Lost_season_4

<i>Lost</i> season 4

Lost season 4

Season of television series


The fourth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the ABC network in the United States,[1] and on CTV in Canada on January 31, 2008, and concluded on May 29, 2008. The season continues the stories of a group of over 40 people who have been stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific, after their airplane crashed there more than 90 days prior to the beginning of the season. According to Lost's executive producers/writers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, there are two main themes in the fourth season: "the castaways' relationship to the freighter folk"[2] and "who gets off the island and the fact that they need to get back".[3]

Quick Facts Lost, Showrunners ...

The fourth season was contemporaneously acclaimed for its flash-forwards, pace and new characters.[4] Retrospective reviews have been more critical of the season, and later seasons of Lost as a whole.

The fourth season aired Thursdays at 9:00 pm from January 31 to March 20, 2008, and at 10:00 pm from April 24 to May 15, 2008. The two-hour finale aired at 9:00 pm on May 29, 2008. Buena Vista Home Entertainment (under the ABC Studios label) released the season on DVD and Blu-ray Disc under the title Lost: The Complete Fourth Season – The Expanded Experience on December 9, 2008, in Region 1;[5] however, it was released earlier—on October 20, 2008—in Region 2.[6]

Production

The season was originally planned to contain sixteen episodes; eight were written before the start of the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.[7] Following the strike's resolution, it was announced that only five more episodes would be produced to complete the season;[8] however, the season finale's script was so long that network executives approved the production of a 14th episode as part of a three-hour season finale split over two nights.[9]

Writer's strike cut material

Three episodes were cut from the second half of the season. A Ben-centric (Michael Emerson) flashback[10][11] (later repurposed as a flash-forward), and a Charlotte-centric (Rebecca Mader) flashback,[12][13] are two known scrapped episodes from the season's original back half. It is unknown whether the back half of the season was changed slightly, or significantly.

Mader admitted her character's storyline got "completely cut" in general because of the strike. She joked:

"It all went wrong for me after that so, looking back, I selfishly wish that hadn’t happened. I wanted to be Charles Widmore (Alan Dale)’s daughter. I think it would have been brilliant if I’d been a bit more intrinsically linked to all of that – and he was played by Jim from Neighbours".[12]

Shortly before production of the fourth season began, Michael Emerson disclosed on a podcast that Annie (played by child actor Madeline Carroll) would return, and viewers would see her adult appearance.[10] This is set up in the episode "The Other Woman", as Harper Stanhope (Andrea Roth), Juliet's therapist, remarks she looks "just like her", the "her" being an adult Annie. This is further teased in the episode's enhanced caption. Annie's identity for Harper's comparison was confirmed by Lindelof in a 2010 podcast (which implies Ben's mother (Carrie Preston) was a red herring).[14] Harper's reappearance was also affected by the strike.[15]

Showrunner Damon Lindelof also revealed at San Diego Comic Con 2007 they planned to show how Ben got caught in Rousseau's trap by accident and what he was doing on the other side of The Island (as it was left ambiguous whether it was intentional or not).[11] They also expressed a desire to show his motivation for participating in The Purge. But neither storyline panned out. Speculation arose from fans, and Emerson who portrays Ben himself, that Annie may be a character the viewers are already familiar with.[16]

There was also plans to resolve Libby's backstory in two further episodes after her appearance to Michael (Harold Perrineau) as an apparition.[17][18]

Other cut material includes further development following the reunion between Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan) and Alex Rousseau (Tania Raymonde) after being reunited for the first time in 16 years since Alex's abduction.[citation needed] Though Furlan stated in her posthumously released memoir that they chose to kill her character off out of spite after she asked for better accommodations with her schedule after facing mistreatment on the set, hence why the reunion storyline was ignored.[19]

Crew

The fourth season was produced by ABC Studios, Bad Robot and Grass Skirt Productions. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse served as the season's show runners.[20] The show was primarily filmed in Hawaii with post-production in Los Angeles.[21] Lindelof and Cuse's fellow executive producers were co-creator J. J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and Jack Bender. The staff writers were Lindelof, Cuse, co-executive producers Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, and Drew Goddard, supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff, co-producer Brian K. Vaughan and executive story editor Christina M. Kim. The regular directors were Bender and co-executive producer Stephen Williams.[22]

Cast

The fourth season featured 16 major roles with star billing. The show continues to chronicle the lives of the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815, including their interactions with the island's original inhabitants, whom they refer to as "the Others", and an inauspicious team from a nearby freighter. Characters are briefly summarized and credited in alphabetical order.

