ABOUT TEST PATTERN

Don't touch that dial: Test Pattern tunes into television, movie, music and pop culture links, as well as gossip and idle chat from around the Web.

Every week, msnbc.com entertainment producers Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, Denise Hazlick, Paige Newman, Kurt Schlosser and Anna Chan weigh in on topics ranging from TV commercials to movie hype to the latest celebrity blunder. We're not ashamed to admit our love for bad TV or reveal what's on our iPods, and invite you to join the conversation via your comments.



'Lost' news: An old face returns

Posted: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 9:48 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:

Comic-Con attendees, we're really sorry. Except maybe not so much. Once the TV critics at today's ABC executive session heard confirmation from network president Steve McPherson that the creators of the show "Lost" were going to be making a big announcement tomorrow at San Diego Comic-Con, it was as if the sharks had smelled blood in the water. Reporters harangued McPherson until an assistant came dashing out and whispered in his ear. (Stop reading here if you don't want a spoiler.)

Someone had contacted "Lost" creator Damon Lindelof and he gave ABC the OK to go ahead and feed the chum, er, the news, to the reporters and not save it for the comic-book fans. And here it is: Harold Perrineau, Jr., whose character, Michael, sailed off with son Walt at the end of season two, will be returning to the show next season.

That was pretty much it. No word on whether Walt and his powers will be back (though we assume dad and son are a package deal). No word on Michael's role, or how he'll be dealt with. After all, he left the island after confessing that he murdered Ana-Lucia in cold blood (no big loss to many fans) and oh, by the way, he killed Libby, too. He also left four of his supposed friends in the unkind hands of The Others, so Michael's hardly listed in anyone's Fave Five these days.

Apparently if you're in a room with a bunch of reporting sharks who have access to 200+ newspapers, Web sites and magazines, plus a couple of wireless microphones, you'd better think twice about trying to keep even a small secret, especially about a top-rated, mystery-laden show.

MAIN PAGE

Email this EMAIL THIS

Comments

This is really not a big surprise to anyone I could imagine. I think the majority of fans have felt from the beggining that the Lost Island is either Hell or Purgatory (which only got more and more convincing this season) and based on that, where could Micheal go? Damon Lindelof and Micheal Hughes would NEVER just let a character wander off like that on a show when even those Killed-off have at least come back as ghosts. It was Obvious to most that Micheal would return.. what's surprising to me is that they didn't bring him back at ALL in season 3. I figured he might've been part of the finale but only Walt was cast for getting Locke out of the body-pit. It was never a matter of IF, it was only a matter of WHEN.

Steven Menapache (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 1:40 PM)

Thank YOU!!!  What happened to Mike and Walt has been on my LOST questions list.  I'm so psyched!!  I'm so desperate for LOST news, this certainly helped ...

Landa (Philadelphia) (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 1:44 PM)

This is good news. We went a whole season without Michael and Walt.

Tracie, Jackson, TN (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 1:45 PM)

I expected Michael to make a return to the show, if only for two reasons: Walt came back in the last episode (in some form) and they're off the island. Who wouldn't go after this guy once they got home? Of course, we all know where this is heading, right? It was Walt in the casket in the last episode (it was smaller, the funeral parlor was in a black neighborhood) - he's going to fit in somehow.

Patrick, Minneapolis (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 1:51 PM)

I have been waiting for Walt to come back!  I don't care so much for Michael, he always seemed like an unnecessary character, but like it said, I guess they are a package deal.  There is still a lot left to be said about Walt and his powers.  After the redeeming qualities of the Lost finale, I am really looking forward to the next season.  And even more confused then ever...

Renewed Lost Fan Small Town, NJ (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 1:55 PM)

They actually explained Hurley's numbers during the LOST EXPERIENCE last summer. The numbers stand for the valentti equation (probably spelled wrong). Basically it is a math equation that predicts the end of the world and the purpose of the Hanso Foundation was to change the numbers to save the world.

Jason Schippers, Denver, CO (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:02 PM)

(SIGH).... it is NOT purgatory or hell.... positively, absolutely not.  Damon and Carlton have stated it over and over..... but a lot have speculated that Michael was in the coffin in the flash-forward.

Sue (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:07 PM)

Hurley's numbers were explained last summer in The Lost Experience.  

H (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:12 PM)

Michael's character definitely wasn't wasted.  I'm glad he's coming back.  I always felt he was as much a leader as Jack or Locke -- and without their baggage (Locke's a loner and Jack doesn't want to be a leader).  His interactions with both Sun and Jin were great, and he's the one who built the raft!  Even the murders of A-L and Libby were done to protect/get back his son.  Wish he'd smile more, hope he's not a bad guy (was he the funeral that no one would attend?), and poor Hurley's gonna hate him!

