comes in your Sunday paper featured Lost on the front cover!

At least one TV Guide got it right.....hrrrrmmmmpphhhh!

Yes, I'm psyched for Wednesday. I might even watch the one hour recap Lost special that's before the Season 3's, 7th Episode.

Mary

[Tstormwatcher]

For those interested, there is a 2 page spead about Lost in the weekend edition of USAtoday. You might still be able to pick up a copy.

[Brent]

Entertainment Weekly review:

I'm not going to screw around. It's good. Really good. Like season-one, stuff-gets-answered, can't-wait-for-the-next-episode good. To recap: Ben is bleeding out on the table. Jack is demanding the release of Kate and Sawyer. And the fan base is demanding some frickin' forward movement. Well, how about the full-on Juliette backstory? Information about how the Others ended up on the Island? Super-creepy Dharma experiment sequences? Yeah. You know you want it. And by the end, you'll be begging for more. Well, that, and praying that this isn't just another tease from a show that always seems to start strong out of the gate. A -- Daniel Fierman

Insiders say that the hiatus REALLY helped the show(not having to be rushed gave the production team more time to come up with better stories), so you can expect a similiar schedule next year. The days of a September-May season for this show is gone.

[Miss Mary]

Tstormwatcher - thanks! Didn't realize there was a special Lost section in USA. Since I'm home for the day/night and my car is put away, I'm staying in (frigid temps outside!). I did find the section you're talking about, online. Here it is in case anyone didn't get a chance to pick up the paper. Also there's a photo section, you can access by either link I've added.

I like this one sentence:

"The most devoted fans remain intensely faithful and say the ratings drop consists primarily of casual viewers who lack the commitment to keep up with the show's complexities."

Are we the ~most~ devoted fans? And are we intensely faithful, still? In my case, YES!

Okay here it is....
_________________

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television ... main_x.htm

USA Today

'LOST,' which way will it go?
Updated 2/2/2007 7:53 AM ET

All will be revealed when 'Lost' returns

By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

Now we know how the castaways feel.
After stranding viewers for three months, Lost returns Wednesday, looking to bring back its audience — and momentum — with 16 consecutive episodes in a new time slot (ABC, 10 p.m. ET/PT).

Producers promise some of the best episodes yet after a six-episode fall arc in which ratings slipped and grumbling was heard from some fans and TV critics who previously had offered little but praise.

Ironically, the unusual split season, created to eliminate reruns in response to fan complaints, probably led to new ones about the cramped fall schedule and an in-season hiatus so long that the show seemed more like "Dharma & Break."

Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof say some individual episodes were top-shelf, but they agree that the split season created structural difficulties in telling the serialized story.

Now, however, they're looking at the bright side of the hiatus: a new episode every Wednesday through May, offering the chance to re-engage fans and make the fall episodes look better in retrospect. Lindelof offers a sports analogy: "I feel like we're a great football team that had a somewhat spotty preseason record, but now that we're playing for keeps, it's time to kick (butt) and take names."

The long hiatus has heightened anticipation about Lost's return. Viewers await the stories; ABC and producers await viewers' reaction. Some fans say Lost is at a crossroads, but Cuse and Lindelof don't believe the third-season drama is at any more of a pivotal point than it is each week.

"If we were to view it in those terms, it would be hard for us to do our jobs. I can't think of a single, mythologically based show that has been this successful for this long, so this is all gravy," Cuse says. "We're just trying to do what we've always done: tell stories that we think are cool and exciting."

Back at the beach

The fall arc created an unexpected clash of expectations with too little time to tell too many stories.

Cuse and Lindelof felt the need to pick up the story of Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), who were kidnapped by The Others in last May's cliffhanger. They also wanted to shine some light on The Others, whose shadowy presence has raised questions since Season 1.

That left little time for longtime favorites such as Hurley, Charlie, Claire and Sayid. Some fans say they were thrilled to learn about The Others, while others missed the original castaways.

"Seeing The Others was great, especially with the surprise beginning, that they have this cozy village, and the Lostaways have interrupted their seemingly idyllic life," says Matthew Hoskins, 32, of Orlando. "But keeping the first six episodes so Others-centric was a detriment to the character development of the Lostaways still on the beach."

In retrospect, the producers realized the fall arc was being viewed not as the first part of a whole season, but as a mini-season in itself.

