Thanks to Shahzad for finding this.
The writers' strike may end up being the best thing that ever happened to Lost.
ABC is said to be finalizing a post-strike spring schedule that not only hands Lost its best available time slot, but promises to further strengthen the network's stronghold on Thursday night.
According to multiple sources, ABC plans on airing this season's final five* Lost episodes on Thursdays at 10 pm/ET beginning in late April, where it will follow all-new episodes of Grey's freakin' Anatomy! Throw in fresh installments of Ugly Betty at 8 pm and you've got yourself the most formidable one-two-three punch since the early days of CBS' Survivor/CSI/Without a Trace smashup. Creatively speaking, I'd go so far as to say this rivals NBC's storied Must-See-TV juggernaut back in the '90s.
And I haven't even gotten to the best part.
The best part is that I'm hearing that ABC is strongly considering keeping this dream lineup intact this fall... and beyond.
I don't know about you, but this almost makes up for ABC's mishandling of [insert any number of show titles here].
* This just in: I'm now hearing that Lost's final arc may consist of six episodes, not five. No, Team Darlton isn't making an extra episode this season. Rather, the final installment of the current run (aka Episode 8) will likely be held to kick off the final batch of five. According to my spies, Episode 7 makes for a better, more logical, break. Discuss....
Source: TV Guide
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Lost episode 8 onwards to return in April
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78 Comments:
If Darlton thinks it's a good idea, it's a good idea.
i totally have faith in Darlton too. If they think its a better idea, its a better idea. I dont like it, but I can live with it.
there is supposed to be 16 episodes per season. 7 + 6 = 13. wtf?
So, the cliffhanger after 7 is even better than the one for 8 and they were saying how awesome 8's was? Man, it must be good.
Or just more natural, who knows.
Oh, and pity they're going back to 10pm.
The good news is although we get less viewers at 10, we'll be following a hit show in Grey's Anatomy and the fact that not much is ever expected of a 10pm slot.
Meaning we can pull in season 3 numbers and have abc still jump for joy. But I doub that. It'll stay high.
I do like thursdays though. Glad they're keeping it there.
Ok, to end my rambling: They need to stick with a timeslot. It's season 4 and this is already the FOURTH time slot. Stick with one and be done with it. It hurts ratings.
ahh... scratch my previous comment. i read the other interview. i thought we were gonna get jipped!
Ugh. I really dislike staying up that late, but since it's Lost I guess I have to. :-)
Ug, 10:00 is too late for me. This will slow down my work on Fantasy League stuff.
How about giving Ugly Betty the boot to Wednesdays and put Lost at 8 on Thursday? Considering all their Wednesday shows aren't coming back until Fall, methinks ABC has some wiggle room. Throw Ugly Betty to the dogs (American Idol) for the rest of this season and come up with a better gameplan next season.
In an attempt to seem not so negative, the one good thing about new episodes in late April is that the Future Mrs. G-Man is moving back to the area to her parents' house around then, so I won't have to spend a whole weekend up her place during the remainder of the season, thereby totally screwing up LFL progress. Her computer and internet connection are seriously paleolithic.
But still, 10:00 sucks.
ok. i actually remember hearing there is a natural break in the story after episode 7, so i'm happy with this, i think. i don't know what to think of the timeslot. i do hate that we don't have a set time BUT if this will boost ratings or keep ratings up then do it. SO many people watch grey's so maybe they will keep watching LOST. do we know when grey's will be back on the air?? when will they shift LOST back to 10pm??
I just can't believe that Lost is getting bumped out of a slot by Grey's Anatomy....what is the appeal of that crap? How many times can you watch a slutty doctor bang another slutty doctor and then go to work and have to try to fix a boy...and then it looks like he's gonna die, but then he does or he doesn't. The next week it's an old man instead of a boy...and two different sluts. I can't stand that mindless bullsh*t. Sorry....just needed to vent. Lost shouldn't be moved for ANY show....whether it helps their numbers or not....