Jennie Lin, Ohio (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:12 PM)

It wasn't Walt..why would Kate be so negative about asking "why would I go to the funeral?"

chicago, il (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:14 PM)

Steven, don't be too quick to speak for the majority. That is one of the theories, but many Lost fans have 2 or 3 other theories about what's happening. That's one of the things that makes Lost great. Just when you have it figured out, they toss out a twist and it blows your theory out of the water. That said, I can't wait for next season. Will they stick with the flashbacks or continue with the flashforwards? Will they do both and leave clues to which time period they are in?

Bobbie. Springfield, OR (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:17 PM)

Ugh - god, please, stop spreading the Hell/Purgatory nonsense. Lindelof et al have repeatedly said that's absolutely not true. They know the fans would revolt en masse were they to go back on their word on that one - they're not that stupid. Please put it to rest. It isn't purgatory. It's not hell. They're not dead. End of matter.

Sheryl Sisk (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:17 PM)

I obviously dont know more then anyone else here, but somehow, I think that this entire story is the typical good vs evil storylyine, the issue being, who is evil, and who is good.

I think that we will find out that botht eht survivors and the others are the good guys, and that this other OTHER group is the evil ones.

Walt and Michael were probably with, inadvertantly or however, this new group of others, and they will probably play a role later on, and I would not be surprised that michael ends o=up dying in an attempt to save or free the other survivors.  A way to get foregiveness.

I do agree that it was probably Walt in the casket, and of corse no one there, no parents, and teh survivors probably resented his role or his fathers role from the island.

Anyways, this story needs to be more regular broadcasts, not a group of episodes once or twice a year.  This is ridiculous.  Like what, not enough money if they actually give us what we want???

Bill

Bill, Monrovia, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:25 PM)

I'd read that the plan was to explain what happened to Michael and Walt in Season 4, so this makes perfect sense.

Kathi, Portland, OR (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:27 PM)

Sigh.  We've known for YEARS that the island is not Purgatory.  The writers have said so, a thousand times.

e in tx (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:34 PM)

As a big fan of LOST, I have one thing that nags me.  What ever happened to the full season tv shows.  This making 4 to 6 epesodes at a time and letting us hang while they repeat the same epesodes might be good for the producers bottom line, but makes me get close to giving up waiting.  The long gaps in the Sepranos for instance is what really blew the rythem of the show and is why so many fans lost the initial super intrust we all had.  At least there is new ideas being presented on LOST and not just rehashed plots.  But if you took the book I was really into away every time it got me inthrawled and made me wait to get it back, I can just say the book would lose some of its luster.  Lets have a full season for a change if anyone from the show is reading these coments, I know I am not alone.

Tim (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:51 PM)

I love watching Lost, I can't wait till the new season begins but I'm still so sad that Charlie had to die. Please bring him back!




















N. Texas (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:57 PM)

If it was Walt in the casket - why wouldn't Kate have gone and why wouldn't anyone else be there?  That doesn't fit.

Cathy, Houston, TX (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:01 PM)

TPTB have said over and over the island is not hell nor is it purgatory

Dedelstein NY NY (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:03 PM)

This is not news.  The shows creators have already stated that Michael and Walt would return - they just didn't say when.

Rob K, San Diego, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:12 PM)

I know I know I know.. the idea of Hell or Purgatory was shot down in season 1.. I KNOW the producers emphatically denied it was the case over and over again, but at the same time they keep giving us scenes like Lockes' Father telling Sawyer he was whacked and woke up there and they're in HELL, and the Helicopter Pilot (who probably died in her landing) saying they discovered the plane and Everyone was DEAD.. if they dont want people to think that why do they keep feeding us details that would completely support it? My guess is that was the shows intent in the beggining and people simply caught on too quick so they HAD to deny it to leave people guessing (which is Obviously Lost's Strength). So maybe they're just trying to throw as many other possibilities out there, hoping that people ignore and forget that possible conclusion so when the end finally comes it can be explained that way with at least a Little surprise to it.

Then again, they really put a damper on that idea by forwarding to the future with Jack and Kate. (Hey, maybe they made a deal with the devil to return :))

But anyway... Hell or not, I think everyone was in agreement that Micheal would return. Even if only in Ghost form.

What WOULD be Shocking is if they brought back Arnst. ("Dude... you got some Arnst on your shoulder.")

Steven Menapache (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:30 PM)

I wish they would show reruns over the summer in case we missed any shows.

