MARIO PEREZ/ABCAny real TV fan knows the series writers are the real magic makers, not the pretty-pussed actors who simply read their words (and get plenty of credit for doing so)!
To that end, one of my favorite annual Emmy events has to be the cocktail party honoring the Outstanding Writing nominees. This year, the soiree went down at the Friars Club in Beverly Hills on Monday night and included writerly faves like Matt Weiner and Terence Winter (The Sopranos), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) and Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost). (The latter three sat together with their wives at what I can definitively call the cool-kids table.)
M.C. Gainey (Tom, aka Mr. Friendly, from Lost—and, for our purposes, referred to below as M.C.G.) was there to introduce Darlton, so I sicced the most enthusiastic (perhaps obsessive? naaahhh) Lost fan I know, Jennifer Godwin, to snag a moment with Damon (D.L.), his lovely wife Heidi Fugeman (H.F.) and M.C.G., to pry about the future of Lost. Why? 'Cause we're all freaking dying for any kind of freaking info while we wait for freaking February! (Me, obsessive? Naaahhhh.)
Anyhoo, the scene is hereby reenacted in a one-act play...
Open Scene
J.G.: Do you think we'll ever see Tom again?
M.C.G.: I think it's entirely possible—you never know!
J.G.: Comment, Damon?
D.L.: If M.C. says it's possible, it makes me want to make it possible.
J.G.: He could be in a flashback.
M.C.G.: I think Tom could have an evil twin brother.
D.L.: Or a benevolent twin brother…We were just talking about how Friendly started out as a child molester and ended up engendering audience sympathy.
M.C.G.: He wound up being a friendly old house cat.
J.G.: A lot of people were really sad when Tom died. He had to go, but...
M.C.G.: I know—I was a little shocked Sawyer put it to me the way he did, though.
D.L.: Josh says he got a nice call from you.
M.C.G.: He certainly did. He certainly did. A nasty call.
J.G.: Speaking of Sawyer, we hear the premiere is about him. Can you tell us anything about it? Is it a flash-forward, a flashback? Is it one hour, two hours?
D.L.: We're still officially in radio silence.
H.F.: You can't tell her that?! You can't even tell her if it's one hour or two hours? [Editor's note: Heidi Fugeman shall henceforth be called "Hero."]
J.G.: Can you confirm or deny that it's a Sawyer episode?
D.L.: I can't confirm or deny that. I'm surprised that got out there, though—that's all I'll say.
J.G.: Well, there were Hawaiians wandering around reporting, "I saw Josh Holloway on the street—with a car!"
D.L.: How do you know they're not in our employ?
J.G.: Oh, the plot thickens...
M.C.G.: Oh-ho-ho-ho... [Laughs just like Santa Claus.]
D.L.: We control Hawaii! I will say that Sawyer is in the season premiere, which is more than you can say for 14 of the characters in last year's season premiere. I mean, M.C. had more screen time than Naveen.
J.G.: True. Now, we've been told this premiere is going to be different: It'll be the first without the usual Jack or all-cast stories we've come to expect. So, what does that mean? Can you say anything about the implications of all this?
D.L.: It's in February! I can say that we'll start talking about the show a lot around Thanksgiving time.
J.G. and K.V.: Sob.
End Scene
Hey, at least we tried! Now, on to plan B: getting Damon nice and liquored up at an Emmy party on Sunday night. Stay tuned!
And if you can dream up any questions the Lost crew might actually answer this weekend, well, by all means, please post away in the Comments section below!
—Additional sleuthing by Jennifer Godwin