Promises, promises, promises

Today's column looks at the problems fans had with last week's "Lost" promos -- and the ones I suspect they'll have after they see what little resemblance tonight's show bears to the ads. An excerpt:

Here we have a show that already has major trust issues with its fanbase. Viewers are so frustrated at not getting answers that the promo department actually felt the need to say there would be three answers in the episode -- and then, as far as many fans were concerned, the episode failed to deliver.

"It's a difficult position that we're in," acknowledged Mike Benson, ABC's executive vice president of marketing. "We don't like to go out and sell things that don't actually happen."

From Benson's viewpoint, three questions were answered: 1) The whereabouts of the children who had been abducted by The Others, 2) The whereabouts of the flight attendant who had been abducted by The Others, and 3) The origin of Jack's tattoos.

The problem is, very little was revealed about the first two, save that the kids and the flight attendant were still alive (she described their current situation as "complicated"). And few fans were staying up at night wondering about why Jack got his tattoos -- especially since the real-world answer is "Because Matthew Fox has them, too."

To read the full thing, click here. One thought that got cut for space: I wonder how much of the discontent over the latest batch of "Sopranos" episodes came from HBO selling every episode as a bloodbath, even though they never were.