By ALAN STANLEY BLAIR
Source: SciFi Wire
Dec-07-2007

The main attraction of ABC s "Lost" isn t only the fact that the assortment of crash survivors find themselves on a mysterious island, but each week viewers are introduced to their inner demons and elements from their past. In the upcoming fourth season however, executive producer Carlton Cuse confirmed that the series will trade flashbacks for flash-forwards.

The change to the overall storytelling was first revealed at the end of the third season when, in the final moments, fans discovered that what originally appeared to be Jack s back story actually turned out to be a snippet from his life after the island. And according to Cuse, the decision to set an end date for the show allowed them to make the change.

"When ABC/Disney allowed us to end the show in 48 more episodes, it was time to begin a new modality of storytelling, which includes flash-forwards," Cuse said. "The show is like a mosaic. There are tiles in the present, in the past and now in the future as well. When all the tiles are in place, the story of  Lost  will be complete."
When the series returns in 2008 for its fourth season,  Lost  will return without one of its most popular characters, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) after his fated demise last year. Although his death was predicted early on in the third season, the decision to wave the character goodbye wasn t an easy one to make.
"It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to Charlie," co-creator Damon Lindelof said. "We really felt the season needed to end with the loss of one of the major characters and began setting it up very early in the year. Charlie's sacrifice was brutal for us to write, and Dom's performance made it particularly brutal to watch. The reverberation of that death echoes right into the premiere of Season 4."
Despite the transformation of the series though, there are some parts of  Lost  that may never change  ¦ including the Jack/Kate/Sawyer romance and the complicated nature of John Locke (Terry O Quinn).
"We are interested in exploring how good and evil can be embodied in the same characters and the struggles we all have to overcome the dark parts of our souls,  Lindelof said.

"Lost" is expected to return at mid-season, but ABC has yet to release its winter schedule, so it's unclear how the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike will contribute