This has become a TV habit: The regular shows debut in the fall; the special ones -- fresh, odd, distinctive -- arrive in mid-season, when people are paying more attention.

We'll see signs of that this  week, from Fox. The second "Alcatraz" is tonight (Monday, Jan. 23), a "Touch" sneak preview is Wednesday; in between, the season's second "Justified" is on cable's FX.

For TV viewers, this is a great and awful stretch.

The good news includes key shows every night -- the "Lost" finale tonight, the "24" and "Law & Order" finales Monday, the "American Idol" finale Tuesday and Wednesday, plus the season-openers of two of the key summer shows, "The Bachelorette" (Monday) and "So You Think You Can Dance" (Thursday). The bad news is ... well, no more "Lost" and "24." Ever.

The first thing I have to do is adjust my travel plans.

On Wednesday, I head to Los Angeles for the Television Critics Association sessions, a 10-day flurry of interviews. I had planned to go by plane, as usual; then I saw an advance copy of this season's first four hours of "24" (Jan. 11-12 on Fox). Now I think I'll switch to a train. Or a bus. Or maybe I'll just walk there.