ABC books 'Lost' final season premiere date

[Michael Corvin]

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man

No.

There are fourteen people in the Lost picture, representing the regular cast for the final season.

There are twelve people (plus an empty seat) at the table in the Battlestar Galactica picture, making thirteen. The empty seat in the BSG picture is for the final Cylon, who was unrevealed at the time the image was released.

Thirteen people at the Last Supper - Jesus and the twelve apostles. (Also believed to be one reason why thirteen is considered an unlucky number.)

You obviously haven't seen Dogma.

[aktick]

I just noticed there's a Lost clip show on the 101 on DirecTV tonight, says it first aired 1/2/10...is this a new one? It's titled "A Tale of Survival."

EDIT: IMDB says it first aired 9/27/06. No idea why DirecTV decided to air such an old one...

[rfduncan]

Originally Posted by John Slider

It's on the Food Network, but if you have Cablevision I may have some bad news for you.

Truly was the "last supper" for their customers.

[Flave]

Five seasons of lost in 8 1/2 minutes:

[mrpayroll]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/...s_tv_lost_fans

'Lost' fans fear Obama speech will bump premiere

By LAURI NEFF, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 29 mins ago

NEW YORK – These fans would truly be lost without their favorite TV show — and they're taking their case to the top.

Fans of the ABC series about marooned plane crash survivors fear President Barack Obama will give his State of the Union address Feb. 2.

That's the same day as the three-hour premiere of the final season of "Lost."

Twitter comments Wednesday included "Leave my LOST alone, Skippy!" and "Come onnnn, Obama..pick another day."

The Facebook group "Americans Against the State of the Union on the Same Night as LOST" asks "When will it end?" It notes that Obama already bumped "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for his Afghanistan speech in some markets.

The White House isn't saying when Obama will speak. An ABC spokesman wouldn't say whether the network would consider moving the premiere.

Oh noes!

Chris

[aktick]

Screw the SotU...Lost would get killer ratings if they aired it anyways.

[BJacks]

Made that for work today.

[Josh-da-man]

You should have stuck Glen Beck in there as Ben.

[dsa_shea]

State of the Union speeches are boring as hell. Don't talk about shit just do it.

[NitroJMS]

Originally Posted by dsa_shea

State of the Union speeches are boring as hell. Don't talk about shit just do it.

Considering the down economy, perhaps they should sell exclusive broadcast rights to the State of the Union and put in some advertising blocks.

I've always argued it's worthless for the networks to even carry such things anymore considering there's at least three major cable news stations that are perfectly equipped to handle coverage.

[Boba Fett]

ABC should just give him the finger and air LOST anyway. If people want to watch that crap, flip to public television, they run it just like every other network normally does.

[DGibFen]

Oddly enough, George W. Bush's least watched SotU speech was on Feb. 2, 2005.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2005Feb3.html

Then again, there's this jab in the article:

But the president had better luck with "Lost." Bush kept almost all of the "Lost" audience over on ABC -- 8.6 million of the drama series's 10 million viewers, which surely says something about Bush. Or "Lost."

[Decker]

Crap. I've had to edit My Countdown accordingly.

[aktick]

So they'd probably push it back a week, and give us 2 hours some week to finish when they wanted?

[dsa_shea]

Originally Posted by NitroJMS

Considering the down economy, perhaps they should sell exclusive broadcast rights to the State of the Union and put in some advertising blocks.

I've always argued it's worthless for the networks to even carry such things anymore considering there's at least three major cable news stations that are perfectly equipped to handle coverage.

I was just talking with a buddy about this tonight. You would think that the channels lose revenue as they don't break for commercials. Imagine the President saying "I'll be back after the break" and then the broadcast cut to some commercials. It is ridiculous anyway for them to broadcast the same thing on multiple stations. They should have a rotating schedule and if I were the head of a station on would likely choose to not broadcast it if I had strong programming lined up during that time.

