8:59AM: T-Minus one minute and counting to the last ever LOST panel at a Television Critics Association Press Tour. Well, that is until the inevitable spin-off, re-boot, re-imagination dreamed up by some desperate ABC executive five seasons from now.
9:04AM: Since I’ve just been informed that “we’re going to get started in just a couple of minutes,” I’ll kill a few of my own by letting you know that expected to be in attendance are Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Damon Lindelof (Co-Creator/Executive Producer), Carlton Cuse (Executive Producer), Terry O’Quinn (Locke), Michael Ermerson (Ben), and Jorge Gargeia (Hurley). Most of whom will just sit on stage and look pretty as 99.9% of the questions get directed to LOSTerminds (Yup, still determined to make that name happen!) Lindelof and Cuse.
9:07AM: Evangeline Lilly promises that she’s going to cry like a baby when the show ends. Jorge Garcia says that shooting has been very nostalgic, like, “Woah! I haven’t been here since season three.” While Linedlof jokes, “I can’t believe they’re actually going to let us get away with this.”
9:14AM: Carlton Cuse promises that they’ve known the final image of the show since when they first plotted out the first season. Being sure to add that they’ve been adding elements, the end is not yet written and much of the character stuff has yet to be fully worked out.
9:17AM: “They [ABC] have not pressured us at all.” said Carlton Cuse with regards to a spin-off. Translation: Don’t hold your breathe for SAWYER!
9:18AM: Obligatory trek down memory lane. “Sangria Thursdays,” jokes Evangeline Lilly. And on a more serious note, “I’ll never forget watching the episode where Claire gave birth and Boone died. It sort of culminated everything the show represents in these two very heroic moments. I don’t often cry watching the show because I know the script and have filmed everything. But I remember thinking this is something I’m proud to be a part of.”
9:25AM: Lindelof remembers moments in the form of walking across the bridge on the Disney lot from the writer’s room to the executive suite. Where each June himself and Cuse pitch the following season to the ABC execs. The hatch!? Time Travel!? Credits ABC President Steve Macpherson for allowing them to stick to their vision. Cuse talks about collaboration and how the orchestra once spontaneously broke out into applause while playing the music for a season one scene. Michael Emerson says, “I have lots of fond memories of breathless confrontations in small rooms.” While Garcia adds, “Running away from an exploding plane wing is always something that’s going to be emblazed in my head.”
9:26AM: “The premiere is definitely like ‘What? Wait. Let me read that again,'” says Jorge Garcia. And, after Emilie de Ravin says she had to re-read the season premiere three times, Lindelof jokes, “Get ready to scratch your heads America.”
9:30AM: “The season premiere picks up right after the finale,” promises Cuse. “We don’t want to give away what the show is going to be this season which is why we haven’t shown any new footage.”
9:35AM: On Sawyer’s journey, Holloway remembers reading the first season and thinking, “This guy is such an asshole, I got to figure out how to stay alive.”
9:38AM: “I’m a lifelong Democrat and it’s amazing how fickle my political leanings became when I first heard the White House was considering February 2nd [for the State of the Union] I said, ‘That MotherF*cker!’ joked Lindelof.
9:41AM: Cuse promises that there will be new footage from the final season released prior to the premiere.
9:43AM: “The stories we’re telling in the final season really harken back to the first season, so that’s probably the most important thing going into the final season.” says Cuse. Adds Damon, “We’ll show who [the characters] used to be and who they are now, makes you feel like we felt in season one.”
9:45AM: On being so indelibly linked to the show, and the possibility of attending LOST conventions for the better part of this century. “We all hope we’ll have something else to do,” said O’Quinn. Jokes Holloway, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m retiring and only doing conventions!”
9:48PM: “Harold Perrineau and Cynthia Watros will be back on the show this season.” Promises Cuse: “All your Libby questions will be answered.” Adds Damon, “No, they will not, but Cynthia will be back.”. 
