LOST has an end date

[spicedogs]

One mystery solved: 'Lost' to end in 2010

Enlarge ABC What's Sawyer's fate?: Three seasons for Josh Holloway and company. By Gary Levin, USA TODAY The end is in sight for ABC's acclaimed island mystery Lost, but fans will have to wait until 2010 for all the answers. In a highly unusual move, the network announces plans today to end the show after three more shortened seasons of 16 episodes each. The episodes will air consecutively, repeat-free, from February to May.   ABC's bold step marks a response to the show's producers, who have been eager to set a finish line to better plot out their convoluted mystery of plane-crash survivors and to placate fans who are frustrated that the show seemed to be vamping its way to a conclusion. "Among fans there was an unease that they were making an investment in a show that's complicated without any sense of where that's going to lead them," co-creator Damon Lindelof said in an exclusive interview. "From the very beginning, fans and even critics have been saying, 'Are you making it up as you go along?' " which was "a legitimate question." Now, with a still far-away ending in sight, Lindelof says he and executive producer Carlton Cuse have "specific designs for ending the next two seasons" and promises that with the answer-filled season finale May 23, viewers "will begin to get an idea of what that design will be, and it will not be at all what they expect." The finale completed filming in Hawaii on Saturday, a day after Lindelof and Cuse signed new contracts that will keep them working on Lost exclusively for the duration. With 48 more episodes due, the show will have completed 60% of its planned six-season run. "It's practically unprecedented in network TV to announce the end of a show this far out," Cuse says. ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson says the unusual long-term commitment is "a unique situation" he would be unlikely to repeat for other series. "It's one of the best shows that's ever been on," he says. "It's got brilliant storytelling, incredible character work, and takes chances beyond anything that's on the air now." With Desperate Housewives, Lost re-energized ABC in fall 2004 and became a top 10 series. But after two time-slot switches, interruptions for low-rated repeats and a mystery that tried the patience of some fans, Lost has lost some steam. Ratings are down about 14% this season, though Lost still ranks highly among young adults and is the most heavily recorded show on DVRs. McPherson concedes that splitting the current third season in two "was not the best for the show" and says the network also is discussing a return to an earlier time slot to draw more family viewership. Shorter seasons will allow plots to be more tightly constructed and "will make it a real event," Lindelof says. "We won't have to do episodes where people are standing on the beach looking at the water and wondering what's going to happen next." Will Lost risk losing fans' interest with an eight-month lag? "People wait longer than eight months for the next books and films in the Harry Potter story and they don't seem to lose interest," Cuse says. "We have faith that our audience, knowing exactly how much of the story we have left, is going to be with us for the rest of the ride." But, Lindelof says, "the last five minutes of (this month's) finale are going to seal our fate."  SOURCE: USA Today

Comments

[twisk.livejournal.com]

*sniff* it is sad....
On the other hand I'm glad it is set and the show will not be running forever , with more and more stupid and ridiculous ideas - as lots of shows do. I don't like that kind of shows :/ And the date of ending it is 2010- a long time :)
The only thing I don't understand in all of this are this almost-a-year breaks between seasons - it is almost a year !! it is very very long, and I guess it wasn't their idea, something must just came up for them to make decision like this.... still it is way to long:/

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Why do good things have to end?

[rainbowstevie.livejournal.com]

BOO. That's even worse than a thought it would be - the same number of episodes ("not enough") stretched out over a longer and more unbearable time period.

And Cuse? When people wait years for the Harry Potter books - a wait which, incidentally, has dropped a lot of my goodwill towards Rowling - it's because once it comes out, they can read it all at once. They don't have to wait for you to parcel it out 40 minutes at a time over a few months. When something comes in small weekly installments, it is in one's best interest to continually pump new interest in, instead of putting it in storage and bringing it out for a short holiday season.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Those waiting periods will just about kill me.

[skinny-bacon.livejournal.com]

I'm actually not to saddened by this. I mean, I am definately sad that the show will eventually be off the air, and the waits between seasons will be terrible, but I also think it all will be well. I dunno. This calms me, in a way. I know how long it will last, I know I will have to wait, and I know the show will last for a few more seasons. Now as long as they are smart and keep Ben, I will be happy. :)

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Yes, Ben must not be killed.

[boheme06.livejournal.com]

Three more seasons of 16 episodes? Why not just do two more seasons of 24 episodes? Same number...

But, Lindelof says, "the last five minutes of (this month's) finale are going to seal our fate."
??????????????

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

I am so scared of the final episode.

[leyosura.livejournal.com]

I'm actually relieved that we have something concrete at last.

I was hoping for seasons 4 & 5 with 23/24 eps anyway, so I'm quite happy that they're doing the same no of eps over 3 seasons instead of 2. I was terrified that they were going to pull the plug after season 4, and then it would have all been horribly rushed.

In a way it's nice to know that it's going to last that little bit longer, and I'd like to think that the shorter seasons will give them more time, and help them maintain production values, as well as giving the cast time to work on other projects.

So, all in all, despite having to wait 8 months inbetween seasons, I'm pretty happy.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I guess, I will have to reclaim my life.

[(Anonymous)]

This is the best possible news, really. With a solid end date, I am more willing to go along for the ride knowing this thing isn't going to flame out and just suck to high heaven toward the end the way so many other programs do. I would rather see two solid seasons than three, but with shorter seasons, there should be less filler episodes and more solid content. I don't mind the wait, I have plenty of podcasts to listen to, books to read, ect.