Marcia, Buffalo, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:37 PM)

Regarding Charlie's death: We didn't actually see him die. Any place where Locke's Dad / Sawyer's nemesis can appear "out of nowhere" could easily allow Charlie to disappear "into nowhere." The writers have a zillion ways to save him and bring him back, whether on the island or in the flash-forwards. Perhaps Charlie survived, got away from the island, and is working with Elvis at a (Kwix-E-Mart remodeled) 7-11 in Wyoming (just for grins, as he is rolling in dough from a Swiss bank account, into which is periodically deposited royalties from Driveshaft media sales, which have skyrocketed since the news of his "death").

The small casket in the flashforward seemed too small for Walt, who was growing up as we watched and would doubtless be bigger in the flashforward future. Maybe Claire's kid was inside, and perhaps the reluctance of people to go to the funeral had to do with some perfidy of Claire's, to be revealed later, or with their own, such that it caused Aaron's illness or injury. For instance, suppose that Kate's and Jack's efforts led not just to the rescue of everyone from the island, but the NECESSITY for everyone to leave the island, never to return. Then suppose that the strange aura around the island had been the only thing keeping Aaron (and perhaps also Claire) alive and healthy (remember, "the Others" were surprised that he and Claire didn't die in the first place). Not being able to return to the island would doom Aaron, for which Jack and Kate would share great guilt and become personae non grata to Claire, assuming that she survived as well; perhaps she was also dead by the time of the flashforward, or incapacitated via terminal illness.

Well that tears it! Now I'm all worked up from new-season theorizing! Let's make with the fresh episodes already! ;-)

James Anderson Merritt (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:39 PM)

no way charlie is dead, he will be back

ny, ny (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:39 PM)

Folks, this is off-topic a bit, but I record Lost on my DVR and missed about 6 shows this summer when they changed the time!  Does anyone know if these shows are available online anywhere?  I've been hoping they would rerun some during the summer, but they haven't since the finale, and I've just been waiting in mid-stream ...  Any suggestions are appreciated!  

Len, San Diego CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:55 PM)

I hope Michael comes back to get murdered by Hugo, the cowardly yellow traitor, son or not!!!

Make him pay writers!!!

Darah, Dublin, Ireland (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:58 PM)

Tim...don't think you need to worry about them breaking up Lost's season this year.  They will not start showing new episodes until JAN or FEB '08, and then will the full 18-episode season straight thru, with no repeats.

As for Walt and Michael...it will be hard for the castaways to accept Michael back in to the fold, especially Hurley, who lost the great love of his life to Michael's murderous treason.  As for Walt, how are they going to explain that he's grown 18 inches and his voice got deep in the 90 days they've been on the island?  Maybe Walt and Michael will only return in the flash-forward episodes, not on the island.

Steve, Tucson, AZ (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 3:58 PM)

I think that it's actually not Walt in the casket, Locke didn't appear to be a "towering" man, and wanted the least to get off of the island.  I think that it's Locke in the casket; he was a loner with no family left, and he was a "rogue" also with his own agenda.  Can't wait to see Michael come back!

Megan, Corona CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:07 PM)

I doubt Walt will be back, just because of the way time works on the show.  You can have a show that covers three months over three years if the cast is all adults, but it'd be hard to pull that off with a pre-teen boy going through puberty.  (Hey, how did Walt grow six inches in the past two days?).  Even when he appeared to Locke, he looked a lot older, and it sounded like they had to mess with his voice to make him sound like a kid.

K, Pittsburgh, Pa (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:18 PM)

Isn't Perrineau shooting "Demons" for CBS next season? I'm betting it's temporary.  I say he'll return for a few-episode arc then adios...just enough to wrap up his story and get all the scoop on what happened to him with the Others and where the ship really was able to sail off to at the end of season 2.  Walt will continue on, though.  

Sean, New York, NY (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:33 PM)

I think Charlie will reappear.  If the one-eyed dude can inexplicably keep coming back to life, why can't anyone else?  And I agree it's not hell or purgatory, unless you consider being alive on earth as being in hell, but I do think whatever is going on is will have one helluva metaphysical bent.  The psychic powers, seeing the dead, the one-eyed guy coming back to life THREE times now, Locke being able to walk, the lack of cancer until Ben finally got it (and there will be an explanation for why he got it)...

Septenary (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:50 PM)

I don't think Charlie is dead.  He will swim through the blown open port hole and save himself and Desmond.  Lost is awesome.  I can't wait for next season.  ABC, are you listening?  Stop fooling with the schedule and bring Lost back soon!

Gary L. Michigan (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:53 PM)

Why didn't Charlie just swim out of the porthole.  He should be skinny enough.

