If you missed SyFy Radio Wednesday night, you were left out of a somewhat historical show for us ... well, as historical as you can get for being about five months into broadcasting.

First of all, we were stood up for the first time (we knew it had to happen eventually) by some guy named Chuck Williams that many of us are still trying to figure out who he even is. Secondly, 15 minutes before Wednesday's show started, we had breaking news that "Stargate: Atlantis" had been canceled.

This column isn't a post-mortem on the show, as it's not done yet. They are still finishing out this season, and we'll talk more about it when the time happens. But because we spent so much time talking about the end of "Atlantis" on SyFy Radio, I was never able to get to my rant about Warner Bros. delaying "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I was all excited, too, because I think my views on this -- unless you know me real well -- may surprise you.

Since I spent the time to write this rant and never used it on the show, and since it probably will be too old to save for next week's SyFy Radio when we have Patrick Lee on from SciFi Wire, I decided to kill two birds with one photon torpedo by sharing those thoughts now, and saving me from having to write SciFriday this week.

Yes, I think I really am starting to become lazy!

So here it is, my rant that should've been heard on SyFy Radio this past Wednesday.

I just wanted to say something about this whole Harry Potter thing. I know that I'm going to end up getting some of the same flack that Warner Bros. is getting right now, but come on, people ... we're talking about what, eight months?

I honestly don't think it's that big of a deal. Back when I was a kid, I saw Capt. Picard as a Borg and William Riker about to blow his boss to bits on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I was mad because I wanted to know what happened, and I didn't want to wait all summer -- all of like three months -- to find out if Picard would be dead, a Borg forever, or somehow return to being our lovable old baldy.

Of course, I was like 15 at the time, and didn't know what patience was. I'm 32 now, and I don't mind the wait.

Move "Star Trek XI" from Dec. 25 to the beginning of May? Sounds good. Wait a year to show us the last episodes of "Battlestar Galactica"? Perfect. Hold off for two years in between seasons of "The Sopranos"? Why not?

I'm not for instant gratification. When "Earth: Final Conflict" was on the air 10 years ago, fans wanted to know all the answers to their questions. They asked and asked and asked, as they didn't want another X-FIles situation. Tribune Entertainment -- in its infinite wisdom -- caved in and answered a bunch of questions by the second season.

Of course, they didn't have any new questions to fill this newly created void, so we were left with kind of nothing. It was like giving away the ending to a Harry Potter book before you were even done with the first chapter.

I hated that, and realized that I would rather wait and see how a story plays out than have to yell, kick and scream for the ending.

The same is happening with "Lost" on ABC. So many people complain to me about how slow the story moves, and how few questions have been answered over the last four years. I have to smile, because that's just the way I like it.

I don't want everything told to me right off the bat. I want a long, drawn-out story, one that gives me time to speculate, time to be surprised, time to savor the moment. It's like having a wonderful meal ... are you going to woof it down in a matter of seconds, or are you going to enjoy every delicious bite and draw it out as long as you can?

To me, good television and good movies are like a glass of the best wine. You want to breathe in the aroma. You want to tease your lips with the liquid. When you finally get a little bit in your mouth, you want to swish it around a little bit. And ever so slowly, you want to swallow it.

Call me wacky -- most of you do anyway -- but there's nothing wrong with what Warner Bros. is doing.

Plus, all the books are out anyway. If you're that big of a Harry Potter fan, you've read every page, so it's not like you don't know how the story is going to end. It's not like Ron Moore sneaked in the final Cylon into the "Half-Blood Prince," so why not wait a little bit longer to actually see it played out on the screen?

You'll like it even more when the movie finally does premiere, and it'll be worth the wait.

SyFy Radio

Next week we welcome Patrick Lee, editor of SciFi Wire, on SyFy Radio. Our shows air every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at www.SyFyRadio.com.

Then on Sept. 3, I go on vacation and Marx and Julie Pyle return to guest host, where they will have special guest Christy Marx, a writer for animation series like "Gem," "G.I. Joe" and more.

SyBits

Send your letters to mhinman@airlockalpha.com, and maybe you'll hear them on SyFy Radio, complete with my arcane responses.

Do you like to chat about the SciFriday columns you see here? Then join our message board discussions by clicking here.

Don't forget to listen to me host SyFy Radio, every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (and available to download for free at your leisure after the fact) by visiting www.blogtalkradio.com/syfyradio. You also can subscribe to us for free at the iTunes Store. Simply log in to iTunes, type in "syfy" in the search engine, and ou'll be connected directly to the show's archive.

If you're not yet a member of our free breaking news/headlines mailing list, then it's not too late to sign up. Simply send a blank e-mail to syfyportal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and enjoy the latest in science-fiction and fantasy entertainment straight to your e-mail box with breaking news and headlines. I promise you you won't regret it!

Rabid Doll is now online! Visit it at www.RabidDoll.com. We also have a mailing list going for that, which you can join by simply sending a blank e-mail to rabiddoll-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Have a great week, and don't be a stranger!

Michael Hinman, a cult leader twice awarded "Best Kool-Aid Drinker," is the founder and site coordinator for Airlock Alpha, writing out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at mhinman@airlockalpha.com