lost season three

Wizard Entertainment recently published an interview with Lost director-producer Jack Bender, who directed last week's episode "The Man From Tallahassee." Bender discusses the inspiration for the show's visual elements, and goes into detail about the filming of several popular episodes. The complete interview features tons of technical information, but here are the most relevant highlights:

• The Lost pilot was the most expensive television pilot ever made.
• Bender thinks that the show is more about the characters' internal "monsters" than the monsters that exist on the island.

Since "The Man From Tallahassee" aired, Terry O'Quinn has gotten a lot of recognition for one of the most exciting performances of Lost's third season. The LA Times recently published an extensive interview with the actor, who gave his take on Locke's transformation over the last three seasons. Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse also shed light on what we can expect from Locke in the future. Here are the highlights:

• Damon Lindelof has stated that when the show ends, Locke will be one of the most significant characters.
• Carlton Cuse believes that John Locke is "the heart of the show."

Lost co-executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis are spilling the beans about Season Three, or least hinting at what's to come. Horowitz and Kitsis co-wrote the upcoming Hurley-centric episode "Tricia Tanaka is Dead," along with several other Hurley flashback episodes.

Fans can expect this new episode to be relatively lighter than the intense Other storylines. The writers are also encouraging viewers to pay special attention to the last few minutes of the episode, a bold promise after last week's misleading ABC promos. According to Horowitz and Kitsis, the episode's events have been in the works for a long time.

If the ratings are any indication, Lost's move to the 10pm time slot may have done more harm than good. For the last two weeks Lost's ratings have hit record lows, with 14.5 million viewers for its winter premiere and 12.8 million viewers for its most recent episode. The show may be out of danger from threats like American Idol and Criminal Minds, but has it left its early-to-bed viewers behind in the process?

Optimists have pointed out that Lost is doing relatively better in its new time slot, bringing ABC more viewers than the time slot's previous occupant, Invasion. The show is also #1 with the 18-49 age group when compared with its 10pm competition.

While this significant decrease in ratings is a major blow, there are many factors that could have contributed to the decline. 'Not in Portland' aired after a brutally long hiatus, and 'Flashes Before Your Eyes' aired on Valentine's Day, which is not a typically good night for television ratings. Fans can hope that the quality of recent episodes and the subsequent positive buzz will bring Lost back to its former glory.

Over the last few seasons, Lost has stacked up a considerable body count. It seems only fitting that the show have its own TV Squad Death Pool. Any takers? Did you totally call the last few Lost deaths, and no one believed you? This is your chance to redeem yourself. Let's see how good you people really are.

For those of you who are not familiar with death pools, here are the guidelines:

1. Each person gets three guesses as to which character(s) still living as of the end of "I Do" will die by the end of season three.
2. Real deaths only: dreams, drug-induced hazes, and coma fantasies do not count. The death must also be seen by the audience -- no off-camera deaths.
3. Five points for each correct guess.
4. Bonus points will be awarded based on how soon in the season the death happens. In other words, a death in the first new episode (Episode 7) is worth sixteen points, the next (Episode 8) is worth fifteen, etc. Deaths in the season finale are worth one point (there are sixteen episodes left).
5. Five bonus points if the death is supernatural or particularly awesome in some way, meaning no garden-variety murders.
6. Double points if you are the only person to predict the death.
7. All characters are up for grabs.
8. One entry only.
9. The person with the most points will win a complete set of Lost Season One action figures! (Minus the hatch set, that is). In the event of a tie, the winner will be selected by a random drawing from among the entries with the same score.
10. Entries containing actors' names instead of characters' names will be void.
11. Submit your three characters' names (just names, not episode numbers) in the comments section below by 9:59pm Eastern Time, Wednesday, February 7.

The winner shall be announced shortly after the season ends, and we all recover from "The Snake in The Mailbox."

Full rules can be found after the jump.

ABC has posted a new Lost video podcast that contains cast interviews, behind the scenes footage, and previews for upcoming episodes. The podcast is a bit spoilerish, so people wishing to watch the show with fresh eyes should steer clear. Clips from "Not in Portland" are included, as are interviews with Michael Emerson, Henry Ian Cusick, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Dominic Monoghan. They had me at Michael Emerson. Those wishing to download the podcast can do so at iTunes.