I have surfed around the interwebs today reading the various fanatical and critical reactions to the announcement from ABC that LOST will end in 2010. Most critics are happy with this plan for 3 more seasons, 16 episodes each, aired non-stop with no repeats, while the majority of fan reactions have been LESS than thrilled with this plan, preferring 2 more 24-ep seasons.
What the fans are probably not grasping from this (and that the critics probably ARE very aware of) is that this deal has all of the tell-tale signs of a compromise. Damon and Carlton have been inexplicably vocal about wanting the show to only go 5 seasons/100 episodes TOTAL. They know that this show, designed the way it is, NEEDS a definitive ending point, but definitive endings are not typical of prime-time television shows — especially ones as popular and endorsement heavy as LOST. Darlton made their wishes PUBLIC, so that the ball would be in ABC’s court. In exchange for a definitive ending — announced a full THREE YEARS before it would come, which is totally unheard of — Darlton gave ABC an extra year of commitment, which means an extra year of advertising dollars, etc. Both sides win.
To me, the biggest winners will be the FANS. The last thing this fandom needs is unhappy writers and/or greedy network execs. You love LOST? Then you need to support this — because THIS will give us all the answers we want and the ending that we deserve.
So why three seasons of 16 instead of two seasons of 24? Well, you can thank THIS season for that. The 6-episode mini-season TANKED with critics and fans alike. But the Feb-May run of 16 or 17 episodes (whatever the total ended up being) has been chugging right along with consistent live numbers, tons of DVR recordings, tons of streaming downloads from ABC.com and tons of iTunes downloads. If the fans are upset about the prospect of having to wait until NEXT January/February before we get Season 4, then they only have themselves to blame. Because YES, ABC WAS LISTENING when you were all complaining about the repeats. And honestly, I think 16 is a more manageable number for the LOST production team to commit to per season for the next three years.
But he makes up for this faux pas by using sci fi curse words - Frak yeah!