On hiatus until January, "Lost" ended the teaser portion of its third season with a strong showing in the November sweeps period, helping ABC capture its first No. 1 ranking in the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic in seven years.

With just two episodes airing during the sweeps period, "Lost" ranked No. 7 overall among the most-watched TV series last month. In the 18-49 demographic — a key audience for advertisers — "Lost" ranked No. 5. ABC's biggest hits, "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," ranked No. 2 and No. 4 overall (No. 1 and No. 2 in the 18-49 group).

In response to audience complaints about too many reruns last season, "Lost" revamped its broadcast schedule for season 3, airing six consecutive new episodes to start the season, then going on hiatus until February to allow the production of new episodes to catch up. The final 16 new episodes will run consecutively through the end of the season with no reruns scheduled.

"With a show like this, you have to see it in sequence," said "Lost" actress Yunjin Kim, who spoke to The Advertiser in advance of her appearance at the Honolulu Marathon Expo on Friday. "When I'm watching and I see a rerun, it's confusing even for me. I get disappointed, too."

Kim said the ideal set-up for broadcasting the show would be similar to the process Fox uses with "24." That show begins airing in January and runs new episodes each week through the end of the season.

"But it's not up to me," she said. "It's up to the networks. Hopefully, the fans will stay with us."

'FIRST BATTLE' RAGES ON

Tom Coffman's remarkable documentary "The First Battle," about the World War II internment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry on the Mainland, and successful efforts in Hawai'i to resist a similar injustice, makes its broadcast premiere at 8 p.m. tomorrow on PBS Hawai'i.

The film played to a sell-out audience at the Hawai'i Theatre in September and has also screened at the Aloha Peace Forum and the University of Hawai'i.

"The First Battle" is also being shown on the Neighbor Islands and in California this week.

GAY OLD TIMES?

University of Hawai'i communication professor Marc Moody's independent film "Almost Normal" was widely overlooked when it made its Hawai'i debut last year. But the clever, well-executed story about a middle-age gay man who finds himself transported to an alternative version of his adolescence in which everyone is gay has proven to be a long-term winner.

The film earned Moody the Phred Love Best Filmmaker Award at the 2005 Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, the first of several honors it would pick up during its festival and theatrical runs. The DVD version was released last December and recouped investor contributions within the first month of sale.

The film has also been distributed in several European markets, including France, Germany and Italy. "Almost Normal" is also airing on MTV's Logo channel, which is not carried in Hawai'i.

Moody wrote and directed the film. He was joined on the project by fellow Ohio State School of Film alums Sharon Teo (producer) and Richard Sherman (director of photography).

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.