TVSquad

Is it just me or are DVD releases getting announced earlier and earlier? Whatever the case, Lost fans can plan on getting the season four DVD as a Christmas/ Hanukkah/Kwanzaa present because it doesn't come out until December 9th. Which makes sense I suppose, since the show returns in early '09.

The 5-disc set (aka "The Expanded Experience") will obviously include all 14 season four eps plus a ton of goodies. As far as DVD sets go, Lost always has great extras. According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, expect to see 5 featurettes, bloopers, deleted scenes, and audio commentaries for some of the episodes. The one goodie that really has me excited? The "Oceanic Airlines Safety Guide." Hilarious. It immediately made me think of Airtoons -- all those funny and inappropriate airline safety cards.

As with season three, there will also be a BluRay release but I've got to be honest. I have the regular season three DVDs and they look pretty damn good on my HDTV set. So I'm not convinced that shelling out the extra $40 to $50 bucks is really worth it. Yet, anyway. You can pre-order both at Amazon for way less though - $38.99 for the normal DVDs and $66.95 for the BluRay.

(S04E12) I completely understand why Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse needed an extra hour for the finale. The first of three hours had so much information and moved to so many different locations, and I still feel like we've barely scratched the surface. It's going to be a long two weeks. That's all I have to say.

So in the most recent episode of Lost, Christian Shephard told Locke that the only way they can save the island from the invaders is if they, um, move it. Yeah, that's right, move the island. Thanks Doctor Shephard, I'll get right on that.

But viewers thinking that this was some crazy thing that could only happen on television and in the movies are...well, probably right. But in this Popular Mechanics article, the author of the book Physics of the Impossible says that it actually could be done. Michio Kaku says that it sounds like they're going to use the electromagnetic properties of the island and the Casmir Effect to "open a transferable wormhole to different points in time and space."

(Hold on a second while I go take two Advil.)

Now we'll have even more opportunities to get lost over Lost. ABC announced today that the 2009 and 2010 seasons will be 17 hours each, not 16 as previously planned.

We can thank the WGA strike, which knocked three hours off the current season. The extra hour will be added to Part 2 of the season finale airing May 29.

When all is said and done, the series will wrap with the same number of episodes that producers and ABC negotiated last year. "We were supposed to do 16-16-16, but we ended up doing 14 this season, so we owe two," co-creator Damon Lindelof told The Hollywood Reporter.

(S04E11) One of the few flashbacks of the season showed us John Locke's predestined connection to the island. Locke encountered some familiar faces before the crash, and each meeting guided him to his current situation. While Jack's mind is set on rescuing everyone on the island, Locke's focus in on saving the island itself. This episode put everyone, including the freighter folk, in place to carry out their plans. I'm already stoked for the finale.

ABC offered a set of fun Valentine's Day e-cards earlier this year, and they're at it again with a more extensive set of Mother's Day e-cards. More of my favorite ABC shows were let in on the fun this time, including Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Samantha Who?. Show Mom your love with a clever message from Lost's Claire, Susan from Desperate Housewives, or Hilda from Ugly Betty.

The cards are one part of a "Guide to Motherhood" page on ABC's website. You can watch clips from ABC's hit shows based on four motherhood themes: New Moms, Nesting, Words of Wisdom, and Letting Go. It's an amusing way to look back at some of the unconventional approaches to parenting taken in the last season.

It's good to have a talk show host who is also a big TV fan. Most times, a celeb or producer or writer will come on the show and the only thing that the host can talk to them regarding their latest project is something in general terms, maybe an "I saw the movie and it's great" and not much more. Luckily, Jimmy Kimmel is as much a Lost fan as the rest of us.

He had producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the show last week and asked them many questions about the show (side note: did you know they both worked on Nash Bridges, which Cuse created?!). But the big question answered had nothing to do with the smoke monster or time travel or the flash forwards or numbers or hatches or Michael Emerson, who was supposed to be on the show for only two episodes at first, or why the smoke monster didn't kill the mercenaries (there's a reason!). Those aren't the important mysteries.

The big question is, what the hell is going on with Matthew Fox's chest hair? Video after the jump!

