Is it just me, or has the list of producers on the credits gotten longer and longer, and now includes most of the writing staff? I assume this means that all y'all have been contributing ideas to the overall storyline and therefore you're included in that label, but isn't there a "too many cooks" danger about to crop up the more this happens?

Not a personal criticism, mind. I'm sure there's some sort of union issue surrounding it or something, maybe. I just get nervous when I see that many names listed in that capacity. I can't say as I've had any big complaints so far (with the exception that Shaman Locke is getting a bit tiresome) and I love the work everyone's been doing, but how much time is being split off this way?

Also, a somewhat-related question about the writing process: do the writers/directors get together with the writer(s)/director(s) of the episodes previous and following theirs, to ensure character continuity and story flow? I ask because sometimes, even with the explanation of elapsed time, there seems to be some out-of-context behavior/scenes for some characters. As an example, in Outlaws, we saw a much softer, slower-to-jump Sawyer, and yet with In Translation, he was instantly ready to practically kill Jin. Did he suddenly forget what he learned with the issue with the boar and go back to being trigger happy? Was that something you did intentionally, or not?

Hope I don't sound ungrateful or anything. This is still the best show I've seen on tv in years, and the writing staff are a big part of the reason for that. Just curious as someone who's interested in how the creative process on a show like this works.