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 world needs special honors for TV shows that have good finales. It
also needs penalties -- something short of capital punishment,
but not too far short -- for the ones that don't.

(Also, please read my previous blog, reviewing the new "Sunshine Cleaning" movie.)

Some penalties should go to the producers who
let their shows die weakly. "The Sopranos," "Seinfeld" and
"X-Files" all disappointed.

"Take it easy," one character says in the Jan. 28 "Lost" episode. "I can explain myself a little better."

Or maybe not. He's been leaping back and forth over a 50-year time continuum. That's not easy to explain.

"It is a big of a mine field to do time-travel," producer Carlton Cuse told us today. "But it's rewarding."