Holy frik! We've only just started to embrace the return of our shows after a shortened strike season. Now, they are almost over. In the next few weeks all of our network favorites will say good-bye for the summer to be replaced with reality shows, reality game shows, reality soap operas, and Regis on primetime (again).

Needless to say, I'm a bit depressed. As I am sure you are as well. But, we will do our duty and press on. Thusly, we here at the sprawling lakefront offices of TV Squad (you choose the lakefront) have compiled list of when your favorite, and not so favorite, shows will be saying good-bye for their summer vacation. As usual, taking the fickleness of the networks, these times and days can change at a moment's notices. We will try to update you of those changes as quickly as our little fingers can type it out.

So, with a leaden heart, here are your season and series finales.

(S04E10) The writers gave us a break after last week's action- and information-packed episode. While Jack struggled with appendicitis, we got another look at his future off the island. Three of the other members of the Oceanic Six turned up, and Jack learned that there's no escaping a love triangle. Back on the island, Claire had an unexpected visitor.

Michael Emerson owns season four of Lost. Many of the season's best scenes have featured Ben Linus. From screwing with Locke to obsessing over Juliet, Ben has become one of the show's standout characters. Emerson took the complex role to an entirely new level in last week's episode, "The Shape of Things to Come." I'll be shocked (and furious) if he doesn't get an Emmy nomination this year.

Let's take a look at some of Ben's most unforgettable moments using the mastermind's own words. If we're lucky, Ben will give us a few more to add to the list by the season's end. Spoiler alert: If you're not caught up with Lost, stop reading now.

Easter eggs are part of the fun of watching Lost. Symbols, numbers, and names can all have multiple meanings and connections to the story. Repeat viewing is a must for the detail-oriented fan. Doors have become particularly significant sources of information on the show. Season Two's blast door map revealed the names and locations of several DHARMA stations on the island. This week's episode brought another door into the Lost mythology.

Leave it to Ben to have a secret room next to another secret room. We already saw the secret room filled with passports, foreign currency, and suits. After a dramatic confrontation with Keamy and the mercenaries, Ben went to another hidden room and did something that fans are still talking about. I'll save the details about second room's door, and what was written on it, for after the jump. Spoiler Warning: Stop reading if you haven't seen "The Shape of Things to Come."

(S04E09) What a brilliant episode! At this point, I think all future Lost episodes should be either Ben-, Sayid-, or Desmond-centric. This episode had it all: tons of action, several big revelations, and more questions to ponder. Michael Emerson gave yet another award-worthy performance this week and showed off his action hero side.

Follow this link to join the chat. The full review is after the jump.

Since Lost premiered about 4 years ago, fans have been active in coming up with theories (include the now-famous time loop theory) to explain the mysteries of the show. From the start, producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have debunked a few of the most popular theories (e.g., they are in purgatory) and hinted that others may be legit.

To help fans discuss theories and propose their own, USA Today's website devotes a section to fans' Lost theories. With these theories in hand, USA Today turned to Darlton (that's the common nickname for Damon and Carlton) to see if any could be accurate.

After a five-week hiatus, Lost returns tonight with the season's final five episodes. TV Squad is hosting a a live chat during the 10pm ET airing of "The Shape of Things to Come." Share your thoughts on the show's first post-strike episode, and read other fans' opinions.

The chat will start 15 minutes before the episode airs. Check TV Squad's front page later tonight for the recap post; the chat link will be posted there. From the looks of ABC's promos, "The Shape of Things to Come" is going to be action-packed. A lot of ground needs to be covered by the season's end. The first eight episodes introduced a lot of questions about the fate of the 815ers.

On the last episode of Lost, we learned that the Island won't let people die. Well, some people. Michael, for instance. And we can assume the Oceanic Six--Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sun, Sayid, Aaron--experienced the same inability to die as Michael.

But a lot of people have died. Some of them are missed and some of them... not so much. And there will be a lot more deaths over the final two seasons of the series, which returns with a new episode tonight. It seemed like a good time to look back on some of the island's most notorious deaths. And the strange manners in which characters died: