Looks like the scheduling folks at ABC are looking to give golden-show
LOST a fighting chance when it returns in February moving the show out of the way of Fox's ratings magnet American Idol. But since
LOST was recently determined to be the number one show in prime time for family viewing, is this a mistake? Is the move one of desperation? (As critics are sure to suggest.)
The news is certain to be jarring to
LOST fanatics, but you can't help but think what the motivation is? In days of Tivo and $29.95 VCR's, its hard to imagine that
LOST is actually losing fans. Does ABC think that moving
LOST is giving it a chance to dominate a time-slot again, and why is that important?
One possibility: ABC has reached the acceptance phase with
LOST. For a year it was a juggernaut, sweeping the Emmy Awards and holding its own against all comers. Two seasons later it is locked in an imaginary struggle, mostly through the hypnotic suggestion of poorly informed critics. The mantra of "is
LOST losing it" is merely the forced ideal of a television press bloated with malcontent. In reality,
LOST and its fan-following are as strong as ever - just in numbers more akin to a 'normal' hit show; having enjoyed a year in the 'phenom' bracket,
LOST is entitled to relax in mega-hit numbers for a while.
Of course the prognosticators of doom will continue to try to convince you that the decline in viewers is proof that more and more people are waking up to the hollow premise of the show, and the frustration over the lack of answers.
LOST's true fans, on the other hand, will tell you to 'let the fair-weather fans fly south',
LOST has given its die-hard fans, around 16million of them domestically, enough answers and reasons to continue tuning in on a weekly basis.
Will a move to 10pm increase that number, or lower it? Who knows. Was it necessary? Probably not. The argument could be made that the move is securing the future of the show, but
LOST fans who keep their ear to the wall already know that the producers and writers have stretched the story pretty thin at this point, as it is. A lot of people think that announcing a time frame for the end game would be an excellent move at this point since it would set the writing staff to a new task: working out how to give the ultimate answers to all our questions. Maybe that would be the best course of action here, rather than desperation moves designed to keep the show in ratings glory. A pre-ordained 'season that explains everything' would likely draw season one numbers, and perhaps beyond.