The line for Hall H this morning was full of Dharma Initiative T-shirts and fan spouting crazy theories. It's time for the Lost panel! I've got the wifi working on my side for once, and I'm going to do my best to bring you every revelation or awkward moment as it happens. Of course we probably won't learn anything of substance-- executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are notoriously tight-lipped about even the slightest spoilers. But odds are we'll get some random hints, a cast member cameo, and a trailer showing off what we have to look forward to when the show comes back in January. Let's do this!
11:05 We open with an ad for something called LostUniversity.org, which appears to be an online university for continuing education in Lost. Looks... um, strange.
11:06 Next up is something much more typical Lost-- a teaser for an episode of the obscure 80s TV show "Mysteries of the Universe." They're examining the Dharma Initiatve, and five episodes of the show are available at abc.com starting now, presumably. Go there!
11:10 Damon and Carlton take the stage, and declare that the theme of today's panel is "Fan Appreciation." To prove it, they introduce a montage of fan parties and fan-made videos, which include some pretty hilarious stuff-- a Brokeback Mountain-themed trailer about Jack and Sawyer, a Lost episode acting out with dolls in which Hurley kills the Yankees, and more.
11:16 To prove that they're not making it up as they go along, they've locked the final two pages of the season in a box, and after the finale has aired, they will open the box on Jimmy Kimmel Live to prove that it's verbatim. No way to prove it, but I like the idea behind it anyway.
11:17 The audience member who asks a question that contains a secret word will win a prize, and special music will play. I love the sense of fun in this.
11:18 Fan questions begin. What will be the similarities between Season 6 and Season 1? "The greatest moment in the show's life was when we were able to announce the show's death," Damon says. "There's a good chance thaty ou'll be seeing many characters that you haven't seen since the first season again." Woooooo!
11:21 Paul Scheer, from Human Giant and a million other comedies, is at the mic! He's got Lost inspired art to show off. It's a velvet painting of Damon and Carlton hugging a polar bear! "You guys make us feel with our eyes and our head. And velvet is the same way!" 11:22 I don't think Damon and Carlton know who Paul Scheer is. But you can find more of his art at DamonCarltonandaPolarBear.com. It's a real site!
11:24 Faraday will be back on the show next season! But he will also be dead, and will not be married, unless you like zombie weddings.
11:24 "The time travel season is over, the flash-forward is over. We have something different planned." So we're not being told if there will be flashbacks to childhood in season six.
11:26 Some fans have written a new Lost theme song and we're gonna hear it!
11:31 They just showed us fake commercials for Oceanic Airlines, Hurley's Mr. Cluck chicken restaurant and an "America's Most Wanted" episode dedicated to Kate.
11:32 Looks like Kate's stepdad might not be dead after all!
11:35 Jorge Garcia is at the microphone asking whether they'll ask all the questions, and whether the scene of him at the chicken restaurant mean Jack's idea worked and the first five seasons didn't happen. They don't answer, but then Michael Emerson shows up, and he and Jorge have a standoff about the fact that Michael auditioned for the role of Hurley. And then we see the audition footage! I have the video, I'll post it as soon as I can.
11:39 Richard flashback scene in the final season!
11:40 Elizabeth Mitchell will be in the final season! But it seems that Juliet is probably dead.
11:42 Bob Stencil, who has asked a question at every panel so far, shows up to ask about time paradoxes and fake a nosebleed. And then his constant is a Dharma beer! And they they have his own T-shirt, with the Bob Stencil hatch!
11:43 A guy asks if Jacob's evil friend is named Esau. Michael Emerson gets to answer, and he basically hedges-- "That might be too much, but I like the way you're thinking."
11:44 Behind the scenes video of Nestor Carbonell, who plays Richard Alpert, applying his eyeliner! "This is cobalt. I asked for onyx!" Hilarious. And now Alpert himself is on the stage. This is awesome!
11:45 A guy dressed as Hurley, complete with Dharma jumpsuit, asks about the Dharma food drops. "It comes from planes," answers Jorge Garcia. But they'll actually answer this in the final season!
11:47 Another guy dressed as Hurley asks about the Dharma Initiative. We won't be seeing them as much next season. "We won't be as Dharma-ed out," Damon says.
11:49 The magic word is Claire! And the guy who said it wins a bird with the original "Par Avion" note tied to it.
11:50 And the guy's question is whether Jacob has appeared to the characters in the guise of someone else, such as Claire. And the answer is no! But no word on who the smoke monster is moonlighting as.
11:51 JOSH HOLLOWAY!!
11:56 Holloway tazes Damon Lindelof, steals the key from around his neck and Carlton's, and pulls out the pages of the script in the locked box. Turns out, it's an episode of Heroes! Michael Emerson reads it aloud and ends with "What the fuck is this?"
11:58 Damon and Carlton give a very heartfelt thank you to the fans, then we head into a montage of all the dpeople who have died on the show. Most of it takes place to the sound of a cheesy Boyz II Men song, but Charlie's death gets its own sequence entirely. Faraday, though, might have gotten the biggest round of applause. I'm a fan of Frogurt myself.
12:00 Dominic Monaghan shows up onstage! He lives! And he doesn't say anything, because we're done! Man that was fun.