"What I don't think we anticipated was the amount of focus there would be on the six episodes themselves," Cuse says. There was an expectation that "they had to be an encapsulation of everything people liked about the show."

After Wednesday's episode, which picks up the thread of the Nov. 8 cliffhanger involving Kate's and Sawyer's potential escape from The Others' neighboring island, the story will become "beach-centric" with familiar faces on Feb. 14, Lindelof says. For viewers who want to escape The Others' "Alcatraz" altogether, he promises the story will get off that island after Feb. 21.

Some fans question the continuous addition of characters (including last year's Tailies, nearly all of whom have met their demise). But Lost's actors say new characters invigorate the island community.

"We need fresh blood. We need new people just to shake us up," says Yunjin Kim, who plays Sun. "I think The Others have been a great addition, and the Tailies were great to have. The story opens up a lot more with new characters coming in vs. us."

Lost averaged 17.8 million viewers in the fall, down 19% from the comparable weeks in 2005, when the show hit a ratings peak (22 million) after winning an Emmy and revealing the inside of the mysterious hatch. CBS' Criminal Minds, which hadn't beaten Lost before, has topped it twice this season.

Nevertheless, Lost remains a hit for ABC and a potent draw for younger viewers. Through Sunday, it ranked eighth for the season in viewers and fifth in the 18-49 demographic coveted by advertisers.

Pent-up interest should mean a large audience Wednesday, says Laura Caraccioli of media buyer Starcom. Ratings for the second week "will be very telling."

And ABC has taken measures to prevent a repeat of last spring's ratings decline by eliminating reruns and moving Lost an hour later to get it away from American Idol.

Brad Adgate of Horizon Media says those moves should help but wonders if the long hiatus will hurt viewership. "Will they like the story line? Has it picked up a little bit? That's the ultimate test."

He says Lost also brings an affluent audience and prestige to the network, much like The West Wing's early years on NBC. "It's probably lost some of the luster of the first year, but it's still one of the shows that define ABC."

The committed stay loyal

The most devoted fans remain intensely faithful and say the ratings drop consists primarily of casual viewers who lack the commitment to keep up with the show's complexities. Some of those core fans, who congregate at websites such as thefuselage.com, enjoyed the fall episodes and say the show remains at the top of its game.

"It was great to see the perspective of The Others at the time of the crash. The impression we fans had of who and what The Others were has drastically changed," says Tom Ryan, 34, of Bloomfield, N.J.

But Amy Bauer, who moderates a peer-reviewed online journal, The Society for the Study of Lost (loststudies.com), feels the series has lost some sizzle and is at a creative crossroads, though it can still regain its bearings. "I will eagerly watch the 16-episode conclusion of Season 3, but the show as it stands does not inspire the fervent fan interest I felt in the first two seasons, much less the kind of Internet discussion and theorizing I saw in Seasons 1 and 2," she says.

With the island mystery on the sidelines, NBC's Heroes, another serialized drama, has been grabbing the spotlight. The long break also afforded Lost fans, perhaps TV's most devout, extra time to deconstruct episodes and expand complaints.

"The three months to chew it over has exacerbated a lot of these issues," Cuse says. He and Lindelof say that many complaints likely will be resolved if Lost runs all 22 episodes consecutively next season, like Fox's 24. ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson says there's a good chance that will happen, though that would mean an even longer break — as many as eight months — between seasons.

For all the praise and criticism, fans, producers and the stars are pleased Lost is back. "I'm a fan of the show as well as a participant," says Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin. "I'm used to having my Wednesday nights anchored by watching Lost, because it's something we do as a family at home."

_______________

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television ... side_x.htm

By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

When ABC's Lost returns on Wednesday, fans will find answers and favorite characters over the course of 16 consecutive new episodes, executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof say. Specifically:
Expect these answers

•How Locke ended up in a wheelchair before arriving at Lost's island.

•How Jack got his tattoos.

•What The Others' Ethan was doing before he came to the island.

•What happened to Desmond, who may be having premonitions, when the hatch exploded in the second-season finale.

•The effects of the purple sky, which followed the hatch explosion, on the island.

•More details about the Dharma Initiative, the island psychosocial experiment.

Look for these story lines

•Resolution of much of the November cliffhanger (Wednesday), with Jack operating on Ben and urging Kate and Sawyer to escape. The episode will feature Juliet's first flashback.

