Less interest
So it looks like I’m not the only one who has Lost interest. My friend Paul directs me to this story:
New ‘Lost’ Episode Hits a Ratings Low
By LYNN ELBER
AP Television WriterLOS ANGELES (AP) — “Lost” crashed in the ratings this week, hitting an all-time low for a new episode. ABC’s drama about plane crash survivors stranded on a mysterious island drew an estimated 12.8 million viewers Wednesday, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research. That’s well off the peak of more than 20 million for the drama that became an instant sensation when it debuted in September 2004.
ABC has worked hard to try to protect a show that helped turn the network’s fortunes around, moving it to 10 p.m. EST Wednesday this year to steer clear of Fox’s blockbuster “American Idol” and CBS’s increasingly strong “Criminal Minds.”
After “Lost” fans complained about reruns interrupting the show’s serial flow last season, the network tried an experiment: It split the current season in two, airing six episodes before an extended break and then resuming with 16 additional episodes.
The story goes on; click above for the rest.
While I’m not going to lose any sleep over the show’s slow downturn, I do want to acknowledge that when it was cool it was very cool. The writing crackled. And it was refreshing to see a cast of actors who truly reflected a band of world travelers: Koreans, Aussies, Brits, Yanks, Africans, and so forth. Try finding anyone in a Woody Allen flick who isn’t upper-middle-class white or Jewish. (I guess such people don’t exist in New York.)
The guys at my local comics shop tell me that comics writer Brian K. Vaughn has been enlisted to write episodes this season. (And that the producers of the series brought him into the store for a visit.) Vaughn is a terrific writer (of comic books, at least), so perhaps there’s some new energy in the offing. I hope so. Because I’m still watching the show every week with my daughter.