'Lost' fans: Look out for that cliffhanger!

Okay Losties, here's what "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof has to say about the move to Thursday night: It's a boost for the mysterious castaways because it guarantees that they will not have to face off against the "American Idol" machine and it also protects them from going head-to-head with original episodes of "CSI" as long as the strike continues.

"I think it's awesome," Lindelof said. "If they had told us last year we were going to get the 'Grey's Anatomy' time slot, I would have been thrilled, especially since there's no new 'CSI' to go against," he said. "But the time slot is completely colored by the fact that we're still engaged in this writers strike. It's bad for the entire town. The only show you don't want to be up against in January is 'American Idol,' and there were very few time slots that would afford us to not compete with 'Idol.' It's great to not be up against 'Idol' but [it's a shame] that we're not up against 'Idol' because there's a writers strike."

"Lost" performs better in the ratings when the networks air episodes without interruption in the scheduling. Lindelof and Executive Producer Carlton Cuse designed the new season as a 16-episode arc and were hoping the strike would be resolved in time for ABC to be able to air the season without
interruption. But with the end of the strike increasingly uncertain, Lindelof said Friday that ABC felt it had no choice but to go ahead.

"What I would not want to do is hold these episodes of 'Lost' indefinitely," he said. "I feel like the fans haven't seen any 'Lost' since the end of May, and I completely understand the network's decision
to air these eight episodes. We certainly designed our season as 16 straight and this is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. But we can't go on strike in one breath and then complain about the fact that the series isn't airing the way we want it to in the other. I believe in the strike and why we're on strike, so that supersedes what my preference is for the ideal way for the show to end."

Because of complaints from fans last year that the show poses more questions than it answers, the writers learned to wrap up their seasons more conclusively, Cuse said. To that end, they designed the first half of the fourth season as set-up and the second as pay-off.

“The audience just needs to be warned,” Cuse said. “There’s a very cool cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. But most of the major questions were designed to get answered at the second half of the season. The whole idea that we’re actually looking forward as well as looking back is something we’re very excited about as storytellers. But there is a fear that if the strike continues and we’re not able to complete the season, that people might feel a little frustrated because those eight episodes aren’t conclusive.”

--Maria Elena Fernandez

Comments

[sam uel]

Cuse has better watch ot or his whole show fan base will erode. LOST s1 made a game about how mysterious everything was, then viewers realized the wrtityer's didn;t know what they were doing. Season 2 posed more questions which the show evaded again. In season 3, Cuse & Lindelof focused on the Others (who asked them to? Not fans!). In response to complaints, LOST was delayed again for a "first run" 16 episode arc that will now NEVER HAPPEN. Now, we will wait months for "really cool" episodes? LOST may be "lost" to viewers this time next month. Game over!

[Rankler]

IMHO the lack of reruns has hurt the show. Not everyone cares to watch it on a web page, and the density of the story is such that "Lost" is what the audience feels very quickly if they get behind.

[Ken Baker]

As a diehard LOST fan, I have a hard time believing they were unable to write all 16 episodes over the past 9 months, including editing and rewrites. Talk of a possible strike was circulating publicly back in March 2007 and there was ample time for the new episodes to be scripted. No other show is working with a paltry 16 episodes, yet only half the work is completed. ABC will have a hard time getting $40 for Season 4 with only 8 episodeson a DVD come Dec. 2008.

[slow]

Following season, which is currently aired in Germany (until ep. 12 at the moment) , I'm very satisfied to find proof that the writers really know what they do. There's a nice balance of answers revealed and adding new to the mystery. The characters are very well drawn, and the background stories are still convincing. I'm quite confident that seasons 4-6 will be worth the wait.