Spoilers: Lost Survivor Guide, Kate and Claire

Deep in the recesses behind the scenes, and heard by our vast network of Lost Spoilers Blog informants, there has been considerable unease inside ABC and the Lost team about the public perception of this season 3. When the recognition started sinking in starting around the end of October, serious thought was given to avoiding the mistakes of other now defunct television series, and also to reinvigorate the Lost audience. You will never hear anyone make a big point of the deliberations, just the tantalizing hints of the outcome. And the fact of the matter is that the first six episodes of Lost this season were nothing short of brilliantly written and filmed.

We already have discussed a lot of the spoilers rolling out about the changes after Episode 9 of Season 3. There have been so many spoilers you have to wonder if this is just the second half. Before we know it Not In Portland will be here and the slew of spoilers will only continue week after week as the season progresses.

One spoiler is the recently announced episode called "Lost Survivor Guide". A nice play on the word "survivor", after all the Lostaways are stranded on an island to survive by their own moxie and wit to outplay, outwit and outlast the evil Others and the smoke monster. This Lost Survivor Guide will not only be to introduce Part II of season 3, but also to set the tone for bringing some new Lost fans on board. The ad campaign in the can will capitalize on this. For existing viewers, ABC is touting that the recap reiterate some hints, clues and secrets that everyone missed. Hmmmm is that the Kate is an Other secret? We think not.

The "guest stars" for Not In Portland have been announced as Robin Weigert as Rachel, M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly/Tom, William Mapother as Ethan, Blake Bashoff as Karl, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Michael Bowen as Pickett, Ariston Green as Jason, Teddy Wells as Ivan, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Steve Labrash as morgue employee, Kimberly Estrada as Sherry, Rob McElhenney as Aldo and Zeljko Ivanek as Edmund.

Oh, I nearly forgot....Not. Why are there photos of Remington Steele, Moonlighting at the start of this post? Notice they are both couples but at the opposite ends of the romantic spectrum.

On the left there is Remington Steele featuring not quite lovebirds Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) and Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan). That's Laura with the wide open eyes in the picture. Can't take her eyes of Pierce, and he for her. So what happened? Nothing - not until after the ratings tanked and the decision to cancel had been made. Romantic tension never let up.

Now, on the right there is Moonlighting, featuring the lovebirds Madeline "Maddie" Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) and David Addison (Bruce Willis). So what happened? ... Well, nothing until season 4. In the picture you see they are back-to-back, but touching. Looking different ways, but still close to one another. Then what happened, well they became a couple and ratings tanked.

Conventional wisdom actually being hinted at by the producers of Lost is that Moonlighting tanked after Maddie and David became a couple. But what about Remington Steele? It tanked even though Remington and Laura were apart. There are also are alternative explanations for the demise of Moonlighting's ratings, like, lagging scripts and exiling Maddie to the end of a phone line when Cybill Shepherd became pregnant.

So HEY Lost producers: don't take the wrong lessons from the past!

And HEY Lost Spoilers blogger, why is this a Lost spoiler anyway?

Oh...Yeah ... they don't want to repeat the past mistakes of Moonlighting and all.

This means: Charlie and Claire - although dancing with couple-dom throughout the first two seasons - WILL become a couple sort of and maybe not. First it looked like Claire was accepting Charlie, then came heroine, uh heroin between them. Yet now, have no doubt at all, about the Charlie's back spoiler. Count on the relationship to blossom then become and remain tense, Charlie never quite knowing where he stands ... sort of and maybe not.

Also have no doubt about this spoiler - Kate and Sawyer will not remain a happy pair, white picket fence, doggie and all. Their relationship will be sort of and maybe not as well. It will not be a tidy one and count on circumstances and their own natures to drive them apart, while the affection pulls in the other direction. Also don't forget all of Kate's longing for Jack. Moonlighting Lost will not be, nor will it Steele.

Official Season 3 Spoilers, Part 2

ABC now has released their "teaser" for the mid-season premier of Lost. It contains a lot of "spoilers", which if history is the guide, may potentially, maybe, possibly ... ok probably maybe has some misdirection. It included a group photo that omits Mr. Eko, not a surprise:


Here are the Lost spoilers we believe are verified:

• More for the Guys Lost Spoiler ... ABC now has officially stated the "second act" of “Lost” season 3 (or Lost series 3 as the Brits might say) has "action-packed mystery and adventure". You might say ... well duh. However this actually is a concealed spoiler. Before season 3 began, the creators of Lost were hyping the "relationship" aspects of the upcoming season. Although they provided the sort of answer on who Kate picked (Sawyer) they also did not adequately address the male demographic largely responsible for all the grumbling about lack of "answers" for Lost this season. This is ABC's clue that we can expect an attempt to bring everyone home to the Lost fold.
  
• ABC has not forgotten about all the mysteries for which we want some attention. How do we know that? They summarized them all in their release. They have not forgotten!
  

"the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strange French woman and another group of island residents known as “The Others.” The survivors have also found signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock, the remains of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the Dharma Initiative -- a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past."

• Juliet – the Others' fertility doctor - makes a "shocking" decision that could endanger her standing with her people. Remember, she will shoot someone.
• Look for a Charlie storyline about his future, as revealed cryptically by Desmond
  

Here is one that looks like misdirection: "can the survivors find a way to interact with the outside world". Our prediction is No. Although the Others might, we predict Sawyer, Locke et al. will not.

Here are some excerpts from the ABC Lost press release, but as usual, be wary of misdirection contained in it:

"As the second part of Season Three opens, Jack seems to have gained the upper hand, as Ben’s life literally rests in his hands. His demands are simple – release Kate and Sawyer as prisoners of “The Others,” let them safely return to the island and he’ll stay behind. But does Jack have a hidden agenda? Kate finally made her romantic decision between Jack and Sawyer by choosing the smitten con man – but were her feelings for him genuine? Juliet – one of “The Others” -- makes a shocking decision that could endanger her standing with her people. After the death of Eko, Locke’s obsession to uncover the secrets of the island leads Sayid to believe that his intentions may not be in the best interests of his fellow survivors. Sun and Jin will continue to celebrate their pregnancy – but is the child really Jin’s? Just as Charlie returns into the good graces of Claire and her baby, Aaron, Desmond drops a bombshell on him that could change the course of his life forever. After the hatch imploded and the electromagnetic charge was expelled, questions arise as to what effects it had on the island – as well as the outside world. Will Penny Widmore find the island and her long, lost love, Desmond, and can the survivors find a way to interact with the outside world?" No.

How about this reference to "heroes": "Even heroes have secrets." A lot of people are speculating on a connection between the NBC show and Lost. We can confirm there is no connection except the creators of Heroes are admirers of what Lost has achieved.

Summary of the stars not including Eko or Ana-Lucia. Don't look for their return flashbacks soon.

Naveen Andrews as Sayid
Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond
Emilie de Ravin as Claire
Michael Emerson as Ben
Matthew Fox as Jack
Jorge Garcia as Hurley
Josh Holloway as Sawyer
Daniel Dae Kim as Jin
Yunjin Kim as Sun
Evangeline Lilly as Kate
Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet
Dominic Monaghan as Charlie
Terry O’Quinn as Locke.