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Is the LOST "hiatus" the worst programming decision of the season?

post #1 of 100
11/30/06 at 4:03pm
Thread Starter 
I was reading the analysis of last night's ratings and saw a comment that the LOST hiatus was the worst programming move of the season. A lot of this is backed up by the horrible ratings for the not-so-great Day Break.

What do you all think of this?

Personally I don't think it was necessarily a bad move. People spite re-runs and this is a new trend which lets people clearly know when there is a new episode and helps drive DVD sales or their video on demand services if you misses an episode.

Moreover, with ABC creating the LOST hiatus, they got other networks to follow suit (Jericho on CBS, Heroes on NBC).

Yes ABC is taking a hit in the Wednesday 9pm time slot, but CBS will now take a hit on Wednesday 8pm, and NBC will take a hit on Monday 9pm. If ABC capitalizes on these other shows taking a break, then to me the LOST hiatus is not such a foolish thing.

I don't know about worst of the season, but I suspect ABC launching this show "Big Day" will be one of their big mistakes (or at least the mistake will be thinking that this will gain an audience). I know the female-heavy audience of Desperate Housewives and Grey's are easy to please (just sample Lifetime's programming if you don't believe me), but Big Day is pushing it.
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post #2 of 100
11/30/06 at 4:08pm
I like the hiatus rather than having reruns interspersed throughout the season. I actually think ABC stole this idea from SciFi Network.
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post #3 of 100
11/30/06 at 4:14pm
I'm happy with the hiatus too. At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I'm actually enjoying Day Break more than most of this season's Lost episodes.
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post #4 of 100
11/30/06 at 4:19pm
I like it, gives me a chance to watch "Criminal Minds". If Lost doesn't pick up, next season will be the other way around. Alot of co workers jumping the ship on Lost..
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post #5 of 100
11/30/06 at 4:38pm
If I were NBC, I'd take advantage of the Lost hiatus and move Heroes to Wed and then move Studio 60 ahead one hour. Most of the Lost viewers would switch to Heroes and follow into Medium. One question is how would Studio 60 fare against 24 when it returns. Given the lack of opposition at 9pm on Monday now, it's worth a shot.
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post #6 of 100
11/30/06 at 5:05pm
Actually, the LOST hiatis is the BEST programming decision of the season. Well, actually, the 2nd best. The best would have been to start the season in Jan/Feb and have it run completely uninterrupted (like 24.) But, this is the 2nd best thing they could have done. Last season was HORRIBLE in the way they kept interrupting the season with reruns, just to stretch it out.
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post #7 of 100
11/30/06 at 5:13pm
I'm loving it. I will love it even more in 2007 when we have weeks of uninterrupted episodes.
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post #8 of 100
11/30/06 at 5:27pm
the worst programming decision was greenlighting 20 Good Years.
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post #9 of 100
11/30/06 at 6:03pm
no it's not.

If it weren't on hiatus, this thread would read "ABC is taking too many breaks, no new episodes of Lost."

Either way, the bitching and whining would've been the same, so just deal with it.
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post #10 of 100
11/30/06 at 6:25pm
I have to agree that it was a good idea and I to am enjoying day break than the mini season of lost they aired (I am a huge lost fan though)
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post #11 of 100
11/30/06 at 8:23pm
(From Marc Berman's Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006, Programming Insider blog at Mediaweek.com )

At 9 p.m., ABC has sprung a major leak with week three of confusing drama Day Break at a fourth-place 4.75 million viewers and a mere 1.8/ 5 among adults 18-49. That 1.8/ 5, in fact, was tied with the CW's One Tree Hill in the demo. No one, of course, expected Day Break to match Lost. But considering Lost ended its fall season with 17.15 million viewers and a 7.0/17 among adults 18-49 on Nov. 8, this is much worse than anyone could have imagined.

http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/t...451/m/35210222
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post #12 of 100
11/30/06 at 8:26pm
I for one wish they would show the first 6 episodes again, I have been recording this season on my new DVD recorder and because of a screw up I am missing an episode also was late in the Heroes game and am missing the pilot (ok, I just got it off SCIFI but thats bad analog SD).
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post #13 of 100
11/30/06 at 10:21pm
LOST gets HORRIBLE ratings when they aren't first run. This is a great move by ABC.
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post #14 of 100
11/30/06 at 10:29pm
Good move IMHO. I'm not a fan of 'Daybreak', and if I'm not mistaken it's supposed to be an ongoing series? I kind of thought it might be neat for ABC to plug in the timeslot with a limited run serial, maybe something weird kind of like 'Lost' but with a finite number of episodes that wrap up the complete story in one season.
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post #15 of 100
11/30/06 at 10:48pm
Networks never run a series that finishes in one season. If they did, it would be a HORRIBLLEE move by the network. They want a series to stay on so they can establish viewers, get ratings and make money.
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post #16 of 100
11/30/06 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTDT View Post

I like the hiatus rather than having reruns interspersed throughout the season. I actually think ABC stole this idea from SciFi Network.

