Ok, this time I mean it ...

As reported on this blog a while ago, I said that LOST was moving to Monday nights and as I also stated I was wrong. 'Cause it's gonna be on Thursdays at 9:00. Yep, it's moving to Thursdays and this time it has been confirmed by Carlton Cuse. January 31 is the premier date now. They are going to show the 8 episodes they have done as well as a retrospect episode. Unfortunately Cuse has also said that season 4 was originally planned to be broken into two parts (as far as how the episodes were going to be written not that they anticipated the shortened season) the first half, the eight we will see didn't do much to give us answers, but that in the second half (the eight we won't see until after the strike and possibly not until the fall of '08 or even as late as the spring of '09) so if you are looking for any answers this season you're gonna be disappointed. The last episode they have filmed does end on a semi-cliff hanger so it will feel sort of like a season finale.

Here are a few comments made on the Season 3 DVD commentary for the Man Behind The Curtain episode:

* Horace Goodspeed and Olivia are important to the DHARMA story, and we can expect to see more of them in the future.
* Richard Alpert was conceived as the "Panchen Lama" of the Others. (That would make Ben the "Dalai Lama.") Alpert's role is to pick the next Dalai. Ben's role would be to pick the next Panchen, should the need arise. This keeps the two in a sort of balanced power relationship. They are allies, yet they have some measure of control over the other should one get out of hand.
* Ben uses the volcanic ash circle to contain Jacob. Jacob also has the means to control Ben to an extent. Speaking of volcanoes, there is one on the island. Damon says it will be of "seismic importance" (pun very much intended.)
* The Looking Glass Station is a communications station. Its role is to emit the "ping" that guides the submarine to the island.
* The DHARMA purge was not the first purge by the Others. There have been many groups on the island, and the Others have purged many times before. Remnants of all the groups make up the Others we see today. Damon likens this to the United States, which is a nation of immigrants from many cultures who have assimilated into a common culture.
* Ben set Locke up to kill Cooper as a test...he was certain Locke would fail as he has not shown himself to be capable of murder. There is probably no great mythological reason for killing one's father; Alpert helps Locke find a way to kill Cooper because it is the only way to break Ben's manipulation.
* Damon suggests that Ben's penchant for numbering his rabbits "probably has something to do with fertility experiments."
* Room 23 is located on the Hydra island, which is designated for zoological experiments. Has it only been used on humans, or was it previously used on other animals? And if so, what animals? (Calling all Joop fans!)
* Annie is an extremely important part of the island's back story, and it is a planned chapter to come. Annie is more important than the Goodspeeds or the volcano.
* The mechanism for the purge at the Barracks was different from the mechanism Ben uses in the van (the canister of gas). The gas canister was added in post-production to give Ben a more active role in his father's death. But the original plan was for something to happen more or less island wide at 4 PM.
* We have not seen Ben's motivation for his role in the purge, but we will.