'Lost': Better bring a hanky to this season finale

If the clip that ABC showed its advertisers in New York today of this week's "Lost" is a fair representation of the whole episode, then it looks like this season finale will be a three-tissue affair.

For those who detest spoilers, even minor ones, read no further. For those dying for anything about what to expect this week, we have only the pre-credits sequence to go on at this point.

But even those few moments were enough to stir a surge of emotion. Because what "Lost" producers are giving us in the opening minutes of "There's No Place Like Home" is the moment that a lesser series would save for its conclusion: the reunion of the Oceanic Six with their families.

When "Lost" began in 2004, I think most people expected to see this scene one day, but not with two whole seasons left to go. Heck, even "Gilligan's Island" had to save their castaways' rescue until the TV movie reunion more than 10 years later.

"He wants us to move the island."

So said John Locke after his momentous summit with Jacob (or at least Jacob's spokespeople) and with those words it appears a torch of sorts has been passed. The role of the island's chief protector -- a job Ben carried out with unsentimental efficiency for years -- seems to have been reassigned to Locke. It was Locke who was given a vision of how to find Jacob's cabin, and it was Locke who the island healed to perform his duties.

You would think, given Ben's demonstrated jealousy and ruthlessness in the past, that he would do more to dissuade Locke or manipulate him away from his ascendancy to power. But maybe he's past all that. He did shoot Locke and leave him for dead in a pit of rotted corpses. And still Locke kept going, so it looks like Ben has come to terms with the new world order. He's on the outs and Locke's the big man.

But what is Hurley's role in this balance of power? Everything happens for a reason on this island, and Jacob's cabin made itself apparent to Hurley too. Is he the third part of a complex series of island political checks and balances? And if his role on the island is so essential, it's surprising that he was able to leave the island at all. Though it looks like that was a mistake if his visions of Charlie in his post-island life are any indication.

In classic "Lost" fashion, tonight's episode, "Cabin Fever," appeared to provide us with lots of answers while in reality we're left with many more questions. I've become so attuned to this mode of storytelling, so comforted by it, that I think I fear explanations now. While some may have been throwing items at the screen, hoping Locke would beat Jack's dad until he gave a straight answer about what's really going on, I was thankful for the cutaway outside the cabin. Not just because it gave us one of the season's best character moments between Hurley and Ben (done completely without dialogue), but also because answers, explained in a rational manner by a reliable narrator, wouldn't do the last four seasons of lies and misdirection justice. Real answers are coming soon, no doubt, but I hope "Lost's" producers have thought long and hard about just how they'll reveal them to us. If the big reveal is done in one big data dump of truth, it could spoil everything. At this point, part of me hopes they don't solve everything. Leaving a bit of mystery would keep this series alive long after new episodes aren't airing anymore.

But that's something to worry about a couple of years from now. There are more pressing issues to discuss.

Tonight's "Lost" was another Jack-centric episode, in which we found out that Jack and Kate totally hooked up after getting off the island and we saw the origins of the "Grizzly Adams" beard Jack was sporting at the end of Season 3.

In the jumbled post-island time line, Jack and Kate's love affair and subsequent engagement apparently falls after Hurley's first visit from Charlie, but before Jack's full-blown descent into substance abuse. But how long is this after their escape from the island? The last time we saw Aaron, he was still a weird -looking infant Kate was caring for as a single mom. But in this episode, Aaron is old enough to walk around, sleep on his own and be into "Star Wars." I'm no parent, but I'd guess that makes him about 4 years old, which would place tonight's flash-forwards sometime around 2008.

The only clue we were given was the sports headline declaring "Yankees Bludgeon Red Sox in Series Sweep." Are they talking about the World Series? No, the Yankees could never have faced the Sox in a World Series. They did, however, sweep the Sox in a five-game series in August 2006 and again in a three-game sweep in August 2007. My money is on the latter, making Aaron somewhere between 3 and 4. Just the right age to be into "Star Wars" and hear his dad tell his mom that she's not even related to him. Oh, that kid's gonna have doctor bills later.

One of the frustrating things to deal with as "Lost" continues to add layer upon layer to its mythology is keeping myriad -- often unresolved -- clues, theories and Easter eggs straight on a weekly basis. Most of the time I'm so caught up in the current week's reveals that I fail to remember every bit of "Lost" trivia that's been revealed over the years.

That was the case this week, when The Times' assistant managing editor and fellow "Lost" fanatic Michael Whitley e-mailed me to remind me of an orientation film that wasn't introduced as part of the series. The Orchid Station's orientation film was first screened for fans at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer and was then made available online.

It provides an answer to the identify of Halliwax, the man whose parka Ben Linus was wearing at the beginning of last week's episode. In the film, Halliwax is another name for the guy I'll call Dr. Orientation. He's appeared in all of the Dharma Initiative films so far, identifying himself as Marvin Candle, Mark Wickmund and Edgar Halliwax. Candle, Wick and Wax. More name games, similar to what the Others were playing with the 815 survivors in the first and second seasons when Ben was known as Henry Gale and Ethan Rom was never officially unveiled as an anagram of "Other Man."

Does that make Dr. Orientation one of the Dharma people, one of Ben's people or both? And is there one Dr. Orientation or three? The mysteriously doubling rabbit and this season's loopy time tricks provide some big clues.

After another agonizing month of waiting, we’re down to the final five post-writers'-strike episodes of “Lost’s” spectacular fourth season. What was originally supposed to be eight hours of storyline has been condensed to six hours. While we’ll forever wonder what subplots were sacrificed, if this episode is any indication of how things will go for the rest of the season, the missing hours won’t be missed for long.

The secondary cast continued to get pruned this week. They're starting to depart the show so rapidly now, it's like we're watching "American Idol." Following the brutal shootings of Rousseau and Carl in the previous episode, we witnessed the murder of Ben’s daughter Alex at the hands of Widmore’s military guys; the off-camera murder of Ray, the doctor from the freighter; and the 1-2-3-style killing of a whole lot of disposable Oceanic 815 survivors. (Just how many of these nameless survivors are left at this point?)

The murder of Alex was definitely the episode’s dramatic center and if Ben’s stunned reaction was as genuine as it seemed, then it was the act that connected the status quo of the present with the reality of the post-island flash forwards. But that’s not just idle speculation -– the episode was titled “The Shape of Things to Come.”

“Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — affectionately known as “Darlton” by the TV press because they do all of their interviews together — chatted with reporters Thursday about the return of the island drama to ABC’s line-up on April 24. 

Four episodes will air consecutively at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, with an interruption on May 22 (for the “Grey’s Anatomy” two-hour finale). Then the fourth season of “Lost” will wind down on May 29 with a two-hour episode.