And other "cable" networks ie: 4400 on USA, no matter this "10" and "10" like BSG, may be a better deal for us and them? YMMV.
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post #17 of 100
12/1/06 at 4:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoSoxMole View Post

Networks never run a series that finishes in one season. If they did, it would be a HORRIBLLEE move by the network. They want a series to stay on so they can establish viewers, get ratings and make money.

Think of it as an extra long miniseries, a 20 part 'maxi-series'. Miniseries can be huge moneymakers. I'd give it a shot if I ran a studio, and the concept was intriguing.
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post #18 of 100
12/1/06 at 4:42am
Quote:


I like the hiatus rather than having reruns interspersed throughout the season.

I think the problem was the interspersed pattern of the reruns: frustrating, and plot lines get forgotten. However, a BLOCK of reruns -- "best of the season so far" -- would have done well with being annoying.

Is TV programming really this difficult? Like MiT after Greys (same audience - what a concept!).

jdg
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post #19 of 100
12/1/06 at 5:12am
I think it's not a bad idea, for me at least. I'm just about done with the show: sick of the going-nowhere Others plot, of the worthless new characters, of the old characters being ignored and wasted, of the increasingly creaky and disruptive flashbacks, etc. So maybe if I don't see the show for 3 months I'll start to miss it, and appreciate it when it returns? So goes the theory, anyway. We'll see. It's just as likely I've already watched my last episode; my wife certainly has.
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post #20 of 100
12/1/06 at 5:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gecko85 View Post

Actually, the LOST hiatis is the BEST programming decision of the season. Well, actually, the 2nd best. The best would have been to start the season in Jan/Feb and have it run completely uninterrupted (like 24.) But, this is the 2nd best thing they could have done.

I'm with you 100%. With the holiday season and people coming and going, I like it like this. Besides, for a sports junkie like me, this is a great time of year. A lot of great college BB match-ups, the NBA getting in gear, and with the NFL now on 8 days a week; who could ask for anything more? I haven't given any thought to Lost since it ended.
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post #21 of 100
12/1/06 at 5:50am
Definitely a good move. It doesn't make much sense to evaluate the strategy based on the performance of Daybreak - the point was to slow the Lost defectors. That can't be evaluated until we see how many tune into Lost when it returns.
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post #22 of 100
12/1/06 at 6:19am
No, I'm enjoying "Day Break" as much if not more than "Lost".
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post #23 of 100
12/1/06 at 6:57am
I like it. Much easier to take than constant interruptions for a few weeks and confusion about when it will be new vs. repeat.

However, I think ABC would be smart to rerun all of the S3 episodes already shown, in two-hour blocks in the weeks leading up to the return of new episodes. I personally know of a few people who were casual Lost fans but for various reasons missed some or all of the new season. They'd like to get back into it, but aren't sold on doing that since they've missed some. Another co-worker just got into Lost and watched the first two DVDs. For these people it would be a great way to catch up and I think it would increase viewership for the new episodes. These reruns would probably do better than usual in the ratings too, since even some of us who saw them may watch again to be refreshed since it will be so long a wait.
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post #24 of 100
12/1/06 at 6:59am
I think Fox tried out the idea first, for a major network, when they put Prison Break on a planned hiatus. The audience seemed came back after that so the idea has merit. I think cable has conditioned to wait for a block of shows. They have also conditioned viewers you do not have to watch reruns.
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post #25 of 100
12/1/06 at 7:09am
I thought the decision was great to try something different and show Day Break. I really like the show even though it will probably be cancelled. Here is the real question for me, why are there becoming less and less new episodes per season for network shows? Is it to hard to do more than 22 to 24 episodes a year? Will it eventually get to 16 to 18 episodes a year?
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post #26 of 100
12/1/06 at 8:09am
The Lost hiatus is a good idea, but it started too early. ABC should have started it in December after sweeps, but that might have been beyond their control. Lost should have had a bigger midseason cliffhanger.
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post #27 of 100
12/1/06 at 8:38am
I only have one problem with it....6 episodes and then 16 in Feb 07. I would have split it up better...say 8 and 14 or 9 and 13...something like that.
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post #28 of 100
12/1/06 at 9:13am
Is this show still on the air?? I haven't seen a new episode in weeks???
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post #29 of 100
12/1/06 at 9:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPanther95 View Post

- the point was to slow the Lost defectors.

Really? I think it will speed it up. In which case, the answer to the title of this post is yes.

But like you said, it remains to be seen when the show comes back.
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post #30 of 100
12/1/06 at 9:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by taxman48 View Post

I like it, gives me a chance to watch "Criminal Minds". If Lost doesn't pick up, next season will be the other way around. Alot of co workers jumping the ship on Lost..

I DVR them both, but watch LOST about 20 minutes in in order to skip commercials.

I can watch CM at any time of the week, it's not must-see watercooler TV just yet. But LOST must be seen that night or you risk hearing all the spoilers the next day from the radio, co-workers, etc.
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