Skip to main content

Lost But Not Forgotten: Team Darlton Promise "Familiar Faces" For Final Season of "Lost"

With the sixth and final season of Lost looming, executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse made their annual trek to Comic-Con for what is likely the last Lost panel at the convention. Ever.

In the tradition of hijinx-fueled Lost panels, this one was no different, with Team Darlton teasing some details about what to expect on the series while also offering attendees the chance to laugh until it hurt.

Given that the end of the series is so near, expectations ran high but our favorite Lost masterminds didn't disappoint, offering up a montage of fan-created video mashups (faves included Jack waiting for Xbox support, a Jack and Sawyer bit that reimagined them as Brokeback Mountain-style lovers, and a bit that recast the castaways as Muppet Babies), some newly created humorous videos including a "from our sponsor" commercial for Mr. Cluck's (starring Jorge Garcia's Hurley), an episode of America's Most Wanted featuring a still-on-the-lam Kate Austen, and a tongue-in-cheek look at the makeup preparation of Nestor Carbonell. There was also a "vintage" faux five-part documentary series Mysteries of Universe exploring the mythic Dharma Initiative, which can be viewed on ABC.com. (There was also a commercial for ABC's new online initiative LostUniversity.com.)

"Obviously, the biggest moment in the show's life was announcing its death," said Cuse, referring to the network's unprecedented decision to give the showrunners the end date that they desired and wrap the series up according to their wishes. And it was death that had many in the crowd just wondering what lies ahead for this serpentine series.

So what news did Team Darlton--along with cast members Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Michael Emerson, Nestor Carbonell, and Dominic Monaghan--unveil at Comic-Con this year? Let's discuss.

For one, we'll be seeing many characters we haven't seen since Season One, including Boone Carlyle (Ian Somerhalder) and many others who have perished on the series since they first crashed onto that accursed island. "We want the show to feel like a loop is closing with this final year," said Lindelof. "There's a good chance you'll be seeing characters you haven't seen since the first season."

Or in their own words:



And death seems to be the key. Lindelof and Cuse also confirmed that Jeremy Davies' much beloved Daniel Faraday, who seemingly perished by gunshot, WILL be in Season Six of Lost... as will Elizabeth Mitchell's Juliet, who detonated the hydrogen bomb in the Season Five finale "The Incident," which likely will explain just how the dead are among us again. ("Elizabeth Mitchell will be in Lost during the final season," said Cuse.)

(Worth noting: an In Memoriam video screened at the panel showed the massive body count from over the years but did NOT actually include Elizabeth Mitchell's Juliet or Emilie de Raven's Claire. Hmmm....)

The series' final season will in some ways resemble the first--"[Characters] were running around the jungle, things felt intense and surprising," said Cuse. "We have a way that we're going to be able to do that in the final season too."--yet there will also be a new narrative technique unveiled in the final go-around. "The time travel season is over, the flash forward season is over," promised Lindelof. "We're going to do something fairly different."

We'll finally get some of the backstory of the enigmatic Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell). "We would be incredibly remiss if we didn't give you Richard's backstory before the end of the series," said Carlton Cuse.

Michael Emerson was asked whether the black-clad man seen on the beach with Jacob in "The Incident" was named Esau. Emerson was characteristically coy about answering the question.

Who made the food drop in Season Two? "It comes from planes," said Jorge Garcia, fielding the question. Lindelof said it will likely be dealt with in the series' final season.

Some other hysterical moments from the panel:
  • Comedian Paul Sheer unveiling a black velvet portrait of Damon and Carlton with a polar bear... and announcing that he had created a website to showcase his art at: http://www.damoncarltonandapolarbear.com.


  • Jorge Garcia appearing in the audience to ask Cuse and Lindelof a question about whether the series would reset ("because that would be a cheat") and being told to just trust them. Said Garcia in response: "Last time I trusted you guys, you said Nikki and Paulo were going to be awesome."
  • Michael Emerson then also appeared in the crowd razzing Garcia for asking more than one question and then unveiled a "2004" audition tape where Emerson auditioned for the role of Hurley. (The hilarious audio from the above--with Emerson mocking Garcia--can be found below.


