Michael Emerson and Jorge Garcia
It all began with a story about survivors of a plane crash who were trapped on a mysterious island. It turned into a TV phenomenon with complicated but interconnected plots and a rabid fan base. The Emmy-winning TV series "Lost" is ending in 2010 with its sixth season. Most people who’ve seen "Lost" will say it is the kind of show that, in order to completely understand the series, it’s best to watch every episode from the beginning. If you’re not familiar with the "Lost" and its large ensemble cast of characters, the show’s tendency to jump forward and flash back in time may be confusing.
The sixth season of "Lost" (which begins February 2 on ABC at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time) will answer most fans’ burning questions about the show, according to "Lost" executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. But don’t expect to hear any spoilers from them or "Lost" cast members, who have signed confidentiality agreements.
During the July 2009 "Lost" panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Lindelof and Cuse did their best to answer questions vaguely. Much of the panel time was about avoiding taking questions and instead presenting "Lost" related skits and video footage, including a montage of fan-generated videos. "Lost" cast members Jorge Garcia, Michael Emerson, Josh Holloway and Nestor Carbonell were also on the panel, but the Holloway and Carbonell didn’t answer any questions. Here’s what happened at Comic-Con for what was the last "Lost" panel at Comic-Con before the show’s series finale.
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
[After giving an introduction and showing fan-made "Lost" videos, Lindelof and Cuse take a few questions from the audience.]
Is there any chance that we’ll see time-traveling physicist Daniel Faraday happily married with children?
Cuse: Faraday is dead, so if you like zombie weddings, then maybe.
Lindelof: Technically speaking, if Jack and his crew were successful, then it could mean that Faraday could be happily married. I think that you can go back to your people and say that Faraday will be on the show.
Cuse: Faraday will be on the show.
Michael Emerson and Jorge Garcia at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Will Season 6 include any pre-2004 flashbacks? My favorites are the ones about the characters’ childhoods.
Cuse: We’re doing something different in Season 6. Each season of the show is like a book in a series, like the "Harry Potter" books: They tell one whole story, but each book is its own story. The time-travel season is over. The flash-forward season is over. We have something different planned. So hopefully, you will like it, but we’re not going to commit to what exactly that will be here today.
Lindelof: But any opportunity to find for someone to be horribly abusive to children [in the flashbacks], we will seize that opportunity. That’s "Lost" for you.
[Jorge Garcia (who plays cursed lottery winner Hugo "Hurley" Reyes) and Michael Emerson (who plays complicated tyrant Benjamin Linus) appears at the microphone for audience questions and playfully jokes around about whether or not Emerson auditioned for the Hurley role in "Lost." Garcia and Emerson then join Cuse and Lindelof on the panel.]
Nestor Carbonell in "Lost"
Will we be seeing a Richard Alpert flashback before "Lost" ends, and will it be coincidental to seeing the black rock in the island?
Lindelof: That’s a very, very good question. Next.
Cuse: You will be seeing a lot of Richard, and I think we would be incredibly remiss if we didn’t give you Richard’s back story before the show ended.
Lindelof: As one might infer, Richard’s flashback is fairly involved, so yeah, you might be seeing that in the final season.
Is Juliet Burke OK after falling down the hatch? And if she’s not, can you make her OK?
Lindelof: Well, again, I think this returns to the idea of whether or not her detonating the bomb had the desired effect. If it did, my guess is that she’s OK. And if it didn’t, then [the] prognosis [is] not so great, considering the fall. But I think we can say here that Elizabeth Mitchell [who plays Juliet Burke] will be in "Lost" in the final season.
Michael Emerson in "Lost"
Is Esau the name of Jacob’s nice friend at the beach?
Emerson: We sometimes deal in Biblical imagery, but we tend to sort of dance in and dance away from it, so that might be too much, but I like the way your mind is working.
Lindelof: [He says to Emerson] You’re good at this. You said absolutely nothing.
Cuse: But in a polite way.
Lindelof: It’s not easy.
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
Does Nestor Carbonell (who plays Richard Alpert, an apparently ageless member of the "Others") wear eyeliner before he comes on set? What’s the deal with that?
Cuse: This question keeps getting asked of us …
Lindelof: And since Nestor is actually here backstage …
Cuse: We have a camera back there. Let’s cut to the live feed.
[The video monitor then shows Carbonell sitting in front of a dressing room mirror (in an obviously pre-taped skit), and there’s a voiceover of him saying, "Richard Alpert is not immortal. You are." And then Carbonell puts on eyeliner, looks at the eyeliner and says, "This is cobalt. I only use onyx. I asked for onyx. What is this: amateur hour?" The he looks at the camera and pretends to get angry that the camera is there. Then Carbonell joins the panel on stage while the audience cheers.]
Lindeolf: I guess that would be a yes.
Cuse: No.
Jorge Garcia in "Lost"
Where is the Dharma food coming from?
Cuse: Maybe Jorge can field this one.
Lindelof: Jorge, do you have a theory about where the Dharma food is coming from?
Garcia: Oh, it comes from planes.
Lindelof: I think that might be something we’re going to try to deal with in the final season of the show.
Michael Emerson and Jorge Garcia at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, in January 2010
The Dharma Initiative played a big role in Season 2 of "Lost." How big of a role will the Dahrma Initiative play in the final season?
Cuse: Not as big a role. We feel like we spent last year on the Dharma Initiative, and we’re kind of moving on to other stuff this year. You will not be seeing a ton of Dharma stuff this year.
Lindelof: Except on the DVD with the "Mysteries of the Universe" thing. I think that there will be some new revelations about the Dharma Initiative. But on the mother ship, we have other engaging questions to be dealing with, so we will not be as Dharma’ed out.
Has Jacob appeared to any of the "Lost" characters in any image other than himself?
Lindelof: No. The answer to your question is no.
Josh Holloway in "Lost"
[Josh Holloway, who plays bad boy James "Sawyer" Ford, then walks out from backstage and joins the panel, and he got the biggest cheers from the audience. Holloway takes out a taser and then pretends to taser Lindelof and steal a key around Lindelof’s neck. Holloway then uses the taser to force Cuse to open a locked box on the table that supposedly contains pages of the last "Lost" script. Emerson then reads from the pages and says lines from a non-existent "Heroes" script. Then Emerson says, "What the f*ck is this?" All of this is an obviously scripted sketch.]
[Lindelof says they’ve run out of time for questions, and then he and Cuse make some closing remarks.]
Lindelof: I came to Comic-Con for the first time six years ago to show the ["Lost"] pilot for the very first time to you guys, and "Lost" exists because of you and for you. And we are forever in your debt. Thank you so much.
Cuse: When people ask us what’s the most satisfying thing about making the show, I think, for us, it’s the fact that we try to make what we think is an intelligent, thoughtful, complicated show, and that audiences will embrace that kind of a show, that you don’t have to make a lowest-common-denominator show. The fact that we can make the show we want to make, and that you guys love it, is so meaningful to us. We really thank you for all your support over all the years. Before we go on our way here, we want to show a piece commemorating all the people who could not be with us today. If you would, please roll the film.
[A montage is shown on screen of "Lost" characters that have died. And then Dominic Monaghan, who played the Charlie Pace character that died at the end of Season 3, walks on stage to applause and cheers.]
Lindleof: Thank you, San Diego. We’ll see you with some other show.
Cuse: Thank you very, very much.
RELATED LINKS ON EXAMINER.COM:
Photo credits: Photos #1, 2, 3, 6, 8: Getty Images. Photos #4, 5, 7, 9: ABC.
Comments