Has ABC’s Lost Made A Tactical Error?

This post contains no spoilers whatsoever on the upcoming season…

I (like countless others out there) am a HUGE fan of the ABC show Lost.  There are certainly others out there who are more fanatical than I am.  For example I’ll listen to a couple of podcasts about the show but I’m not one to re-watch an episode looking for stuff I’ve missed.  If I missed it, I missed it.  Part of the reason I love it so much is that it’s one of only a few shows that both the wife and I enjoy.  That said I’m thinking that executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have made a great tactical error.

The last new episode of Lost was aired on May 13, 2009.  As of this writing that makes 121 days since we’ve last seen any new content.  The sixth and final season isn’t scheduled to air until February of 2010 – at least 265 days or over 8 months since we’ve last seen our heroes.  The decision to wait so long was made for a variety of reasons including ensuring that there would be no gaps in the final season.  They had also considered two parts to the final season but decided against that as well.

Here’s the problem as I see it.

1. Fans will forget – Sure it’s been dubbed as one of the best shows in history but when you don’t SEE IT you tend to forget what’s going on… especially with a plot as difficult to follow as Lost.  Hell, I watch it every week and STILL have no idea what’s going on half the time.
2. People will get impatient – waiting this long for something in the “give it to me now” society that we live in will turn some people off.  I stopped watching HBO’s Sopranos for just the same reason.  Sure it was a great show but if I’ve got to wait years between seasons what’s the point?  I’ll wait for video.
3. Expectations – With so much time between seasons, super fans out there have nothing to do but come up with what ifs.  There’s simply NO WAY that the writers will be able to answer all the questions and keep everyone happy.  This will only be intensified by the fact that fans had to wait so long for the conclusion of the show.  I’d hate for Lost to be tarnished at all simply because of a tactical error in scheduling.

The bottom line is I can’t wait… but actually now that I think about it, I HAVE to wait.