Paley Fest 2014: A Flashback to Lost

“We have to go back!”

When those words were uttered on the ABC juggernaut series Lost by Dr. Jack Shephard (series lead Matthew Fox) at the end of the “Through the Looking Glass” third season, two-hour season finale on May 23, 2007, viewers of that show sat in shock. Up until that point viewers were all-too-familiar with the flashbacks to the back-stories of the multitude of characters in this international hit. But, this was the first time we were subjected to a flash-forward.

Uttering similar words at this past weekend’s Lost 10th Anniversary Reunion at Paley Fest 2014, actor-comedian Paul Scheer yelled “We have to go back to talk about this show!” and off we went on a journey back to one of the most groundbreaking series ever to grace our TV sets.

It was on September 22, 2004 that a little show called Lost aired its series premiere on ABC, earning over 18 million viewers; and quickly became one of the most talked-about, buzzed-about, what-in-the-hell-is-out-there, TV shows.

The cast that graced the stage at the Dolby Theatre for the big reunion included a very grown up Malcolm David Kelley (who played 10-year old Walt Lloyd), Henry Ian Cusick (who played reluctant hatch occupier Desmond Hume), Maggie Grace (who played spoiled Shannon Rutherford), Ian Somerhalder (who played Shannon’s step-brother Boone Carlyle), Yunjin Kim (who played the presumed submissive wife Sun-Hwa Kwon), Jorge Garcia (who played lottery winner Hugo “Hurley” Reyes) and Josh Holloway (who played con-man James “Sawyer” Ford). Also on stage were the show’s executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

With ten years behind them, lots of stories to possibly tell and a few insights to share, the creative minds and cast got down to business remembering Lost. Here are the highlights of what they had to say about the show that made them all a household name across the globe:

When did they know that the show was such a hit?

Josh shared that he went grocery shopping after working out at the gym and while he was immediately recognized in that store, the girls he encountered weren’t so happy with how “gross and sweaty” he was. He learned to never show up at the grocery store like that again!

What items did they steal from the set?

While none of the panelists would admit to outright stealing anything, they did share the following:

Damon: “The cover of the hatch may have been made into a coffee table”.
Carlton: “The countdown clock from the hatch may have made it into my home”.
Josh: “I kept the boots”.
Jorge: “Two paintings that Hurley made at the mental institution might have ended up with me”.
Yunjin: “A couple of dresses from Sun’s flashbacks”.
Maggie: (Jokingly) “A tennis-themed prom dress might have gone with me”
Malcolm: “I took home great memories”.

The island casualties:

Boone was the first Oceanic 815 crash survivor to lose his life on the island; and Ian shared that he learned about three weeks to a month beforehand the fate of Boone, sharing that “I was the first one cast and the first one to die”. And with that thought in the minds of all the cast members, Yunjin shared that she “relaxed once Sun got pregnant”, feeling confident at that point that they wouldn’t kill Sun if she was expecting a baby. In that same vein, the original plan was to introduce Jack Shephard only to have him be killed in the pilot, but after receiving a note from the executives at ABC, the writers quickly realized that if they were to do that “the viewers would never trust them again”.

Creating characters on the fly:

A number of the characters that ended up in the show were actually created after the actors who auditioned for the show auditioned for other parts. “There was no Sun in the Lost script” shared Damon Lindelof. “Jorge read for Sawyer because Hurley didn’t exist…and Yunjin read for Kate because there was no Sun”.

Characters that just DIDN’T work:

Damon and Carlton were well aware of the fan fervor to learn more about the other survivors on the island who were always seen in the background, but who never got to go out on the island adventures. The much reviled Nikki and Paolo (actress Kiele Sanchez and actor Rodrigo Santoro) came out of that fervor, but early on the creative team realized (as quickly as the fans did) that they just weren’t working. They went about correcting that “horrible mistake” by killing them off in the episode entitled “Expose”.

What was the ending all about?

Much can be said about the two-hour finale of Lost with many fans loving it while just as many hating it. But when Damon and Carlton were asked about it the answered honestly:

Carlton: “The show was about people who were lost in their lives” and he and Damon agreed, after much discussion, that the ending should be spiritual.

Damon: They decided to “solve a mystery we never asked: What’s the meaning of life and what happens when you die”?

No matter how you felt about the six seasons of Lost, any of its characters (good, bad or otherwise) or that controversy and hard-to-figure-out series finale, the ABC series was one of the best programs on TV ever. And, it will keep people talking for decades to come.

What are your best memories of Lost? Which character did you like best? Who was your favorite couple? And, what is your opinion about that ending? Please share your thoughts below.

[Photo Credit: Dominick Dusseault]