ChristyG: when will they shift LOST back to 10pm??
===========
Do you read?
'According to multiple sources, ABC plans on airing this season's final five* Lost episodes on Thursdays at 10 pm/ET beginning in late April'
Only the remaining ones. :)
Add my vote for Boo! LOST should be established enough to not need a lead-in.
I guess I need to dust off my VCR. 10 p.m. is a tad late for me.
I don't like this at all. The 10:00pm time slot Sucks. It absolutely sucks. Back to downloading the show I suppose. Tsk. I'm very disappointed. I don't understand how people can be happy about this. I'm really pissed.
I don't like 10; 9 is much, much better.
Plus we have to wait for episode 8, now.
So I don't see how this is the "best thing" to ever happen to LOST, but whatever. At least we're getting more episodes.
not sure about all this natural break stuff...i guess things happen and 13 is more than 8....and i should be happy about that...
BUT
now moving the time slot again...!?
what will happen in 09 then...!?
obviously this all will be discussed and eventually planned out...but because LOST fans are so loyal i feel ABC thinks that no matter what time or when it airs we will watch and for the most part YES most of us will....BUT not the casual viewers....that helped them get 15-16 million people watching each of the last two episodes...
10 PM slot is a KILLER for us. My husband simply can not stay up that late, while at 9 PM he never had a problem with.
ABC, if you read this, go back to 9 PM. Put that STUPID Greys Anatomy show at 10 PM.
this is totally AWFUL news!
10 pm is way too late!
DAMNIT! F YOU ABC!
Why not put Grey's in the 10pm slot? They were in the 10pm slot for the first season or two on Sundays and they did good there. I'm definitely not happy about this. And why 5 episodes? Why can't we get the 8? There extending the season to June so take a couple more weeks and film the rest. Air episode 8 or 9+ starting in May. Makes no sense.
Are you kidding me? This is terrible. It's doesn't matter what day Lost is airing, but 10 PM? Do we not remember what happened last season?
The fact that Grey's Anatomy gets the earlier time PROOVES that ABC has more confidence in Grey's. It wouldn't matter if Lost was airing after the superbowl, the number of viewers will not increase.
i dont understand, you people in usa really like ugly betty and greys anatomy around there? i understand you may like greys, but ugly betty its like worse than high school musical or whatever it is called. i dont understand how is this good for lost.
can't they just give ugly betty the boot full stop
Ugly Betty is a fun show, a show that you don't put your brain to work, it's just a comedy. It's actually better than the stupid Greys Anatomy where every doctor thinks every minute how to f@## the nurses or the other doctors and not how to do doctor stuff. I hate Greys.
Not that it affects me (I'm not in US) but so many change in day and time slot doesn't sound good for the ratings of the show. Grey's ratings are better so it's understandable that they don't change Grey's slot. But they really should find a stable day and time slot for Lost. What about next year??
Last year I was quite interested in the ratings, praying for lower ratings but this year I don't mind because there is an end date set, though quite far away.
I'm perfectly ok with first installment of the season ending by epi.7 IF it has a worthy cliffhanger. I just hope, it has a CLIFFHANGER not something like in "I do". A Sun and Jin finale... This sounds much better than a Kate centric finale..
I'm happy to get as many episodes as they can make, but the 10pm timeslot sucks backside! I've never watched Grey's Anatomy or Ugly Betty and don't plan on ever doing so. Guess I'll just be taping it and getting up early to watch it in the morning..again.
Keep it on at 9 ABC!
Maybe I'm missing something here...
But where are they gonna find the time to shoot these episodes??
I always thought that it took some time to produce an episode, from writing to shooting to post-production.
In any case, this sounds terrific! :)
I just don't understand you people! Why 10pm is late? What u go to bad at 9pm. What kind of life u have? I also have a job and get up at 7 am, but not go to bed before 01 am. So, I just don't understand all of u.
Why not go to Tuesday or Wednesday at 9:00 for the second set? Want American Idol only be one hour by then at 8:00?