[aktick]

IIRC, one of the big reasons all networks always do show the Presidential speeches is so their White House reporters don't get put on the shit-list. Which goes to show how childish politicians are...

[dsa_shea]

LOST Final Season Premiere>>>>>>SOTU Address

[mrpayroll]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-....html?x=0&.v=2

Obama won't speak night of Lost premier

Good news for Lost fans: Obama not likely to speak night of premiere

On Friday January 8, 2010, 2:56 pm EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Good news for fans of "Lost" -- the president doesn't plan to mess up the television show's season premiere on ABC.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says he doesn't foresee a scenario in which President Barack Obama's State of the Union address will fall on Feb. 2, the same night the show's final season debuts.

The State of the Union is traditionally held at the end of January, but there have been rumors that the White House could move the speech to early February in hopes of having a health care bill in hand.

Gibbs says a date for the address will be announced soon.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

Our plea's have been heard!

Chris

[dsa_shea]

Yes!!!!

[GenPion]

Awesome news!

[DthRdrX]

Well get this ....

Is Lost here to stay? ABC may not give up on franchise so easily

Don't despair, "Lost" fans. The island won't be disappearing come May.
Anything and everything is on the table, as Disney execs map out a long-term strategy for "Lost," the ground-breaking mystery/sci-fi series that returns in February to begin its sixth and final season.

In the short run, that could mean "Lost" novelizations and comicbooks, as well as gaming extensions, digital distribution, recut "Lost" DVDs and an oft-rumored "Lost" amusement park attraction. But further down the road, that might also mean a new TV or feature take on "Lost," complete with new auspices and cast -- in other words, "Lost: The Next Generation."

"We've been talking about this for a couple of years now," says ABC marketing exec VP Mike Benson. "We want to keep it alive but make sure we maintain the integrity of the franchise. We're not about milking this thing for all that it is right now; it's important to see this live for years to come."

But "Lost" exec producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse won't likely be a part of those plans. The duo have made it pretty clear that they have no intention to keep the show going after the finale, and would like their work to stand on its own once "Lost" slams the hatch door shut.

"People deserve an ending, and to promise a continuation of the story in any form in some way negates the finality in some way," Lindelof says.

If and when new "Lost" content emerges, Disney/ABC will have to find someone new to entrust with the franchise.

"What 'Lost' becomes after it ends its run is up in the air," Benson says. "It really depends on who comes in to interpret it next."

There's plenty of precedence for franchises being reinvented by new voices. Most of TV's recent remakes have been produced without input from their original auspices -- be it ABC's "V" or the CW's "90210."

And then there's that constantly reinvented sci-fi franchise that boasts even more passionate fans than "Lost" -- "Star Trek."

Benson and fellow marketing exec VP Marla Provencio say they would like to handle the "Lost" franchise much in the same way Paramount navigated "Star Trek" through the years.

"We do believe 'Lost' can be a 'Star Trek' for us," Benson says.

Originally created by Gene Roddenberry, "Star Trek" carried on even after its initial TV run, eventually returning via a string of movies. That led to four smallscreen spinoffs: "Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager" and "Enterprise." Coincidentally, "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams was behind the recent "Star Trek" redux, while Lindelof is co-writing the next one.

"I loved J.J.'s interpretation of 'Star Trek,' " Benson says. "It was smart of Paramount to bring his interpretation of that franchise."

That's not to say Disney/ABC wouldn't prefer that Lindelof and Cuse stick around on "Lost."

"Damon and Carlton laid such groundwork, it's going to be a challenge for us, and we have to rise to the occasion," Provencio says. "We have to find different, creative and innovative ways to keep the fans happy and to keep the franchise healthy."

Benson and Provencio admit to quite a bit of nostalgia as they head toward the final season of "Lost," having worked closely with Cuse and Lindelof on the show's marketing campaigns and ancillary content from the beginning.

