US: Why all the breaks this season?

PullMyFinger!

Another break this week?! :eek:

I dont remember it been so stop-starty last year :mad: (or was it?)

jonnybadd

I presume its because of the production schedule. They're only filming two or three episodes ahead of the current one. Or am I mistaken?

Chevano Riley

it was the same deal last year.

SandyVN

Its a pain in the ass is what it is!!!! why not just start two weeks later!!!!!

PullMyFinger!

Its very very annoying.

Very.

I think the reason why I was hooked on Season One so much is that I watched Episodes 14 to 24 almost back to back on DVD. Lost isnt the kind of show that lends itself well to forthnightly breaks.

Rob30888

I probably wouldn't mind as much, but the plot is advancing ridiculously slowly

ZiabR

Yeah agreed, i think they better start to reveal things soon and fast. They are starting to drag it on a little too much. Did you hear that since the start of season 2 they have lost 30% of their viewers.

skywalker_208

im not suprised.. its getting very boring...

doh.ie

PullMyFinger! wrote:

Another break this week?! :eek:

I dont remember it been so stop-starty last year :mad: (or was it?)

The gaps were in different weeks, but the overall effect was very similar.

Last year, for the second half of the season, there were:
3 episodes in January (2x11, 12, 13),
3 in February (2x14, 15, 16)
2 in March (2x17, 18)
1 in April (2x19, the lowest it got) and
4 in May (2x20, 21, 22, 23)

This year (though ABC may yet change its plans), there are:
3 in January (2x10, 11, 12)
2 in February (2x13, 2x14)
1 in March (2x15)
4 in April (2x16, 17, 18, 19) and
4 in May (Sweeps ad-measurement month; 2x20, 21, 22, 23)

We're very likely to get another recap special in March to pad out the otherwise very dry month. This was also the situation after 2x19 last year in April.

ABC seem to be keen to build the momentum near the end this year, with, unless their plans change, a current set of 8 weeks of new episodes in a row from April 5th onwards. But we'll be crying for all of March with just 2x15 due anytime soon!

Anima

Well hopefully Prison Break will start up again in March, give us something to watch.

doh.ie

Anima wrote:

Well hopefully Prison Break will start up again in March, give us something to watch.

Due back 20th March for the remainder of season one. I suppose as bad as the large Lost breaks seem now, we'll be thrilled with an eight-week finale run in April. Same with Prison Break - as bad as the long gap has been, the uninterrupted resumed run will be worth the wait.

g5hn710m4xpdwy

Is it due to more sports ya think? they ofen have baseball or basket ball and what not on t.v taking over shows

Faith

I don't think it's just Lost that does it. Most American TV shows do. It drags the season out from september to May, and gives them time to film it. It's just more noticeable with Lost because of the suspense.

ZiabR

Faith wrote:

I don't think it's just Lost that does it. Most American TV shows do. It drags the season out from september to May, and gives them time to film it. It's just more noticeable with Lost because of the suspense.

Yeah that holds some truth, there is alot of suspence and as you said, this makes people feel that it is going so slow.

sapper

There's a lot to be said for dear 'ol RTE holding off on 2.01 until after Christmas. If they show one episode a week without breaks won't they be almost be in sync with the US by the end?

doh.ie

sapper wrote:

There's a lot to be said for dear 'ol RTE holding off on 2.01 until after Christmas. If they show one episode a week without breaks won't they be almost be in sync with the US by the end?

I suspect RTE will want to finish Lost by June 9th when the World Cup starts to avoiding having that interfere with its airing. At one a week, this means they'll need to double up somewhere near the end to finish about a week or two after the US (where it will end its season on either May 17th or May 24th.) In one sense, this is a good thing - the show airs without breaks, but other countries take the show very quickly after the US and run with longer breaks at Christmas and Easter to allow episodes to build up again (much as RTE did in the past with Friends and do now with ER). I'd still rather see it sooner with later breaks (they usually end on one with plenty to discuss before it returns). Of course, there are hardly any US episodes in April, so I may eat my hat on liking the break structure then.

Faith

sapper wrote:

There's a lot to be said for dear 'ol RTE holding off on 2.01 until after Christmas. If they show one episode a week without breaks won't they be almost be in sync with the US by the end?

Yup, and that's generally a bad thing. I remember TG4 took a break of a few weeks with the OC last season because it had caught up with the States too much. It used to happen with Buffy too. The season would end on Sky 1 only a week after it ended in the US so all shows do do it.

PullMyFinger!

Good news

ABC's president of night-time TV announced this morning May 16, 2006 that next season they will show Lost without repeats. They will start in the fall with 7 new episodes in a row, then go on hiatus til Jan or Feb then continue the season without any repeats or hiatus.






J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot's new show 'Six Degrees,'"about six New Yorkers who go about their lives without realizing the impact they will have on one another" will debut next fall in the Sunday slot that Grey's Anatomy was occupying. Grey's will move to Thursdays.

Metacortex

PullMyFinger! wrote:

Good news

Thank God.

I remember watching 'What Kate Did' around Christmas. 12 episodes and 5 months ago.
The breaks have been very annoying this year. Its a relief to hear they're adopting a new approach for season 3.

PullMyFinger!

True. Its crazy that RTE with a couple of double episode weeks will be done in time for the World Cup ..... not that far behind ABC who started in September!

PullMyFinger!

This is great news yes?