Castaway drama ‘Lost’ returns to its roots

For a moment there, “Lost” seemed to have gotten lost.

It started hot, a show that was big and bold and different. ” ‘Lost’ has broken a lot of rules,” producer Carlton Cuse says. “(It has a) large, sprawling cast and complicated, complex storytelling.”

And then, for a while, it faded from the spotlight. Only six episodes have aired this season and they focused on a hostage situation that provided an odd plot detour.

Now “Lost” returns tonight and nudges back toward its original story.

“It happens immediately coming into the new episodes,” co-creator Damon Lindelof promises. “We’re spinning back to the beach community.”

That’s where “Lost” started in September 2004. An airliner crashed on the beach of a strange island and survivors faced a new life.

“Our show plays on a very profound, deep level of post
9/11,” producer-director Jack Bender says. “You know: ‘How do we all survive in a community of strangers?’ ”

It was a bold theme but there wasn’t much time to work on it. ” ‘Lost’ came together very, very quickly,” Lindelof explains.

Some complex storytelling was needed in a hurry. The second season spent a chunk of time on “The Tailies,” people from the tail section who landed on another part of the island. This third year began last fall by focusing on “The Others,” who lived on the island prior to the crash. Then three main characters — Jack, Kate and Sawyer — were taken hostage by them.

“The captivity stuff was very, very intense,” says Matthew Fox, who plays Jack. “But I’ve really enjoyed the story line.”

Other cast mates, however, have found themselves with mixed feelings. Many of the main actors had little to do in those six episodes.

“As actors we like to act,” says Jorge Garcia, who plays Hurley. “(But) like any job, sometimes you also like a week off.”

The show is filmed in Hawaii, a fine place to have time off. Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie, has spent much of his time surfing. “Usually we can get four or five days off at a time,” he says.

Still, the actors say they’d rather be working. “The good news is that this isn’t our last season,” says Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin.

Now the show moves back to its main story. As the six-episode stretch ended, Jack (a surgeon) had Ben (leader of The Others) on the operating table. He used that advantage to force the release of Kate and Sawyer.

Everything promptly changes, Lindelof says, “as a result of what Jack does.” Now the original cast will get more screen time.

Along the way, however, fans will get to know these other characters better. They include:

# Ben, leader of The Others. Michael Emerson was signed to do three episodes and has stayed around. “I always (felt), ‘If all goes well, this could turn into something,’ ” he says.

# Juliet, another of The Others, with a soft style and a steely soul. “I think she is warm and nurturing,” says Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays her. “But she also knows what she has to do”

# Desmond, the guy who was inexplicably down in the hatch, pushing a button every 108 minutes. More inexplicably, he seems to know something about the future. His story will become clearer in the Feb. 14 episode, says Henry Ian Cusick, who plays him.

Cusick is a Scotsman who was born in Peru and spent much of his childhood in Trinidad with international playmates along the beach. It may have been the ideal background for his current role. “We have this very international cast,” he says.

“Lost” has a deeply layered story — the kind that is popular in other countries. But “Lost” is done in an epic, U.S. style. “Only in America do you do this,” Cusick says. “You learn to do it big.”

For the “Lost” producers, anything is possible. Flashbacks seem to span the globe — Korea, Australia, the U.S. and more. All are filmed in Hawaii.

For the start of this season “Lost” needed a little, cookie-cutter village where The Others live. “That actually is a YMCA camp,” Bender says. “Our production designer was able to make it more dharma-esque,” he says referring to “The Dharma Initiative” a research project begun on the island long before the plane crashed.

That’s the “Lost” style — international angst in the jungle with confusion, hope and despair, plus strangers in a Dharma-esque village. And now the show is returning to its original style.

Florida Today

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