From left to right: Sawyer, Sun, Jin, Claire, Ben, Jack, Kate, Desmond, Sayid, Hurley, Locke, Michael, and Juliet

The show regularly features guest stars. Jeff Fahey plays the freighter's helicopter pilot Frank Lapidus, while Kevin Durand acts as Martin Keamy, the sinister leader of a group of mercenaries from the freighter that included Anthony Azizi's character Omar. L. Scott Caldwell and Sam Anderson return as 815 married couple Rose Henderson and Bernard Nadler. John Terry appears as Jack and Claire's deceased father Christian Shephard. Marsha Thomason returns as Naomi Dorrit, the first person from the freighter to appear on the island and Marc Vann plays Ray, the ship's doctor. Alan Dale acts as Charles Widmore, the man responsible for sending the freighter to the island. Mira Furlan portrays Danielle Rousseau, a marooned island inhabitant of sixteen years, who is reunited with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Alex, played by Tania Raymonde; Blake Bashoff plays Alex's boyfriend Karl. Nestor Carbonell is Richard Alpert, the ranking Other while Ben is held in captivity. Grant Bowler acts as Gault, the captain of the freighter, Kahana. Fisher Stevens and Zoë Bell play George Minkowski and Regina, two crew members involved with communications. Lance Reddick's character Matthew Abaddon is introduced as a mysterious man with connections to Naomi, Hurley and Locke.

Former regular cast members return for guest spots. Malcolm David Kelley reprises the role of Walt Lloyd, Michael's son, in both flashbacks and flashforwards. Cynthia Watros appears in a hallucination scene as deceased survivor Libby. She was initially contracted to return for multiple episodes in the season to explore the character's mysterious backstory, but this was scrapped due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.[23]

Reception

Critical reception

"With … a clear finish line in 2010, the creative team could now focus on telling their story without having to worry about how many episodes they had left to work with. Season four is the first to benefit and delivers a faster paced and leaner story that expands the Lost universe in some unexpected ways and delves into the mystery that was introduced at the end of last season."

— Reviews website IGN[24]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 88% with an average score of 8.6/10 based on 25 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Lost regains its mojo in a fourth season that reaffirms the show's place as one of TV's most unique undertakings."[25]

Time named Lost the seventh best television series of 2008 and praised the fourth season for "complicat[ing] [Lost's] time-and-space-travel story deliciously".[26] Don Williams of BuddyTV dubbed "The Beginning of the End" "the most anticipated season premiere of the year"[27] and Michael Ausiello later called the final hour of Lost's fourth season "the most anticipated 60 minutes of television all year."[28] American critics were sent screener DVDs of "The Beginning of the End" and "Confirmed Dead" on January 28, 2008.[29] Metacritic gave the season a score—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select twelve critical reviews—of 87,[30] earning the second highest score in the 2007–2008 television season after the fifth and final season of HBO's The Wire.[31] In a survey conducted by TVWeek of professional critics, Lost was voted the best show on television in the first half of 2008 "by a wide margin", apparently "crack[ing] the top five on nearly every critic's submission" and receiving "nothing but praise".[32] The May 7, 2007 announcement of a 2010 series end date and the introduction of flashforwards were received favorably by critics,[33] as were the season's new characters.[34]

Awards and nominations

The fourth season was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, with one win, for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour). The series was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, its second nomination in that category since the first season, while Michael Emerson received his second consecutive nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. It also received nominations for Outstanding Cinematography for a One-Hour Series, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series.[35]

The season earned Lost two Television Critics Association Award nominations for "Program of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Drama".[36] The season also was nominated for a 2008 Writers Guild of America Award in the category of Dramatic Series.[37]

Ratings

Throughout the fourth season, Lost continued to slip in the ratings. The season premiered with 16 million American viewers, giving Lost its highest ratings in 17 episodes; however, the size of the audience steadily decreased throughout the season. The eighth episode, which served as the mid-season finale as a result of the writers' strike, brought in 11 million,[38] setting a new series low.[39] The next episode and midseason premiere climbed slightly to 12 million,[40] but the episode after that set the current record for lowest-rated episode in the United States with 11 million people watching.[41] The finale was seen by 12 million, reaching the most viewers since the midseason premiere and making it Lost's lowest-rated finale yet.[42] Despite the decline in viewers, Lost consistently ranked within the top 20 programs of the week with one exception. The finale topped the chart, due to its broadcast being over a week after the official end of the television season. Entertainment president Stephen McPherson commented that while he would "love to see the show grow … the reality is that the numbers are pretty good."[38]

Episodes

The number in the "No. overall" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "Featured character(s)" refers to the character(s) who is centered on in the episode's flashbacks or flashforwards. "U.S. viewers (million)" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episode as it was aired. A clip-show recapping the first three seasons titled "Lost: Past, Present & Future" preceded the season premiere episode.[43]

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Home media

More information Lost: The Complete Fourth Season – The Expanded Experience ...