If you want to start figuring out what the meaning of the two-part finale is (airing May 15 and May 29), the title is "There’s No Place Like Home.” And, yes, the castaways will once again encounter Smokey the Black Monster that killed Mr. Eko, and that shadowy Jacob. For developments on the four-toed statue, Losties will have to wait for future seasons. There are 34 episodes of the drama left to air on ABC in Seasons 5 and 6.

LOSTIES: BEWARE. Read these excerpts from the news conference at your own peril — there are some spoilers. (Transcript provided by ABC).

QUESTION: Obviously everybody's very excited about the expanded two-hour finale. I'm just curious, what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What made you say, “You know what, this thing's gotta be two hours?”  Was it about the story that you wanted to tell or things that you wanted to do?

Damon Lindelof:  A little bit of both, you know.  We both, you know, sort of recalled the Season 1 experience where we had a two-part season finale. The part one was one hour and part two was two hours.  And I think at that time not a lot of people were doing two-hour season finales, but in order to sort of get the emotional gravitas of, you know, Walt being abducted or the raft launch or sort of all the epic storytelling we wanted to do, you know, essentially one hour of television just is 41 minutes, and it just didn't feel like we could get “mo.”  That being said, you know, we had an eight-hour story plan that got condensed down to five initially as a result of the strike, and in trying to sort of cram all that story in around the finale, the rubber hit the road, and we realized that it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, you know, our character moments.  So it just –- we read the 80-page, you know, first draft of hour two and looked at each other and said there's no way we're going to be able to cut this down to, you know, a 55-page script, why don't we expand it to 100 pages.

More after the jump....

--Maria Elena Fernandez

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': It's John Locke's turn

"He wants us to move the island."

So said John Locke after his momentous summit with Jacob (or at least Jacob's spokespeople) and with those words it appears a torch of sorts has been passed. The role of the island's chief protector -- a job Ben carried out with unsentimental efficiency for years -- seems to have been reassigned to Locke. It was Locke who was given a vision of how to find Jacob's cabin, and it was Locke who the island healed to perform his duties.

You would think, given Ben's demonstrated jealousy and ruthlessness in the past, that he would do more to dissuade Locke or manipulate him away from his ascendancy to power. But maybe he's past all that. He did shoot Locke and leave him for dead in a pit of rotted corpses. And still Locke kept going, so it looks like Ben has come to terms with the new world order. He's on the outs and Locke's the big man.

But what is Hurley's role in this balance of power? Everything happens for a reason on this island, and Jacob's cabin made itself apparent to Hurley too. Is he the third part of a complex series of island political checks and balances? And if his role on the island is so essential, it's surprising that he was able to leave the island at all. Though it looks like that was a mistake if his visions of Charlie in his post-island life are any indication.

In classic "Lost" fashion, tonight's episode, "Cabin Fever," appeared to provide us with lots of answers while in reality we're left with many more questions. I've become so attuned to this mode of storytelling, so comforted by it, that I think I fear explanations now. While some may have been throwing items at the screen, hoping Locke would beat Jack's dad until he gave a straight answer about what's really going on, I was thankful for the cutaway outside the cabin. Not just because it gave us one of the season's best character moments between Hurley and Ben (done completely without dialogue), but also because answers, explained in a rational manner by a reliable narrator, wouldn't do the last four seasons of lies and misdirection justice. Real answers are coming soon, no doubt, but I hope "Lost's" producers have thought long and hard about just how they'll reveal them to us. If the big reveal is done in one big data dump of truth, it could spoil everything. At this point, part of me hopes they don't solve everything. Leaving a bit of mystery would keep this series alive long after new episodes aren't airing anymore.

But that's something to worry about a couple of years from now. There are more pressing issues to discuss.

Tonight's "Lost" was another Jack-centric episode, in which we found out that Jack and Kate totally hooked up after getting off the island and we saw the origins of the "Grizzly Adams" beard Jack was sporting at the end of Season 3.

In the jumbled post-island time line, Jack and Kate's love affair and subsequent engagement apparently falls after Hurley's first visit from Charlie, but before Jack's full-blown descent into substance abuse. But how long is this after their escape from the island? The last time we saw Aaron, he was still a weird -looking infant Kate was caring for as a single mom. But in this episode, Aaron is old enough to walk around, sleep on his own and be into "Star Wars." I'm no parent, but I'd guess that makes him about 4 years old, which would place tonight's flash-forwards sometime around 2008.

The only clue we were given was the sports headline declaring "Yankees Bludgeon Red Sox in Series Sweep." Are they talking about the World Series? No, the Yankees could never have faced the Sox in a World Series. They did, however, sweep the Sox in a five-game series in August 2006 and again in a three-game sweep in August 2007. My money is on the latter, making Aaron somewhere between 3 and 4. Just the right age to be into "Star Wars" and hear his dad tell his mom that she's not even related to him. Oh, that kid's gonna have doctor bills later.

One of the frustrating things to deal with as "Lost" continues to add layer upon layer to its mythology is keeping myriad -- often unresolved -- clues, theories and Easter eggs straight on a weekly basis. Most of the time I'm so caught up in the current week's reveals that I fail to remember every bit of "Lost" trivia that's been revealed over the years.

That was the case this week, when The Times' assistant managing editor and fellow "Lost" fanatic Michael Whitley e-mailed me to remind me of an orientation film that wasn't introduced as part of the series. The Orchid Station's orientation film was first screened for fans at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer and was then made available online.

It provides an answer to the identify of Halliwax, the man whose parka Ben Linus was wearing at the beginning of last week's episode. In the film, Halliwax is another name for the guy I'll call Dr. Orientation. He's appeared in all of the Dharma Initiative films so far, identifying himself as Marvin Candle, Mark Wickmund and Edgar Halliwax. Candle, Wick and Wax. More name games, similar to what the Others were playing with the 815 survivors in the first and second seasons when Ben was known as Henry Gale and Ethan Rom was never officially unveiled as an anagram of "Other Man."

Does that make Dr. Orientation one of the Dharma people, one of Ben's people or both? And is there one Dr. Orientation or three? The mysteriously doubling rabbit and this season's loopy time tricks provide some big clues.

After another agonizing month of waiting, we’re down to the final five post-writers'-strike episodes of “Lost’s” spectacular fourth season. What was originally supposed to be eight hours of storyline has been condensed to six hours. While we’ll forever wonder what subplots were sacrificed, if this episode is any indication of how things will go for the rest of the season, the missing hours won’t be missed for long.

