Meet Kevin Johnson

"**Meet Kevin Johnson**"
"Meet Kevin Johnson"
Lost episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 8
Directed by	Stephen Williams
Written by	Elizabeth Sarnoff; Brian K. Vaughan;
Featured music	"It's Getting Better"; by Mama Cass Elliot
Production code	408
Original air date	March 20, 2008
Running time	42 minutes
Guest appearances
	Cynthia Watros as Libby Smith; M.C. Gainey as Tom Friendly; Mira Furlan as Danielle Rousseau; Tania Raymonde as Alex; Blake Bashoff as Karl Martin; Marsha Thomason as Naomi Dorrit; Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus; Kevin Durand as Martin Keamy; Anthony Azizi as Omar; Fisher Stevens as George Minkowski; Grant Bowler as Captain Gault; Jill Kuramoto as Female anchor; Galyn Görg as Nurse; Starletta DuPois as Michael's mother; William P. Ogilivie as Gus; Francesco Simone as Arturo; James Locke as Jeff; Malcolm David Kelley as Walt Lloyd (uncredited);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Ji Yeon"	Next →; "The Shape of Things to Come"
	Lost season 4
	List of episodes

"Meet Kevin Johnson" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction drama television series Lost.^[1] It was written in October and November 2007 by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and co-producer Brian K. Vaughan, and filmed that November. The episode was directed by co-executive producer Stephen Williams.^[2] "Meet Kevin Johnson" first aired March 20, 2008, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States and on CTV in Canada^[3] with a running time of 42 minutes.^[4]

In the second-season finale, after 67 days of being stranded on a mysterious and mystical tropical island, Oceanic Airlines 815 crash survivor Michael Dawson (played by Harold Perrineau) successfully negotiates his escape via motorboat with the island's dangerous original inhabitants, whom the survivors refer to as the "Others". One month later in the episode before "Meet Kevin Johnson", Michael reappears on a freighter offshore of the island, undercover with the alias "Kevin Johnson". Most of the narrative of "Meet Kevin Johnson" consists of a continuous flashback—the third longest in the show's history after "Across the Sea" and "The Other 48 Days"—showing what happened to Michael in the month that he spent away in New York and on the freighter, primarily his recruitment aboard the freighter Kahana as a spy for the Others.

The writers completed "Meet Kevin Johnson", the eighth of 16 ordered scripts, on the same day that the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike action began. Post-production finished weeks later without input from the show's writers. ABC pledged to air the completed eight episodes regardless of the strike's resolution, but the writers felt that the episode's cliffhanger was unsuitable as a potential season finale. ABC ultimately overruled their opposition.

"Meet Kevin Johnson" was watched by 13 million Americans and was met with mixed reactions. A major discussion point was the episode's climax, which was criticized for its placement in the story and its focus on secondary characters. Although critics responded well to Michael's emotional journey, they complained that his physical journey seemed to conflict with Lost's timeline that had been laid out in previous episodes. The episode was honored with the fourth season's sole Primetime Emmy Award for its achievement in sound mixing.

^ Wigler, Josh (September 20, 2019). "'Lost' 15 Years Later: Every Episode, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
^ ABC Medianet, (February 29, 2008) "Sayid Confronts Ben's Spy on the Freighter, and Ben Pleads with Daughter Alex to Flee Locke's Camp to Survive an Impending Attack Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved February 29, 2008.
^ ABC Medianet, (March 7, 2008) "Weekly Primetime Program Schedule Grids Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
^ "Lost – Netflix". Netflix. Retrieved November 24, 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}

[1] Wigler, Josh (September 20, 2019). "'Lost' 15 Years Later: Every Episode, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2023.

[2] ABC Medianet, (February 29, 2008) "Sayid Confronts Ben's Spy on the Freighter, and Ben Pleads with Daughter Alex to Flee Locke's Camp to Survive an Impending Attack Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved February 29, 2008.

[3] ABC Medianet, (March 7, 2008) "Weekly Primetime Program Schedule Grids Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on March 17, 2008.

[4] "Lost – Netflix". Netflix. Retrieved November 24, 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}

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