SIP (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 4:59 PM)

N. Texas,
It's Lost! Of course Charlie will come back!

Steve, Lincoln, Nebraska (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:05 PM)

it's michael in the casket and this proves it. he finds his way back to the island and that's why jack is so upset that he's dead (in the flashforward)....he wants to go back and the only person who knows how to go back is michael.

besides the obit read that whoever was in there had a teen age son.

JR (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:21 PM)

Did anyone else catch the line when Ben was trying to convince Jack not to call for help in the finale?  He said "every LIVING person on this island will die."  Living ordinarily would be assumed, right?  So maybe the island is some place where the living and dead meet, which actually would explain quite a bit.  But that's not purgatory or hell.  

Dan, Santa Monica, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:33 PM)

From what little you can decipher of the obituary Jack was reading, whoever was in the casket had a name starting with the letter 'J'...not walt or michael...i need a LOST fix!!!

Derek, Las Vegas (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:36 PM)

The actor that plays Charlie asked to be released from his contract because he felt he was being under utilized.

Sheriff, Springfield, Missouri (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:36 PM)

I think it is Ben in the casket

BJ Milwaukee, WI (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 5:40 PM)

I love Lost. Let me just say that first before I say this: Some of you dudes need to slow down your typing or get a proof reader. "Inthrawled?" Really?
"Intrust?" Is that like "interest?" A piece of advice. www.webster.com. Don't ever stop learning.

Spelly McSpell, Spelltonia, Spellaska (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 6:26 PM)

It's got to be Sawyer in the casket.  Of all the cast on the island, Kate would have more reasons than anyone to go to the funeral.  Jack could have spoken with anybody about the funeral, but his discussion was with Kate.  Jack-Kate-Sawyer = love triangle.  Got to be Sawyer.

Ryan, Phoenix (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 6:41 PM)

When Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) comes back, it will only be in the flash-forwards so it will explain his growth.  I'm glad they're coming back because this show is running out of minority actors:  Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (slammed into a tree by smoke-monster), Michelle Rodriguez (shot in the chest), Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro (paralyzed and buried alive), Marsha Thomason (knife in the back).  Sun, Jin, and Hurley better have their agents on speed-dial.

Scott, New York (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 6:47 PM)

I saw today that the guy who plays "Richard" (You know, I never age, spooky eyes,got Ben to help kill all the darma people)is going to star in a new series on another network.  I hope this does not mean LOST has lost his contract and we won't find out anymore about his character

Kevin D. Cleveland, Ohio (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 6:51 PM)

I think Cooper's allusion to 'we're in hell' was the show's producers poking fun at the fans who thought they were in hell/purgatory.

Also, I think we'll find out in season 4 that there are some large corporations like Widmore(PLEASE tell me you fans are keeping up THAT much) who have full knowledge that the crew of 815 is on the island.  This is where the plane with all the dead bodies came from (conveniently placed in a 5 mile deep chasm in the ocean)

Joe Johnson,Denver,CO (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 6:51 PM)

The name of the dead person in the obituary did start with the letter J but that makes it more likely it was Michael. Remember from season one we found out that Michael was his middle name and that is what he went by. His formal name probably starts with a J.

Steve Smith, Phoenix, AZ (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:00 PM)

I wish Lost would get lost.  The characters have no values, so they'll do anything...all in an environment that doesn't follow most normal physics.  Not much intrigue if ya ask me.

Betty, Fullerton, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:14 PM)

You people are hard up for some "news".  This is not the least bit surprising.  Hang in there till the new year, peeps.

Santa Klaws, Norf Powl (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:40 PM)

I thought Cooper's line about Hell was great.  It says something deliciously sinister about the people who abducted him out of thin air just so he could regain concsiousness right in time to be murdered in the ruins of an 18th century slave ship beached miles inland on a far away, hidden, tropical island by his supposedly "dead" son and the son of one of his random victims from over 20 years ago.  I think most people would have the delusion that they were in hell if that happened to them; he kind of went insane.

For me, I'm excited for the rest of the series to start putting the conspiracy elements of the story together so we can find out how the characters fit into it all -- Widmore, Hanso, etc.

Lianne, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:43 PM)

Love Lost...can't wait for it to come back..

Betty, if you don't like it...why did you read the article and feel the need to post here?  

Deb, Boston Mass. (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 9:20 PM)

The ost Experience isn't tied directly to the show (or at all) -- isn't the right?

John Doe, Seattle, Wash. (Sent Wednesday, July 25, 2007 10:19 PM)



SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.): 

 Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private)

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=289645

More Test Pattern

Recent Posts:

Archives:

Categories:

Links

Syndicate This Site

Add Test Pattern to your news reader:
live.com xml
myyahoo msn
bloglines newsgator
google

MSNBC Weblogs