The secondary cast continued to get pruned this week. They're starting to depart the show so rapidly now, it's like we're watching "American Idol." Following the brutal shootings of Rousseau and Carl in the previous episode, we witnessed the murder of Ben’s daughter Alex at the hands of Widmore’s military guys; the off-camera murder of Ray, the doctor from the freighter; and the 1-2-3-style killing of a whole lot of disposable Oceanic 815 survivors. (Just how many of these nameless survivors are left at this point?)

The murder of Alex was definitely the episode’s dramatic center and if Ben’s stunned reaction was as genuine as it seemed, then it was the act that connected the status quo of the present with the reality of the post-island flash forwards. But that’s not just idle speculation -– the episode was titled “The Shape of Things to Come.”

“Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — affectionately known as “Darlton” by the TV press because they do all of their interviews together — chatted with reporters Thursday about the return of the island drama to ABC’s line-up on April 24. 

Four episodes will air consecutively at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, with an interruption on May 22 (for the “Grey’s Anatomy” two-hour finale). Then the fourth season of “Lost” will wind down on May 29 with a two-hour episode.

If you want to start figuring out what the meaning of the two-part finale is (airing May 15 and May 29), the title is "There’s No Place Like Home.” And, yes, the castaways will once again encounter Smokey the Black Monster that killed Mr. Eko, and that shadowy Jacob. For developments on the four-toed statue, Losties will have to wait for future seasons. There are 34 episodes of the drama left to air on ABC in Seasons 5 and 6.

LOSTIES: BEWARE. Read these excerpts from the news conference at your own peril — there are some spoilers. (Transcript provided by ABC).

QUESTION: Obviously everybody's very excited about the expanded two-hour finale. I'm just curious, what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What made you say, “You know what, this thing's gotta be two hours?”  Was it about the story that you wanted to tell or things that you wanted to do?

Damon Lindelof:  A little bit of both, you know.  We both, you know, sort of recalled the Season 1 experience where we had a two-part season finale. The part one was one hour and part two was two hours.  And I think at that time not a lot of people were doing two-hour season finales, but in order to sort of get the emotional gravitas of, you know, Walt being abducted or the raft launch or sort of all the epic storytelling we wanted to do, you know, essentially one hour of television just is 41 minutes, and it just didn't feel like we could get “mo.”  That being said, you know, we had an eight-hour story plan that got condensed down to five initially as a result of the strike, and in trying to sort of cram all that story in around the finale, the rubber hit the road, and we realized that it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, you know, our character moments.  So it just –- we read the 80-page, you know, first draft of hour two and looked at each other and said there's no way we're going to be able to cut this down to, you know, a 55-page script, why don't we expand it to 100 pages.

More after the jump....

--Maria Elena Fernandez

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Jack and Kate hook up

Tonight's "Lost" was another Jack-centric episode, in which we found out that Jack and Kate totally hooked up after getting off the island and we saw the origins of the "Grizzly Adams" beard Jack was sporting at the end of Season 3.

In the jumbled post-island time line, Jack and Kate's love affair and subsequent engagement apparently falls after Hurley's first visit from Charlie, but before Jack's full-blown descent into substance abuse. But how long is this after their escape from the island? The last time we saw Aaron, he was still a weird -looking infant Kate was caring for as a single mom. But in this episode, Aaron is old enough to walk around, sleep on his own and be into "Star Wars." I'm no parent, but I'd guess that makes him about 4 years old, which would place tonight's flash-forwards sometime around 2008.

The only clue we were given was the sports headline declaring "Yankees Bludgeon Red Sox in Series Sweep." Are they talking about the World Series? No, the Yankees could never have faced the Sox in a World Series. They did, however, sweep the Sox in a five-game series in August 2006 and again in a three-game sweep in August 2007. My money is on the latter, making Aaron somewhere between 3 and 4. Just the right age to be into "Star Wars" and hear his dad tell his mom that she's not even related to him. Oh, that kid's gonna have doctor bills later.

One of the frustrating things to deal with as "Lost" continues to add layer upon layer to its mythology is keeping myriad -- often unresolved -- clues, theories and Easter eggs straight on a weekly basis. Most of the time I'm so caught up in the current week's reveals that I fail to remember every bit of "Lost" trivia that's been revealed over the years.

That was the case this week, when The Times' assistant managing editor and fellow "Lost" fanatic Michael Whitley e-mailed me to remind me of an orientation film that wasn't introduced as part of the series. The Orchid Station's orientation film was first screened for fans at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer and was then made available online.

It provides an answer to the identify of Halliwax, the man whose parka Ben Linus was wearing at the beginning of last week's episode. In the film, Halliwax is another name for the guy I'll call Dr. Orientation. He's appeared in all of the Dharma Initiative films so far, identifying himself as Marvin Candle, Mark Wickmund and Edgar Halliwax. Candle, Wick and Wax. More name games, similar to what the Others were playing with the 815 survivors in the first and second seasons when Ben was known as Henry Gale and Ethan Rom was never officially unveiled as an anagram of "Other Man."

Does that make Dr. Orientation one of the Dharma people, one of Ben's people or both? And is there one Dr. Orientation or three? The mysteriously doubling rabbit and this season's loopy time tricks provide some big clues.

After another agonizing month of waiting, we’re down to the final five post-writers'-strike episodes of “Lost’s” spectacular fourth season. What was originally supposed to be eight hours of storyline has been condensed to six hours. While we’ll forever wonder what subplots were sacrificed, if this episode is any indication of how things will go for the rest of the season, the missing hours won’t be missed for long.

The secondary cast continued to get pruned this week. They're starting to depart the show so rapidly now, it's like we're watching "American Idol." Following the brutal shootings of Rousseau and Carl in the previous episode, we witnessed the murder of Ben’s daughter Alex at the hands of Widmore’s military guys; the off-camera murder of Ray, the doctor from the freighter; and the 1-2-3-style killing of a whole lot of disposable Oceanic 815 survivors. (Just how many of these nameless survivors are left at this point?)

The murder of Alex was definitely the episode’s dramatic center and if Ben’s stunned reaction was as genuine as it seemed, then it was the act that connected the status quo of the present with the reality of the post-island flash forwards. But that’s not just idle speculation -– the episode was titled “The Shape of Things to Come.”

“Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — affectionately known as “Darlton” by the TV press because they do all of their interviews together — chatted with reporters Thursday about the return of the island drama to ABC’s line-up on April 24. 

Four episodes will air consecutively at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, with an interruption on May 22 (for the “Grey’s Anatomy” two-hour finale). Then the fourth season of “Lost” will wind down on May 29 with a two-hour episode.

