‘Lost’ Creators Plotting Series End

James Joyner @ Gone Hollywood | Monday, January 15, 2007

“Lost” is one of the most popular series on television but its writers don’t want to keep it around too long.

Makers of the tropical island drama “Lost” say they’re talking with ABC executives about setting an end date for the series.

There’s no sense the finale is coming anytime soon. But knowing they have a deadline will help writers of the convoluted drama lay out how they want the story to end, producers said Sunday in a meeting with TV critics here. “Once we figure out when that will be, a lot of the questions will go away,” said Carlton Cuse, an executive producer. “Lost” is in its third season. The producers, citing Fox’s “The X-Files,” said they didn’t want to wear out their welcome. “That was a great show that probably ran two seasons too long,” Cuse said. “That is a cautionary tale for us.”

“Lost” is due back on ABC’s schedule next month following an extended hiatus after the season’s first six episodes and will air uninterrupted through May. The schedule was a direct result of fans’ complaints about reruns disrupting their concentration in past seasons, producers said. It’s likely next year that all 22 episodes will run consecutively, much like Fox is doing with “24.”

One prominent critic — ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson — said he thought the first six episodes this season concentrated too heavily on the stories of Jack, Kate and Sawyer at the expense of other members of the large cast. The producers said that will be rectified right away for the season’s second half as “Lost” goes back to the beach.

My wife and I started watching “Lost” well into its run by renting them on Netflix and catching up to real time. We simply wouldn’t be watching the show if we had to endure ABC’s idiotic scheduling. Indeed, now that we’ve caught up, our interest has waned because of the long hiatus. Running all 22 episodes consecutively might be a little drastic, as there is traditionally a skipped week here and there for holidays, but much better than what they’ve been doing.

The irony is that, in the days of three networks with a captive audience, programs were shown that way. The new season started in September and shows ran through late spring and then re-runs were shown during the summer. Now that there are dozens, often hundreds, of channels for viewers to chose from, the networks are doing everything they can to alienate their audience. It’s truly baffling.

‘Lost’ Creators Plotting Series End

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