It seems that Americans are early sleepers :) In my country 10:00 pm is quite early even for students.
So what I got from this news is that; 7th episode is the mid-finale for season 4, and on April we're gonna get the 8th and all the remaining episodes? According to this, they will be showing 7 episodes before the mid-break, but 6 episodes as promised right? Well then I think they have a great ending in episode 7 so that we can't wait to see episode 8. The only thing that I want from Darlton or from ABC is that, DON'T CHANGE THE AIR DATE! KEEP IT THURSDAY! Seriously, I've organised my school schedule a few according to LOST, and I don't want to have any courses on Fridays (that's when I can achieve to the new episodes :D). :)
Some people have kids that get up very early and it's hard to stay awake until 11:00. I really like the 9:00 time better. Why not Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 9:00? Like soemoen else said, isn't American Idol only one hour by then?
I love how everyone who Lives outside of the Country is Complaining we Think its to late...The fact is They change the timeslot every season And its not fun for fans...I gotta get up at 6 Every morning for school So I don't like the time very much to.
Well Miodrag, I have to get up at 5 for work (which starts at 7)so yeah, I am usually in bed by 9. My life is probably like yours only I start everything a couple of hours earlier and end it a couple of hours earlier. Not hard to understand, everyone has different schedules.
Although I'm a serious night owl, I really hated Lost being on at 10pm...totally messed up my schedule for other things :)...PLUS, I HATE THAT DAMN SHOW GREYS ANATOMY...gawd, I hate that show..
ABC is screwing this whole thing up again. Honestly, they don't think Lost fans could possibly sit through a bunch of cryin' ass biotches and overly sensitive and punnani whipped boys on Grey's. Did I tell you how much I hate that show.
I don't care what time it's on as long as I get to see as many episodes as possible!!! GO TEAM LOST!!! Get them done!
~ Mel
http://www.lost.eu/721e8
The 10pm timeslot is no problem.I'll DVR it and then watch it when I get up at 6am for work!The time shift shuffle is ridiculous,but Grey is ABC's big show so it's only natural that ABC move it back into its timeslot.Does anybody want to go back to facing American Idol again?Then the remaining 40 something might become a TV movie to wrap things up!Yeah,I know that ABC has committed to the rest of the episodes and that it is an an house ABC production BUT one never knows....... Cogito,a lot of Yanks(I am one) work earlier than 9 am so we need our beauty sleep!I know how it is abroad my dad is from Australia and my mother is from Europe.....
Everything sounds good, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO @ 10pm...
come on... 10:00 pm is VERY early in Europe...also for studying children and working parents...
i'd rather say that Lost has to be watched WITHOUT commercials...
in America you have tons of these...how can you live up with that??
THAT really sucks...
...not the time slot.
I'm kind of excited about the fact that it will be on the same night as Ugly Betty (my other favorite show), but it kind of sucks that it's on at 10 and follows Grey's Anatomy...I used to like that show until I realized the plot basically consists of doctors trying to contaminate as many rooms in the hospital with semen as they can.
Why can't Grey's be on at 10? Ugly Betty, Lost, Grey's seems like a much better schedule.
Look, it's not that 10 is late - although it kind of is for a TV show - it's that you have to stay up till 11, THEN go to bed, and for people who have kids, and have a job, you're up by 7, meaning you're really f'n tired by the time LOST rolls around.
Personally, I go to bed around 1, and I like the 9 PM slot better anyway, but I can see why others wouldn't want it at 10. It's just inconvenient.
Commercials do suck and most Americans hate them. You're right there. But the later timeslot sucks equally in my opinion.
Move Grey's Anatomy and let their fans deal with it for a couple of seasons.
Andre,as for the commercial considerations....I get TV5,Rai,Portuguese TV,Chinese,Japanese etc so on so I know about the lack of commercials abroad.The broadcast networks(like ABC ,Lost's network and producer) and a lot of the cable networks HAVE ALWAYS played commercials!That is part of the American TV landscape.People don't mind when they are used to TV that way and it has always been that way,too!It would be cool to see Lost without commercials but unless this is HBO OR Showtime,"it ain't happening"!In essence,people are not complaining because that is how TV is presented in the US.Solution:I DVR Lost and then watch it without commercials.
