Remember the wait before getting the last Harry Potter book? If you spent the days before the book came out like me, at least half of each day was spent obsessing over what would happen.

Now, imagine that after all that waiting, when you finally got that book, you were told that you could only read half of it. And then you’d have to wait for who-knows-how-long before you could start reading again.

And that’s what it’s going to be like for “Lost.”

There are going to be eight episodes (out of a normal season’s 16) — just eight before the effects of the writers strike kicks in. That’s when we run out of episodes to watch.

If you’ve seen “Lost,” you’ll understand just how awful this is. “Lost” pulls you in, messes with your head for a while, and then you’re stuck.

When my mom suggested that we try it out earlier this year, I wasn’t all that excited. I’ve found that shows that everybody loves usually aren’t as good as they’re made out to be.

But in this case, I was wrong. For weeks, after the Uni homepage and Facebook, abc.com has been my most-visited Web site.

It provides HD Streaming of the complete seasons 1, 2, and 3, totally free, and totally amazing. Pretty soon it'll have 4, too. But they won’t last long enough.

The writers strike, while for a decent cause and all that, is cutting back on my Friday night I-don’t-feel-like-doing-anything-useful time. And I really don’t like it.

So when will they resolve their dispute and start writing again? When do I get my favorite shows back?