If you want to start figuring out what the meaning of the two-part finale is (airing May 15 and May 29), the title is "There’s No Place Like Home.” And, yes, the castaways will once again encounter Smokey the Black Monster that killed Mr. Eko, and that shadowy Jacob. For developments on the four-toed statue, Losties will have to wait for future seasons. There are 34 episodes of the drama left to air on ABC in Seasons 5 and 6.

LOSTIES: BEWARE. Read these excerpts from the news conference at your own peril — there are some spoilers. (Transcript provided by ABC).

QUESTION: Obviously everybody's very excited about the expanded two-hour finale. I'm just curious, what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What made you say, “You know what, this thing's gotta be two hours?”  Was it about the story that you wanted to tell or things that you wanted to do?

Damon Lindelof:  A little bit of both, you know.  We both, you know, sort of recalled the Season 1 experience where we had a two-part season finale. The part one was one hour and part two was two hours.  And I think at that time not a lot of people were doing two-hour season finales, but in order to sort of get the emotional gravitas of, you know, Walt being abducted or the raft launch or sort of all the epic storytelling we wanted to do, you know, essentially one hour of television just is 41 minutes, and it just didn't feel like we could get “mo.”  That being said, you know, we had an eight-hour story plan that got condensed down to five initially as a result of the strike, and in trying to sort of cram all that story in around the finale, the rubber hit the road, and we realized that it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, you know, our character moments.  So it just –- we read the 80-page, you know, first draft of hour two and looked at each other and said there's no way we're going to be able to cut this down to, you know, a 55-page script, why don't we expand it to 100 pages.

More after the jump....

--Maria Elena Fernandez

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Old business, new business and 'Something Nice Back Home'

One of the frustrating things to deal with as "Lost" continues to add layer upon layer to its mythology is keeping myriad -- often unresolved -- clues, theories and Easter eggs straight on a weekly basis. Most of the time I'm so caught up in the current week's reveals that I fail to remember every bit of "Lost" trivia that's been revealed over the years.

That was the case this week, when The Times' assistant managing editor and fellow "Lost" fanatic Michael Whitley e-mailed me to remind me of an orientation film that wasn't introduced as part of the series. The Orchid Station's orientation film was first screened for fans at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer and was then made available online.

It provides an answer to the identify of Halliwax, the man whose parka Ben Linus was wearing at the beginning of last week's episode. In the film, Halliwax is another name for the guy I'll call Dr. Orientation. He's appeared in all of the Dharma Initiative films so far, identifying himself as Marvin Candle, Mark Wickmund and Edgar Halliwax. Candle, Wick and Wax. More name games, similar to what the Others were playing with the 815 survivors in the first and second seasons when Ben was known as Henry Gale and Ethan Rom was never officially unveiled as an anagram of "Other Man."

Does that make Dr. Orientation one of the Dharma people, one of Ben's people or both? And is there one Dr. Orientation or three? The mysteriously doubling rabbit and this season's loopy time tricks provide some big clues.

After another agonizing month of waiting, we’re down to the final five post-writers'-strike episodes of “Lost’s” spectacular fourth season. What was originally supposed to be eight hours of storyline has been condensed to six hours. While we’ll forever wonder what subplots were sacrificed, if this episode is any indication of how things will go for the rest of the season, the missing hours won’t be missed for long.

The secondary cast continued to get pruned this week. They're starting to depart the show so rapidly now, it's like we're watching "American Idol." Following the brutal shootings of Rousseau and Carl in the previous episode, we witnessed the murder of Ben’s daughter Alex at the hands of Widmore’s military guys; the off-camera murder of Ray, the doctor from the freighter; and the 1-2-3-style killing of a whole lot of disposable Oceanic 815 survivors. (Just how many of these nameless survivors are left at this point?)

The murder of Alex was definitely the episode’s dramatic center and if Ben’s stunned reaction was as genuine as it seemed, then it was the act that connected the status quo of the present with the reality of the post-island flash forwards. But that’s not just idle speculation -– the episode was titled “The Shape of Things to Come.”

“Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — affectionately known as “Darlton” by the TV press because they do all of their interviews together — chatted with reporters Thursday about the return of the island drama to ABC’s line-up on April 24. 

Four episodes will air consecutively at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, with an interruption on May 22 (for the “Grey’s Anatomy” two-hour finale). Then the fourth season of “Lost” will wind down on May 29 with a two-hour episode.

If you want to start figuring out what the meaning of the two-part finale is (airing May 15 and May 29), the title is "There’s No Place Like Home.” And, yes, the castaways will once again encounter Smokey the Black Monster that killed Mr. Eko, and that shadowy Jacob. For developments on the four-toed statue, Losties will have to wait for future seasons. There are 34 episodes of the drama left to air on ABC in Seasons 5 and 6.

LOSTIES: BEWARE. Read these excerpts from the news conference at your own peril — there are some spoilers. (Transcript provided by ABC).

QUESTION: Obviously everybody's very excited about the expanded two-hour finale. I'm just curious, what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What made you say, “You know what, this thing's gotta be two hours?”  Was it about the story that you wanted to tell or things that you wanted to do?

Damon Lindelof:  A little bit of both, you know.  We both, you know, sort of recalled the Season 1 experience where we had a two-part season finale. The part one was one hour and part two was two hours.  And I think at that time not a lot of people were doing two-hour season finales, but in order to sort of get the emotional gravitas of, you know, Walt being abducted or the raft launch or sort of all the epic storytelling we wanted to do, you know, essentially one hour of television just is 41 minutes, and it just didn't feel like we could get “mo.”  That being said, you know, we had an eight-hour story plan that got condensed down to five initially as a result of the strike, and in trying to sort of cram all that story in around the finale, the rubber hit the road, and we realized that it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, you know, our character moments.  So it just –- we read the 80-page, you know, first draft of hour two and looked at each other and said there's no way we're going to be able to cut this down to, you know, a 55-page script, why don't we expand it to 100 pages.

More after the jump....

--Maria Elena Fernandez

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Ben Linus gets tough

After another agonizing month of waiting, we’re down to the final five post-writers'-strike episodes of “Lost’s” spectacular fourth season. What was originally supposed to be eight hours of storyline has been condensed to six hours. While we’ll forever wonder what subplots were sacrificed, if this episode is any indication of how things will go for the rest of the season, the missing hours won’t be missed for long.

The secondary cast continued to get pruned this week. They're starting to depart the show so rapidly now, it's like we're watching "American Idol." Following the brutal shootings of Rousseau and Carl in the previous episode, we witnessed the murder of Ben’s daughter Alex at the hands of Widmore’s military guys; the off-camera murder of Ray, the doctor from the freighter; and the 1-2-3-style killing of a whole lot of disposable Oceanic 815 survivors. (Just how many of these nameless survivors are left at this point?)

