OnTV: ‘Lost’ Returns to the Tube … Finally
… with a New Time Slot and an Uninterrupted 16-Week String of Original Episodes
In the return episode, “Not in Portland,” Jack is in command as the fate of Ben’s life literally rests in his hands. Meanwhile, Kate and Sawyer find an ally in one of The Others, and Juliet makes a shocking decision that could endanger her standing with her people.
With a description like that, which comes directly from a network press release, people can complain about the declining satisfaction of watching ABC’s super successful supernatural/science fiction/thriller/mystery series Lost all they want. There’s no doubt whatsoever that the show intends to chug along diligently in an attempt to keep the drama and suspense high. Early reports from lucky folks who have seen the first few new episodes are quite encouraging, going so far as to claim that the series has adeptly recaptured much of its old magic and perhaps acquired even more. Pay particularly close attention to ER alum Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), who has quickly become a fan and critic favorite during her stint on the show this season.
Aside from the sixteen-week span of repeat-less episodes, the winter half of the third season brings another particularly noteworthy major change: a new 10pm time slot. This scheduling move may help Lost avoid any further ratings decline against its strongest competition to date, CBS’ FBI procedural Criminal Minds, which steadily gained in audience size opposite ABC’s former Wednesday-night top draw when they both aired at 9pm last fall. During the series’ final two head-to-head outings in November, Criminal Minds actually leapt ahead of Lost in the ratings. Let’s see if the time change achieves its intended goal.
Tonight’s two-hour return begins at 9pm with the recap edition “Lost Survivor Guide,” which offers viewers a closer look at the backstories of various characters under the guidance of the series’ executive producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The real action then gets underway at 10pm, when the episode “Not in Portland” described above takes us back to the remaining Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 survivors still tackling their own special island hell.
Other New Stuff on TV Tonight:
- BET News Special—SEX, MYTHS AND THE REAL DEAL: An informative investigation of popular myths surrounding AIDS and HIV [BET/8:00]
- Bones—THE GIRL IN THE GATOR: Temperance heads to sunny Florida all by her lonesome to investigate the curious case of the Alligator That Ate a College Student [Fox/8:00]
- Criminal Minds—REVELATIONS: Conclusion of Sunday’s ultra gory and mega freaky post-Super Bowl episode [CBS/9:00]
- Futurecar—THE EXTREMES: Perhaps the debut episode of this new series will explain why, in the 21st century, we still don’t have those flying cars that so many sci-fi works have envisioned [Discovery/8:00]
- The Supreme Court—A NATION OF LIBERTIES; THE REHNQUIST REVOLUTION: Bill of Rights legislation and Chief Justice William Rehnquist receive in-depth documentary treatment [PBS/9:00*]
- Top Design—CHILD’S PLAY: Project Runway for interior designers, with ace designer Todd Oldham hosting instead of supermodel Heidi Klum [Bravo/10:00]
- ABC: George Lopez (8:00); The Knights of Prosperity (8:30)
- BET: BET News Special: Sex, Myths and the Real Deal (8:00)
- Bravo: Top Design (10:00)
- CBS: Criminal Minds (9:00); CSI: NY (10:00)
- The CW: Beauty and the Geek (8:00); One Tree Hill (9:00)
- Comedy Central: The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show (10:30)
- Court TV: Forensic Files (9:00); Dominick Dunne: Power, Privilege & Justice (10:00)
- Discovery: Futurecar (8:00)
- ESPN: College Basketball (7:00/9:00)
- Food Network: Paula’s Home Cooking (8:30); Dinner: Impossible (10:30)
- Fox: Bones (8:00); American Idol (9:00)
- HGTV: Design on a Dime (9:00); My House Is Worth What? (10:30)
- History: Modern Marvels (10:00)
- MTV: The Real World (10:00); Maui Fever (10:30)
- MyNet: Wicked Wicked Games (8:00); Watch Over Me (9:00)
- NBC: Friday Night Lights (8:00); Deal or No Deal (9:00); Medium (10:00)
- PBS: America’s Ballroom Challenge (8:00*); The Supreme Court (9:00*)
- Spike TV: UFC’s Ultimate Fight Night (9:00)
- TV Land: TV Land Myths & Legends (10:00)
*All PBS times may vary—Check your local listings to verify them
All times are PM and EST/Eastern Standard Time
Lost photo courtesy of ABC