Oh come on people. I'm not going to bed before 12pm and I also have to get up at 6 in the morning to assist in a surgery at 7. At least once ion a week you should make it...
OFF TOPIC-
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I just watched Dark's site reach the 40 million hit mark! That's 40,000,000 individual page hits since he started the site. Very cool!
Congrats Dark!
LOL G-Man, that is pretty cool :)
I remember when I first stated and I was happy to see the hit count get to 100!
Dang. Just as I feared. 10PM will hurt again! Didn't they learn from last year? And in this house Thursday's is all CBS when new shows are on. Would never watch Ugly Betty or that stupid Grey's which I saw part of once. Uck. As long as it's not opposite CSI Las Vegas, I can live with it.
But they WILL lose their new live audience attandance for sure - again. Such a shame.
Ewww why does ABC seemed so determined to cast us Losties to the back of the lot? I reluctantly agreed to the Thursday slot because the ratings would jump, but 10PM always does moderately worse than its predecessors. Now we have to wait the absolute longest possible for a broadcast drama to air (since Friday is reserved for near-death shows usually). Uber-weak
Forgot to mention that Lost will now be up against 2 other ratings monsters, ER and Without A Trace. Nice job ABC.
>Blogger Miodrag said...
> I just don't understand you people! Why 10pm is late? What u go to bad at 9pm. What kind of life u have? I also have a job and get up at 7 am, but not go to bed before 01 am. So, I just don't understand all of u.
My husband works for Google (Android engineer). He sleeps at 10 PM, he wakes up at 5:45 AM, he takes a shower and gets the Google shuttle (with WiFi) to work at 6:35. He is at work at 7:10 AM and he eats breakfast there (all google food is free for employees, 3 times a day).
He was very happy when 'Lost' moved to 9 PM, but now we will have to DVR it again, and subsequently & naturally fast forward on the commercials too, lessening the value of Lost for ABC.
All I am saying is, it does not make sense putting *expensive* series at 10 PM (Lost is the most expensive production out there still). 10 PM is a killer for MANY people who work or have kids. Expensive productions should be only placed between 8 and 9 and keep the 10 PM slot for the cheaper ones (this way every production is paying for their expenses via commercials the right way).
It's a mistake to put Lost at 10 PM, and last year it was apparent too.
I really can't complain about any of this news. Lost is back on and we are getting more episodes!
I am liking this thursday thing so far as it is a great way to capp of the week and get ready for Friday (which is weekend mode).
Even 10 pm doesn't bother me. I mean it's thursday, and people tend to stay up a little later on thursdays. Many very successfull shows have done very well in this timeslot.
Anyways, as I said, I am just happy Lost is back and we are getting more :)
I think this is great news! Season 3 was on at 10, and it was darker and more violent than seasons 1 and 2. The S3 finale says this is a good thing. Just set your TiVos/DVRs/VCRs, guys. Plus, this gives them time to possibly re-edit episode 8.
@Sean: Time, man. Time. They don't have enough time to produce 8 episodes before the end of the TV season. Ratings drop in the summer, so ABC wants it wrapped up before then. And they want the finale for Sweeps Week, most likely.
All the moving around of the show in terms of day/time cracks me up because it has had zero effect on me because since the show started, I've never watched a single second of the show when it was originally broadcast.
From the get-go, I've recorded it on my DVR to be able to zip through the commercials and I've watched it on Friday night so I can get stoned and drink beer while watching.
They could put it on at 3:00am on Tuesdays and it wouldn't matter to me one bit! :-D I sympathize with people that have to go to bed early, but VCR's are so cheap these days, it would be a good investment that would more than pay for itself over the rest of the run of the show.
