TVSquad

Earlier today, Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse held a teleconference with reporters and bloggers in anticipation of the show's return. They revealed, or at least hinted at, what we can expect in the season's final five episodes, elements of the season finale, and what they hope accomplish in upcoming seasons. Here's a recap:

• The title of the season finale is "There's No Place Like Home."
• When Lost returns, the show will follow Grey's Anatomy. Lindelof and Cuse aren't sure that the two dramas share an audience, but they are happy to share Thursdays with another successful show.

The rumored fourteenth hour of Lost is happening! E!'s Kristin Dos Santos confirmed that there will be an extended Lost finale this season. The two-hour finale has become a whopping three-hour episode. Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse felt that an extra hour was crucial to wrapping up the season four storylines, and ABC agreed. According to Kristin, the script for part two of the finale was 80 pages long. Imagine cramming all of that into one hour!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the return of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty to the Thursday night lineup does make scheduling this additional hour a bit tricky. The original plan was for the two-part Lost finale to air over two nights, and have all three shows end on May 22. TV Guide's Michael Ausiello is reporting that the Lost finale has been rescheduled, making room for a two-hour Grey's Anatomy season finale.

There could be an upside to the Lost hiatus after all. On Wednesday afternoon, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reported that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are in "advanced talks" with ABC about adding another hour-long chapter to Lost Season Four. The arrangement is by no means set in stone, but it is encouraging news.

No word yet on how this extra hour might be added to the season's remaining five episodes. We could get another episode, or the finale could be an additional hour. Would a three-hour season finale be too much, even for Lost viewers? How will this affect the scheduling of the two-hour season finale? Currently, the season's last episode is split into two installments that will air one week apart. Will there be room for this bonus episode now that Lost is sharing Thursday nights with Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty?

ABC posted another Lost audio podcast for the most recent episode, "Meet Kevin Johnson." Damon Lindelof rehashed last week's episode, confirmed the identities of the Oceanic Six, and discussed the remainder of Lost's fourth season. Here's a recap:

• The title of the season's ninth episode is "The Shape of Things to Come."
• We will learn more about the Black Rock and the four-toed statue, but not necessarily in a flashback.
• The name Lapidus has appeared twice on Lost. Rick Lapidus' name was on the script in "Exposé," and Frank Lapidus is the name of the helicopter pilot this season. Writer Eddie Kitsis (who wrote "Exposé") loves the name, and wanted to use it on the show.

Fans of ABC's Lost may recall hearing that Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof demanded from the network that an end date be set for the series so they could properly map out the upcoming episodes and seasons and conclude the show in a satisfying way (for them, maybe not for us fans). Well, according to E! Online, ABC will soon announce that Lost will conclude at the end of Season 5 (we're currently in season 3).

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.