Lost Preview - TV Guide

By Matt Mitovich

When ABC's Lost kicks off its much-anticipated fifth season this Wednesday at 9 pm/ET (with a two-hour premiere), ***. ***** Oh, it's just bad-ass Sayid and his new sidekick ... Hurley?! Jorge Garcia gave us a typically cryptic look at the new adventures of the Oceanic 6. Plus: Who from the island does the big guy miss most?

TVGuide.com: As an actor, how has the Season 5 storyline been different for you?
Jorge Garcia: The story has been different and a little weird, and I'm just "following along in my book," so to say. But there is a confidence having done Hurley for now five seasons. There's a lot more instinct in the sense that I kind of know how Hurley goes now, how he would react to new situations.

TVGuide.com: Are you finding him to be a more active character this season?
Garcia: There's definitely some stuff that picks up. And there are certain things Hurley does this season where I'm still trying to figure out how he gets to this point. That's what I'm most curious about. They like to skip around in the storytelling, you know.

TVGuide.com: So even though we've arrived at this certain point in the future, it's not necessarily continuous storytelling.
Garcia: Right. They're not afraid to skip ahead even more if they want to, and then fill in that blank at a later date.

TVGuide.com: Hurley and Sayid have kind of a "buddy act" going on at the start of the season, don't they?
Garcia: Yeah, that's how it starts. The season picks up right where the last one ended, when Sayid springs him from [the] Santa Rosa [mental hospital]. Then they go off together.

TVGuide.com: Are you having fun doing these different types of scenes with Naveen?
Garcia: It's cool, because we hadn't worked too much together or in such a large chunk like we did this time.

TVGuide.com: Does Hurley do anything for the first time this season?
Garcia: Hmmmm... . There are some first on the wardrobe front. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Are you in a James Bond-like suit or something?
Garcia: Um, I can't say exactly what the outfit choices are. But in the first two or three episodes, it felt like a parade of costumes — which is obviously not something I'm used to. And I wasn't happy with all of the outfits, I have to say. [Laughs] You'll see why.

TVGuide.com: Do you think Hurley misses Sawyer?
Garcia: Totally. Especially when the team kind of split up and a group of us set up camp in the Others' village, there was a lot of bonding between Hurley and Sawyer. And I think Hurley was definitely moved when Sawyer jumped out of the helicopter.

TVGuide.com: All eyes were kind of on Hurley...
Garcia: Yeah. [Sawyer's sacrifice] had an effect on him.

TVGuide.com: How quickly does the Oceanic 6 make it back to the island?
Garcia: That's a big focus of this season, the struggle to get back. ****

TVGuide.com: It's obviously not a matter of them simply reuniting and flying somewhere.
Garcia: It's a bit more complicated, yeah. *****

TVGuide.com: Ben says you all have to go back, and *****. But that's easier said than done, you're saying.
Garcia: There is stuff to figure out because things start getting more complicated off-island. *****

TVGuide.com: Is the plan still to run all 17 episodes straight through, with no big breaks?
Garcia: Yeah. Last season, they might have skipped a week before the finale and had a clip show day, so they might do that. But for the most part, it should run straight through.

Live blogging 'Lost': Team Darlton break their silence on season 5! - EW

By Michael Ausiello

Follow along as I live blog the most anticipated session of press tour: The Q&A with Lost bosses Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse! As an added bonus, I'll be sprinkling in mild spoilers about this season's third episode, which ABC just screened for us as a precursor to the main event. Let's get to it!

4:01 pm/EST: Team Darlton's in the house taking our questions!
(Episode 3 spoiler: ****)

4:02 pm: We will be seeing a "lot more" of Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert) this season. Also, Nestor does not wear eyeliner on the show, Darlton insists! Stop the presses!!

4:07 pm: When Cane was axed, Darlton immediately stepped in and "secured [Nestor's] services" until the end of Season 6.