  • Dealing head-on with the rumor that he wears eyeliner, Nestor Carbonell made quite an entrance via a hidden camera watching him as he put on eyeliner backstage. "This is cobalt!" he screamed. "I asked for onyx! I only use onyx!"
  • A running gag with Darlton locking the script pages to the final scene of Lost in a lockbox on stage is completely derailed by the appearance of Josh Holloway, who shocks Lindelof into submission and steals the script pages, threatening to read them out loud. "Oh my god, you don't know how to read, do you?" said Cuse, jokingly.
  • Those script pages, read aloud by Emerson? From an upcoming--and laughably bad--episode of Heroes featuring Sylar and Parkman. "WTF is this?" said Emerson.
  • The "LOST But Not Forgotten" in memoriam video led up to the scene where Charlie sacrifices his life and tells Desmond that it's not Penny's boat... which then lead to Dominic Monaghan appearing on stage for the final seconds of the panel!

Mr. Cluck's Commercial:



America's Most Wanted - Kate Austen:



Lost returns for its final season in 2010.

Comments

rockauteur said…
Very interesting in the AMERICA'S MOST WANTED video that Kate didn't kill her stepfather....
Kelsey said…
Aaaah! I wish I could have been there. Sounds like it was a riot! Thanks for all of the great clips and tidbits!

Popular posts from this blog

Katie Lee Packs Her Knives: Breaking News from Bravo's "Top Chef"

The android has left the building. Or the test kitchen, anyway. Top Chef 's robotic host Katie Lee Joel, the veritable "Uptown Girl" herself (pictured at left), will NOT be sticking around for a second course of Bravo's hit culinary competition. According to a well-placed insider, Joel will "not be returning" to the show. No reason for her departure was cited. Unfortunately, the perfect replacement for Joel, Top Chef judge and professional chef Tom Colicchio, will not be taking over as the reality series' host (damn!). Instead, the show's producers are currently scouring to find a replacement for Joel. Top Chef 's second season was announced by Bravo last month, but no return date has been set for the series' ten-episode sophomore season. Stay tuned as this story develops. UPDATE (6/27): Bravo has now confirmed the above story .

BuzzFeed: Meet The TV Successor To "Serial"

HBO's stranger-than-fiction true crime documentary The Jinx   — about real estate heir Robert Durst — brings the chills and thrills missing since Serial   wrapped up its first season. Serial   obsessives: HBO's latest documentary series is exactly what you've been waiting for.   The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst , like Sarah Koenig's beloved podcast, sifts through old documents, finds new leads from fresh interviews, and seeks to determine just what happened on a fateful day in which the most foul murder was committed. And, also like  Serial  before it,  The Jinx may also hold no ultimate answer to innocence or guilt. But that seems almost beside the point; such investigations often remain murky and unclear, and guilt is not so easy a thing to be judged. Instead, this upcoming six-part tantalizing murder mystery, from director Andrew Jarecki ( Capturing the Friedmans ), is a gripping true crime story that unfolds with all of the speed of a page-turner; it

BuzzFeed: "The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now"

The CBS legal drama, now in its sixth season, continually shakes up its narrative foundations and proves itself fearless in the process. Spoilers ahead, if you’re not up to date on the show. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, " The Good Wife Is The Best Show On Television Right Now," in which I praise CBS' The Good Wife and, well, hail it as the best show currently on television. (Yes, you read that right.) There is no need to be delicate here: If you’re not watching The Good Wife, you are missing out on the best show on television. I won’t qualify that statement in the least — I’m not talking about the best show currently airing on broadcast television or outside of cable or on premium or however you want to sandbox this remarkable show. No, the legal drama is the best thing currently airing on any channel on television. That The Good Wife is this perfect in its sixth season is reason to truly celebrate. Few shows embrace complexity and risk-taking in t