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« Roush Dispatch
Lost Is Back, And We're All Rescued
Michael Emerson by Art Streiber/ABC
For lots more on Lost, read our fresh Q&A with Naveen Andrews and our character profile of Jack, check out Jon Hein's look at the Season 4 hype, use our Strike Survival Guide to get up to speed, and flip through our assorted photo galleries.
Rescued from our winter of strike blahs and blues, that is. No spoilers in this preview of the long-awaited new season, just an expression of relief, glee and thanks to ABC for delivering us from the doldrums of repeats, premature hiatuses and cheesy reality shows.
Lost has always been among TV’s most gorgeously produced, exotic flights of fancy and wonder, and that hasn’t changed. As the fourth season begins (I’ve seen the first two of eight completed episodes, and am ravenous for more), Lost has everything a discerning fan could want.
There’s conflict galore, as the castaways clash over whether to embrace the idea of rescue or to resist these interlopers from the offshore freighter. Suspense for sure, much of it conveyed in the enigmatic gaze of the manipulative Benjamin Linus, who doesn’t miss a beat as he plays one side off the other. Humor? Of course, so long as Sawyer is around, calling various characters “Colonel Kurtz” and “Yoda” as he pledges ultimate fealty only to his own survival. And if it’s emotion you want? Plenty of that, as the reality of Charlie’s death sets in among the grieving survivors, not to mention the implications of his dying warning that (as more than one character puts it) “the people on the boat aren’t who they say they are.”
Who exactly are they and what do they want? That becomes a little more clear in next week’s episode. But for now, sit back, strap in for the action-packed ride and enjoy. Unlike last season’s momentum-stalling fall “pod” that spent too much time in the company of the Others, neglecting many of our core favorites for too long, these episodes integrate new faces with old as the mysterious story churns ever forward. You’re left wanting more of everything and of everyone, which this time around feels incredibly satisfying.
And what of Lost's manipulation of time? Many of us are still reeling from last season’s blockbuster cliff-hanger revelation that the show was now capable of jumping ahead in time, to a future when Jack and Kate (among, it’s presumed, others) got off the island but are still haunted by the circumstances. I can’t really address this, being bound by a laundry list of “do not reveal” advisories on ABC’s screeners.
Suffice it to say that wherever Lost takes you — backwards, forwards, sideways — there’s almost always a thrilling shock or a jarring surprise awaiting you.
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Jan 30, 2008 5:12 PM
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Remember - those that need a last-season refresher course - the 2-hour season finale airs tonight!
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Jan 30, 2008 5:27 PM
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Great Dispatch, Other Matt! I finished this week's episode this morning and it was so well-constructed and dense with emotion, especially as they play out the reactions to Charlie's fate. As I mention in my Mega Minute vodcast on Thursday, I think Jorge Garcia did his best work ever. Time to cue up Episode 2 now!
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Jan 30, 2008 6:56 PM
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I am so excited for Lost to come back! Yippee! With this horrible strike going on, I have been abusing my netflix subscription. I can't wait to see our favorite castaways!  Bring it on ABC!
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Jan 30, 2008 9:43 PM
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I'm watching the finale now for the first time since it aired originally. At the time I was so caught up in what was going to happen, I don't think I fully enjoyed at the time how great the finale was. So superbly crafted, so suspenseful, so many beautiful moments, Charlie's death. And of course "the" cliffhanger.
To have one of your finest hours some 70 hours in is no small accomplishment. If Damon, Carlton and crew can sustain this through the ultimate finale in any satisfying way, then I don't know how anyone is going to match this series, ever.
Glad to hear the momentum is carrying over into the new season; Can't wait for the premiere! And here's hoping the strike really does end this week and we get those last 8 episodes this year!
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Jan 30, 2008 10:52 PM
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Sweet Matt thanks! Loved tonight's re-airing of the finale and can't wait for tomorrow. This will be my first new ep in glorious HD 
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Jan 30, 2008 11:22 PM
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I can't wait.
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Jan 31, 2008 4:42 AM
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I want to echo "other Matt's" response above to say that tonight's episode is absolutely a milestone for Jorge Garcia (probably surpassing even his joy ride in the abandoned van). I didn't want to reveal too much of tonight's content, but he is very much at the heart of everything that happens tonight. And if you don't shed another tear for Charlie as Hurley grieves for him, you're one hard-hearted Lost-ie.
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Jan 31, 2008 9:47 AM
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Okay, now all we need is Carly Simon singing Anticipation to complete the package! Tonight can't come soon enough.
BTW - I enjoyed last night's repeat - Lost: Pop-up Video. It was nice to hav some of the easter eggs pointed out...especially those that I would never get (such as the funeral parlor name being an anagram for Flash Forward).
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Jan 31, 2008 11:09 AM
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Regarding last night's rerun of the Season 3 finale -- still absolutely stunning. The finest 2 hours of television produced last season...by far. Even knowing what would happen this time, the impact was just as devastating.
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Jan 31, 2008 11:23 AM
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Just rewatching last nights Pop-Up Lost has got me all a tingly with anticipation. I cannot wait for tonights premiere. Thank God for ABC and Lost, we also have the new Eli Stone, I'm so stoked for new episodes of anything not reality!
GO LOSTIES!
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Jan 31, 2008 11:29 AM
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I was glad "they" aired the 2 hr finale so we all could catch up. Plus the dialogue crawl along the bottom helped immensely.
I, however, was as frustrated last night, again, as I was all season long last year. As much as I love the losties, they are the stupidest bunch of people. So many heads and not one conjoined thought. Kate and Sawyer constantly wanting to "GO BACK". The love triangle is stupid. And they're constantly wanting to believe the "OTHERS",......they're not trustworthy. If I was double-crossed as much as they were, no way would I believe them. I say shoot 'em when 'ya have the chance. And Ben, I'd like to kick his face in once and for all... got great satisfaction when Rousseau punched his lights out. Would also like to drop kick and bitch-slap that smirk off Juliet's face. Doesn't she have another expression to use, duh!! I wouldn't trust her as far as I could spit. And lastly, poor Jack, what a mess he is. I wouldn't want that drunk junkie to operate on me. One strong man turned into a pathetic pile of crumbs. John Locke, now he's my hero. Can throw a hatchet better than anyone. Yippie, one less to deal with.
Can't wait for tonight!!!
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Jan 31, 2008 11:36 AM
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I find it hard to drum up interest in the show even with Matt's positive review. Like Gilligan's Island, the Prisoner and Voyager they've strung out the "will they find their way home" carrot far too long to keep my interest. I don't want to watch the Losties construct yet another banana radio or clamshell raft only to be thwarted, yet again. That surprise has long worn off.
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Jan 31, 2008 12:36 PM
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And if you don't shed another tear for Charlie as Hurley grieves for him, you're one hard-hearted Lost-ie.
Yes, Matt, that is what I was speaking to exactly. I was never really here nor there regarding Charlie, but damn if tonight doesn't make you really feel the impact of losing this original castaway. - MWM
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Jan 31, 2008 12:56 PM
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StonyG: what the h*ll show are you watching? Lost is nothing like how you described and we know they get off the island, that's not what this show is about. It's about the characters and the mystery's of the island itself. They don't need to make a banana radio, they have real sattelite phones and radios to boot. I think you've never actually watched this show, because there is no way you would compare it with the goofy shows you mentioned in your post. This show consistently surprises their viewers.
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Jan 31, 2008 12:56 PM
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