Last Wednesday, fans of ABC's mysterious drama "Lost" were riveted, no doubt, when the principal villains made an expected appearance and two main characters got romantically involved.

Savor every detail. There won't be another new episode this month.

To the dismay of many fans this season, the "Lost" reruns just keep coming. Since September, ABC has broadcast 10 repeats and 19 original episodes, including Wednesday night's. This week, the show will be pre-empted for "Alias," and on April 26 ABC will broadcast a recap of the entire "Lost" season.

While the network says this practice is standard in the industry, fans maintain the repeats just don't work for a suspense-filled show that relies on weekly twists and revelations. They say they would prefer the cable model of shorter, uninterrupted seasons.

"As a fan, it's just too aggravating," says Dan DiPrima, a computer network engineer who was once a "Lost" devotee but who recently switched to Fox's "American Idol" instead. "The first year was riveting. But this year, they have totally turned me off," says the 34-year-old. "They are just trying to stretch out the season, and I don't care anymore."

After messing up his 27th birthday because of "Lost," Mark Demeo agrees. On Feb. 1, 15 relatives showed up at his home in Quincy with cake. Problem was, they were late and it was almost 9 p.m. "I don't answer my phone or open my door when 'Lost' is on," says the insurance claims adjuster. Feigning sickness, he rushed them out the door only to discover that the night's episode was a repeat.

"ABC ruined my birthday," he says.

From ABC's perspective, it's terrific that viewers are hungering for more. "We love that people love 'Lost' so much," says Jeff Bader, the network's executive vice president of programming, planning and scheduling. Bader is quick to assure viewers that ABC plans to run "Lost" originals the entire sweeps month of May, up to the season finale May 24.

Why not satisfy demand and run originals the entire 36-week season? Impossible, Bader says.

"It takes eight days to shoot an episode," he explains. When the producers factor in writing scripts and the post-production editing process, then the equation is six to seven weeks to create a single episode. "There are only so many weeks in the year," he says.