Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse Talk LOST Season 5

With the return of LOST only a little over a month away, fans will have the opportunity to reconnect with their beloved castaways when the DVD set of LOST Season 4 hits the streets next week. I attended a roundtable today where a couple of special features were presented from the DVD set, followed by a question and answers session with LOST co-producers/writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. Needless to say, while the upcoming release of Season 4 on DVD and BluRay (scheduled for December 9th) was the purpose of the q&a, both men were more than happy to discuss what was coming in season 5 of LOST.

The first feature was one that made its way around during Comic Con, featuring Cuse and Lindelof doing a flash forward of their own. The bit is to advertise the existence of an episode length compilation of the flash-forwards told in a chronologically correct fashion. Cuse appears with an Obama "Four more years" T-shirt, while Damon sports an eye patch, the result of an angry fan responding to a plot twist by ‘gouging' Lindelof's eye out.

Speaking of upset fans, I asked the duo about how they would address the sense of disconnect die-hards are expressing over having half of the ensemble on the island and the other half trying to get back. Lindelof replied "We're concerned, too! I think everyone, writers and fans alike, feels the show is at its best when our characters are together… but the fact of the matter is that the story is constantly twisting and turning to keep them apart. Let's face it - Absence makes the heart grow fonder… but there's nothing sweeter than a reunion. All we're willing to say at this point is that if we were to spend the ENTIRE duration of Season Five with the Oceanic Six trying to get back to the island, we are fully aware that the audience would strangle us."

Both men hinted at what is already widely known, LOST's fifth season will feature trips across time as well as space. I asked them if it was liberating to have the science fiction aspects out of the closet. "It actually IS liberating… but at the same time, the show constantly forces us to evolve. We CAN'T go back to the ambiguity of Season One because our characters have experienced so much since then. Carlton and I often talk about the STAND… how the story starts with something scientific, an epidemic that kills of 99% of the world's population… but slowly and steadily transforms into a mystical tale where people are having prophetic dreams… and finally, LITERALLY ends with the hand of God coming out of the sky and setting off a nuclear device. Our story has always been about a journey… but just because we're embracing some of the more fantastical aspects of the island, doesn't mean we're completely abandoning the science vs. faith of it all."

During the question and answer segment we were treated to a second extra from the season 4 set. A skeptical mockumentary questioning the reality of the downed Oceanic 815. The film takes a conspiratorial tone in echoing many of viewers questions about the various gaffs in continuity, everything from Hurley's ability to maintain his figure to Jack's closely cropped hair. OBGYN's weigh in on Kate's ‘pregnancy,' while air crash experts point out the various problems with the filmed crash wreckage and bodies.

Of course, the biggest reason to buy LOST season 4 is the ability to watch the show on 1080p through the BluRay format. LOST is broadcast in 720p through most outlets, and the shows numerous natural locations and award winning photography make it ideal for the format. When I asked when we could expect the first two seasons to get the BluRay treatment, Carlton Cuse replied "We have heard of no plans to go back and re-release seasons one and two on bluRay. But if I were a betting man I'd lay down a lot of money that you'll be ale to buy a complete series blu-Ray box set when all is said and done."