'Lost': Calling all readers
So I've been plowing through the We Have to Go Back series, and we're rapidly approaching the end of Season 2. Please, please, hold back the tears, Lost denizens. But for now, I'm going to tack a little bit away from a compass direction of 325 and once again enlist your help on a little project.
What I need from all of you is simple: questions. Specifically, questions directed at two entities: the writers/producers of Lost, and the acting ensemble of Lost. Your task is simple: ask questions that you want them to answer.
The goal here is twofold: one, it's a great way to see what you, the readers, are interested in learning. That will help me focus future editions of We Have to Go Back, and potentially give fodder for the occasional analysis-centric entries I produce. And secondly...well, let's just say there's a second goal, one that could potentially pay off down the line, and leave it at that.
I'm not being cryptic for cryptic's sake, and I hate people who act like Brittany Murphy in Don't Say a Word. So believe me when I say that the second goal isn't fully formed. But in the months that precede the fifth season of Lost, I'm hoping to expand what the site offers, and use the decently vast resources of this site to make this an even more "must read" Lost blog than it already is. Er, not that it's not already a super totally wicked must read as is, but like Channing Tatum, yours truly can step it up.
I'll start.
For the producers/writers:
Will we ever hear someone on the show say the words "Valenzetti Equation?"
For the actors:
Who is the hero of Lost?
So leave your questions below, fair readers You're what makes the site what it is, so show the interwebs what ya got!
Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude, then peruses Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.


For the producers:
Will we ever get some damn product placement for Mrs. Butterworth?! I mean for crying out loud!!!
For the actors:
What is your favorite maple flavored breakfast topping? And have you heard her whispering from the closet?
Ok, on to the debate.
I'm not sure of what kind of questions you're getting at, but I have one directed towards the writers: If Michael Emerson never got the role as Henry Gale, and you weren't thrilled with the actor who would have taken his place, how would the story of Lost been different? And I mean plot-wise, not production-wise. That's a question that's been in my mind since season 3. Thanks
"Pardon me, but would you have any Grey Poupon?"
Sorry, couldn't resist.
For the producers:
"What's with the four-toed statue?"
For the actors:
"Do you have a designated driver while you are in Hawaii?"
"Oh, and Evangeline? Why are you so excrutiatingly hot?"
For the Brain-Trust-
Will Claire ever receive Charlie's "Greates Hits?"
Will the "Hurley Birds" get some proper 'splaining?
For the Cast-
How cool is it getting to work with Terry O'Quinn?
Heh.
To the Producers:
Will there be a Lost movie to wrap things up?
To the Actors:
Would you sign on for a Lost movie wrap-up?
For the writers/producers:
This kinda goes along with griffey's question. How has the casting and hiring or firing of characters affected the overall story/mythology of the series?
The introduction of Ben and Michael Emerson definately added to the scope of Lost, but would the show have changed had Eko stayed around, or if Ana Lucia was more likable?
I think I remember reading that the part of Sun was written especially for Yunjin Kim after she originally auditioned for Kate. It might just show that entire story lines may not have been originally considered before certain actors came along.
For the producers:
Might we someday, perhaps on the Season 6 DVD set, get a featurette with Darlton where they offer up the proof that they didn't make it up as they went along? (For the record, I believe they've always had the plan. I never thought they were making it all up on the fly.) They could point things out that they slyly introduced in, say, Season 1 or 2 that didn't pay off until late in the show, backed up by the show clips to prove it. Even better, you could show video footage of the writers in the writers' room actually mapping out the seasons, especially after they inked the deal that solidified the end date. Also, griffey and A-Rob have already touched on this, but they could also point out the blips that made them rewrite or restructure on the fly (like "Mr. Eko" or "Rousseau" allegedly asking to be written out, rubbing out "Libby" to up the emotional ante because they knew killing "Ana-Lucia" would actually make most fans happy or erasing the mistake that was "Paolo and Nikki" in one fell swoop rather than the intended longer story arc), and give us insight into where they might have gone if these things had gone according to the original plan.
That was long, but you get my point.
For the actors:
Is screen time a real issue, or do you feel that the storyline is the actual "star of the show"?
For those who posed their questions using product placement: I would strongly suggest that you guys reconsider lest you miss out. ;)
I myself would like to find out when we will learn the true identities of Adam and Eve, and if they are characters we have already been introduced to.
Also, due to the writer's strike we were denied more information about Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, and Frank. Are there any hints as to how that information will be worked into Season 5?
To go along with Bob's question, I'm a bit curious what the initial plans were for Jack and Henry/Ben, before they got Matthew Sheppard & Michael Emerson kicked so much butt.
They've said that Jack was supposed to die in the pilot, but then they changed their minds. Now obviously this was something they changed before anything started, so that's fair. But I'm curious what they had in store if Ben/Henry wasn't actually the leader of the others and as important as he's come to be.
I give them credit for the most part that they knew what they were doing, but they do need to come back to all of the questions posed above.