What episode of "Lost" should producers submit to Emmy judges? Remember, it hasn't been nominated since it won a few years ago, probably due to poor episode selection. The "Man of Science, Man of God" choice a few years ago was a problem because judges who weren't regular viewers didn't know what heck was going on in this serialized story.

So, this year, what's best? "The Constant," which deals with the mythology of the series? Or "Something Nice Back Home" - which is largely character driven? Or a different one?

Up to this point, "The Constant" was the best episode. But it'll confuse voters too much(hell, it confuses loyal viewers), so who knows. They still have the finale, though that is 3 hours, so I don't believe they can submit all 3 parts.

"The Constant" is really good, but too confusing. "Confirmed Dead" could work.

I'd rather wait and see the finale before I make a decision (because I already have a feeling I'm going to say that should be their tape when it's over).

Oh, by the way, it's "Man of Faith" not "Man of God."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JoeD,

I would definitely say "The Constant". IMO, it's the best episode of the season and it's relatively self-contained. I actually think "Confirmed Dead" would also be a good submission.

I am mostly curious what others think...

"The Constant" should be there submission. It's actually not that confusing and has a self-contained story. Their past two episode submissions have been more confusing because they weren't self-contained.

I think their are only two facts you need to know about before watching which totals less than 50 words: 1. desmond is a psychic and 2. Desmond REALLY loves Penny

It was the best episode lost has had in a while and really proved that this show is great because it can make a conventional love story unconventional and still allow it to pack and emotional wallop.

I think "The Shape of Things to Come" is a pretty good one to submit. Fantastic performance by Michael Emerson and some really good drama involving Alex that you don't really need to know much about coming into the show.

G'Day, good question.

The perfect lost submission should contain these elements:
1) Character driven (with at least one emotionally powerhouse performance)
2) Self contained
3) The storyline has to be interesting and exciting

Unfortunately the only episode since season 1 that perfectly fits that bill is “The Other 48 Days”. That being said Lost is having a great year and has some top shelf tapes to choose from. I am yet to see “Something Nice Back Home” and it is likely that it or one of the last few episodes could be good choices but here are my thoughts on all the other episodes:

The Beginning of the End:
Too much stuff addressed from last year (Charlie, Naomi, Rescue, Cabin) to be a great choice.

Confirmed Dead:
This one is more self-contained but without a core emotional centre probably won’t get enough voters on board.

The Economist:
One of the seasons strongest episodes in my opinion. Interesting and exciting flashback and island events. Andrews gives a great performance but since his actions aren’t properly explained here it likely isn’t emotional or self contained enough.

Eggtown:
Not a bad episode by any stretch but it doesn’t keep your interest as well as others, Lilly’s performance isn’t one of the season’s strongest and the reveal at the end may not be clear to new viewers.

The Constant:
One of the season’s best. An emotionally charged performance by Cusick, an interesting and exciting storyline and it is more self contained than might be expected for this type of episode. However it would still be a gamble to submit an episode that is reliant on so many sci-fi elements.

The Other Woman:
Not a bad episode by any stretch, but Mitchell wasn’t as powerful as she was in “One of Us”, the flashback’s weren’t that interesting and it wasn’t self contained.

Ji Yeon:
An emotionally charged episode for Kim here with one of the most bitter/sweet episodes of the season. It is interesting and the boat stuff is exciting. The flashback twist, although a tad gimmicky, is a clever storytelling technique as well. The major storyline of the episode is self contained, however not sure about the boat stuff.

Meet Kevin Johnson:
A nice episode, but it primarily filled in a blank from Michael’s story, so probably not the best choice.

The Shape of Things to Come:
This is in my opinion the best episode of the season so far, A tour de force emotional performance from last year’s nominee Emerson, full of intrigue and excitement. It may not be self contained enough though and the twist at the end will not make sense (although does it need to?).

I’d go with “The Shape of Things to Come” as it seamlessly moves back and forward from high emotion and high action (also centres on a character that the Emmys nominated last year) so it should appeal to different types of people, However it’s not the perfect submission.

I’d rank them:
1. The Shape of Things to Come
2. Ji Yeon
3. The Constant

4. The Economist
5. Confirmed Dead
6. The Beginning of the End

7. The Other Woman
8. Eggtown

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Noble,

Up to this point, I'd say that the show's best bet is with "The Constant", but I don't think it will get them into the race due to its complex nature.

For the reasons stated above, I would go with "The Shape of Things to Come" followed by "The Constant". Shape is an edge-of-your-seat show with an incredible performance by Michael Emerson. It also has a lot of emotional weight attached to it.

