Anyway, it's a small world here in Los Angeles, bounded by mountains and
soothingly cloaked in smog (though not too bad this week), and as further evidence of this smallness I point to an experience which befell me last night.
I'm sitting in a Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood with my old and dear friend, Michael, when who should walk in with his family and friends and park himself at a table not ten feet away but someone who looked suspiciously like Harold Perrineau.
But of course, this couldn't possibly be Perrineau (I reasoned to myself), as he was last seen sailing off in a skiff with Walt by his side, wracked by guilt and tormented by Ben and wondering whether the perilous seas were about to swallow him and his murderous secrets.(There were a couple flashback appearances on "Lost" last season, too, per my recollection.)
And why should Harold Perrineau be here, in this Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, when the entire body of the TV press corps was just a few miles away, still furiously nursing a grudge against ABC Entertainment chief, Steve McPherson ("Big Mac") for playing footsy with them that very morning over the "news" out of "Lost" - which, after persistent grilling, was that "Lost" uber-producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cruse would announce at Comic-Con that said Harold Perrineau would re-join the cast of "Lost" next season?
Anyway, I asked this person who looked suspiciously like Harold Perrineau if he was in fact Harold Perrineau and he said, yes, he was (in fact) Harold Perrineau. To make a short story longer, we started to talk, and became close friends (I forgot entirely about my other friend, coincidentally named "Michael” - as mentioned, a small world), while he proceeded to tell me EVERYTHING about “Lost”.
I exaggerate. Harold - we are on a first name basis now - told me nothing, but he did reveal that "Damon and Carlton called up to tell me" about the fuss at the press tour; Hal and I got a good laugh over that. I then asked him why he dissed us (I was not smiling at this point) by deciding to reveal the big news at Comic-Con, that fanboy convention down in San Diego today.
"Because they're fans," said he. "We're fans, too," said me. He then told me he was going down to San Diego for the big announcement; Hal didn't look too happy about that.
I innocently asked which episode he would be returning in?
"Goodbye," said Hal.