Do You Hear That Singing?

Need I tell you it's the fat lady?

As I'm sure you've heard by now, the writers' strike is over. Aaaahhhh, I haven't gotten through all of the magazines and books I wanted to read!

What the end of the strike means for Lost is the following:
- After tonight's episode, we will get four more back-to-back episodes, ending with the seventh installment on March 13th. They consulted with me about this schedule, and they picked March 13th because I will be out of the country and will need extra time for my mini-finale write-up. So considerate of them, don't you agree?
- Then there will be a six-week break.
- Season Four will conclude with a six-episode run beginning on April 24th. On that date, the show will still air at 9 PM EST.
- However, the following week (May 1), the show will move one hour later, to take the 10 PM EST time slot following Grey's Anatomy.
- The Season Four finale will be on May 29th, and it looks like it will only be one hour.

While I am of course happy that we will get more of our favorite show this spring, I'm kind of freaking out because I am going to be traveling a lot during May. But I'll worry about that when the time comes.

As you may remember, there were eight episodes that had been produced before the strike. The Powers That Be determined that the seventh episode (which I hear rocks) would make a good "mini-cliffhanger" for the first part of the show's run, and the eighth episode would therefore make an appropriate "mini-premiere" for the second. Now they are feverishly working to fit everything that was supposed to happen in the remaining eight episodes of the season into only five hours.

Executive Producer Damon Lindelof was interviewed by Kristin from E! Online, and he had this to say about the new schedule: "We are going to execute our full story plan for Season Four... this simply requires a shift from high-octane storytelling to super-high-octane storytelling. It requires no cramming, only a slightly heavier foot on the gas pedal...so, hold on to your hats. Those of you waiting for the long-anticipated Jin and Hurley Ping-Pong tournament, however, will be very disappointed."

I love Damon.

As far as tonight's episode goes, I am rejoicing about my complete and utter in-the-dark-ness. It seems hard to believe that the pace could be as quick as that of "Confirmed Dead," but you never know. And you will be glad to hear that I have spoken to my family about their possible plans for an intervention after they arrive tonight, and they assured me that when they get to Chicago, all they want to do is watch Lost. Now that, I can deal with. But I still won't get my write-up done until some time next week.

Enjoy tonight,
- e