Well this is my choice

Drama Series: The Shape of Things to Come

Yunjin Kim's: Ji Yeon

Evangeline Lilly's: Eggtown or the next episodes

Elizabeth Mitchell's:
She is not having a good season, maybe the future episodes of the season may get her to submit.

Well it's "The Other Woman" or nothing.

Matthew Fox's:
Maybe the future episodes can help him, he has nothing great to submit himself.

Naveen Andrews':
The Economist would be a great tape for him.

Michael Emerson's:
The Shape of Things To Come is the most powerful episode for him. He needs to submit that!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nothinghereanymore,

I think "The Constant" is the best episode they could submit, it could be confusing but it still has the simple nature and a cool way of looking at time travel plus a lot of heart.

As of right now "The Shape of Things to Come" is their best bet.

For "Lost" to get a nod they have to go with something that deals with characters and not the mythology of the show. For now, I'd go with "Ji Yeon." Powered by the performance of Yunjin Kim this eppy packed an emotional wallop. It's not high on action but what is lacking is trumped by character based drama.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FishBiscuit,

Wheareas "Through the Looking Glass" was clearly the best episode to submit last year, Lost has no obvious choice this season so far. I think that "The Constant" is the best choice, because it is really emotional, self-contained, features strong acting and is widely regarded as one of the top five best episodes of Lost. Unfortunately, "The Constant" is heavy on the science-fiction so it will probably not be nominated. Hopefully, the finale "There's No Place Like Home" will be better for the judges. I agree with some of Noble's opinions.

Last year, Matthew Fox also had a better tape with "A Tale of Two Cities". This year, he will probably submit "Something Nice Back Home" (unless he has enough screentime in finale), which does not have as much range as "A Tale of Two Cities" as he does not cry and barely yells.

I would go with "The Constant", the most self-contained episode of this season (not to mention being a narrative non-regular viewers would identify with!) possessing a strong emotional arc (which always seems to grab voters).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Åndrew,

"The Constant" is the best episode of the season and I think that this is the episode the producers of "Lost" should submit to the Emmy voters.

Boomer,

Isn't the issue of a self-contained story what hurt "Lost" the past two years? If, as many people say here, "Constant" has the stand-alone story, why opt for "Shape" instead? Will "Shape" befuddle Emmy judges who aren't regular viewers of the show?

Unlike the first season, I don't think there is truly a 100% stand-alone episode produced anymore. As fans, we just know too much about the characters and want to see where they've been and where they're going.

While "The Constant" could be considered more of a stand-alone, it has a ton of sci-fi in it and requires a suspension of disbelief about time travel. It would not be a bad choice at all, even probably their second best in my opinion.

"Shape" just seems more emotional to me. It starts with several of the cast members trapped in a house with island invaders outside wanting them to give up Ben. They have shot two people already and have Ben's daughter on the ground ready to kill her. It also has a powerhouse performance by Michael Emerson (past Emmy winner and past nominee) that I think the voters will really enjoy. I don't honestly think it would take non-fan voters much time to get invested in that story and with that performance.

Watch them both on abc.com and tell us what you think. You are the perfect Emmy sample judge on this one since you don't watch the show on a regular basis.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Boomer,

I would like to see what someone thinks who does not watch the show regularly.

I personally don't think "Shape..." or "The Constant" are good submission choices.

I hope Tom reports back.

I, too, would love to know what something who does not watch the show thinks of "The Constant" and "The Shape of Things to Come".

I really don't think any episode of LOST is self-contained enough for a non-regular viewer to fully understand. This is a very complex show which is in the middle of its 4th season. LOST is a show that is specially designed to be dependent on backstory for full understanding. I haven't seen any episode since season 2's "The Other 48 Days" that would be self-contained enough.

This year, "Confirmed Dead" might be the easiest entry point into the storyline. However, it really lacks the emotional investment of some of the other episodes.

"The Constant" definitely delivers that emotional content. Ian Cusick delivers a great performance. It is a bit more self-contained than other episodes. Helping is the fact that one of the characters halfway explains what is happening with some of the trippy time-travel elements. But, there is still a lot of sci-fi content in this one.

"The Shape of Things to Come" is very exciting episode. Lots of action. A fantastic performance by Michael Emerson. But, it isn't the most self-contained episode. I suppose it might be explained by saying "some hostile people have invaded the island and our main characters are trying to defend themselves." I am not sure that totally captures it. However, on the positive side, I think Ben might be a character that can mostly sustain an episode without much previous knowledge of his character.

Meh. I am just not sure LOST could get nominated under this 1-tape system. It has a lot of sci-fi and has a complex plot which is heavily serialized. If "Through the Looking Glass" didn't do it for them, I can't see anything in Season 4 that would be better.