Will 'Lost' find its way back?

POSTED: 12:23 p.m. EST, February 7, 2007

Story Highlights

• "Lost," once huge hit, has cooled -- and alienated some fans
• Show was on long hiatus after season-opening episodes
• "Lost" returns Wednesday for 16 straight weeks


Editor's Note: The following Associated Press story about "Lost" contains some details about recent episodes. If you'd rather not know anything that's happened this season, stop reading now.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Flash back to last fall: With intense buzz surrounding "Lost," ABC split Season Three in two, hoping to launch new shows "The Nine" and "Day Break" and eliminate grumbling about reruns.

Cut back to the present: Not only has ABC canceled both new shows (which got good reviews but few viewers), but the resulting "Lost" mini-season deflated the island drama's momentum, leaving many fans and critics disappointed, discouraged and worried that "Lost" may have lost its way.

The formerly white-hot drama about plane crash survivors on a remote island returns Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST for 16 new uninterrupted episodes. ABC bumped it an hour later to steer clear of Fox's "American Idol" juggernaut and CBS's solid "Criminal Minds."

Part of what had made "Lost" so extraordinary was the gradual unveiling of new information that unlocked the secrets behind each character and the surreal island as a whole. But during last fall's six episodes, "Lost" hastily compressed too much into too little time. (Why? "Lost's" producers answer your questions in EW.)

The first three episodes of the mini-season began in true "Lost" fashion. As multiple cliffhangers from the explosive Season Two finale were resolved, new questions surfaced for every question answered.

Soon, however, the eagerly anticipated unveiling of The Others' compound and the extraneous introduction of additional plane crash survivors became a bombardment of too many new faces and foreign environments.
Familiar favorites were suddenly lost in a convoluted crowd.

Also, the fates of those who did receive considerable air time were rather difficult to digest. It was disconcerting watching Jack, Kate and Sawyer, three of the show's most beloved characters, suffer as powerless, manipulated lab rats in cages.

It's hard to be optimistic with the all-too-frequent reminder that favorite characters can be tortured or killed at any time. Consider the rapid demise of Mr. Eko. He was the only survivor with the strength and conviction to stare down the island monster. So it was disheartening to witness the amorphous black smoke mortally toss the powerful Nigerian around like a rag doll.

This felt especially drastic since Eko was killed almost immediately after twice cheating death -- first by surviving the hatch explosion, then by escaping a carnivorous polar bear.

None of the protagonists are saints, but viewers still cheer for their imperfect heroes to succeed in overcoming obstacles. The current story lines of retribution and undue punishment merely reinforce the miseries of defeat.

Just like cast members constantly reminded of their lack of job security, "Lost" fans are now aware that they have to enjoy the ride while it lasts. Serialized television can abruptly change course -- or end -- at any time.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

I know several people who have stopped watching Lost. They were tired of it all. The fact that Lost leaves people feeling like they are being strung along, and we're getting very little in the field of answers, yet more and more questions piled upon us... is a big reason why they gave up on this show that started out, for two seasons, delivering such a captivating audience.

As for me... I'm not giving up on the show, because, in the end, I believe, it will have been worth it.

I'm not gonna stop watching, I dig the show. But the death of Mr. Ekko did piss me off. It was totally useless.

It pissed me off...
But, who knows if it was useless.
May be a purpuse behind it, that we just don't know about at this point.

If they had a point to make, I wish they would have killed off hobbit boy, or Jin, or Bernard. Mr. Ekko was cool as hell! I miss the big guy.

I know that you do... but, other people like those that you don't like. So, someone will be upset no matter what, Dave.

Well I've stuck with the show since day one. I've wanted to give up on watching it many times but I won't. I'm not going to freak if i miss an episode, but at the same time, I'm hoping it gives me something to keep coming back to. I hate being strung along, and thinking ok they HAVE to tell us something now, then being left to hang there. Give me something to come back for.

Well, if they keep giving us episodes like this weeks... I will be happy. Sure, there is a lot that we don't know... but there were things revealed, and we are starting to understand, a little bit more, the mystery of the island.