Hints for ‘Lost’ fans: remember the first season; don’t expect sequels or spinoffs

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No sequels, spinoffs for ‘Lost’

PASADENA, Calif. — When ABC’s drama “Lost” ends in May, it will definitively end — don’t look for any sequels or spinoffs.

The show’s producers said Tuesday they’ve known the final image of the mythologically dense series about Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 since the first season, although Carlton Cuse said the last episode hasn’t been written yet. It will air sometime in May.

Cuse and Damon Lindelof were giving away few secrets to the show’s rabid fans at a news conference Tuesday, even refraining to show video clips. They said the show’s sixth and final season will hearken back to its first, and most popular, season in 2004.

The producers were initially sweating about their two-hour season opener, scheduled for Feb. 2, when they heard President Barack Obama had been considering that night for his State of the Union address. It promises to be a challenging episode; actress Emilie de Ravin said she had to read the script three times before it made any sense.

“Get ready to scratch your heads, America,” Lindelof said.

A one-hour recap special, an attempt to get uninitiated or casual viewers as familiar with the story as they can, will precede the opener.

In its lifetime, “Lost” proved that it’s possible for a television series to challenge its viewers and pull off production values that rival feature films, said Stephen McPherson, ABC entertainment president.

“It will arguably be one of the most influential shows of the decade, if not of all time,” McPherson said.

One secret producers did reveal: actress Cynthia Watros, who played the character Libby before being killed off in the second season, will return this year.

“Finally, all of your questions (about Libby) will be answered,” Cuse said.

“No, they will not,” Lindelof said.

That’s something fans should prepare themselves for overall: not all of the questions raised during the series will be answered. “That would be too pedantic,” Cuse said.

They’re hoping that final show is something that will be talked about afterward in much the same way as the diner scene that ended “The Sopranos.”

“I don’t think it would be ‘Lost’ if there wasn’t any arguing and active debate among the viewers about whether or not it was a good ending,” Lindelof said. “My mom will say it’s a good ending, even though she doesn’t understand the show.”

“Lost” has gone through so many inexplicable twists and turns, and flash-forwards to the future, that one writer wondered whether fans had already seen the ending in a previous episode. Cuse said no.

Actors said filming the series has been an emotional journey.

“I’m going to cry like a baby when this series ends,” actress Evangeline Lilly said.