First, thank you all for the recent notes concerning issues with the comments system. I have, hopefully, fixed quite a few things. Here is what I looked at:
1) Losing Post Info - this was the fault of the wysiwyg editor. If you got an error and hit back space, you lost your comment. That will no longer happen.
2) Too Many Comments - this error is often because the captcha was entered incorrectly. It was occurring excessively because the codes were expiring too fast. I gave them a longer life.
3) Remember me button - Never worked anyways so it is gone.
This should address most of the problems. I’ll be installing a new comment system shortly that will interface with the forums section, keep your fingers crossed.
If there are further issues, please let me know. Unfortunately, I was not aware of these issues so I was operating off the assumption that everything was cool.
Mediaweek is reporting that ABC is planning on keeping it’s current Wednesday night line up of Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, and Dirty Sexy Money come mid-season, all but closing the book on Lost returning to Wednesday.
The article was particularly about how well these shows would fare against American Idol, and apparently ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson is overjoyed with the line-ups success. It is the first time a block of new programming has seized key demo dominance since the early 80’s.
Dirty Sexy Money is performing below Lost in total viewers, but above Lost in the right ‘kind’ of viewers. I guess Lost fans don’t buy anything.
The article looked at ABC’s lineup of new programming extensively. In short, there aren’t many failures. Meaning the only naturally available time slot, which has been rumored to be under consideration for sometime, is Monday at 8:00pm. But McPherson is still not committing to it. When Lost was mentioned, it was briefly and in parentheses:
"(McPherson noted that if the lineup stays, it leaves ABC hit Lost as a "wildcard asset" that may end up being scheduled on another night when it returns in midseason.)"
For the full article, follow this link.
I’ve known about this for around a week and got the okay this afternoon to share the info: The Lost Season 4 Premiere will be shown at "Sunset on the Beach" the first Saturday in February on Oahu.
I’m told that Sunset on the Beach is typically out of season during this time, but tradition is calling and Lost fans lucky enough to be in Hawaii will be able to catch the season 4 premiere on the big screen outdoors.
In the past the entire cast has attended, and unless I’m mistaken has even performed a tune or two. All Tailsection readers who plan to attend should drop me a line or leave a comment here and enter your real email address and we’ll try to arrange some sort of meet.
Last year, Lost premiered season 3 about 4 days ahead of the air date. There is still no clear air date for season 4, and no pattern between the 3 Sunset events to logically assume when it will be returning.
UPDATE: Just a little background on the info. I was not given the okay by "Lost’s creators" to announce this as has been previously printed by my friends at Lostpedia. I was aware of the date through some casual contact with the Lost folks and asked Lost’s publicity masters if the date had been announced. They replied that it was not anything they usually "announce" through the media, so it was okay to go ahead and talk about it. Sorry to say, I still don’t qualify for "earth shattering announcements."
The season three edition of the very well done ‘Finding Lost’ series from ECW press has been released. I’ve had an opportunity chat with the writer of the book, Nikki Stafford, and the interview has been posted here.
Nikki also has a fine TV blog and has posted a contest where she will be giving away a copy of "Finding LOST." You definitely want to check it out, and if you love TV in general you’ll find Nikki’s blog to be an entertaining day to day read.
I’m one of the last Lost bloggers to chime in on this because, frankly, I’m not that worried about. The fact is, a WGA strike means the studios won’t be making much money, so they are going to do everything in their power to avoid that happening.
A lot of alarmists are looking at the 90%+ approval from strike like a weather forecast, it’s not. That number is a clear message to the studios that the writers mean business and that they need to be ready to make concessions when negotiations begin.
The contract expiration date, as many have pointed out, is NOT the date the writers would strike. It is the date they would typically return to negotiations with the studios. If they don’t like what they are offered, then they may strike.
The awesome thing is this is all about new media, and Lost’s co-producer Carlton Cuse is a member of the negotiating committee. What uniquely qualifies Cuse to negotiate is the fact that Lost being the multi-branded property it is, they have already tackled most of the new media challenges internally. Lost is essentially a model for how to end the disagreement.
Another thing that is helpful for Lost fans, is that production has been rolling full steam ahead and there is enough slack time for Lost to stay on its repeat free schedule by the time any strike issues rear their head. As I write this they are, I believe, wrapping episode 7. That’ a lot of episodes folks. If anything, the strike would impact shows currently on the air and isolate Lost and it’s mid-season brothers and sisters as the only thing ‘new’ on television. It could be a good thing.
But personally, I trust the forward thinking of Cuse will shine through at the negotiating table. Look at all the innovations that have occurred with Lost’s production.