The murder of Alex was definitely the episode’s dramatic center and if Ben’s stunned reaction was as genuine as it seemed, then it was the act that connected the status quo of the present with the reality of the post-island flash forwards. But that’s not just idle speculation -– the episode was titled “The Shape of Things to Come.”

“Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — affectionately known as “Darlton” by the TV press because they do all of their interviews together — chatted with reporters Thursday about the return of the island drama to ABC’s line-up on April 24. 

Four episodes will air consecutively at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, with an interruption on May 22 (for the “Grey’s Anatomy” two-hour finale). Then the fourth season of “Lost” will wind down on May 29 with a two-hour episode.

If you want to start figuring out what the meaning of the two-part finale is (airing May 15 and May 29), the title is "There’s No Place Like Home.” And, yes, the castaways will once again encounter Smokey the Black Monster that killed Mr. Eko, and that shadowy Jacob. For developments on the four-toed statue, Losties will have to wait for future seasons. There are 34 episodes of the drama left to air on ABC in Seasons 5 and 6.

LOSTIES: BEWARE. Read these excerpts from the news conference at your own peril — there are some spoilers. (Transcript provided by ABC).

QUESTION: Obviously everybody's very excited about the expanded two-hour finale. I'm just curious, what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What made you say, “You know what, this thing's gotta be two hours?”  Was it about the story that you wanted to tell or things that you wanted to do?

Damon Lindelof:  A little bit of both, you know.  We both, you know, sort of recalled the Season 1 experience where we had a two-part season finale. The part one was one hour and part two was two hours.  And I think at that time not a lot of people were doing two-hour season finales, but in order to sort of get the emotional gravitas of, you know, Walt being abducted or the raft launch or sort of all the epic storytelling we wanted to do, you know, essentially one hour of television just is 41 minutes, and it just didn't feel like we could get “mo.”  That being said, you know, we had an eight-hour story plan that got condensed down to five initially as a result of the strike, and in trying to sort of cram all that story in around the finale, the rubber hit the road, and we realized that it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, you know, our character moments.  So it just –- we read the 80-page, you know, first draft of hour two and looked at each other and said there's no way we're going to be able to cut this down to, you know, a 55-page script, why don't we expand it to 100 pages.

More after the jump....

--Maria Elena Fernandez

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost' producers reveal island secrets

“Lost” executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — affectionately known as “Darlton” by the TV press because they do all of their interviews together — chatted with reporters Thursday about the return of the island drama to ABC’s line-up on April 24. 

Four episodes will air consecutively at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, with an interruption on May 22 (for the “Grey’s Anatomy” two-hour finale). Then the fourth season of “Lost” will wind down on May 29 with a two-hour episode.

If you want to start figuring out what the meaning of the two-part finale is (airing May 15 and May 29), the title is "There’s No Place Like Home.” And, yes, the castaways will once again encounter Smokey the Black Monster that killed Mr. Eko, and that shadowy Jacob. For developments on the four-toed statue, Losties will have to wait for future seasons. There are 34 episodes of the drama left to air on ABC in Seasons 5 and 6.

LOSTIES: BEWARE. Read these excerpts from the news conference at your own peril — there are some spoilers. (Transcript provided by ABC).

QUESTION: Obviously everybody's very excited about the expanded two-hour finale. I'm just curious, what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What made you say, “You know what, this thing's gotta be two hours?”  Was it about the story that you wanted to tell or things that you wanted to do?

Damon Lindelof:  A little bit of both, you know.  We both, you know, sort of recalled the Season 1 experience where we had a two-part season finale. The part one was one hour and part two was two hours.  And I think at that time not a lot of people were doing two-hour season finales, but in order to sort of get the emotional gravitas of, you know, Walt being abducted or the raft launch or sort of all the epic storytelling we wanted to do, you know, essentially one hour of television just is 41 minutes, and it just didn't feel like we could get “mo.”  That being said, you know, we had an eight-hour story plan that got condensed down to five initially as a result of the strike, and in trying to sort of cram all that story in around the finale, the rubber hit the road, and we realized that it all felt very rushed and we were shortchanging our emotional moments, you know, our character moments.  So it just –- we read the 80-page, you know, first draft of hour two and looked at each other and said there's no way we're going to be able to cut this down to, you know, a 55-page script, why don't we expand it to 100 pages.

More after the jump....

--Maria Elena Fernandez

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Are you a Ben person or a Widmore person?

It was the last "Lost" we're going to see for over a month, so it was necessary that they give us something major in this week's episode to discuss for the coming "Lost"-less weeks. What we got wasn't a new point of discussion so much as a further clarification of a debate that's been brewing all season: Who's the good guy in all of this, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore?

At long last, we finally learned what happened to Michael after he left the island at the end of Season Two and ended up on Widmore's freighter. Ben gave us official confirmation of the identity of his spy on the boat -- Michael -- and the evidence in favor of and against Benjamin's sincerity as a force for good continued to mount.

It would seem, at first, that Widmore is definitely the bad guy here. He did everything he could to foul up Desmond and Penelope's happy relationship and we've seen video footage of him beating one of Ben's men senseless. But if we've learned anything by now, it's that first appearances are never what they seem on "Lost." And if you really think about it, the most damning evidence against Widmore -- that the freighter people's orders are to kill everyone on the island after they capture Ben -- comes from Ben himself, a known and frequent liar.

At the same time, our allegiance with Ben has grown over time. We've been with the guy for a couple of seasons now, and despite his creepy and manipulative behavior, it's possible that he really is trying to keep everyone on the island safe from harm. He's certainly trying to keep the island safe from harm. In last season's finale, he could have had Sayid, Jin and Bernard killed, but he didn't. He was only trying to manipulate Jack. And in the latest episode, he could have had Michael blow up the freighter with everyone aboard, but he didn't. Instead he set up a spring-loaded message inside the bomb that would made one of Batman's villain's proud, followed by an admonition to Michael that he would never order him to kill innocent people on the boat. So he's not a coldblooded killer. At least we think so...

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Don't grieve for Jin

After the shocking revelation at the end of this week's "Lost," one might be tempted to fall into a funk. Up to now, all the characters who have gone to their reward on "Lost" have had at least a little bit of an edge to them -- Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Charlie, even Shannon wasn't a completely lovable character. But to see Sun weeping at Jin's grave and realizing he would soon meet his untimely demise was a twist that could make even the most callous viewer shed a tear.

So go ahead and get weepy if you like. Don't feel guilty, it's healthy. But just know that despite strong evidence to the contrary, I don't think Jin is dead.

