LOST at Comic-Con: The EW Panel

Before I begin, I would like to first acknowledge a few fantastic new Lost friends. Please visit their sites and listen to their podcasts, because they support and entertain all of us.

TheODI
Prior to today, I'd only known him through his blog and MySpace page, and was fortunate to sit with him and his team of Lost bloggers (including Tapdawg, who posted this live from the panel) in the 2nd row this afternoon. We secured seats early, and had a prime view of Damon & Carlton. Tomorrow morning, I will be joining them at 6am to wait in line for entry...to wait in line for the noon Lost panel. Here is TheODI's Comic-Con blog, including exclusive footage of the Dharma video which was delivered via Bluetooth to lucky fans.

The Transmission
Ryan & Jen host a great Lost podcast from Hawaii, and it was nice to finally meet them in person as well! They have audio of the entire panel here, including yours truly on the mic (more about that in a minute).

Get Lost Podcast
Eric and Jeremy's podcast is sweet! Although they weren't able to attend CC this year, they were nice enough to contact me about calling in a report from the field, and I left them a rambling message which may air on an upcoming CC podcast.

Because I am attending this behemoth event primarily on my own, it was so nice to finally connect with all of them, and I appreciate how they've allowed me to join in the fun. I am a tiny fish in the giant sea of Lost bloggers, and they're all making me feel more welcome in the community.

Anyway, about the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries: Showrunners panel...

Let's just get this out of the way. Although I almost passed out, I was able to scramble up to the open mic to ask Damon & Carlton a question. Of course I've been constructing one for weeks, just in case. I inquired if they chose the name Jeremy Bentham for Locke specifically because the real philosopher Bentham had designed the panopticon (which I believe to be the island). The short answer is yes. My heartbeat was out of control for a good hour. And even though I'm loathe to self-promote in a large crowd, I did introduce myself as Jo from JOpinionated (and also mentioned that I have a specific interest in JB). Believe it or not, I am much more shy in person than I am here 'on paper.' Anyway, it was a true highlight to have the opportunity to address Darlton live.

The panel was moderated by EW's senior writer Jeff 'Doc' Jensen, who writes the most thorough and thought-provoking Lost analysis of any television columnist out there. He is a must-read following each new episode and throughout every season.

Most of the other sites listed above have extensive notes from the panel. I, on the other hand, am clearly incapable of multi-tasking. The long and short of it:

• The Octagon Global Recruiting alternate reality game is a way to offer further mythology for the 'hardcore fans'
  
• Season 5 will feature more about the Freighter Four (Charlotte, Faraday, Lapidus, Miles), in a 'different' and 'improved' way
  
• Desmond's flash of Claire & Aaron on the helicopter (leading to Charlie's sacrifice & death) will see a logical resolution

Obviously tomorrow at the Lost panel there will be so much more.

I plan to bring my laptop and report immediately following the panel, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading and following my insane journey.