It sounds like the scheduling is being done more for economic reasons by showing the new episodes during the May sweeps. That whole 'sweeps' system sucks because it concentrates all the really must-see stuff in those few weeks so that everything is on at the same time, and it's the viewers who lose unless they have Tivos that can record 3 shows at once. (I'm not even sure there is such a Tivo with 3 tuners) The non-sweeps periods end up full of reruns and other junk.
All the same I guess it's better to get the 5 episodes of Lost that way than not at all. As far as Episode 8 goes I'm sure the writers know how it's supposed to fit into the storyline and if they think it belongs wit the final 5 then I'm sure they're right. I remember them saying how stopping at the end of episode 8 would be like only getting half of a Harry Potter book, which makes it sound like not the best point for a split.
Ratings go up with a 9 PM slot....so let's move it back to 10. Great thinking.
"The best part is that I'm hearing that ABC is strongly considering keeping this dream lineup intact this fall... and beyond."
So does this mean that season 5 will be this fall? or am I missing something?
I'm not even used to it being on Thursday. Now it's gonna be at 10PM ?!! They're desperate to screw this up, methinks.
Does anybody think that if we sent them 9 of something that they will continue the 9 timeslot? It worked for Jericho. I hate the 10 slot, as do most others, and Lost was on ABC years before Grey's Anatomy was. In fact, they were on Thursdays at 9 before and then got moved to Wednesdays. I'm seriously down for sending ABCs' offices "9" of something special to try and persuade them.
@queen z-i couldn't agree more,i too am so very happy to have more episodes of lost this season.
i think it is a shame so many of us are complaining about the time slot. I have been coming to dark's site for a while now, but i have never posted, but i felt i had to now, cause i got on here today after hearing the news about more episodes and i was so excited, and i could't wait to hear how excited my fellow lost fans were about this news as well, instead it seems like a lot of complaing over trival issues. Consider that they could still be on strike, and then we may have had to wait until next january for more episodes!!
Listen, i do sympathize with anyone who has to work early in the morning, but make the sacrifice one day a week and stay up a bit later to watch the greatest show ever. Hey i work the second shift at my job, and last season, i started to miss epis cause of the time slot(it came on to early,i was still at work) but i didn't complain, instead i burned up 3 days vacation and took off work the last 3 wednesdays last season so i wouldn't miss the show, and everyone i worked with thought i was totally insane, but i don't care, this is Lost, and they don't get it like we do, i wouldn't care if the show came on at 1 in the morning, and i had to be up at 7, i would still watch
it!!
Anyway, off my soapbox now, by the way, dark, i love the site, i just wish i had posted before, shouldn't have waited so long :o)
I'm worried for the fact that Darlton had planned 3 seasons of 16 episodes each.
Now with a season of 13 episodes, would it mean that they are reducing the story telling of season 4 from 8 to 5 episodes, meaning that next season they will have (so to speak) 3 "filler" episodes because the story arc consists of the season 5 original 16?
PD: sorry for my English. :)
^&%$!!!
They whole reason they moved to Thursday in the first place was so they could get an earlier time slot!!!
But no, we can clearly see the ABC cares more about the 30 to 40 year-old women demographic than a show that appeals to many ages of both sexes.
Lindelof and Cuse have said that the three episodes will be carried over.
There are three things wrong with this news:
1. Lost will lose ratings because some people go to sleep earle. It doesn't matter that it is after Grey's Anatomy, just like it didn't matter that it was out of the way of American Idol last season. However, from ABC's perspective, this is the best timeslot. They already have Dancing with the Stars on Monday, cannot afford to compete with American Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are off-limits because nobody watches TV then and they already have a solid Extreme Makeover: Home Edition/Desperate HousewivesBrothers and Sisters Sunday line-up.
2. Why is Lost returning on April 24 and not April 17. By starting on April 24, season 4 ends on May 29, but the 2007-2008 television season and May sweeps ends before that. This means that the season finale ratings will not be included in the annual ratings chart. The season finale always performs better than the episodes before it and bumps up the season average.
