Writing 'Lost'

Interesting article by former Lost writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Here are some snippets.To illustrate how the writing process works, Grillo-Marxuach walked us through a first-season "Lost" episode. "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues," which was originally titled "What It Takes," a title others on the "Lost" staff deemed lame, leading the writer to come up with a new title. And that's lesson No. 1: TV is a collaborative process. You can't be too precious and in love with anything you write. You must have an open mind.

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In the version of "All the Good Cowboys???" that aired, Boone (Ian Somerhalder) accompanies Locke while looking for Claire (Emilie de Ravin) and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), who have been abducted by Ethan Rom (William Mapother) of the Others. This is the episode where Locke and Boone first discover the hatch, but in Grillo-Marxuach's first outline it wasn't Boone who accompanied Locke, it was two guest characters made up from whole cloth, Arthur and Sullivan. Instead those characters were scrapped for a series regular, Boone, and in so doing, Grillo-Marxuach said it became the genesis for killing Boone later in the season.

Also searching for the missing Claire and Charlie are Jack (Matthew Fox) and Kate (Evangeline Lily). In Grillo-Marxuach's initial outline, Jack and Kate come under a dart attack by the Others. Executive producer Damon Lindelof deemed that too "cheesy," and the darts were cut. The discovery of the hatch was also moved from earlier in the episode to the end to give it a cliffhanger.

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Grillo-Marxuach explained he left because "Lost" had moved in a different direction and he had "fallen out of the mainstream of the show's voice.

"Not every relationship is one for the ages," he said. "You shouldn't stay in a place where you no longer belong. It wouldn't have been a good match. Knowing when to cut and run is a good thing."

He hasn't watched "Lost" since leaving the show's staff, saying, "It's like hanging out with your ex-wife. The parting was amicable, but I don't need to see her for coffee."
Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette - 24th Oct