So, ABC and the producers of Lost have announced their plans to end the series. Very interesting.

Not sure how I feel about it so far except to say that I’m concerned that corporate interests are outweighing artistic merit, even in this instance, wherein the suits were most likely loathe to commit to an end date. It seems like a compromise in which no one wins.

See, here’s what bugs me: Why three 16-episode seasons?

Those short seasons are going to kill the creative momentum of the show. You’ll get four months of island-y goodness, followed by EIGHT MONTHS of nothing.

I’m sure someone somewhere is thinking of The Sopranos and how that show has managed to navigate short seasons and remain popular, but I’m unconvinced. To me the whole thing smells of stretching the show to its sixth season by hook or by crook.

Otherwise, why not just do two 24-episode seasons? Run ’em in blocks of twelve episodes each, uninterrupted. That gets you to five seasons, the same number of episodes, and ends the show without risking further hemorrhaging of the audience while people forget every last detail during those long eight-month hiatuses.

Just one man’s opinion, of course. Still, it’s good to see that the end date has been set. The producers have been telling us for a while now that the lack of an end date was responsible for the season two and three padding. Let’s see them put their money where their mouths are: season four should kick off with absolutely no padding and be balls-to-the-wall movement from the get-go.

Right?