During Sun's flash-forward, we saw her give birth to the baby she was impregnated with before her trip to the island. (Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote in to correct me on this one. I had completely forgotten that the island had worked its magic on Jin and allowed him to father a child on the island. And here I was thinking Sun was still lying to him last night about the true paternity...) Assuming the bizarre time travel shenanigans going to and from the island didn't do anything to prolong the pregnancy timeline, it's safe to assume that these scenes took place just a couple of months after the Oceanic Six's rescue. That means that when Hurley appears to visit Jin's grave with Sun, it's before his trip to back to the psych ward and his decision to return to the island. It must also come before bearded Jack's tearful plea to Kate that they have to go back. So the mentality of the Oceanic Six at this time must have been one that did not involve thoughts of return in any way. In their minds, whoever had been left behind on the island was as good as dead -- they would never see any of them again.

The date of death on Jin's tombstone was 9/22/2004, the date that Oceanic 815 crashed, which is proof that Jin never left the island. It's possible that he really did die, but my suspicion is that if we were to return to Sun in flash-forward mode at the same point in the timeline as bearded Jack and crazy Hurley, we'd see a woman haunted by visions of her husband and thinking it was time to head back.

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': We've been here before

After the mind-blowing tour de force of last week, I'm willing to give this week's episode a pass. Which is to say that I enjoyed watching it, even though every critical faculty I had said that it was probably the weakest episode of the new season so far.

After a brief fake-out in which we were led to believe that Juliet was the sixth member of the Oceanic Six, the episode took us back to very familiar territory not just in structure (the flashbacks returned) but also in story content as Juliet's pre- and post-plane crash life on the island got more fleshed out. We got to see the crash of Oceanic 815 for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and we got to see the opening scene of Season 3 for the second time, although we got added shots of guest star Andrea Roth as Juliet's romantic rival.

While a few mysteries were cleared up, such as the identity of who sent the freighter (Charles Widmore), it wasn't information anyone who's been paying close attention to the show hadn't figured out already. And disappointingly, most of the revelations in the episode were of the "You know that I know that you know that I know" variety. To wit: the psychologist Harper (Andrea Roth) reveals that she knows that Ben knows that Goodwin and Juliet are seeing each other, and that she knows that Ben knows, but Juliet doesn't know that Ben has the hots for her. Is your mind blown yet?

Enough with the love triangles; bring back the smoke monster!

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Keep on guessing

Recently I've found myself having the same conversation about "Lost" with people over and over again. I'll approach my fellow "Lost" fans with the latest theories and questions I've accumulated in the hours since the latest episode only to be met with a serene smile and the phrase, "I've stopped trying to figure it all out. I just want to experience the ride."

Given the frequency with which I've heard that phrase and the look of utter calm I see on their faces, I can't help but think of it as a cult. But it's really an anti-cult, one that requires dropping out rather than getting involved. It's a mistake, I feel. It may free brain space up to consider other matters, but at the loss of truly engaging in one of the most complex television series ever made.

However, after the mind-twisting, time-traveling revelations of the latest episode, it's easy to see the appeal of this stance. For one thing, I'd be able to go to sleep soon after and get a decent rest, instead of lying awake, puzzling over the mutterings of Daniel Faraday, or the identity of Ben's spy on the boat.

The latest episode was Desmond's all the way, from his initial mind-scrambling on the helicopter to his tearful phone reunion with Penny. (By the way, was there anyone who didn't get just a little choked up watching that scene?)

After getting knocked just slightly off their course leaving the island, it appears Desmond became slightly unstuck in time. If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because at some point you've read Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." If you haven't, add another title to your "Lost" reading list. (Currently, I'm working through "Watership Down.")

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Get your lies straight

After three episodes of increasingly mind-blowing revelations, this week's "Lost" settled into a bit of a lull. Maybe it's my general apathy about Kate's legal and familial problems or maybe I'm just sick of seeing courtroom scenes on TV, but the witness stand as forum for revelation just holds no appeal for me.

Once again, we were treated to flash-forwards to the Losties' post-island life, and in Kate's case, she finally faced the consequences of killing her father. But in the grand scheme of the show, do we really care anymore? To people living mundane, desk-bound lives, the seeming life-and-death decisions of a courtroom seem thrilling, but compare that to outrunning a smoke monster. Which is more exciting? Matlock should thank his lucky stars smoke monsters didn't exist back in his day.

The interminable courtroom scenes were good for one thing, and that was the revelation, courtesy of Jack, that  according to their post-rescue lies, there were eight survivors of the crash. Since Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron (more on him in a bit) and our unnamed sixth survivor are collectively known as the Oceanic Six, we can surmise that two of the supposed crash survivors didn't live to make it back to civilization. Are they going to use Boone and Shannon as their dead survivors or will two other Losties bite the big one?

After the big revelation at the end of the episode, that Kate's child is really Aaron, the future (or past -- these time-shifts are so hard on us Show Trackers) doesn't look so hot for Aaron's real mommy, Claire. If "Lost" is predictable about anything, it's fingering the person most likely to die based on the person with the least relevance in the story arc. Charlie was standing around with nothing to do for a long time before the writers finally decided to bump him off. And for most of the past two seasons, Claire has done nothing but hold her baby on the sidelines and look worried. Not the basis for great drama or series longevity.

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Evil vets, 31 minutes and who is R.G.?

It's astounding how fast this season of "Lost" has taken off. Remember last year, when we spent episode after episode watching Jack, Sawyer and Kate sit around in cages? Not this year. It's a testament to the incredible amount of information the writers have been able to pack into each of the first three episodes this year that each one sparks a debate on which revelation was the most important of the episode.

In my house, my girlfriend seemed quite taken with the revelation at episode's end: Post-rescue Sayid remade as Sayid Bond (with unfortunate Fabio-hair), flying around the world and killing people for Ben. Who are these people Ben is having him kill? I'd say a big clue was found on the wrist of Elsa, the woman Sayid had to kill in this episode. Her bracelet, no doubt given to her by her mysterious employer, looks to be an exact duplicate of the one worn by Naomi, the freighter rescuer killed by Locke. Naomi's bracelet was inscribed by R.G. So who is R.G.? Could it be her? Him? Maybe it's this guy.

The possibilities are endless, though I doubt the writers have given us enough information yet to be able to come up with a credible theory. But with all due respect to my lovely girlfriend, I don't think the Ben-Sayid partnership -- or alliance, as they're called on "Survivor" -- was the most startling revelation in the episode. Much more exciting to the series' overall arc was the mini-experiment Daniel Faraday engaged in with Regina back on the boat....

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': What's in a name?