•Relationships, including Kate-Sawyer, Claire-Charlie and Juliet-Jack. Interestingly, Kate still has some feelings for Jack.

•The surprise pregnancy of Sun, with some relevant questions: Who's the dad? How does being pregnant put her in danger?

•The return of favorite beach castaways, who were mostly left off-screen in the fall, in a Feb. 14 "beach-centric" episode, Lindelof says. Lost will get off The Others' island after the third episode, the first of four featuring flashbacks of original characters.

•Coming back to the second season's final moment, when Desmond's lost l

[Brent]

ABC is desperately trying to get some of the male audience back with this clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If5Dwo9Qq_E

[lurkey]

6 out of 10

[brunota2003]

I suck...4 out of 10

[Miss Mary]

From TV Guide

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Inter ... x?posting={56FF32D9-5F95-420E-ACDD-7DCD69B29F2A}

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Five Things You Need to Know About Lost's Return
by Shawna Malcom

Remember? Kate and Sawyer got down to business in the fish-biscuit cage. Big Bad Ben promised to let Dr. Jack leave the island in exchange for some lifesaving surgery. But Jack rediscovered his spine and threatened to let the smug Other die unless Kate was allowed to do what she does best: run. It's been nearly three months since we've gotten Lost. But starting this Wednesday, ABC's eternally trippy hit returns with fresh episodes every! single! week! through May (at the new hour of 10 pm/ET). Here's a sneak peek at what you'll be buzzing about on Thursday mornings. (Stop reading now if spoilers aren't your thing. Seriously.)
1. The Sawyer/Kate/Jack love triangle isn't over yet. Kate seemingly chose the charismatic con man over the honorable doc when she hooked up with Sawyer in the Nov. 8 fall finale, a move that pleased both fans and Sawyer himself (Josh Holloway). "I love working with Evie [Evangeline Lilly]," Holloway says. "She's such a little warrior. She was like, ‘Throw me up against the bars! Do it again!'" He may not get the chance, because the Feb. 7 episode makes it clear that Kate still harbors feelings for Jack as she and Sawyer try to escape the Others. But escape they will. With Kate gone, Jack will grow closer to fellow physician Juliet. In the Feb. 21 episode, he'll also get some flashback passion from guest star Bai Ling, a mysterious woman with a connection to the good doc's bad-boy tattoos. Nevertheless, says executive producer Carlton Cuse, the bond between Kate and Jack "is kind of the ultimate relationship."

2. The Others aren't going anywhere. While some fans have lamented the airtime given to those shady Others since the start of Season 3, producers remain staunchly committed to exploring Lost's new world. In fact, the Feb. 7 premiere focuses on the inscrutable Juliet, the book-club-presiding, let-Ben-die-pleading Other played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's past, including a sick sister and a decidedly low self-esteem, thanks to a decidedly no-good ex-husband. "Even though Juliet's brilliant, she couldn't see herself that way," Mitchell reveals. "Her identity was tied to the man she was married to, and she wasn't able to be strong on her own." Producers also hint that upcoming episodes will revisit the Others' Wisteria Lane-esque compound. Teases cocreator Damon Lindelof, "Where is that place we saw the Others?" Beats us. But we can reveal that Creepy Eyepatch Guy — who appeared on the Others' TV monitors — will be back. As will villainous Ethan, who died in Season 1: He pops up in Juliet's flashbacks in a way that sheds light on his interest in Claire's baby.

3. You'll see more of the characters you love — and miss. Wondering what's up with Hurley, Sayid, Claire and Locke? They'll all get the flashback treatment by the end of March. Hurley's episode delves into his complicated relationship with his father, played by Cheech Marin, whom Cuse worked with on Nash Bridges. Locke's flashback episode could reveal how he wound up in that wheelchair, while Sayid's is "one that will be enormously satisfying," Cuse says, "because it is a heavy answer-mode episode." Adds Lindelof, "Sayid is asking all the questions that [fans] want answered."

4. Speaking of answers, the producers feel your pain. They've heard the criticism that the show isn't solving enough mysteries. They know many viewers are starting to lose faith that there's a well-thought-out master plan. But they're hopeful that a consistent run of episodes will help alleviate those concerns. "You'll still be like, ‘I wish I got even more out of this episode,'" Lindelof says. "But you'll only have to wait a week to see another one." Producers now view splitting up the season as "a negative" and expect that ABC will run Season 4 straight through, as Fox does with 24. What's more, they're currently in discussions with the network to determine an end point for the show, both for their own creative satisfaction and to assure fans that there will be a resolution. "Having an end point is the right thing," Cuse says, likening the move to J.K. Rowling's announcement that the Harry Potter saga would be wrapped up in seven books. "And we want to announce an end point before the show's lost its relevance, at which point no one will care what the end point is."