References

  1. "Fourteen Early Pick-Ups Announced for the 2007–08 Season" (Press release). ABC. March 21, 2007. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  2. Jensen, Jeff "Doc" (February 20, 2008). "Lost: Mind-Blowing Scoop From Its Producers". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  3. Albiniak, Paige (February 24, 2008). "Ten Reasons Why Lost is Found". New York Post. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
  4. Ryan, Maureen (January 29, 2008). "Lost's Fab Start to Season 4, and a Chat with Co-Creator Damon Lindelof". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  5. Lambert, David (April 22, 2008). "Get Lost Again this December". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  6. "Lost – Season 4". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  7. "Lost Writers: 'Like Putting Down a Harry Potter Book in the Middle'". Variety. November 5, 2007. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
  8. Ausiello, Michael (February 13, 2008). "Exclusive: Lost Boss Outlines Revised Season 4 Plan". TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  9. Dos Santos, Kristin (April 11, 2008). "Exclusive! Three-Hour Lost Season Finale Over Two Nights". E! Online. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  10. Jimmy Acquino (June 13, 2007). "Comic News Insider: Episode 93 — Michael Emerson". Comic News Insider (Podcast). Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  11. Jack Bender (director); Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse (writers, commentators) (May 29, 2008). "There's No Place Like Home: Parts 2 and 3, DVD commentary". Lost. Season 4. Episode 13 & 14. ABC.
  12. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (March 11, 2010). "Official LOST TV Show Podcast Full - Seasons 2-6". Internet Archive (Podcast). ABC. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  13. Ausiello, Michael (February 12, 2008). "Exclusive: Lost Boss Outlines Revised Season 4 Plan". TVGuide. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  14. DiNunno, Gina (February 17, 2009). "Lost's Michael Emerson: "We May Already Know Annie"". TVGuide. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  15. Jensen, Jeff, (January 31, 2007) "The Isle Files Archived 2019-07-24 at the Wayback Machine", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on August 19, 2007.
  16. Ausiello, Michael, (September 20, 2007) "Lost Resurrects Libby!", TV Guide. Retrieved on September 20, 2007. Archived November 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Furlan, Mira (July 29, 2023). Love Me More Than Anything In The World: Stories About Belonging. Kindle: Gajic & Furlan Enterprises, Inc. Kindle Edition. p. 658-664.
  18. Keller, Joel (January 15, 2007). "ABC's Show Runners Talk About Pitching, Network Notes, and Internet Scrutiny". AOL TV. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  19. Brislin, Tom (January 25, 2007). "UH Academy for Creative Media, Lost, Create Student Internship Program". University of Hawaii. Archived from the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  20. Andreeva, Nellie (July 12, 2007). "Williams to stay Lost at ABC Studios". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  21. Ausiello, Michael (September 20, 2007). "Lost Resurrects Libby!". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  22. Carabott, Chris (June 6, 2008). "Lost: Season 4 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  23. "Lost: Season 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  24. Poniewozik, James (November 3, 2008). "Top 10 TV Series of 2008". Time. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  25. Williams, Don (January 31, 2008). "Lost: Episode 4.1 'The Beginning of the End' Live Thoughts". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  26. Ausiello, Michael (April 11, 2008). "It's Official: Lost Finds Extra Hour… But There's a Twist!". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  27. Goodman, Tim (January 30, 2008). "Want to Get Lost? There's Still Time as Season Starts". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  28. "Lost: Season 4". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  29. "The Wire: Season 5". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  30. Krukowski, Andrew (July 6, 2008). "Favorites Hold Fast". TVWeek. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  31. "Lost to Conclude in 2009–10 Television Season" (Press release). ABC. May 7, 2007. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  32. Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt" (February 13, 2008). "Rebecca Mader Lost Interview". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  33. "Lost". Emmys.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  34. Sassone, Bob (June 3, 2008). "2008 Television Critics Association Awards nominees announced". AOL TV. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  35. McNary, Dave (December 8, 2008). "TV trio rack up WGA nominations". Variety. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  36. Jensen, Jeff "Doc" (April 10, 2008). "Secrets from the Set!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  37. Williams, Don (March 24, 2008). "Lost Season 4 Suffers Ratings Decline". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  38. Seidman, Robert (April 25, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Thur, Apr 24: New CSI and Grey's Are Back, and Down Over Last Year". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  39. Seidman, Robert (May 2, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for May 1: Where Are The TV Viewers Going?". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  40. Hibberd, James (June 3, 2008). "ABC's Lost Puts on a Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  41. Seidman, Robert (February 1, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings – Jan 31, 2008: ABC Gets LOST". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  42. Seidman, Robert (February 7, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Thursday, Feb 7: Lipstick Jungle? Get Lost!". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  43. Seidman, Robert (February 15, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Thur, Feb 14: Lost & Survivor". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  44. Seidman, Robert (February 22, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Thur Feb 21: Can FOX Be Stopped?". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  45. Seidman, Robert (February 29, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Thur, Feb 28: FOX Cannot Be Stopped". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  46. Gorman, Bill (March 7, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings for Thur, Mar 6: Fox Youth Wins, Age Loses". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  47. Seidman, Robert (March 14, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Thur, Mar 13: CBS Pulls in a Win, Lost Rules 9pm". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  48. Seidman, Robert (March 21, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Thu, Mar 20: NCAA No Deal for CBS?". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  49. Seidman, Robert (May 9, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 8, 2008: Trouble in Shonda-land?". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  50. Seidman, Robert (May 16, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 15, 2008: More Trouble for Shonda and CSI". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  51. Seidman, Robert (May 30, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings May 29, 2008: LOST Season Finale Wins For ABC". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2012.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Lost_season_4, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.