Arc fatigue

I've been in the middle of writing a lengthy post about how I've gotten tired with TV shows that have these lengthy story arcs. There are just so many of them now (Lost, 4400, Battlestar G, etc.) and there's only so much concentration you can give these things during a week. Worse - there's no guarantee that any of these new shows will last long enough to come to any sort of conclusion. Think: Invasion and Threshold.

Concerning 'Lost' -after squandering so much time on pointless filler episodes and flashbacks for the most trivial things (did Rose and her hubby need a whole flashback episode to themselves? When a 2 minute conversation between Rose and Locke or Jack on the beach would have conveyed the same information. Did we really need a whole episode to explain why Jack has tattoos? Zzzzzzz. Did we need another episode where we find out Hurley thinks the numbers are cursed? - all which have only alienated viewers and had them turning off in droves) I'm getting scared now that the show is likely to be cancelled early with none of the outstanding mysteries ever being revealed. Worse they've dragged everything out to such a glacial speed that - that no one no longer cares anymore. Bad story telling or what? Suspense has turned into drudgery and tedium. Either that or the final mystery must be so lame that the creators are so reticent of revealing it for fear of being lynched.

It looks like the other networks have been taking 'Lost' lessons and are now making sure their audience aren't going to be turning off from the new Arc laden shows. With only 12 or so episodes left of this season of Lost it remains to be seen if the creative team have been listening to their own audience in their official forums. But you know, given the evidence so far, I rather doubt it.

Genre Producers Distance Themselves From 'Lost' - 'Jericho' and 'Heroes' writers promise actual answers - Zap2it.