Last spring, the producers of Lost and ABC announced that there would be 48 new episodes divided into 3 seasons of 16 episodes each. The 8 episodes that we will get to see this year actually equate to 1/2 of a season vs 1/3. There is talk that if the writer's strike is not finished in time, that they will just roll the remaining 8 into season 5 to make a full 24 episode season. I would prefer to see 8 episodes now, 8 in the fall (allows them to finish on the current planned end of season cliffhanger), and then the 16 planned for next spring. This would also make the wait easier.