would lose viewership over time. - lex, don't! - because if the audience misses an episode, then they would be inclined to stop watching it because they would feel like, "i missed one and now i don't know what's happening." - there had been amazing shows that had been sterilized. they never had syndication value, because you couldn't revisit them, but there's almost no better hook. it's like a book you can't turn down, like, "okay, i'm just gonna watch a little bit more." - "24" was set to debut in november of 2001. the pilot climaxes with an assassin blowing up a passenger jet in midair. fox orders this, fox schedules it, 9/11 happens. [explosion] suddenly this show, which seemed like this goofy thing about kiefer sutherland chasing after middle eastern extremist terrorists becomes the most timely show on television because that is all that anyone in america