"Welcome to the war." Ben Linus utters those words to John Locke in one of ABC's Lost promos, gun in hand. Since day one, Ben claimed that the freighter folks were going to kill everyone on the island. The show's three-hour finale is only a few weeks away. What do these last episodes of the season hold for the island residents? Can they hold their own against Widmore's team of scientists and thugs? Spoiler Warning: Some details from promos, interviews, and podcasts are mentioned.

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Dr. Marvin Candle, also known as Dr. Mark Wickmund, is a major part of the DHARMA mystery. He has appeared in the creepy DHARMA station orientation videos, but his rank in the organization is unknown. The Tailsection recently interviewed Francois Chau, the actor who plays Dr. Candle. Chau shared behind-the-scenes details about the show, and talked about his upcoming appearance on Lost. Like a good DHARMA member, Chau did not reveal too much dirt, but he did divulge the following information:

• Before being cast on Lost, Chau had been been cast by April Webster (the show's casting director) in several other projects
• The orientation video scenes were initially filmed in California on the set of Alias. Later scenes were filmed in Hawaii.

Lost's Josh Holloway has publicly criticized the Hawaii police for treating both him and his fellow cast members unfairly. In an interview with British Glamour, the actor referred to what he calls the "Lost curse," citing the three arrests and six traffic citations accumulated by the cast. Holloway said that he and his co-stars are "easy targets" for the local police due to their high-profile status, and that the police should "Go catch real criminals."

In a few short years, the cast has built up a considerable arrest and citation record. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was arrested for driving without a license during his time in Hawaii, and Cynthia Watros and Michelle Rodriguez were both arrested for drunk driving last year.

The cast of Lost is giving back to the community where the island drama is filmed. Actors like Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, and Henry Ian Cusick are participating in a play-reading fundraiser for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Fellow cast members Terry O'Quinn, Elizabeth Mitchell, Daniel Dae Kim, and Michael Emerson are also expected to appear.

The event was planned by HTY board member Annie Wood, who happens to be married to Henry Ian Cusick. Wood, a well-regarded youth theater director, is planning a series of play-readings (also featuring Lost stars) with Matthew Fox's wife Margherita Ronchi. It appears that many Lost spouses are involved with this cause; Elizabeth Mitchell's husband, actor Chris Soldevilla, is listed as one of the event's performers.

Cast members will be available to sign autographs after the show, which is set for Sunday, March 4, at Honolulu's Tenney Theatre.

The New York Post just posted an interview with Jorge Garcia, in which the Lost star reveals a few details about his upcoming flashback episode. "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" will be the first Hurley-centric episode since Season Two's "Dave." Garcia shared the following information about the episode:

• The actor is trying to not to worry about the show's relatively poor ratings.
• He believes that no lone factor is to blame for the ratings decline. The show's new time slot and division of the cast have been highlighted by critics.
• Garcia's flashback episode features Cheech Marin as Hurley's father.

According to Variety, Lost producers are planning to create a series of webisodes and phonisodes to accompany the TV series. The episodes will feature short, character-driven stories that will function apart from the regular series. Cast members will appear, but executive producer Carlton Cuse did not reveal how many of them would be involved. Production will begin in July of this year.

These webisodes have the potential to be very successful, if the popularity of Battlestar Galactica's webisodes is any indication. If it means seeing more of Lost's hottest couple, Sun and Jin, then sign me up.

Kiele Sanchez will play "Nikki" on Lost in season three -- a possible love interest for another new character that Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro will play, according to Variety.

So that's nice -- the new characters will be hooking up with each other instead of our old favorites. Probably best, after what happened to Libby and Ana-Lucia last season. But if you factor in Shannon, then maybe it is best for any woman on Lost to stay away from men they may happen to take a shine to the island -- that is, if they want to avoid the Abrams/Lindelof to-kill list.

[via ComingSoon.net]