Lost Taking a Cue From 24?

It is only four episodes into the third season of ABC’s hit "Lost" and seemingly we are only two episodes away from the mid-season hiatus. That sounds a little fast and barely makes the cut as an effective kick-off to the season, particularly since we only just started to get into some of the biggest threads that were left flying loose at the end of the Season Two finale. According to ComingSoon.net, "Lost" will not even be returning until February 7th. That’s about three months between new episodes.

But, here’s the catch. Reportedly, when "Lost" returns, it will be nonstop original episodes all the way to the third season finale. That’s a very smart page right out of the playbook for FOX’s runaway freight train of a hit "24," which has improved and exponentially increased the momentum of its plot and format by airing all new episodes from its season premieres in January straight through to its finales in May. Like "24," ABC’s "Lost" runs on serial steam, so getting that freight train running with no reruns to slow its forward momentum might just help "Lost" gain back some its power. This will certainly be a welcome change from last year when "Lost" aired one new episode and then two repeats, or two new episodes and then one repeat, on and off for most of the second season’s duration, and this erratic airing schedule may have cost "Lost" some of its viewers and could account for some part of the drop in its ratings over that time period.

Of course, whether or not this helps the series regain some of its lost appeal is up for debate. It is not only a matter of a reliable and effective airing schedule but the quality and consistency of the show that must come together to make for a tight story and a riveting ride through from that first episode of the new year in February to the end of Season Three. But, if I were able to make a suggestion, it would be that "Lost" learn from "24" and its triumphant example by premiering its season in the New Year if it intends to create a completely compelling case for nonstop seriality. There is something to lose in starting the season in September, only to have it break in early November for a whole three months. That is a long time to forget why there was any suspense and what it even was, and it seems like a lot of wasted time at that if the first fourth of the season is just to build it up to the real kickoff approximately 14 weeks later.