5. The body count will get higher. In the Feb. 14 episode, the seemingly psychic Desmond will tell a major character to prepare for the Grim Reaper. (We won't reveal who, but we will say it's not Jack, despite Internet rumors that he's on his way out.) There's also speculation that newcomer Paulo, played by Rodrigo Santoro, may not live to see Season 4, thanks to a cover story Santoro did for the Brazilian Rolling Stone in which he discussed upcoming film commitments in his native country. Producers won't comment, except to say that Paulo and fellow maligned newbie Nikki (Kiele Sanchez) will play a pivotal part in a late-March installment. Says Lindelof, "By the end of that episode, it'll be crystal clear as to what Nikki and Paulo's future on the island will be."

For scoop on other ABC hits, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters included, pick up the Feb. 5 issue of TV Guide.

[Miss Mary]

Hey Lost fans!!!! In honor of Lost returning tonight (woohoo!), we could have some fun with this topic. As someone posted on the Internet Movie Database Lost board - the calm before the storm - that board goes nuts after an episode. Wait, during an episode! LOL

I was thinking we could post our faves/least faves? Whadda think? Bad idea, good idea? Or post your idea if you have a chance.

I'll start:

1. Your Top 5 Favorite Lost characters (if you can narrow it down).

Mine:
1. Jack
2. Kate
3. Sawyer
4. Hurley
5. Tie - Charlie and Sayid


2. Your favorite Lost line/quote (there are so many):

Charlie, Season 1, Episode 6 or 7 I think: "guys, where are we?" Runner up, each time Hurley says - "Dude!"

3. Your favorite scene or moment.

Mine - when the tailies and losties reunited on the beach, Charlie is playing guitar on the beach, music playing in the background, Jack walks up to Ana Lucia, Bernard walks up to Rose, Sun is doing wash and she looks up to see Jin, etc. That one scene makes me cry, each and every time!

4. Characters you just do not care about. If any.

Mine - the others! Nuff said. Sorry Ben, don't care about your story. Juliet - same for you!

5. Characters you miss - Garrett this question is for you buddy!

Mine - BOONE!, Michael (why did you have to shoot Libby?), Walt, Libby, Shannon (I was just starting to like her), the kids (we hardly got to know them).

Next! (feel free to add your own questions). Or theories!

[Brent]

Reviews for tonight's episode:

Entertainment Weekly gives it an “A” and says:
… It's good. Really good. Like season-one, stuff-gets-answered, can't-wait-for-the-next-episode good. …

USA Today gives it three and a half stars (out of four) and says:
… Best of all, tonight's return is designed to start moving the story off of The Others' island and back to a beached ensemble that has been much missed. … As Lost episodes go, it's a good outing …

TV Guide says:
… The mystery deepens, the plot thickens, and — most critically and thankfully — the action takes a mighty leap forward as Lost makes a welcome return … riveting …

The Los Angeles Times says:
… for now, I'm operating on the theory that the producers concluded, over mai tais one night in Hawaii, that absolute certainty, in art as well as life, is overrated. I quite agree …

The Chicago Tribune says:
… As Benjamin Linus, who's apparently the head of whatever wacky experiment is taking place on the "Lost" islands, Michael Emerson has given us a complex and calibrated performance that mixes creepiness, intelligence and a twisted form of charisma into one quietly frightening package. And as Juliet, Elizabeth Mitchell has been a wonder. … Mitchell makes Juliet's steely resolve and her carefully hidden vulnerability fascinating, which is some feat. Right now, Juliet's by far the most interesting woman on the show. …

Variety says:
… even with flaws, "Lost" remains one of TV's zestiest stews. …

Scripps News Service says:
… It's far too soon to say if "Lost" has returned to form. But judging only by the opener, it's safe to assume that giving up on "Lost" might not be a good idea at this point. … an inspired hour of television … It's dangerous, fast, thrilling and elusive. …

Ain’t It Cool says:
… the best episode of “Lost” since its third-season premiere. …