Now that is what we were all waiting for! Those people who continue to watch "Lost" and complain about its lack of resolution and immediate answers were surely wailing and gnashing their teeth after "Confirmed Dead," the second new "Lost" episode of the season, but the first one to really kick the storyline into overdrive. More questions were raised than answered (as is usual) but when the questions are as tantalizing as they were in this episode, who really cares? Those of us who love to pick apart the clues were riveted.

After yet another beating at the hands of the Losties, (I think actor Michael Emerson has had a total of five or so episodes when he hasn't had to wear bruise makeup) Ben revealed the true objective of those mysterious rescuers -- the capture of Ben himself. And how did he know this? He's got a mole on the rescuers' boat (smart money seems to be on that man being Michael).

But that wasn’t the night’s real mind-blower. That came in the episode’s very first scene, when we witnessed the discovery of the remains of Oceanic 815 resting at the bottom of the ocean. Wait a minute, didn’t we just see the wreckage of the airplane on the beach? And if everyone on board is confirmed dead, who are the characters we’ve come to know and love over the past three seasons? Hence, the mind-blowing.

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Who are the Oceanic Six?

Let the theorizing begin!

Actually, anyone expecting major revelations along the lines of "What's in the hatch?" were probably disappointed by "Lost's" fourth season premiere. Titled "The Beginning of the End," the episode didn't establish any new directions for our favorite castaways that weren't already introduced last season.

Instead, we got a bit of a breather, which gave the characters time to deal emotionally with the events of last season's finale. Hurley gave a nice speech memorializing his pal Charlie (Dominic Monaghan). In a show that has myriad dangling plot threads, dozens of major characters and just 48 episodes left to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion, you have to admire the fact that they took this hour to commemorate a dead character. It was a nice character moment and it seemed to have a lot of feeling. One thing "Lost" has never been afraid of is reaching for the big emotions. It may be safer to appeal to the mind, but sometimes the heart needs to be fed too.

Not that Charlie is completely gone, mind you. 

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': 48 pending questions

After eight months of waiting -- nearly twice the length of time the survivors of oceanic Flight 815 have been marooned on that darn island -- "Lost" will finally, finally, finally return to TV on Thursday night. Actually, for the hard core out there, it returns Wednesday night with a rerun of May's game-changing season finale. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you've already seen it, either on TV or on DVD, but that shouldn't stop you from watching it again.

In fact, you owe it to yourself to see it again. Because "Lost" is the kind of show that rewards the obsessive tracking of bits of dialogue, the careful scrutiny of prop details and the kind of endless speculation that would cause a lesser show to quickly disintegrate beneath the weight of expectations.

So to help ease your transition back into the feverish world of flashback parsing and narrative puzzle-solving, we've assembled a list of 48 unanswered questions we hope -- no, DEMAND -- will be answered in the series' 48 remaining episodes.

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost' fans: Look out for that cliffhanger!

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost' returns: Half empty or half full?

TV viewers will begin the new year without Jack Bauer, but they will spend at least two months with their favorite castaways.

Soon after the strike began, Fox announced it would indefinitely postpone the midseason premiere of its Emmy-winning drama “24” to protect the integrity of its time-stamped story line.

Today, ABC announced it was moving ahead with plans to air “Lost” but, in a surprise move, will do so in the "Grey's Anatomy" Thursday night time slot, beginning Jan. 31. This is the third time-slot move for "Lost" in four seasons and the first time it will not air on Wednesday nights, even though doing so means possibly cutting the season in two halves and potentially alienating more viewers. 

Both "Lost" and "24" have done better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. To that end, ABC, in a highly unconventional move in May, announced that “Lost,” the series that helped lift the network out of last place, would have three more seasons of 16 uninterrupted episodes each, airing from February to May each year.

The decision came after a tumultuous year for the series, after ABC aired its third season in two parts — six episodes in the fall and 16 in midseason — and the size of its audience declined by 14%. When the show returned in midseason, it picked up momentum, convincing ABC executives that Losties, as the show’s fans call themselves, prefer their show to have a straight run.

But the strike has altered those plans. Instead of shelving the series a la “24,” ABC is taking the chance of possibly having to air the series in two parts because the producers completed only eight episodes before the strike began. But giving it the slot occupied by "Grey's Anatomy," which has run out of original episodes because of the strike, could give it a boost. "Lost" will also serve as the lead-in for a new ABC drama, "Eli Stone," starring Jonny Lee Miller. 

"Lost" executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof could not be reached on Friday. But in an interview last month, Cuse said they both hoped the network would hold out.

“This is a very tough dilemma,” Cuse said. “The lesson last year was six episodes was an exercise in frustration. I think eight episodes would only be slightly less so. We hope that when the show airs, all 16 would air consecutively. That’s the way we’ve designed our season and that is our hope.”

-- Maria Elena Fernandez

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

Michael's return: Harold Perrineau gets 'Lost' again

Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.

The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost."  No one laughed.

Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.

He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.

Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).

His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?

Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.

-- Kate Aurthur

(Photo courtesy ABC)

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Rescue me

I'm sure most viewers saw the twist behind Jack's bloated flash-forward coming half an hour into the episode, but it did shed light on one key bit of information: Life off the island ain't grand. At least not for Jack.

And that's only important because it makes me that much more interested in Ben (who I still mistakenly call Henry every now and then because I preferred the mystique back when that was his name.) Sure, he's a murderous, lying tyrant. But maybe the guy has a point. Maybe leaving the island isn't the way to go.

Other than that, Tuesday's finale kept deflating the suspense as soon as it had built some up. And, of course, we're left with more questions than we got answers. This time, however, that was OK.

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Counting down...

Charlie needs to die already.

I'm not the biggest fan of his character, yes. But after alluding to this outcome since, oh, Season 1, I'd say it's time. All he wants to do is love and protect Claire right? Well, now he can by getting them rescued right?

Sigh. If Charlie doesn't die -- and I'm guessing he won't, again -- then this recent trip down memory lane is sort of moot, dontcha think? Also, his death would come with an added bonus. It would free Desmond of this singular mopey mission to save Charlie. Desmond used to be the guy gone stir crazy in the hatch and now he's about as useful to the show as Hurley.

But -- and this is a BIG but -- as far as penultimate set-up-to-the-big-finale episodes go, "Greatest Hits" was above par in more than one way.

So let's concentrate on the good:

Can we please keep Jack? Maybe it's those background drums of the first scene. Maybe it's the way he wants to get all violent on The Others. Maybe he's taking lessons in from Rousseau. Whatever it is, Jack finally returned from Mt. Boring. Sure, he's not entirely out of his stupid pills -- "No Charlie, don't try and get us rescued when I'm about to decorate the beach with Others confetti!" -- but he recovers nicely at the end.

