In order to fit in the two-hour season finale of “Lost” during prime time evening hours this Wednesday, ABC decided to pit the (also two-hour) series finale of “Alias” against the (also two-hour) season finale of Fox’s “24” tonight.

What were they thinking?

Granted, as Mike Duffy reports in his article for the “Detroit Free Press,” this is “no biggie in the age of TiVo.” Yet, at least to this particular fan (namely me), having to choose between two goods, and also to ostensibly put them in order of preference is not very happy making in this week of the TV-blockbuster-finale. (It is my own version of what Mike Duffy called “the holy blockbuster trinity” of finales from last year, which this year includes not only the season finales of “24,” “Alias,” and “Lost,” but also this year’s finale of popular hits like “Desperate Housewives,” among others.)

But, as no Christian should be forced to put the three persons of the Trinity in hierarchical order (and relax,readers, I’m just having some metaphorical fun here), I take offense at being forced to do so with my own trinity of pop culture favorites. Alas, the decision lies before me. Whether tonight I will pledge my allegiance to my longtime yet dying favorite, “Alias,” over the extraordinarily addictive yet slated to return, “24,” still remains to be seen (literally).