Lost (season 4)

infobox tvseason
show_name = "Lost"
season_name = Lost": Season 4


caption = Tagline: The wait is over
country = USA
network = ABC
first_aired = January 31, 2008
last_aired = May 29, 2008
dvd_release_date = Region 2: October 27, 2008
Region 1: December 9, 2008
dvd_format = Widescreen boxed set, Blu-ray Disc set
num_episodes =
prev_season = 3
next_season = 5|The antepenultimate fourth season of the American serial drama television series "Lost" commenced airing on the American Broadcasting Company Network in the United States, [ABC Medianet, (March 21, 2007) " [http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=032107_03 Fourteen Early Pick-Ups Announced for the 2007–08 Season] ". Retrieved on July 7, 2007.] 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 forty people who have been stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific, after their airplane crashed more than ninety days prior to the beginning of the season. [ABC Medianet, (January 14, 2008) " [http://www.abcmedianet.com/assets/pr/html/011408_17.html Feeling That Their Rescue is Imminent, the Survivors Ponder Charlie's Final Message that the People Claiming to Liberate Them Aren't Who They Seem to Be] ". Retrieved on July 7, 2008.] According to "Lost"'s executive producers/writers/show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, there are two main themes in fourth season: "the castaways' relationship to the freighter folk" [Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (February 20, 2008) " [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20179125_4,00.html "Lost": Mind-Blowing Scoop From Its Producers] ", "Entertainment Weekly". Retrieved on July 10, 2008.] and "who gets off the island and the fact that they need to get back". [Albiniak, Paige, (February 24, 2008) " [http://www.nypost.com/seven/02242008/tv/10_reasons_why_lost_is_found_98856.htm Ten Reasons Why "Lost" is Found] ", "New York Post". Retrieved on March 17, 2008.] "Lost" came under scrutiny from critics in its third season, but the fourth season was hailed for its flashforwards, pace and new characters. [Ryan, Maureen, (January 29, 2008) " [http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/01/lost-shockers-a.html "Lost"'s Fab Start to Season 4, and a Chat with Co-Creator Damon Lindelof] ", "Chicago Tribune". Retrieved on January 30, 2008.]

The season was originally planned to contain sixteen episodes; eight were filmed before the start of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. [Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (November 5, 2007) " [http://weblogs.variety.com/wga_strike_blog/2007/11/lost-writers-li.html "Lost" Writers: 'Like Putting Down a "Harry Potter" Book in the Middle'] ", "Variety". Retrieved on November 8, 2007.] Following the strike's resolution, it was announced that only five more episodes would be produced to complete the season; [Andreeva, Nellie, (February 12, 2008) " [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i11eaec8a171fba49e3e855a2e1ad8636 Stage Set for Cuse] ", "The Hollywood Reporter". Retrieved on February 13, 2008.] however, the season finale's script was so long that network executives approved the production of a fourteenth episode as part of a three-hour season finale split over two nights. [Dos Santos, Kristin, (April 11, 2008) " [http://ca.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=f829fe61-db84-45e4-a1b5-8d4fb4e1a28f Exclusive! Three-Hour "Lost" Season Finale Over Two Nights] ", E!. Retrieved on July 11, 2008.] Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release 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; [Lambert, David, (April 22, 2008) " [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Lost-Season-4/9460 Get "Lost" Again this December] ", TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on July 7, 2008.] however, it will be released earlier—on October 20, 2008—in Region 2. [Amazon, (June 29, 2008) " [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001BJARYI "Lost" Complete Series 4] ". Retrieved on July 14, 2008.]