3. Will we still get a double-length finale? I hope so, because they definetly would have done a double-length finale if not for the strike. If we do, how will this work? Lost season finales always last three hours from 8-11: one for the recap and two for the episode, but Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy in the way.
BUMP UGLY BETTY to WEdnesdays, and then we don't have to wait until Grey's ANatomy is over to watch a good show. If UB were on Wednesdays, and Lost were on at 8, then I would turn the tv off. Grey's Anatomy is CRAP and so is Ugly Betty. ARGH. I hate the time slot. This network sucks in general, but they are really screwing up switching the times... Does anyone know, does Ugly Betty beat Lost for ratings?
What sucks is that we are getting 5 episodes( 6 with one cut off the end of the other arc) in the place of 8 , i think im just sad for missing all that material. so worry not about missing lost cause of new time slot , but worry about that lost episodes you will never see!
Actually, barrett802sb, I read the full article on TV Guide and we will get the three episodes at some point in the future:
What will happen to the three "lost" episodes? Will they roll over into next season's 16, or will they vanish forever?
Cuse: Damon and I remain committed to producing the 40 additional hours of the show that we promised. We haven't figured out exactly when we'll put those other three on, but we're not eliminating them from the show. You will get those three episodes downstream.
@jerome:
i know that US television is that way...no complaint.
mine was just a general thought about Lost without commercials...magnificent!
trust me, by recording it and skipping commercials, you're doin' the right thing! ;-)
Wow I read every comment. It doesn't really matter to me when the show airs but I can understand why people are upset with the 10pm time slot. I work an after school job and I normally don't get home till 9:30pm. I don't like missing the first half of the show so I normally wait till the next day and buy the episode on Xbox Marketplace.
Also the dude talking about sending a 9 to ABC offices: I'd be down with something like that so people have have to get up early can enjoy Lost. You should try to organize something.
I'm glad that Lost is getting new episodes and all, but I shake my head in amazement at those folks who are telling us early risers to "sacrifice one night a week to stay up late." I understand that you European folk and all the college kids out there don't think staying up until 11:00 is late, but it's killer for some of us "overworked" Americans and adults.
Frankly, when it comes down to choosing between my regular sleeping patterns (aka- personal well being) and Lost, you better believe I'm choosing sleep. I'm a total Lost nut, which most of you know pretty well but it is, afterall, just a freaking TV show.
addy ellis asked, "Does anyone know, does Ugly Betty beat Lost for ratings?"
No, Lost's ratings are much better. This season, Ugly Betty is in 49th place, with a season average of 9.43 million American viewers and Lost is in 9th place with 15.71 million. (http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/progcal/dispDNR.aspx?id=021208_05) Even though Lost lost ratings in the third season, it still ended in 17th place and is still considered a mega-hit. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f)
"it will follow all-new episodes of Grey's freakin' Anatomy! Throw in fresh installments of Ugly Betty at 8 pm and you've got yourself the most formidable one-two-three punch since the early days of CBS' Survivor/CSI/Without a Trace smashup."
I think im either going to hurl or burst into laughter. Greys anatomy sucks, ugly betty sucks, survivor, csi and without a trace, sucks.
Is lost the only good show ABC has ever had or what? its tottaly in its own catigory and really shouldnt be put in a "one two three punch" with shows that ultimatly, suck.
Lost is a one punch knockout on its own! It owns all those shows and then eats em for breakfast.
freakinflax lets do it. theres nothing I hate more than greys anatomy, lets kick em into next week at 10!
but what should we send abc, little cut outs of the #9 or 9 of something funny? we have until april so if we all get together on it, we could pull it off.
i really dont care about the time, i just want to piss off the douches at abc and there favorite child greys :)
please check out my lost theory that builds on vozzek69's at
http://nnncimm.blogspot.com/
Well episode 7 will have us talking for them 6 weeks so I guess its gonna be big in episode 7....(death, revelation, or an answer to a mystery thats been bugging us since 04)? Only time will tell.