The fact that Time Warner couldn’t get their shit together on THAT night is crazy.  I could almost understand it if the weather sucked last night… but it didn’t.  About half way through the show we got a “We’re Experiencing Technical Difficulties” message.  No shit.  Next we got a message that said, “The season finale of Lost will re-air in its entirety next Saturday…”  Great.  So I get to watch it the way it was intended to be seen a week after it’s original air date.  The only comparison I can make would be if they were having these kinds of issues during the Super Bowl.  “Attention, Super Bowl XLV will be re-aired in its entirety next Sunday…”  Really?

Don’t worry… this post contains no spoilers.  I couldn’t spoil you if I wanted to.

The series finale of ABC’s Lost airs on Sunday evening and so (hopefully) does my confusion.  I consider myself a Lost fan for sure, but I’m not a Lost geek.  The distinction is minor, but one that’s important to make between fans.  As an example, I have no problem sitting in a bar talking theories with my buddy Pat about who did what or what’s going to happen and I do listen to the Official Lost Podcast as well as The Lost Podcast With Jay and Jack.  However, I’m not one of these folks that looks at the books on the shelves in the background of a scene, I don’t care what the significance of the rabbit’s name is and I sure as hell don’t know how the two time lines are going to come together.  And therein lies my enjoyment of Lost.

I can’t remember the last show where I was completely and utterly confused while watching… and KEPT watching it.  This is one of the few shows that the wife and I can watch together (I roped her into ABC’s V as well) and regardless of the outcome on Sunday evening, I’m going to be sad to see it go.  I really do hope though that they give us some closure.  I’ve been confused long enough folks.  Damon/Carlton… thanks for the memories.  It’s time to bring it home.

While I have listened to some podcasts during the break I’ve tried to stay away from plot predictions and spoilers for the last season.  Sure I’ve had a discussion or two with some fellow Losties but when it comes to what’s going to happen this season I’m completely… lost. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist at least one pun).

Based on the buzz on the web and in the paper it seems like the long layoff between seasons hasn’t turned anyone else off either.  It’s looking like we’re in for a hell of a last season and I can’t wait.  It’s going to be so awesome to see how they finish off some story lines and which ones they leave dangling cause you just KNOW they’re not going to be able to tell us everything that we want to know.  While I’m sure there are some things that I’ll be disappointed in I’m willing to accept that.  The show is just too good to miss.  And now… finally.  It’s time for Lost!

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 heros.  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.