No footage to be shown to promote Season 6

You know, I was kinda thinking they might do something like this.

The showrunners of Lost have convinced ABC not to air a single clip of new footage to promote the final season. So when December and January roll around, aka the time of the year when we usually see trailers and commercials for the new season of Lost, I would imagine that ABC will air something to remind viewers that it’s time for the show to resume… but whatever they show won’t contain any footage from Season 6 at all. Likewise, there will be no photos sent out to the media in advance of the season (though I wonder if that includes the usual promotional headshots). This news comes via E! Online’s Watch with Kristin.

It’s absolutely unprecedented in network television that a major network would respect a show and its creators so much as to let them dictate how the promotional campaign will work for the grand finale. And I think it’s a brilliant move.

We all feel deep in our gut that we are on the cusp of seeing the truth depth and genius of the Lost creative team. When all is said and done, I believe that Lost is going to be a story for the ages, ranked right up there with great sagas like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. But how the show is remembered ultimately lays at the feet of how this final season plays out. There’s so much riding on Season 6: Can the cast and crew of Lost deliver a finale worthy of the last five years? Can they still shock us with those trademark twists even after all this time? Will the answers to all of the big mysteries be as mind-blowing as we’re all hoping?

The second they start showing footage from Season 6 — even if it’s just snippets in a 30-second commercial — fans are going to start tearing that footage apart, studying them frame-by-frame. The most critical fans would pass immediate judgment on the final season long before its premiere date in January arrives. And if the surprises and answers and character moments we’ve been waiting on are as densely populated throughout the coming episodes, then pretty much anything they show couldn’t help but spoil all that amazing new stuff.

So I’m cool with waiting. I know some fans will be disappointed, but I think this is the smartest move they could make, to preserve the experience. What do you think of the decision?