I just want to say I was humbled by the outpouring of support that helped make the trip to Oahu happen. There were several factors that seemed to come together and a huge part of it was the generosity of this community. TTS readers raised around $800 for the trip total.
What you don’t know is that at the end a benefactor stepped in and offered to sell me Delta Sky Miles at a huge discount to cover airfare for the rest of my family. In addition, despite the complications with the last minute preparations, I came into what I like to refer to "Pennies from Heaven," or unexpected money.
As a result, it only seems right with this good fortune to repay everyone’s kindness by refunding the donations that were made prior to the trip. Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be issuing a refund to everyone who contributed to the fund with great thanks and enthusiasm for the opportunity to do it. If I could hug each and everyone of you, I would. So stand by, it’s coming back at ya. 
Patience is a Virtue
In the world of Lost, not all locations are what they seem. For instance: Anthony Cooper’s house in Dues Ex Machina is a house alright:
But in reality, the house does not have a two car garage, or a security booth. Those were added to the house by the Lost crew. Why add a garage? Who knows. Artists. Pshaw.
Below is a familiar stretch of dock. This is the dock where the Galaga loads and unloads. Unfortunately, the Namaste sign was taken down.
Just a few hundred feet from the pier is the building that stood in as the bar where Eko went all Jason Vorhees.
And to give you a feeling of how often they re-use locations, the house also served as the interior of Jin’s father’s house in "The Glass Ballerina." The ‘clean’ spots are where the crew had hung shelves and sprayed ick on the wall.
It was an interesting place to visit. My guide, Ed Kos of Hummer Tours, told me there were indeed more than one VW buses on the grounds, which was kind of cool. Before I could snap more pictures of the location, the sub showed up to whisk us off to our next location.
The one big learning from my trip to Oahu is this: The Lost cast and crew are willing to put their lives in danger to bring you the best possible locations. Seriously, some of the locations are nearly unreachable, and a few pack some pretty serious dangers. Take the Lana’i Lookout coast. This is the beautiful yet bizarre patch of eroded lava coastline where Desmond killed Kelvin. When you arrive you are greeted by this sign:
And believe me, this isn’t just window dressing. My host from
Lost Virtual Tour warns me to lookout for loose sand, slip on that stuff and you’ll keep going. But the scariest danger is the waves. My buddy from LVT tells me to be mindful of wet spots, those are areas where waves have surged, and they come with enough retractable force to pull you back into the ocean. Think the danger is overstated? Check out
this tale of doom. Shorediving.com says this about the location: "Lana’i Lookout is not for the faint of heart. It is for ‘extreme divers’ only. Fortunately, not too many novices find their way to this extremely challenging spot."
Death at locations like this are all too common an occurrence. But the Lost crew, and your ever intrepid DocArzt, are undaunted. That’s right folks, I hopped the barrier.
Once over the rock wall that separates the steep shoreline from the parking, you need to remain vigilant for the patches of black sand. My friend from LVT brushes his shoe back and forth in a patch to demonstrate. It’s not actual beach sand, it’s eroded lava rock. When you hold it in your hand it resembles tiny rounded pebbles. Indeed, as I make my way down, I ‘roll’ forward on a few occasions. A full out fall could carry you right into the water.
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Abandoned |
 Live Together, Die Alone
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 The Other 48 Days
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Once you are down there, the sense that you are standing in the very location where Desmond offed Kelvin is dwarfed by the natural beauty of the coastline. It is a moment of Lost geekism wrapped in a rare moment of awe.
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From the shoreline looking back, you can get a sense for how inhospitable the terrain is. There are easier ways up, and down, of course, but make no doubt about it, the Lost guys definitely endured some serious risks to bring you this iconic locale.
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When you enlarge the picture above, you can can see that the dangerous slippery sand is everywhere. Being a certified diver myself, I’ve hung out with some of the ‘extreme’ types that shore diving refers to. You would definitely need to be crazy to scuttle your butt all the way down.
A big thanks to Lost Virtual Tour for bringing me to this location, if you have not visited their site you definitely should. And to this credit, he navigated the terrain like it was his back yard! Granted it was to some degree, but without his confidence and adept navigation I probably couldn’t have done it. Scary stuff.
My good friend DarkUFO reported on the availability of a season 1, 2, and 3 DVD box set. I inquired with my sources at ABC and, unfortunately, the set will not be available in NTSC on the American market. Big bummer.
Now before you get too depressed, keep in mind that if you have a region free DVD player you can still buy the set. If nothing else it will look good on a mantle.
Personally I have the UK season 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 sets. They are exactly the same content wise, but just having the extra boxes is kind of cool.
