"LOST" on the Block

SPOILER ALERT: "LOST" took over a quiet residential street in Waikele this morning. And groggy as I was stopping by on my way to work, I had to do a double-take: the show had been there before.

The very same street was used during Season 2 episode "Lockdown," where Locke (Terry O'Quinn), working as a home inspector, checked out a property acquired by Nadia. Today, however, Sayid's childhood sweetheart was nowhere to be seen. Although the location was again California, this time it looked like we were visiting the residence of Locke's lost love, Helen Norwood (played by Katey Sagal, who posted a note on Twitter that she was in Hawaii yesterday, but since deleted it).

A camera dolly was set into the street, and several extras were coached on how to create the illusion of suburban tranquility. A young blonde girl rode around on her bike, and a little boy in a red shirt rolled past on his skateboard. A mail carrier made his rounds, and another man walked his dog across the street. Over and over and over again.

Terry O'Quinn soon arrived on set, wearing a white dress shirt with blue stripes. He was also carrying an acoustic guitar, but I gather it's just something the actor plays on set now and then, rather than a prop for the scene. He climbed into a blue Chevy van with a wheelchair ramp, and when action was called, he drove the van around the corner and up to Helen's house.

The stage was set for a confrontation of sorts, but one I wasn't able to watch from the corner. I gather, though, that relations between Locke and Helen aren't much better than they were the last time we saw the two of them together. Indeed, as a crewmember explained to an elderly couple walking through the neighborhood, the scene would end with our hapless Locke tumbling to the ground... just as the lawn sprinklers came on.

Poor, poor Locke!

Mahalo to eagle-eyed "LOST" fan Stacey!