Crew

The fourth season was produced by ABC Studios, Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse served as the season's show runners. [Keller, Joel, (January 15, 2007) " [http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/01/15/abcs-show-runners-talk-about-pitching-network-notes-and-inter ABC's Show Runners Talk About Pitching, Network Notes, and Internet Scrutiny] ", TV Squad. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.] The show was primarily filmed in Hawaii with post-production in Los Angeles. [Brislin, Tom, (January 25, 2007) " [http://www.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/uhnews?20070125092747 UH Academy for Creative Media, "Lost", Create Student Internship Program] ", University of Hawaii. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.] 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, [Frutkin, A.J., (March 1, 2007) " [http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/networktv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003552276&imw=Y ABC Signs "Lost"'s Kitsis, Horowitz to Three-Year Deal] ", "MediaWeek". Retrieved on June 15, 2007.] 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. [Andreeva, Nellie, (July 12, 2007) " [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3idb81209fbb0303b6e71bc9da645caacb Williams to stay "Lost" at ABC Studios] ", "The Hollywood Reporter". Retrieved on August 17, 2007..]

Cast

The fourth season featured sixteen 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 call "the Others", and a threatening team from a nearby freighter. Matthew Fox stars as Dr. Jack Shephard, the leader of the castaways. Jorge Garcia plays Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, one of Jack's fellow survivors of 815. Elizabeth Mitchell portrays Juliet Burke, a woman recruited by the Others who joins the 815 survivors in the third season and becomes involved in a love square with Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Evangeline Lilly stars as fugitive Kate Austen. Jeremy Davies plays Daniel Faraday, a socially awkward physicist from the freighter. Terry O'Quinn plays John Locke, an 815 survivor with a deep connection to the island. [Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (May 11, 2007) " [http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/podcast?dt=20070511 Official "Lost" Podcast] ", ABC. Retrieved on August 31, 2007.] Josh Holloway portrays the sardonic 815 survivor James "Sawyer" Ford. Naveen Andrews acts as 815 survivor Sayid Jarrah, a former soldier of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Emilie de Ravin portrays single new mother Claire Littleton of 815. Michael Emerson acts as Ben Linus, the leader of the Others. Rebecca Mader acts as anthropologist Charlotte Lewis from the freighter. Daniel Dae Kim plays the non-English speaking Jin Kwon and Yunjin Kim plays his pregnant wife Sun. Henry Ian Cusick plays Desmond Hume, a man who has been living on the island for three years and sometimes time travels beyond his control. Ken Leung portrays Miles Straume, an arrogant medium from the freighter. Harold Perrineau acts as 815 survivor Michael Dawson, who returns after escaping the island aboard the freighter undercover for Ben as a deckhand.

The show always features guest stars. Jeff Fahey plays the freighter's helicopter pilot Frank Lapidus, while Kevin Durand acts as Martin Keamy, the 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 who sends the freighter to the island. Mira Furlan portrays Danielle Rousseau, an 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 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. Dominic Monaghan and Cynthia Watros appear in hallucinations as Charlie Pace and Libby.

Reception

Quote box
quote = "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."
source = — Reviews website IGN [Carabott, Chris, (June 6, 2008) " [http://tv.ign.com/articles/879/879782p1.html "Lost": Season 4 Review] ," IGN. Retrieved on July 8, 2008.]
width = 25em
align =right

Don Williams of BuddyTV dubbed "The Beginning of the End" "the most anticipated season premiere of the year" [Williams, Don, (January 31, 2008) " [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/lost-episode-41-the-beginning-16266.aspx "Lost": Episode 4.1 'The Beginning of the End' Live Thoughts] ", BuddyTV. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.] and Michael Ausiello later called the final hour of "Lost"'s fourth season "the most anticipated 60 minutes of television all year." [Ausiello, Michael, (April 11, 2008) " [http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Ausiello-Scoop-Lostgreys/800037370 It's Official: "Lost" Finds Extra Hour… But There's a Twist!] ", "TV Guide". Retrieved on July 8, 2008.] American critics were sent screener DVDs of "The Beginning of the End" and "Confirmed Dead" on January 28, 2008. [Goodman, Tim, (January 30, 2008) " [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/01/30/DDAFUO57I.DTL Want to Get "Lost"? There's Still Time as Season Starts] ", "San Francisco Chronicle". Retrieved on February 2, 2008.] "Metacritic" gave the season a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select twelve critical reviews—of 87, [Metacritic, (January 31, 2008) " [http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/lostseasonfour "Lost" (ABC): Season 4] ". Retrieved on February 16, 2008.] earning the second highest Metascore in the 2007–2008 television season after the fifth and final season of HBO's "The Wire". [Metacritic, (January 6, 2008) " [http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/wireseason5 "Wire, The" (HBO): Season 5] ". Retrieved on July 8, 2008.] 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". [Krukowski, Andrew, (July 6, 2008) " [http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/07/favorites_hold_fast.php Favorites Hold Fast] ", "TVWeek". Retrieved on July 7, 2008.] The May 7, 2007 announcement of a 2010 series end date and the introduction of flashforwards were received favorably by critics, [ABC Medianet, (May 7, 2007) " [http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=050707_01 "Lost" to Conclude in 2009–10 Television Season] ". Retrieved on July 31, 2007.] as were the season's new characters. [Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt", (February 13, 2008) " [http://www.ugo.com/tv/lost/?cur=rebecca-mader Rebecca Mader "Lost" Interview] ", UGO Networks. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.] The season earned "Lost" two Television Critics Association Award nominations for "Program of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Drama", although it lost to AMC's "Mad Men". [Television Critics Association, (July 19, 2008) " [http://tvcriticsassociation.com/tca/?q=node/516 AMC Scores First-Ever TCA Awards with Top Honors] ". Retrieved on July 24, 2008.]

