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A finale Lost in programming hell

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As expected the season finale of Lost will be divided into separate episodes by Channel Seven.

To be clear, the three hour finale will air in the US across two screenings: one hour on May 15, then a two hour instalment two weeks later on May 29. No screening on May 22 has disrupted Seven’s plans to run it in consecutive weeks.

However, Seven will still not play the final two hours in one hit, presumably because its late starting time of 10:30pm would see it conclude at 12:30am -after primetime ratings.

So Seven will instead air the three hour finale as follows:
May 22 1 hr
May 29 –
June 5 1 hr
June 12 1 hr (to be confirmed)

This has been the worst programming of a show that was once a network flagship drama. And as anyone who has been following knows, the fourth season has actually been delivering the goods, too.

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11 Responses

  1. Why couldn’t ‘Lost’ just have a night off this coming Thursday… and then get the finale in 3 consecutive weeks?

    Though, seriously, they should air the first finale ep one week, then bump stupid T&S to nowhereland and let Lost have its two-parter on the one night starting at 9.30pm!

    *shrugs* I’m downloading anyway, but I still tune in to watch it on TV.

  2. I just don’t give a damn any more about watching or following TV shows on free-to-air channels in this country. I download the shows I want watch. F*#k Seven; they don’t deserve LOST.

  3. It worries me that some people have such a poor opinion of the viewing audience in Australia. One thing you never do is under-estimate your audience.
    I tried getting into Lost a long while back but it just didn’t click with me. And that’s just life. There are shows I think should be national hits. But thats the devoted fan in me talking, people are people and some are busy working, raising families and out and about socializing and simply have no interest in committing themselves to TV shows, hence why shows like Border Security and its rivals are so popular. No commitment TV.
    I’m too busy with the kid and the better half as well as trying to keep my out of work passions alive and kicking to get obsessed with TV shows. And these are probably a majority of the people who own those “meters”.
    Lost caters for a larger “geekier” audience, (I mean that with all compassion, we are all part geek)
    The ones who analyze, join forums, look for clues on the net etc. Where as the tv “meters” want to know what people are watching, not why and how.
    Its very unfair and cynical to think the majority of Aussie audiences are just plain stupid because they aren’t obsessed with Lost.

  4. Don’t know what it pulled last night, but last week Lost was still watched by half a million – very good for 10:30. Trinny & Susannah’s ratings were poor last night, and they will only drop further – the fact is that Seven’s never going to beat the footy show, but they should really put lost back at 9:30.

  5. Trinny & Susannah flopped last night and is now only rating a little more then what Lost was doing. Seven should bump those two bimbos for the night and run a 2 hr Lost from 9.30.

  6. Didn’t Seven air Lost at 9:30pm until they screwed with the timeslot? If they seriously want viewers to watch their blockbusters, then perhaps they could get rid of the rubbish that is Trinny and Susannah. No one hardly watches that show.

  7. No surprise there. Seven obviously don’t care about the show anymore hence the timeslot. If they only cater for the hard-core fans now, why not run it to 12:30? No chance of it reverting to 9:30 as Trinny and Susannah are pulling in double the viewers Lost got. Looks like i’ll be “fast tracking” the 2 hour last episode myself.

    The only thing I like about the 10:30 timeslot is there is only an average of 4 commercials per ad break.

  8. I can’t belive they’re breaking up part 2 or the season finale. What’s the bet it won’t end at a logical point and will probably end up disspointing and confusing its audience more?

    Who doesn’t like a finale? We’re pretty certain this is the episode where we see them finally leave the island – a perfect reason to promote it for the casual viewer!

  9. Yep, so predictable that they’d do this.

    However, Seven have to accept some long-term blame for the demise of Lost in this country. Their endless spoiler-filled promos for the show have always misled viewers about both the content and style of the show, and focussed far too much on “the secret behind the island”. New viewers were almost guaranteed to be disappointed.

    But then, this isn’t a show you can just drop in on any time you like. You’ve got to watch it the old fashioned way – every episode, every week. And that’s just not in the Australian psyche any longer, it seems. Dramas that do well are more your by-numbers procedurals with little or no through-story – no commitment required.

    It’s sad, but that’s what happens when you live in a country where the people with ratings meters don’t even appear to be able to tell when they’ve seen something before, thereby putting repeats of Border Security in the #1 spot with over a million and a half viewers.

    Those who have become entranced by “Lost”, meanwhile, have turned long ago to downloading the show – free of spoilers and free of pop-up ads (well, aside from the recently-added “HD Newscenter” annoyances!) I doubt too many die-hard fans of the show will care much about Seven’s idiot programming.

    And yes, the fourth season has indeed delivered the goods in terms of revelations and story development, however I’d argue the show’s *always* delivered the goods…

  10. this season has been delivering hasn’t it, lots of revelations and referals to past seasons, i really need to get out the box sets again and refresh my memory.

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