The internet is a hot-bed of rumours, gossip and... well, lies. Below is a list of some popular rumours doing the rounds on the 'net (regarding next year's Lost and Torchwood). I suggest you take them all with a pinch of salt, although some sound quite feasible and others have recently been proven true.
Torchwood's been off-air for the longest, so truths have more likely seeped out from meetings there. Obviously, spoilers lurk for anyone who hasn't seen these show's respective last seasons...
Lost
-- Emile de Ravin won't be back for season 5 as Claire, but she will be back for season 6. I can accept Claire won't be a major character any more, but I personally suspect she'll return in season 5 for a few ghostly visitations. And I think we need another Claire-centric flashback to fill in some gaps in our Claire/Aaron/Christian knowledge.
-- There will be a flashback episode explaining Keamy's back-story. Huh? Even though the freighter mercenary was killed in season 4's finale? Wishful thinking of a fan in love with Kevin Durand? Maybe. Would it add anything to know why Keamy got involved in his mission to capture Ben? Possibly. Yeah, actually, I'd be interested to see how Widmore procured his services.
-- Likewise, the long-promised Rousseau flashback will happen, despite the character's surprise death in season 4. God, I really hope so! I couldn't believe they killed her like that, although her character had become irrelevant (no thanks to the writer's bad handling of the Rousseau/Alex/Ben situation). A Rousseau flashback, featuring her doomed crew and "The Sickness" has been a long, long time coming.
-- Michael is definitely dead. Yep, actor Harold Perrineau told a magazine his character's demise was explained to him by the producers. Plus, he has already signed onto another TV show for 08/09. Obviously true, but I'd love to see Michael come back as a ghost or in a flashback, though. I hope Perrineau isn't too pissed off with Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof to consider occasional returns. Some kind of Walt/Michael reunion would be nice for season 6.
-- Jin isn't dead; he survived the freighter explosion and will be rescued by Faraday. It would stretch plausibility if Jin survived that big explosion and the drag of a freighter sinking to the ocean floor. But... I have to admit it would be cool if the Oceanic Six have incorrectly written Jin off and there's a tearful Jin/Sun reunion in season 6. But how can he get back to the island? Can't we assume Penny checked for survivors in her boat? Hmm, maybe he is just dead and consigned to flashbacks.
-- A return for Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who was killed by the smoke monster in season 3. Oh, it would be nice to see him as a ghost, or in someone's flashback. I really hope so. Mind you, wouldn't he have appeared on-screen with Hurley in season 4's chess-playing scene if it was possible? I suspect Akinnuoye-Agbaje's back in his native England and it's not really worth him travelling half-way round the world for a fan-pleasing cameo.
Torchwood
-- Doctor Who characters Martha (Freema Agyeman) and Mickey (Noel Clarke) will replace Owen and Tosh. This would make sense, particularly in the case of Martha. She slotted in quite well during her 3 episode stint in season 2. But Mickey? I never liked him. What does that goon bring to the show?
-- Captain Jack (John Barrowman) might not be involved very much now, instead reduced to a few appearances. Whoa. Big news if it's true. Can Torchwood survive without its lead character? Captain Jack was essentially the reason this spin-off got made to begin with. Will it be like Doctor Who without The Doctor? Or just The X-Files without Mulder – unbalanced and weaker for it, but possible to achieve.
-- Season 3 will be one story split into 5 parts, with a new episode airing every evening for 5 days -- meaning it will be finished within a week! This would be awful, but it's actually happening. Producer Julie Gardener confirmed this rumour, saying: "we've decided to do a five-part mini-series, one big story that will run during one week. I wanted to make a really big noise about the show." Oh dear...
I just don't think Torchwood could sustain a 5-part story. It has problems with single episodes most of the time! Will it just resemble a soap in that format? Will fans enjoy a week's hit of Torchwood to last a whole year? Ratings-wise, you're also banking on everyone catching episode 1 and being interested enough to stick with that story till episode 5. I suspect ratings will slide quite dramatically, leaving only fans watching Friday's finale. I mean, with Doctor Who reduced to specials in 2009, doesn't it make more sense to commission a 13-episode season of Torchwood to replace it on Saturdays?
-- The tone will abandon its "adult" vibe and target Doctor Who's demographic. Inevitable, really. The show never really justified its adults-only tag in season 1, and season 2's pre-watershed repeats proved its stories weren't much above Doctor Who level. But do we really need an earthbound sci-fi series doing what Doctor Who can do far better, with its bigger budget? I don't think so. But, if this proves to be true, it will probably work okay.
