So the writers are lost? along with the characters, the plot, and any coherency?

I'm hoping they have an lolLost episode, where they all speak in lolcat.

This would make a such a funny vid, Lost, or any other show! What's the most lolcatable show? The Office maybe.

I was actually thinking the other day that the chick Wesley kept in a closet while he banged Lilah would make a great "I can haz bucket?/He took mah bucket!" macro.

I am now very tempted to crank out some Office videos and get subtitle happy.

ABC have announced Lost season 4 is becoming an 8 episode arc which will still air from February, apparently. It will have a "mini-cliffhanger" written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

Messy.

They had a whole plan, too, which really sucks. I wonder if they'll still continue to hit the episode number or instead just plan to finish in the year they intended to. Or both, if ABC extends the next season to make up for this.

ABC says it's still planning to air the eight episodes of "Lost" scripted before the strike. Showrunner Damon Lindelof, however, is hoping ABC doesn't do that.

"That would not be ideal," he said Wednesday during the showrunners picket in front of the Disney lot. "It would be a lot like airing the six last year."

Lindelof was referring to the Alphabet's decision to split last season's "Lost" into two cycles, starting with a six-episode fall appetizer. Fans hated the pacing, and ABC ended up making a deal that called for "Lost" to air in 16-episode spurts over the next three years.

But now that the strike is threatening to make a 16-episode arc impossible-- at least this season-- ABC execs so far seem inclined to just put on the episodes they have. Lindelof knows it's not his call, but he seems to be hoping ABC shows restraint.

"Shows move at their own speed," he said. "You design the speed based on the length of the season, and if that season is cut short, you careen out of control."

Lindelof was referring to the Alphabet's decision to split last season's "Lost" into two cycles, starting with a six-episode fall appetizer. Fans hated the pacing

Hm. Weren't people irritated with the pacing from the first few episodes? That is, even if those six episodes were shown with the rest of the season immediately following after, wouldn't fans have had the same reaction to the first six episodes?

"Shows move at their own speed," he said. "You design the speed based on the length of the season, and if that season is cut short, you careen out of control."

I do agree with this, though.

I agree on both points, P-C. The problem with Lost's first 6 episodes last series wasn't the way they aired, so much as the pacing. (Or, my polite way of saying - they sucked).

It's possible Lindelof is saying 'Yeah, the first 8 episodes this year? Not much happens'. I hope he isn't.

I actually feel really quite bad for the Lost team about this. From getting the network on board with a 16 episode season to having a lot longer to plan the season arc... and now I'm willing to bet it's all been blown out the water. Knowing the Lost people (as in, seeing their work), they probably spent the first few episodes setting up the ending of the season, as that's the way they work - they like to build to something, a bit like Buffy did. And now the payback for the audience is probably very little, hence why he's speaking out about it. I think. If it doesn't work and the creators know it, the ratings are going to suffer.

Shows do move at their own speed ... but if that speed is glacial, do they really expect people to hang around for whenever they actually deliver something?