If you’re one of the many who had begun to suspect that the creators behind Lost really didn’t know what was behind the manifold mysteries on the strange island and that they figured they could continue to tease the beguiled audience for several more seasons until they figured out how to make all those signs and wonders fit some “Explanation for Everything” maybe you’ll find out whether you were right sooner than you expected.
The two main creators for the show, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have stated that they are planning a definite number of seasons for the series that could conclude in as little as two years, making for around 100 episodes. Although these matters aren’t up to just the producers–network executives have a lot to say about when a show can end, especially if it is produced by said network– it might hearten fans to know that at least the creative minds behind the show don’t wish it to remain open-ended. How often keeping a successful show running long after it’s creative prime has left fans with sad memories of a favorite show now become decrepit. Television, I have long said, is like the titan Saturn, from Greek mythology, who ate his own children–networks flog a show to pump out at least 22 episodes a year, season after season, expecting it to stay fresh and retain its high ratings, but when it inevitably declines, it’s unceremoniously moved to a bad time slot designed to hasten its demise, or simply canceled outright.
If something like the four-year plan goes through, it will force the writers to tie all the plot threads together before the (already declining) audience gives up in despair of finding a coherent story as well as focus the audience on the balance of the big story yet to be unspooled. This will also help return the lagging momentum to the series. I hadn’t really given up on the show but I was sorely tested at the six episode season opener that left me frustrated as it demanded my attention without rewarding it with satisfying plot revelations. It’s time for Lost to fulfill the promise of its first two seasons with a second half that pays off the viewer hours spent invested in all those mysteries.
