Cult Spy: Will 'Lost' lose the plot?

News filtered through this week that an ending is in sight for Lost… in 2010. We’ve witnessed how a select group of people managed to survive a ferocious plane crash and vicious attacks by ‘The Others’, but the burning issue is how many viewers will survive another three years of head-scratching plots?

It’s hard to tell whether Lost has the mileage to sustain another three seasons, especially given that large portions of the narrative in seasons two and three have veered between sublime entertainment and desolate frustration. In the US, ratings - while still respectable - have notably tumbled from previous heights, suggesting that many millions have quite simply lost patience and given up.

Lost partially functions as a kind of ‘pr**ktease’ television. She flashes a cheeky smile, beckons you closer and tantalisingly promises to deliver the goods in the form of answers to the numerous questions and conundrums thrown up. But as you move in for the kill, she backs away and scampers for the exit with not so much as a peck on the cheek goodbye. Cue the end credits, and you’re now waiting a week for the next window of opportunity, or in the case of season finales, several months. Only in the most recent episodes has the shock twist final scene at the end of the last season, featuring Penelope Widmore’s hunt for Desmond, been properly expanded upon after the best part of a year passed by.

The impressive quality of the latter half of the current season episodes has helped us to momentarily cast aside our quest for the truth in regard to various unresolved plot lines of the past. The recent self-contained story of Nikki and Paulo being buried alive whilst paralysed is a fine example of cunning (and damn compelling) ‘delaying tactics’.

What fate has befallen Michael and Walt, why do Hurley's numbers have such significance, when is the smoke monster going to be explained and where on earth have all the polar bears gone? That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. At times we crave the entire truth just as Hurley craves some Dharma Initiative cookies. Of course, it’s a tricky situation for the makers of the programme, for solving some key mysteries can prove fatal. Just note how the unveiling of Laura Palmer’s killer on the brilliant Twin Peaks deprived the show of its main hook for reeling in large audiences. Cancellation became inevitable soon after as interest declined.

Conversely, there's only so long a mass audience can tolerate a plethora of question marks hanging over their scratch-ridden heads. Just witness the sharp demise of the X Files in the late 1990s, as viewers lost patience in the conspiracy-laden story arc and fled to other channels faster than Locke's doomed kidney hopped over to his father.

Keeping hold of a mass audience is crucial for a show with such high production values. Without significant viewership, especially over target demographics, advertising revenue will plunge and US networks are notoriously merciless when it comes to wielding the axe on shows. Of course, the performance on foreign territory can be a vital factor, especially given the megabucks Sky forked out to outbid Channel 4 for the broadcast rights.

Stretching out the premise of Lost for a further three years may be perfectly viable however, given the expansive cast list and the capacity to add new characters or bring back old ones via flashbacks. Lost creator and supremo JJ Abrams is a crafty devil at constantly keeping a show fresh and is not afraid of reinvention and taking risks. Witness how his superb show Alias began each new season with an ingeniously subverted premise, although this was not always a commercial success in this instance.

As a series bearing so many elements of fantasy, interwoven with sustained emotional realism, Lost has the green light to do almost anything with the narrative in the future. How long before the polar bear has a flashback episode? We've borne witness to a number of contrivances and outrageous coincidences that require our disbelief to be not so much suspended as permanently ejected and it’s mostly been a thrilling ride so far. But it will be an immense test for the creative minds behind Lost if they are to keep us eagerly tuning in for another three seasons week after week. If they succeed, then they’ll have created one of television’s most laudable legacies.