Cast of TV’s ‘Lost’ aiming for exciting third season

August 17, 2006

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Stars from the TV show "Lost'' did not give away secrets last night about the upcoming third season, but they were enthusiastic about the new episodes.

The producers "want the first six (episodes) to set up something really big to keep people hanging,'' said Jorge Garcia, who plays Hurley on the hit ABC show.

In a soggy, subdued red-carpet affair last night at Turtle Bay Resort, Buena Vista Home Entertainment officially announced the release of its second-season DVD and unofficially ushered in a media campaign on the show’s third season. The DVD, with a suggested retail price of $59.99, goes on sale Sept. 5.

Cast members O’Quinn, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and Michael Emerson joined producer Carlton Cuse and others on last night’s red carpet, fielding questions from reporters.

"We have a very, very hungry fan base,'' Garcia said. "Expectations are high for the new season, especially with the six episodes up front and the 17 in a row at the end.''

In response to fan complaints about the frequency of reruns last season, "Lost'' will air six new episodes to start Season III, break for two months, then return with the final 17 new episodes.

"We saw a statue with four toes on it, so there’s a lot to discuss,'' Kim said, hinting at the upcoming plot.

O’Quinn said the expectations that grew out of the show’s breakthrough first season may have given way to something new following the dark, twisting paths the show’s plot followed last year.

"The expectations are very different,'' O’Quinn said. "I get the feeling that people want to change gears, to ramp (the show) back up a little bit.''

O’Quinn said the show’s behind-the-scenes chemistry remains in flux with the subtraction of Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros and a new group of characters on the way.

"Last year, we were like a pack of dogs, a herd of wild horses,'' he said. "You bring in something new, something smells different. When Michelle and the girls came, we felt we had been invaded because we were such a close-knit, well-defined group. But once we got subjected to making that adjustment, when the next group came in it wasn’t difficult at all.''

Last night’s event was tame compared to last year’s Season I DVD launch — perhaps a reaction to the mixed reviews last season's complex plot lines received from TV critics or to its highly publicized snub in the Best Series category of this year’s Emmy Awards. But Buena Vista hopes the legions of "Lost'' fans will help the Season II DVD match the success of Season I, which sold more than a million units (second only last year to "Chappelle’s Show: Season 2'').

Last night's event, held at the resort’s Ola Restaurant, was a far cry from the extravagant send-off Buena Vista gave its first-season DVD box set last year. Back then, reporters from around the world were shuttled to a remote corner of the Turtle Bay property and dropped off in a torch-lit forest, with dinosaur growls piped in and a jungle-themed disco erected for the after-party.

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