The Tail Section

In my previous "Unanswered Questions" articles, I’ve speculated and theorized over various mysteries that have yet to be answered by the series.  However, not all of the questions I have about Lost are regarding the labyrinthine plot of the show.  I also have questions about the state of the series itself, especially now that ABC has officially announced plans to bring Lost back for eight episodes beginning on January 31.  Is this long-awaited return actually a good thing, or could ABC’s insistence to burn through the completed episodes end up having negative consequences for both the show and the fans?

Let’s take a look at the people affected by Lost’s return to the schedule, and decide whether or not they’ll benefit from this jumping of the gun.

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse

Will they benefit?  No.

It’s no secret that the Lost show runners were against the idea of ABC bringing the series back to the air with only half of season four completed.  I find the fact that the network went against their wishes to be a bit appalling, but of course business will always trump art when it comes to these kinds of decisions.  Due to ABC’s insistence that the show return, Carlton Cuse had to break the picket line of the writers’ strike to oversee post-production of the final episodes.  This whipped up an undeserved, if rather small, storm of controversy regarding his decision.

The only way that airing these eight episodes could possibly benefit Lindelof and Cuse is by giving them a chance to gauge fans’ reactions.  They’ve been known to change certain storylines due to passionate pleas from the viewers, such as the whole Nikki and Paulo arc, so if there is anything in this batch of episodes that fans detest, they’d have time to make some changes before finishing the last half of the season. Whether or not this would actually benefit the series or simply placate whiny fans is another matter entirely, but the viewer feedback could be a plus.

ABC

Will they benefit?  Of course.

ABC wouldn’t be bringing Lost back to the air so quickly if it wouldn’t benefit them.  With the writers’ strike in full swing, and reality TV clogging the airwaves while original programming fades to black, Lost will practically have Thursdays at 9pm all to itself.  ABC is pretty much guaranteed massive ratings, especially with all the buzz surrounding the show following the season three finale.

However, one problem the networks often have is that they don’t think long-term.  This is why FOX cancels so many up-and-coming shows and replaces them with the reality juggernaut of the moment:  they have no patience.  Giving viewers a taste of Lost, only to rip it away again indefinitely, could have a dire effect on the health of the series, especially if these eight episodes aren’t universally well received.  If viewers are underwhelmed by the eighth episode, which was never intended to be a finale of any sort, will they return when the remainder of season four finally airs?  ABC would avoid this issue if they just waited and aired the entire season in one 16-episode run, but that’s not going to happen.

The Casual Lost Fans

Will they benefit?  Yes.

It’s hard to believe that there are casual Lost fans out there who don’t obsess over every detail of the series, but I know at least one of them, so I assume more exist.  The casual viewer will be happy to see Lost return, and its presence on the air should serve as a good reminder for them that the show still exists.  I doubt that they’ll be too devastated when the series disappears after eight episodes, and will probably tune in again for its return.  Either that or they’ll just be waiting for the eventual season four DVD set to be released, and this scheduling won’t effect them in the least. 

The casual fans have it pretty easy, as they enjoy the show for an hour a week and then manage not to think about it much beyond that.  I don’t know how they do it.

The Hardcore Lost Fans

Will they benefit?  Yes and No.

Aside from the show runners, the hardcore fans are the people I’m most concerned about, as this is the group that contains myself and anyone reading this article.  Of course we’ll benefit somewhat from Lost’s return, because, hello, Lost is returning!  At last we get to see more episodes after months of waiting in agony, and finally the horrible cliffhanger we were left with will be resolved.  I couldn’t be more excited to see the show come back, and because I’m greedy I definitely want it back right now.  After all, haven’t we waited long enough?

However, the return of Lost won’t be all sunbeams and rose petals, no matter how excited we are.  If you’ll allow me to indulge in a broad generalization, I’d like to point out that there are two types of hardcore Lost fanatics:  the patient types who willingly go on whatever journey the writers would like them to go on, and the impatient types who have a tendency to be very vocal when the show goes on detours or spins its wheels for too long.  I think the latter group gets smaller as the series goes on, because many have abandoned the show by this point, but they’re still out there, ready to burst forth with complaints at a moment’s notice.

If you don’t believe this to be true, all you have to do is rewind to 2006 and take a look at how the six episode "pod" that kicked off season three was received.  Considering that I’m one of the patient Lost fans who doesn’t mind the occasional detour, I thought the first six episodes were great.  Sure, they were limited in focus and didn’t devote time to many of our favorite characters, but it was only six episodes.  I couldn’t understand why so many people complained about what, in the grand scheme of the show, was such a small amount of time.  Watching six episodes when they’re originally broadcast may take over a month, but on DVD you can blow through those in an afternoon.  People were complaining that an afternoon’s worth of television was too slow and not jam-packed with every character ever introduced, and the internet practically exploded with a split in the fandom.

I’m happily spoiler free regarding season four, so I can only assume that the first eight episodes will be ridiculously awesome and please most of the fans.  However, some people will still complain from the instant that eighth episode cuts to black.  They’ll complain that the first half of the season wasn’t eventful enough, or that a certain character didn’t get enough screen time, or that particular questions weren’t answered, and this will go on for a torturous number of months.

I’m all for discussion of the series, and of course people are allowed to have gripes, but when it’s a show I love as much as Lost, it does grate the nerves after awhile.  I also think it hurts the reputation of the show itself.  Lost had a lot to prove when it returned after that six episode arc in season three, because critics and many fans had been deriding the show for months.  It’s quite possible that, due to ABC’s wonky scheduling, the same thing could happen all over again.

So, do we, the hardcore fans, really benefit from another truncated run of a Lost season?  Are you prepared to be given your favorite show on television, only to have it ripped out of your hands a couple of months later?  Are you ready for the explosions, complaints, and little flame wars that will no doubt plague the internet between episodes eight and nine?  If you’re ready for all of that, then I suppose ABC made the correct decision.  As for me, I think I’m sticking with Lindelof and Cuse, wishing that ABC would have done the right thing and waited for all 16 episodes to be completed before airing any of them.

Of course, who am I kidding?  I’ll definitely be watching come January 31, and I know I’ll love every single Lost moment that flashes before my eyes.  I just think it’s going to be positively heartbreaking when that final episode airs and we don’t know when the show will return to finish its season.  Months from now I hope that my predictions are proven wrong, and that ABC’s decision ends up benefitting the series, the network, and, most importantly, the fans.