Eight months after a mind-blowing third-season finale, on the first night of February sweeps, ABC’s “Lost” returns for its fourth-season premiere in a very different television environment than when it left.
The biggest change, of course, is that there’s very little scripted programming left on the air due to the ongoing writers’ strike that’s shut down shows from “CSI” to “Grey’s Anatomy.” That might also result in a ratings boost for “Lost,” which faded in the second half of last season but still ranked No. 7 in adults 18-49 with a 5.9 rating.
Viewers these days are certainly hungry for original fare.
Another change is “Lost’s” timeslot. After three years on Wednesdays, where it aired at 10 p.m. last spring, “Lost” is moving to the 9 p.m. anchor spot on Thursday nights, taking “Grey’s” place. Though “Lost” will face NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” that show proved vulnerable against “CSI” and “Grey’s” three weeks ago, when its ratings slumped during its only airing opposite original programming on the other Big Three.
“Lost” also returns with just three seasons left in its run. At the behest of the show’s creators, who asked for an end date in order to ensure that the plotlines were heading for a cohesive conclusion, ABC agreed that 48 episodes of the show will air over the next three years. Eight were filmed before the strike shut down production.
That gives every episode of “Lost” a new urgency that, the network hopes, will quell fans’ complaints that the first half of last season moved too slowly.
But the most significant change for “Lost” may well be creative, which could draw in some former viewers. The series had been built around a flashback in each episode as the plane crash survivors struggled to get off the island.
In last season’s finale, what fans assumed was a flashback was revealed as a flash forward in the final minute, when two crash victims met up at an airport runway, confirming that the Losties actually had gotten off the island.
The mystery now is how and when.
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A look at this week’s top TV draws
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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CBS
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“The Early Show” (N)
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Actor and comedian Jeffrey Tambor guests.
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8 p.m.
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ABC
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“Lost: Past, Present and Future” (D)
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Need to catch up? This will recap the first three seasons.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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“Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” (G)
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Game show has rated decently while up against mainly reruns.
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9 p.m.
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NBC
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“Celebrity Apprentice” (R)
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The teams try to push a company’s shoe-donation campaign.
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9 p.m.
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ABC
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“Lost” (D)
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Season premiere. Finally, after all the recaps, the new season begins.
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10 p.m.
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VH1
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“Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” (R)
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It’s starting to get deep as group therapy brings up the celebs’ sometimes dark pasts.
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10 p.m.
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ABC
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“Eli Stone” (D)
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Series premiere. A hallucinating lawyer thinks he may be a prophet.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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ABC
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“Good Morning America” (N)
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First Lady Laura Bush guests.
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8 p.m.
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Discovery Health
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“Diagnosis X” (R)
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A doctor deals with a man with OCD, who thinks he has West Nile Virus.
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8 p.m.
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Nickelodeon
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“Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost” (M, K)
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A 9-year-old girl and her friend try to find out what’s haunting her new house.
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9 p.m.
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USA
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“Monk” (D)
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Monk takes up painting, and some of his work is a hit with the locals.
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10 p.m.
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NBC
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“Las Vegas” (D)
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Piper does all she can to win a magazine’s Concierge of the Year award.
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10:30 p.m.
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IFC
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“Dinner for Five” (R)
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Actor Jon Favreau eats and talks with Vince Vaughn, Peter Billingsley, Justin Long and Keir O’Donnell.
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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1 p.m.
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CBS
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Nice SEC game between Kentucky and Georgia.
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3:30 p.m.
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ABC
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Either Miami-Duke or Kansas-Colorado.
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4 p.m.
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NBC
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“Figure Skating” (S)
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An exhibition gala from last weekend’s U.S. Championships.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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“Cops” (R)
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A compilation special with some of the craziest chases caught on tape.
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9 p.m.
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ESPN
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Usual Pac-10 powers Arizona and UCLA meet in Los Angeles.
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10 p.m.
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Spike TV
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“Pros vs. Joes” (R, G)
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Wannabes see if they can tackle NFL running back Ricky Williams.
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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2 p.m.
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Fox
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“Super Bowl Sunday Pregame Show” (S)
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The Fox crew dissects the big game over the course of four hours.
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2:30 p.m.
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ABC
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“NBA Basketball” (S)
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Dirk and the Mavs take on the Pistons in Detroit.
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3 p.m.
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CBS
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“PGA Golf” (S)
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Final round of the FBR Open, won last year by Aaron Baddeley.
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6 p.m.
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Fox
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“Super Bowl” s(S)
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The New England Patriots try to become the first team to finish a season 19-0 as they face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
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7 p.m.
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ESPN
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“Figure Skating” (S)
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This week it’s the European Figure Skating Championships, from Croatia.
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10:15 p.m.
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Fox
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“House” (D)
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Considering ratings for the show are already up season to date, “House” could hit a series-high rating.
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10:30 p.m.
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HBO
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“The Wire” (D)
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Herc tries to make up for past mistakes by helping Carver.
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.
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