A few years ago, the networks decided they wanted to be more like the cable channels. Air a show for about half a season, take an extended break, and then bring the second half back in an uninterrupted schedule.

Seriously, if Syfy can do it with their Stargate series and "Battlestar Galactica," and if premium channels like HBO could go almost a year between seasons for shows like "The Sopranos," why couldn't it work for the networks?

Well, they found out quickly. It doesn't work at all because networks are many things, but they are not Syfy or HBO.

Pretty good shows like "Heroes" on NBC, "Jericho" on CBS and "Lost" on ABC took extended mid-season breaks, only to come back to far fewer watchers. "Heroes" and "Lost," thanks to the fact they had already established audiences, were able to pull through. "Jericho?" Not so much.

Sadly, networks don't seem to learn their lessons. If that were the case, we wouldn't have got "Knight Rider" from NBC after its other nostalgic remake "Bionic Woman" failed so miserably. We wouldn't get shows on Friday nights, or moved to Thursday nights against "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI."

And the biggest lesson they apparently failed to pick up: Don't give shows -- especially new shows -- huge mid-season breaks.

But it's happening on ABC with "V" and "FlashForward." At least with "V," the long hiatus was planned. But "FlashForward" was supposed to come back in January. Instead, we won't see new episodes until March.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why ABC is doing it. February is the Winter Olympics, which are taking place in Vancouver this year. Nobody really wants to compete with the games, and they would rather hold off programming until March than go against it.

But seriously, is there really a huge television audience for the Olympics?

The last winter games were held in 2006, and of course were aired on NBC. However, viewership was down 37 percent compared to 2002, according to a story at the time by The New York Times. Among younger viewers, which tend to be the audiences attracted by shows like "FlashForward" and "V," the drops were even steeper.

In fact, the closing ceremonies, which usually is what draws the more vast audiences, had just 14.8 million viewers in 2006. And it was hardly the night's winner. That title went to "Dancing With the Stars," in a ratings win the Times described as "clobbered." (story)

NBC at the time said the they expected viewership to drop because the 2002 Olympics were soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, and nationalism -- which is the biggest audience driver for the Olympics -- was at record highs. But I don't think anyone is expecting NBC could even return to 2006 numbers, let alone 2002 numbers.

I worry about "FlashForward" and "V" especially because even if there wasn't a break, I would be worried about them because of the audience that hasn't been encouraged to forget about them yet.

Viewership for "FlashForward" is averaging a 6.0 rating/10 share in overnights through Nov. 19. That's 22 percent off its premiere. "V" is averaging a 6.7/10, some 21 percent lower than its strong premiere, after four episodes.

Among the top network television shows, "V" is ranked No. 21 while "FlashForward" is No. 26. While that is higher than any other genre show that has aired so far this season, it's not the most wonderful for ABC. There, "V" is ranked No. 8 while "FlashForward" is No. 12.

The only thing really going for the two shows right now is that they are about even with some shows like "Private Practice" and "Brothers & Sisters," which ABC considers strong programs. And they both do better than anything on NBC.

But if viewers haven't yet formed habits of waiting and anticipating "FlashForward" and "V" because they are so new, the halfway decent averages we are seeing now could easily be erased, as well as the shows themselves.

One cable channel that seems to have finally figured this all out for the good, by the way, is BBC America. While the network may have dropped the ball a little when it came to the "Doctor Who" special "Waters of Mars," airing it in the United States weeks after it premiered in the United Kingdom, the final two episodes of "Doctor Who" starring David Tennant -- which had the potential of becoming some of the most pirated episodes of the year, if not recent memory -- will be a little different.

The two-parter will air on BBC in Great Britain Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. And instead of waiting for weeks in the United States, this country will instead get to see the two episodes on BBCA Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

Sure, Europe has always had to wait for many shows that aired here to air there, and maybe it's time we had to wait as well, especially for a show as amazing as "Doctor Who." But these are different times, when it's very easy to locate episodes of shows illegally. And the best deterrent to piracy is to encourage viewers to watch shows legally, and BBCA is doing just that by saying, "Wait a few hours. You'll get a chance to watch it, too."

And I don't know about you, but waiting a few hours is far better tahn waiting several months. Yeah, I'm looking at you ABC.