Live LOST show a lovefest

If you were lucky enough to attend the "Times Talks Live: LOST" show tonight at local movie theaters, you probably walked out feeling like you got your $12.50 worth.

The New York Times' Lorne Manly (who wrote last week's excellent feature, "The Men Who Made ABC's LOST Last") played host for showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The New York audience of LOST fanatics, like the ones in Dallas, cheered, applauded and hung on every word as the writer-producers discussed the creative process behind their cult hit.

Halfway through, actor Michael Emerson, who plays devious Ben Linus, walked onstage unannounced and joined the chat. Later, actor Jorge Garcia, who plays lovable Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, also strolled on to a storm of huzzahs.

Damon and Carlton dropped a couple of hints about who and what we might see in Sunday's finale. (Will there be a Star Wars reference in the first seven minutes? Damon says yes!) They discussed a few choice scenes that were shown, including Penny and Desmond's phone call from "The Constant."

But the best moment came at the end, when we got to see a short clip from the series finale. No spoilers here, but we'll just say that it hinted at the possible appearance of a beloved character we haven't seen since the Season 5 finale.

Lindelof, Cuse, Emerson deliver the Top Ten last night on Letterman

Here's a peek that just includes a few of the Top Ten spoilers (not really) for the series finale. One is about Betty White another is about creepy Ben dialogue.

LOST's Emerson: S6 eps so far are 'dark and bloody'

In a recent interview with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Lost star Michael Emerson describes the ordeal that is the Emmy Awards, and talks just a little bit about Season 6.

No spoilers from him, of course, because the producers are being more careful than ever about letting out any details about the show's final season. (Not a single scene from the new season is supposed to be used in pre-season promotional clips.)

Six episodes of shooting are in the can, and Emerson says he's "had some vintage Ben stuff already" -- but he can't figure out how the series will end: "It's still so opaque."

Michael Emerson wins an Emmy!

Michael Emerson, who plays devious Benjamin Linus on LOST, won an Emmy Award last night for best actor in a supporting role in a dramatic series.

According to a wire report, the actor -- who joked that he fears the unemployment that he's facing in about 12 months when the ABC drama series ends -- said he has always enjoyed his scenes with Terry O'Quinn.

"Very often the scenes between Ben and John Locke are dangerous and electrical in a way that delights me. They feel theatrical and I like that," said Emerson, who collected the best supporting actor in a drama Emmy in his third attempt.

Addressing the Jacob story line, Emerson added that he didn't know if Ben really killed him: "I don't know if Jacob is killable; Ben stabbed someone, or it seems like he did. That's what I know."

AP PHOTO: Michael Emerson with his wife, actress Carrie Preston, backstage with his Emmy Award. If Carrie looks familiar, it's probably because she has been on LOST in the role of Emily Linus, Ben's mother.

LOST and Emerson get Emmy nods

It's great to see Lost back on the Emmy nominations list for Oustanding Drama Series, and equally nice to see the fabulous Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) up for an award as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

In both categories, the competition is fierce. The other nominees for best drama are Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Big Love, Damages, Dexter and House. (I've watched four of those six and can tell you they are all super shows.) The other nominees for best supporting actor in a drama include two of my personal faves, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul and Mad Men's John Slattery, either of whom also are worthy rivals for the award, IMHO. Other supporting-actor nominees are Damages' William Hurt and Boston Legal's William Shatner and Christian Clemenson.

Only thing I'm not so happy about is that I would have loved to see a couple more Losties nominated in the supporting categories. As EW.com's Michael Slezak points out, both Josh Holloway (Sawyer) and Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) deserved the recognition for the great work they did in Season 5.

UPDATE: In the non-acting Emmy categories, show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are nominated in Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, for "The Incident." (You'll recall, that was the two-hour season finale.) Team Darlton's competition? Four different episodes of Mad Men.

In the technical categories, "The Incident" also is nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing (for a one-hour comedy or drama) and for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series.

The 2009 Emmy Awards will be broadcast on CBS Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8 PM.

What did you think of the finale?

UPDATE: Here's Doc Jensen's review of the episode. It's definitely worth reading.

So, they're all dead? Or did they save themselves? So much to ponder and break down.


Did Jack's plan work?


Will next season mirror season one? Will the plane still crash? Or will they board Ajira and crash later in time?


There's no way they're done with the island. Or that it's done with them. Of that, I'm certain.


And so now that guy in the beginning of the show is Locke or in Locke's body? Or has Locke always been that guy?



Will the hiatus, as Michael Emerson (aka Ben) predicted, make you eat your soul?


What do you think is coming in Season Six? Claire will return. We've already learned that.


Discuss!

What is the "fork in the outlet" and will it make the audience "eat its own soul?"

NO SPOILERS HERE!


The showrunners are calling this season's game changer the fork in the outlet, as we told you in an earlier post.

What do you think it is? How will it change the show forever?

E!Online is reporting that Michael Emerson (aka Ben) is saying: that the ending is : "enough to keep an audience eating its own soul for the whole hiatus."

We've had the bagel and the snake in the mailbox. Both weren't literal.

But last season's frozen donkey wheel certainly was.

Speculate in comments!

What did you think of 'Dead is Dead?'

What did you think of the episode?

Ben and Locke, well really Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson, have great chemistry.

The question continues, can the Losties stuck in the 70s change what will happen in the future. What do you think?

What's the code for the game changer in the season finale?

NO Spoilers

We've had the bagel. And then there was the frozen donkey wheel.

What's the code for this season's game changer, you ask?

How about "the fork in the outlet," says Watch With Kristin at E!Online.

Last year we had a literal frozen donkey wheel.

Any guesses what the fork in the outlet could be? Post in comments!

Watch with Kristin's guess: Sounds like the Losties are going to be messing with the electromagnetic power of the Island, to return to the future or to unleash the metal-shavings monster.

Michael Emerson's (aka Ben) guess: "I think it all has something to do with metallic dust. I think the smoke monster is connected to that ring of powder that surrounds Jacob's cabin. They've established that there are supermagnetic forces at work on the Island, so what better medium for those forces to work through than through fine filings of metal."

TV Best in Show

Over at Entertainment Weekly, Michael Ausellio has named his TV best in show for 2008.

Lost was a runner up for Best Drama Series (The Shield Won) and Michael Emerson was the runner-up for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. ( Walton Goggins of The Shield won.)