Why is Jericho going on hiatus? Because of you!

Speaking from the other side of the Atlantic, I'm baffled at the way most series in the US mix in re-runs amongst new episodes.

Here in the UK you get either all new episodes in a run (admittedly much shorter runs 6-12 shows being the average), or a repeat run. You always know where you are, and don't want to miss fresh episodes, and aren't left annoyed when you settle down to watch your favourite show only to discover that you've seen it before.

When the UK buys a show, it nearly always waits until January to start airing a new season so it can run uninterrupted until May/June by which time we've just about caught up with you (Lost is an exception this season with a new network buying it, Sky One, which is trying to mimic the US airing pattern and air the show a day or two after it airs in the States to minimise downloads).

It's obviously impossible to have new episodes of quality shows every week from September to May, so why not just run two different series over that time? I guess ABC is doing that with Daybreak.

The traditional model by which TV shows earn their revenues is being turned on its head anyway with DVD boxsets and iTunes sales etc. Reaching syndication is going to become less important (you've already got the DVDs on your shelf, and they don't have ads!), so running five seasons of 22 episodes or so to reach the magic 100 won't be so necessary.

I understand that most people don't work in television but people need to think about what it takes to actually produce a one hour drama. It takes about three weeks to shoot the episode nevermind actually writing a good episode.

Editing, scoring, special effects, retakes if necessary also are a part of the tight production turnaround schedule that TV is under. So like it or not, it's either 'Fall Finales' for the serial shows or annoying but necessary repeats.

I was hoping that JERICHO might pick up some viewers who were watching Dancing With The Stars. Now we'll never know. I HATE reruns whenever they're shown so no biggie for me.

Lost received a lot of complaints in Season 2 (and I think in Season 1) when they broke foe the holidays. ABC followed the formula of repeats and other craziness that left viewers confused, not knowing when to watch again. ABC then decided to air the series in sequential order because its a serial. Jericho is also a serial. Dramatic sericals are making a comeback in prime time so we will see this sort of thing happening. Law and Order and CSI can air haphazardly becaise stories are usually contained in a single episode.

"able to put up enough original content online to satisfy fans"

Which is all very well for the US fans. Those of us in other countries who are watching Jericho - legally I might add, on tv within 12 hours of the US seeing it, cannot access the video content on CBS website. It's restricted to US folks only. I know we don't count in terms of ratings, but I think it's a bit unfair when we will have the same hiatus as the US folks do.

Porchland, you're right about the problem of cost. But with Lost, it's only compounded by filming in Hawaii, employing quite a bit of CGI, and using more expensive casts, sets and producers than soaps do. The kicker for me is that the writing would suffer over the course of a 35 ep year. I mean, they've been having trouble writing enough quality eps over a typical 22 ep order; so why push them to write and produce more? I know most people would hate this, but I'd much rather have a strong 13 episode season than the weaker full ones we've seen in season 2 and (so far) in season 3. Same goes for Jericho and Heroes. But that's just me.

I agree with Jennifer, I think all this "Fall Break" stuff is a direct result of Lost's scheduling problems with last season.

The 1 new + 1 recap + 4 weeks off + 2 new + 3 weeks off style it aired in was very damaging.

Fox has worked around this with 24 by making sure they're far enough into the shooting before starting, which is what ABC should probably do with Lost, but it's understandable with a freshman series like Jericho they didn't want to commit that many eps.

I would much rather ABC have held back "Lost" until January and then run all 23 or 24 episodes on consecutive weeks.

For that matter, I don't understand why a multi-arc show like "Lost," which typically focuses on only a handful of characters per episode, doesn't break through the usual 20-something episodes per season and run almost continuously from September to May.

Sure, it's an expensive show and it takes a lot of human capital to put each episode together, but soap operas have been producing 250-plus episodes a year for for 40 years by scattering the stories.

"Lost," which already uses the same approach, can't produce 35 episodes a year?

I like the idea of running a show its entire season without breaks - like the cable channels do.

I wonder if the ability to put shows on break like this has more to do with TiVo and other online sources of viewing episodes. Personally, I've never gone online for "ancillary materials" from the network of a show (OK, exception: Ron Moore's "Battlestar Galactica" podcasts).

When "Lost" went away, when "Prison Break" and "Jericho" go away, they're out of my mind. When they come back, they'll start popping up on my TiVo again, and I'll begin watching again. It's not like I'm going to forget the show existed by February. There's a huge relief in not having to "keep track" of shows -- when's it on now? With TiVo, I get it. For those without TiVo, there's iTunes or free rebroadcasts at network sites. Most people aren't committed to "appointment viewing" in specific timeslots anymore. Between now & then? Other TV, or non-TV stuff, will keep me busy.

But the "Lost Experience" or the "Jericho Countdown"? Meh. Maybe teenagers get into that stuff. Just put the show back on sometime, unlike, say, "Kidnapped."