TV

Throw our favorite castaways a tarp, quick! It appears that a storm looms on their sunny South Pacific horizon, at least if the Writers Guild strike continues for very long.

Entertainment Weekly reports that although 8 completed episodes of Lost's new season are in the can, and could begin airing as planned in early February, the remainder of Season 4 is in limbo.

Says EW: "If the strike is prolonged and the scribes can't get back to work writing the rest of the episodes, fans are going to be stuck with the kind of stunted season they were forced to endure last year. 'It will feel like buying a Harry Potter book, reading half of it, and then having to put it down for many months,' explains [executive producer Carlton] Cuse. 'There is a cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. It will only be frustrating [for viewers] to have to step away from the show and not see the second half of the season.' "

TV Guide adds to the general sense of gloom:

If the strike extends into the new year and beyond, there is a chance ABC may opt to delay the new season until the fall. Or worse yet, February 2009. ...In any case, [Cuse] concedes that the decision to hold or air the episodes isn't ultimately theirs. "It's really [ABC honcho Steve MacPherson's] call," Cuse notes.

To which we can only say, a la Hurley: Bummer, dude.

Photo of Josh Holloway (who plays James Ford, aka Sawyer): ABC