Speaking of... Drums! That's the ticket! Lost should use drums more often. They pack such a punch. Or at least I think so.

So much to do, so little time! We now have the possibility of restoring that radio signal thing that will rescue everyone. It won't happen -- the show's been renewed for forty-some new episodes, so they're not leaving the island any time soon -- but I'm jonesing to learn how exactly they're going to keep everyone at bay. We also have Battle Royale with the Others. As Carl squealed: "They're coming. They're coming right now!" Then there is the return of Locke. Yessir, the two-hour finale is shaping up to be one deliciously jam-packed affair.

Naomi, the Spy? Two weeks ago, she delivered one of the show's most intriguing ideas: That the survivors are actually all dead. This is probably not true, so what is her deal? Where did she come from? Is she actually one of The Others? Is she not freaked out that she sees dead people?

I'm hoping Rose and Bernard stick around. If they brought these two back -- yay! -- just to kill them, it will be anti-climactic. It will rank right up there with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo. Hey, producer people: We like Rose and Bernard. You can do more with them. Do not kill them. There are several characters in line in front of them whose time should be about up.

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': All about the Benjamin

Was that a twinge of pity I just felt for Ben, the steely eyed chief who has up until Wednesday’s episode been the least appealing Other? While Juliet has been a fierce but pitiable adversary, Ben has been perversely vapid, all menace and no soul.

Now he’s a man whose birth killed his mother, a loss that turned his father into a bitter, belligerent drunk.

But wait. The moment’s over. Ben gassed dad and then helped purge the rest of the Dharma initiative – a harmonious group that we learned took Ben and his father in after his mother died. They were studying the island’s “unique properties” and had little to do with the violent nature of The Others, a group Dharma members referred to as The Hostiles, alluded to as island natives.

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': I see dead people

Another post-show chat with "Lost" Show Tracker Denise Martin and Times Staff Writer Patrick Day about Hell, blowing up Ben and one big gopher.

DENISE: Now we're getting somewhere! I am loving this new idea that the survivors are actually dead, perhaps even as Locke's late Daddy Dearest suggested, in Hell. Sure, it's not likely, but what a theory to throw around. Here's hoping for a payoff.

PATRICK: That episode left me wired. And also marveling at how the season seems to be taking quite a dark turn. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that everyone was complaining about Hurley joyriding a VW bus around the island. Now we get a surprisingly disturbing murder scene. I actually didn't think Sawyer would kill Locke's dad. Boy was I wrong!

I agree with you about the Hell theory. I don't think they're in Hell, but I do think the show will turn out to have a slightly religious bent at the end of the day. Remember the two skeletons they found on the island in the first season? Man and woman? Adam and Eve?

What do you think Rousseau is planning to do with that box of dynamite?

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Sun rising

A post-show chat with Times Staff Writer Patrick Day, "24" Show Tracker and a die-hard "Lost" fan who insists the show will "stand the test of time"...

DENISE: Overall, I thought Wednesday's Sun-centric episode was pretty strong. Any time they've given her stuff to do, it's usually good. This was no exception.

PATRICK: I'm very glad to hear you liked this one. Even though there were no major revelations about the Island or the Others, this had some nice human drama. Why do they under use Sun? She's just as interesting as Sayid and Hurley and not half as irritating as Kate.

DENISE: I'm ignoring what you said about Hurley. I've always thought they should be doing more with the resident marrieds. Pairing Sun with Juliet was especially potent, particularly now that we know that Juliet is there against her will to research the women of the crash. Juliet is probably their best written character right now.

So, given the eleventh hour revelation of Naomi, the fallen stranger from the sky, you think there could be credence in the they're-all-in-purgatory theory?

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Oh brutha

Desmond used to be a monk. Charlie's still alive. And a stranger has fallen from the sky.

Next.

Also, nice of Wednesday's episode to finally address the cliffhanger from Season 2. But seriously, folks, the next four episodes have got to build to something. Anything! Lots of things  ripe for the pickin.'

A Jack-vs.-Locke showdown. Where Juliet's mission is leading. The real story behind the French woman. The real story behind the Others. Heck, I'll take the real story behind that black smoke and those jungle polar bears...

What did everyone else think?

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Hurry up already!

Even the extremely worthy concept of delayed gratification has its limits, already.

Every week, ABC's promotions department teases bits of "Lost" in commercials that make you think some of the island's many secrets are finally going to be revealed. And every week, viewers get duped.

Three seasons in, what viewers need is information, lots of it, and quick. Patience for the show's ever-spiraling enigma is rapidly wearing thin as evidenced in softening ratings.

While Wednesday's episode of "Lost" was probably one of the stronger hours, focused again on how Juliet, the most sympathetic of the Others, came to be trapped on the island,  the series' warying stall tactics remained in full force, leaking answers in drips and drabs.

Juliet it turns out was brought to the island to help cure pregnant women on the island, all of whom become afflicted with a fatal illness that kills them before they come to term.

Now, per Ben's wishes, she's infiltrated the plane crash survivor's beachside camp as Jack's new trustworthy pal.

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': A few secrets unlocker

There it is: Locke wants to stay lost.

At least he’s got good reason. Wednesday’s episode of “Lost,” flashed back to perhaps his biggest screwing-over yet. When a nearly bald Locke threatens to expose his father as a con to his latest target, Daddie Dearest pushes him out the window of an eight-story building.

What’s more, he and the island have been sort of serious about each other since Day One, when he discovered he had the use of his previously inanimate legs. Unlike recent episodes devoted to Claire and Hurley, this latest hour not only resolved the question of how Locke came to be a wheelchair user but also coughed up relevant information about Ben, the Other-in-chief, and the island.

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': Spinning its wheels

After a promising rebound episode revealing Juliet’s pitiable past, “Lost” returned to its lazy ways and this week offered up the kind of one-hour filler that has become all too common for the series this season.

In Wednesday’s episode, we get only a little more back story for affable human teddy bear Hurley, whom the writers consider the show’s primary source of comic relief. After a run of episodes at the heavy-on-torture Camp Others, a lighthearted Hurley-centric hour may have seemed appealing. But there’s a big difference between light and pointless, and this veered toward the latter.

On hold were the plots involving the island, the Others and their presumed-dead kidnap victims (briefly revealed to be alive last week). More confounding — almost as much as last week’s episode involving Jack’s past romp through Thailand — was the lack of any new relevant information about Hurley ... except the startling fact that his father is Cheech Marin (in a guest role).

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

'Lost': May yet be saved

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.