4:11 pm: Are they concerned that all the time travel this season will leave viewers, ahem, lost? "Time travel has been in the show's DNA from the beginning," says Lindelof. "The audience is prepared to go on that journey with us."
(Episode 3 spoiler: ***)

4:14 pm: "Sawyer has a lot to do this year," says Cuse. Adds Lindelof: "A lot of the focus was on the Oceanic Six last year... this year we tried to make up for lost time [with Sawyer]. Josh has been doing amazing work."

4:17 pm: "As we get deeper into the season," Cuse teases, "you're going to learn a lot more about the island's history."
(Episode 3 spoiler: ***)

4:20 pm: The purpose of the four-toed statue is revealed: Cuse says it was there simply to illustrate the island's long and rich history.

4:22 pm: "If the first episode of Lost you see is the premiere of season 5," says Lindelof, "you most likely won't understand the majority of it."

4:24 pm: Lost currently has 14 series regulars, Lindelof reveals, adding that the rough economic climate has forced them to "kill off five" this season. (He's kidding! I think!)
(Episode 3 spoiler: Someone -- or something -- called *** plays a pivotal role.)

4:28 pm: ****

4:29 pm: ****

4:30 pm: Darlton chose to spread the last 48 episodes over three seasons, as opposed to just two. "That was our choice," he says. "We calculated how many episodes" it would take to adequately tell the story of Lost.
(Episode 3 spoiler: ***)

4:31 pm: The session is brought to an end after only 25 minutes! Totally bogus! ****

Lost Bosses Solve "True Mystery" - TV Guide

By Matt Mitovich

It's rather impossible to share much of what was discussed at Lost's TCA Winter Press Tour session on Friday, since to do so would delve into the first few episodes — the third of which was screened for reporters just before exec producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof took the stage. Here, though — and to supplement my teasy afternoon Facebook updates — are some Dharma-approved sound bites:

Lost's "True Mystery" Revealed!
Coming off of Richard Alpert's appearance in this season's Episode 3, Lindelof refuted one press person's contention that Nestor Carbonell wears too much eyeliner (especially when projected on the Hilton ballroom's 20-foot screens). "We had the same [observation] you did, but he does not wear any mascara, no eyeliner, nothing." Cuse chimed in to call Carbonell's distinct eyes "the true mystery of Lost."

*****

The Secret to Their (Avoiding) "Suckiness"
Though ABC has gone on record as saying they would of course welcome lots more Lost than currently is planned, the producers stand by the decision to wrap things up after 34 more episodes. "When we got to Season 3, the show had reached a point where we knew it was trending [toward] utter suckiness," said Lindelof. "We had a decision to make — choose an end date."

It's the "Season of Sawyer"
Acknowledging that last season's focus on the Oceanic 6 robbed Sawyer of some screen time, the execs promise a reversal on that unfortunate shift. "Sawyer has a lot to do" as one of the castaways left behind, says Cuse. Adds Lindelof, "Josh [Holloway] has been doing amazing work this year."

Why Lost Probably Won't Find an Emmy this Year
Team Darlton are the first to admit that Emmy voters like tidy, digestible episodes, and that's why Lost finds little love at the awards show. And looking ahead, nothing from this coming season will fit the blue ribbon panel's criteria. "If the first episode of Lost that you ever see is the first episode of Season 5, you will not understand a majority of it."

The Logo Is Loaded
Surveying the newest show logo — as projected onto the ballroom wall — the boys explained that the cityscape within the letters of "Lost" represents how "at least for the first part of this season, you're getting a split between [stories about] the people at home and the people who are on the island." ***

*****

As for Michael....
**** Harold Perrineau is busy starring on the midseason ABC series The Unusuals. "I'm working for the same network so anything can happen," says the actor. "You never know what Carlton and Damon are going to do."

Review: Lost Premiere Fires Up One Trippy New Season (TV Guide)

The first seasons' flashbacks now seem utterly quaint. And the more recent flash-forwards? Relatively simple. As promised, previewed and teased by the producers of Lost ever since Season 4 came to a close, the next cycle of episodes introduce a new storytelling "device" of sorts that might make you want to keep a notepad and pen next to your TV remote.

But enough about that. No, really — that's enough. I can't say more, given the confidentiality request that prefaced the first two Season 5 episodes made available to the press.

