Carlton Cuse Talks Post-Strike Plans
In an interview yesterday with TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello, Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse again confirmed that the goal is to produce five additional episodes for the end of season 4, bringing the total to 13. He also revealed some other interesting information about when we can expect the episodes and what this means for next season.
One of the questions asked was whether the new episodes would be done by the time the eighth episode airs, therefore leaving us without a gap between episodes. Cuse confirmed that would be impossible, saying, "No, there’s probably going to be four weeks between the airing of the first batch of episodes and our new episodes.
It’s also possible that this scheduling mess could cause trouble when it comes to securing the show’s guest stars. "There are a lot of issues that have to get sorted out," Cuse confirmed. "We’re also in the middle of pilot season. We’re kind of figuring out what has happened to all of our actors who have gone on to do other things. Literally, there are cobwebs on the couches in the writers’ room. Call me in a couple of days and I should have more answers for you."
As for what will happen to the three leftover episodes that won’t be part of season 4, Cuse said, "Damon and I remain committed to producing the 40 additional hours of the show that we promised. We haven’t figured out exactly when we’ll put those other three on, but we’re not eliminating them from the show. You will get those three episodes downstream."
Cuse also confirmed that they haven’t figured out what they’ll cut from the season to narrow things down to 13 episodes. It’s quite possible that he’s having that conversation with Damon Lindelof as you read this.
Is this a good thing for Lost? As much as I’d love to have the complete 16 episode season we were promised, I have faith that the writers will find some way to condense the story they need to tell. This may just end up being the greatest season of the show yet.
I think it will end up well. They clearly have a good overall plan, so mixing it up won’t hurt anything, and it may actually make the end product better than it would have been sans-strike. Take Star wars. Most people think The Empire Strikes Back was the best of the Star Wars films, but it didn’t turn out as originally planned: important scenes were cut, and an entire sequence was filmed to explain the scars on Mark Hammill’s face (earned in a motorcycle accident). Jaws is praised for the fact that the shark is rarely visible, but this happened only because Spielberg had to change his directing style when the shark prop failed to work as planned. I’ve always mused that the Star Wars prequels would have been a lot better if Lucas hadn’t been able to do everything he wanted with them. Sometimes shaking things up results in a more surprising an interesting piece of entertainment.
Comment by Ed Holden — February 13, 2008 @ 7:04 am
Nice post, Ed. While I definitely think the writers are up to it, I’m still a tad bit leery of condensing 3 episodes. I’d prefer a longer break between the “new” episodes this season if it meant getting the rest of the episodes, but I still think it’ll turn out fine
Comment by Ryan — February 13, 2008 @ 8:07 am
There is another rumor going around saying they will do a complete 16 episode season.
Comment by Sean — February 13, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
é eles na fita e nois no dvd
Comment by weverton — November 16, 2008 @ 2:21 pm