ABC's `Lost' can't find way to keep audience

By Phil Rosenthal

February 23, 2007

The drama that began with a plane crash is plummeting faster than Britney Spears.

ABC's "Lost," once the darling of the television industry, almost as popular as it was impenetrable, has bled viewers since returning from a three-month hiatus. This week's episode was up 110,000 viewers from last week's all-time low of 12.84 million, but it's still a far cry from the days when the cryptic series routinely drew more than 20 million viewers.

And ABC may be going down with it.

Now, ABC is sure to get a bounce this week, what with the Academy Awards--an "American Idol" for movie stars--set for Sunday. Even in a down year, and this may be a down year, Oscar is reliably one of the most-watched attractions each TV season.

But since the new year began, and "Idol" season began on Fox, ABC has slipped from first place to third, a notch above NBC. A hot fall has been squandered in a cold, cold winter.

While ABC has seen gains on revenue-rich Thursday thanks to the risky move of "Grey's Anatomy" from Sundays, it's down substantially on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays.

"Ugly Betty" has drawn a following, but other new shows such as "Day Break," "Knights of Prosperity" and "The Nine" have been busts. They challenged viewers, but viewers were tired of challenges, which may be why the network now is weighing a fall spinoff from "Grey's." At least that's a known commodity in a familiar genre.

Spinoffs have fallen out of favor in recent years, with "Joey"-type failures far outnumbering the "Frasier"-like successes. But it's a safer bet than trying another serial and hoping to catch fire with a new "Desperate Housewives" or "Lost"--two hits developed not by ABC Entertainment Steve McPherson, but predecessors Lloyd Braun and Susan Lyne--and winding up with "Six Degrees."

Viewers can only be expected to commit so much. "Lost" has tested that premise since becoming an out-of-the-box hit with out-of-the-box thinking since its September 2004 debut. But the series grew aimless, viewers grew restless and demanded answers.

The recent ratings decline indicates that many have given up. That would make the producers' announcement last month that they want to set an end date for "Lost," so they can work toward a conclusion that answers its many mysteries, seem presumptuous, or at least unnecessary.

The return of reality hit "Dancing With the Stars" next month--with hoofing contestants such as Leeza Gibbons, a dead mobster from "The Sopranos" and the former Mrs. Paul McCartney--should save ABC from slipping further.

But the network of "Lost" has its own mysteries to solve if it hopes to get airborne again.