Instead, I will simply note that the episodes "Because You Left" and "The Lie" offer compelling twists for both the half-dozen "survivors" of Oceanic flight 815 as well as those who are still on the island (wherever it may be).

The first hour is the stronger of the two, as it sends the mind reeling and uncorks infinite possibilities. Picking up soon after the events of the season finale, "Because You Left" reiterates Ben's claim that Jack et al must return to the island to make things "right" ***, then lets slip a bit of insight — from the perspective of those left behind — as to where the island moved. Alas, just as they figure it out....

Next up, "The Lie" revolves around a major predicament for one of the Oceanic 6, setting the stage for a twist that significantly staggers Ben's plan to "get the band back together." Meanwhile, Sawyer, Juliet and the others are subject to old island problems, new revelations and surprise saviors, with the showstopper being one of Lost's most electric and intense action scenes ever.

Familiar faces return. New faces create new problems ... or perhaps offer solutions (***). **** All told, the foundation is laid for a pivotal penultimate season.

Before I go, a few more teasers to whet your whistle until the new season arrives Wednesday, Jan. 21.

• Within the first minutes, **** turns up in a most unexpected place.

• Jack shaves his strife beard ... in the premiere's second such shaving scene. (And no, you'll never guess the first familiar face to take razor in hand.)

• ****

• Someone gets a nosebleed.

• Kate is haunted by a decision she made.

• ****

• ****

• Every theory I have read about how Desmond might remain in the mix, even though he and Penny were free and clear at the end of the season finale? No one got it right.

• Someone dares call Sawyer an "inbred." That can't end well. And it doesn't.

• Speaking of Sawyer, he remains shirtless for the entire first hour plus the first eight minutes of the second episode. (ABC, you owe me big time for spreading the word on that.)

Doc Jensen Season Five Premiere Review

Yesterday. 9:30 a.m. I was moments away from spending the day at Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth, when a certain EW colleague, whose name rhymes with Shmichael Slausiello, tipped me off that the first two episodes of Lost’s fifth season were now available to lucky media dorks like me for reviewing. Suddenly, the House of Mouse (and really, any other locale that wasn’t my laptop DVD player) was not the happiest place on Earth, but the most hellishly inconvenient. ARRRRGHHH! A long day of standing in life-stealing, long-ass lines became even more criminal and assish as I counted the minutes before I could rip into the most awesome of delayed Christmas presents. (Although I must say, The Pirates of the Carrbbean - a masterpiece of experiential narrative on any other day - was almost compelling enough to distract me from my furious angst. ALMOST.)

Finally, at 10 p.m. last night, with exhausted family passed out, I sat down and broke the seven-month Lost fast with the first two helpings of season 5. Both went down well, one more so than the other. A few thoughts in advance of a more thorough discussion to come, once the episodes air and we're all on the same page.

Lost’s tradition of opening the year with a killer, capture-the-imagination sequence is honored and upheld, though the thing I loved most was how it was brazenly frank (and engagingly funny) about the heady high-concept conceit that will define the season. Almost everything that followed that opening passage was pretty cool, too. ****** The first two episodes will have the audience — and the show’s characters — trying to make sense of shifts in time. They demand active engagement, and I found it to be a lot of fun. Especially the first hour.

Lots of Sawyer in the first two eps. Lots of his naked chest, too. Lots of Hurley, and as for his chest, it is covered...with a very funny T-shirt. Sayid also has mucho screen time in both episodes, though ****. And **** emerges as a huge player in season 5. The eps are dotted with cameos and extended cameos from peripheral but important figures crucial to the Lost mythology and much-loved by the Lost fan community. ***** Once again, all things Ben just rock. *****

In short, it was worth the wait, and certainly the perfect tonic for a day at Disneyland. I can't wait to see if you agree - or disagree - with me when Lost premieres on Jan. 21. In the meantime, tell me: What are you most looking forward to seeing in season 5? What are your burning questions? Let me know...because I'll be able to soon answer them for you, in the most unexpected of ways...

Good to be gabbing Lost with you again, friends. Look for the first official Doc Jensen column next week. Namaste!