Dec 27 2008
The redemption of Sawyer’s shirt (DVD commentary on Season 4 finale)
Carlton Cuse
Damon Lindelof
Writers/Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof do commentary for the finale of Season 4, There’s no Place Like Home Part 2, on Disc 4 of the DVD set. It’s the first time a commentary track has ever been made for any LOST season finale.
I recommend watching this if you get a chance. These guys are funny! And they get better as the episode goes on — toward the end, as they start getting punch-drunk from fatigue, they come up with increasingly goofy — and clever — comments.
They talk, tongue in cheek, about wanting to write a show that has flashbacks and flashforwards for Sawyer’s shirt (you know, the shirt that Sawyer is always taking off) — filling in the shirt’s backstory, revealing how it was made in the factory, then going into its time on the Island, and showing what the shirt realizes it has to do to redeem itself.
Another example — when commenting on the scene after the helicopter crashes into the ocean, when the characters are thrashing around in the water, the producer pair say they originally planned to have a shark rescue Desmond, but when they started filming they found they couldn’t afford to get the shark. They say they had also hoped to have the characters do synchronized swimming accompanied by a whale song.
By the end of the commentary, they’re promising to come do the laundry — and provide commentary on their doing of the laundry! — of any viewer who made it all the way through.
This is all very entertaining. Most of the commentary, though, is actually quite informative. In addition to providing background on how some of the scenes were filmed, the two discuss the characters and themes that will be important in the upcoming Season 5. I’ll talk about some of that in future posts.