"It's been such an amazing collaboration," Benson says. "Most of the time we were not just creating promos, we were creating content that surrounded the program. It helped define who we are today as TV marketers."

For the final season, ABC has kept its marketing campaign close to the vest. Promos and clips have utilized footage from past seasons only -- but that will change a week before "Lost's" Feb. 2 season premiere, as 815 fans give the correct answer to "Lost" trivia online and receive a message in a bottle.

That bottle will include a USB drive that features a clip from the season's first episode. The network is fully expecting that clip to then quickly go viral online.

Meanwhile, the net will hold a final season-premiere screening on a beach in Hawaii, as well as a wrap party in Southern California. ABC is also sending half-hour "Lost" specials to affiliates and will include "Lost" "starter kits" in People and Entertainment Weekly.

"We're building anticipation and making this a pop culture event," Benson says. "We want to build to the end of the series, like when 'MASH' or 'Seinfeld' ended and people wanted to be there for the end of it."

Why the effort to keep "Lost" going? Quite simply, it's too valuable a commodity for Disney and its various divisions to just let it go.

Lost" has already experienced a robust existence off the air: Disney's Hyperion Books has released several novelizations of the show, while several websites have been produced over the years featuring Easter eggs and clues for "Lost" fans.

Lindelof and Cuse have also hosted a podcast for the show; mobisodes ("Lost: Missing Pieces") were produced for Verizon's V-Cast; a videogame ("Lost: Via Domus") was created by Ubisoft; McFarlane Toys produced various "Lost" toys and action figures; and much more.

TV properties that can morph into massive, multiplatform franchises remain rare. News Corp. has enjoyed the fruits of animated series like "The Simpsons" (which has been worth billions to the company) and reality shows like "American Idol," but most hit programs can't sustain themselves beyond the smallscreen.

It also remains to be seen whether a show like "Lost" can keep the fires burning once it's no longer in originals. "Star Trek" actually reps one of the few shows that has maintained a following for decades; in a more recent example, "The X-Files" (which didn't have much luck stoking interest in a recent feature revival) has failed to hold on to its once white-hot relevancy, eight years after signing off.

Lost" may not be as huge as it was in the beginning, but it still signs off in a solid place -- and could very well experience a ratings revival this season.

The show ranked a strong eighth among all series last season in adults 18-49, and held its own against the powerful "American Idol" juggernaut, dominating its scripted competition in the young adults demo. The show was also tied for second place on the list of most popularly recorded shows on DVRs.

[aktick]

Is that the first shot of a scene from the final season? At 15 seconds

Spoiler:

smokey coming at Claire? Or was that from a prior season? I don't remember it.

I really don't know what to think of that article, DthRdrX. It would have to be done just right or the hardcore fans (which I imagine is a majority of what's left) would be pretty pissed. I have to imagine they are going to wrap things up pretty nicely in the final season.

[Cellar Door]

Originally Posted by Flave

Five seasons of lost in 8 1/2 minutes:

my favorite part: "Mr. Friendly throws like a girl."

Hee hee!

[macontosh2000]

Originally Posted by aktick

Is that the first shot of a scene from the final season? At 15 seconds

Spoiler:

smokey coming at Claire? Or was that from a prior season? I don't remember it.

Its from episode 3.15 Left Behind, the episode where Kate and Juliet woke up handcuffed together in the middle of the jungle. Its Juliet not Claire.

[DthRdrX]

Originally Posted by aktick

Is that the first shot of a scene from the final season? At 15 seconds

Spoiler:

smokey coming at Claire? Or was that from a prior season? I don't remember it.

I really don't know what to think of that article, DthRdrX. It would have to be done just right or the hardcore fans (which I imagine is a majority of what's left) would be pretty pissed. I have to imagine they are going to wrap things up pretty nicely in the final season.

What they should do instead of milking Lost is give Lindelof and Cuse a year or two off and then let them do another show if they want to.