While the first episodes of the season were an improvement over the late episode of the third season, the fourth season generally continued "Lost"'s decline in ratings. The season premiered with eighteen million American viewers, giving "Lost" its highest ratings in seventeen 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 thirteen million,Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (April 10, 2008) " [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190415_3,00.html Secrets from the Set!] ", "Entertainment Weekly". Retrieved on July 8, 2008.] setting a new series low. [Williams, Don, (March 24, 2008) " [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/lost-season-4-suffers-ratings-17888.aspx "Lost" Season 4 Suffers Ratings Decline] ", BuddyTV. Retrieved on April 19, 2008.] The next episode and midseason premiere climbed slightly to fourteen million, [Seidman, Robert, (May 12, 2008) " [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/12/idol-greys-lost-housewives-and-the-office-lead-weekly-dvr-viewing/3728 "Idol", "Grey's", "Lost", "Housewives" and "The Office" Lead Weekly DVR Viewing] ", TV by the Numbers. Retrieved on May 13, 2008.] but the episode after that set the current record for lowest-rated episode in the United States with thirteen million people watching. [Seidman, Robert, (May 19, 2008) " [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/19/idol-greys-house-lost-desperate-housewives-and-the-office-lead-total-dvr-viewing/3828 "Idol", "Grey's", "House", "Lost", "Desperate Housewives" and "The Office" Lead Total DVR Viewing] ", TV by the Numbers. Retrieved on May 20, 2008.] The finale was seen by fourteen million, reaching the most viewers since the midseason premiere and making it "Lost"'s worst finale yet, ratings-wise. [Hibberd, James, (June 3, 2008) " [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i58f212ecd7895426c5fc6b38ab6cc5f7 ABC's "Lost" Puts on a Show] ", "The Hollywood Reporter". Retrieved on July 8, 2008.] Despite the decline in viewers, "Lost" consistently ranked within the top twenty 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. [Moore, Frazier, (June 3, 2008) " [http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2008/06/03/5762991-ap.html ABC's "Lost" Finds Itself on Top] ", Associated Press. Retrieved on July 8, 2008.] ABC's president Stephen McPherson commented that he would "love to see the show grow … the reality is that the numbers are pretty good."

Episodes

"Series #" refers to the episode's number in the overall series, whereas "Episode #" refers to the episode's number in this particular season. "Featured character(s)" refers to the character(s) who is centered on in the episode's flashbacks or flashforwards. "American viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episodes live or recorded them and watched them within seven days of broadcast. A clip-show recapping the first three seasons titled "Lost": Past, Present & Future" preceded the premiere. [ABC Medianet, (January 14, 2008) " [http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=011408_16 A Look Over the Past Three Seasons will Attempt to Shed Some Light on Where the Survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are and if Rescue Truly is at Hand] ". Retrieved on January 20, 2008.]

References

* [http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=recap#t=46481 Episode recaps] at the official ABC website