Lost: Michael Emerson interview, TVGuide tidbits

So it’s only two days away folks. That’s it. Lost: Season 4. Wow.

Actually if you think about it, you’ll work today, tomorrow and Thursday, which will make things go by in a flash. Then you have things like smoke breaks, lunch breaks and email breaks.

So it’s more like just a day from now.

Of course, if you count sleeping, it’s only really a few hours away.

And if you include Wednesday’s season 3 enhanced finale, then it’s practically already happened.

If you’ve come to know me like some of you have in the recent months, you can except a huge recap of the Lost: Season 4 premiere episode, along with whatever random thoughts I might have about it. If you can’t tell, I’m pumped and thrilled for it. There really is nothing like it on television.

So while you all are flipping out over having to wait even two more days for this event, I am here to give you some Lost tidbits just to wet your appetite and tide you over. Think of me like the fried calimari before you get your lobster.

Or whatever.

So the Palm Beach Post did an interview with Michael Emerson, who is Ben on the show and perhaps the best character Lost has ever added since it’s initial cast from the pilot.

(There might be some spoilerish stuff below, so be warned)

Here are some of the highlights of the interview:

Q: How do you think the strike will affect the show?
A: We have eight great episodes. The quality of the show is as high as it’s ever been and the fourth season isn’t going to be any kind of letdown at all. It’s strong, dark, bloody material and extra complex based on the new device they introduced in the finale last year.

Q: What can you tell me about the upcoming season and what’s going on with Ben.
A: What we’re gonna see in the show in general, no one has a home anymore. The castaways camp is destroyed. The Others have abandoned their village. Everyone is sort on foot and wandering the island like refugees in small bands. It’s unclear where leadership is or what their mission is. In Ben’s case, he’s a man without resources. Previously he had access to money and weapons and he had his own army and now he has none of that. Ben’s challenge will be how can he affect events around him using nothing more than his wit. He’s fairly well beat up at all times also.

We also have the introduction of some new and very frightening characters, which will alter the sympathy landscape of the show in very interesting ways.

And TV Guide did an article about the show, noting what episodes are left, what could likely happen if the WGA Strike doesn’t end soon and also…a promise that we’re in for a treat.

By the time production shut down shortly before Thanksgiving, only eight episodes had been shot. But with the network’s stash of scripted programming dwindling by the day, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson made the call to air what there is of Lost’s fourth season, starting January 31, in the plum Thursdays-at-9 slot previously occupied by Grey’s Anatomy. (McPherson also declined comment.)

Doing so will certainly allow Lost fans a long-awaited fix. But it also runs the risk of frustrating them, once again, if additional episodes can’t be produced. (Sources say that, even if the strike should end this month, it would be highly unlikely that all 16 episodes could be completed, and they certainly couldn’t air consecutively through May as originally planned.)

Still, there is good news. TV Guide has seen the season’s first four episodes, and they’re worth the wait. An emotionally satisfying, seamless blend of flash-forwards and flashbacks, the new installments provide gaspworthy plot twists that should whip fans into a theory-spinning tizzy.

There you have it…see you back on the Island in a few days.