Like most series, they wait until its close to the premiere of the next season to release the previous season (on December 9) so they cross promote each other.
Seasons 1 was on DVD September 6, 2005; Season 2 September 5, 2006. S2 and S3 both had episodes debut in the fall, not January. Season 3 was a December DVD release, leading into S4, which started in January. So I'm not seeing the problem...?
Past, present and future is anything but clear when it comes to Lost, but Locke being on the island side is in order. As S5 will be the story of the Oceanic Six and (AFAIK) take place in "present time" Locke would still be on the island, though the flash forward in the S4 finale does however mandate that Locke will leave the island at some point.
While I was never a big fan of Libby, it seems sort of criminal of them to not follow up on that character. I'm betting they wished they never included the last shot from "Dave".
Thanks for the link. I definitely wish that they addressed Libby's 'origin' but at this point in time on the show, I don't think there's a way for it to fit into the show and it would just feel like the writers saying "Here's Libby's backstory. Happy, now?"
While I can definitely live without her backstory, I imagine that years from now when we're re-watching the series on DVD or whatever, it'll stand out as a pretty big omission if it's not wrapped up. Was it just a coincidence that she just happened to help Desmond and inadvertently led to him crashing on the island? Why the heck was she at the mental institution with Hurley? Was it just a coincidence that she was on the same flight as him and that the two fell in love - especially since she appeared to remember him? I guess we just have to say, "well, that's just the way it happened".
I guess it's just an annoyance since I believe the producers had hinted in the past that we should expect more about Libby.
I'm pretty sure I remember them actually saying, immediately after she died, that they had a plan to address Libby's backstory. In fact, her appearance in the season 2 finale was cited as the first step in that story. But I can understand the decision - they may have planned to tell the story and then realised, having killed off Libby, that there were more important storytelling priorities.
I guess if they don't address it, we'll just have to assume that her story goes something like this:
Was in a mental institution with Hurley
Recovered and became a clinical psychologist
Fell in love, got married, her husband died
Met Desmond and gave him her husband's boat
Ended up on The Island by coincidence/fate
Recognised Hurley, genuinely liked him
Didn't want him to find out about her past
Got shot by Michael
Which is fine as a series of unfortunate events but doesn't really give us any of the big revelations/twists that are so much a part of the show. Why show Libby in a mental institution with Hurley if that's as far as the story goes? Is it to give us a reason as to why she liked him so much, i.e. she knows what he's been through and can identify with him? Or something darker and more insidious? I guess we'll never know, but I think SOME effort should be made to connect the dots, even if it's just a throwaway bit of dialogue.
Can I just add, I've been re-watching LOST from the beginning again with my dad (who has never seen it before, and is loving it) and we've just finished Season 2. I've been trying to keep a mental note of outstanding mysteries that (as of Season 5) haven't been answered. Here are a couple that stood out:
- Did Rousseau's team really get sick? If so, how/why? Is it anything to do with the antidote that Desmond, Claire and Aaron have all taken? If not, what is the antidote? Was it merely a red herring to keep the Dharma folk inside the hatch for fear of infection?
- Why did Radzinski draw the invisible map on the blast door? Why not turn on the UV light to help him see? Why edit the film and hide the pieces elsewhere?
I was worried we might never learn the answers, but with Season 5 apparently concerning time-travel, we just might get them a little sooner than I'd thought!