'Lost' fan explains show's descent

COMMENTARY

OK, That's it. I have officially given up on my one-time favorite TV show, "Lost."

Now, I'm sure that the producers aren't exactly trembling in their Guccis that one guy is tuning out of their multigazillion-dollar show. But it's not just me. And given how badly ratings are falling, maybe it's time someone offered a possible reason.

First, let's review what made the show great in the not-too-distant past: mystery, suspense, solid characters, excellent writing, exotic locale (even if we in Hawaii knew exactly where the survivors were).

But for me the best part of the show was summed up in three words: suspension of disbelief. That is, aside from a few hokey details, "Lost" created a world in which the viewer could, for an hour each week, actually believe in the outlandish story they were watching.

This is difficult to pull off. It's hard to define or explain, but it is the difference between a lame TV show and a good one -- as "Lost" was a season or two ago.

UNTIL NOW the creators did a pretty good job of making us believe. But in an obvious effort to regain viewers, the producers obviously felt they needed a nice, juicy sex scene to liven things up a bit. Fine. I can enjoy gratuitous scenes as much as the next guy.

The problem was in the method: Kate and Sawyer have just spent days (or weeks?) breaking big rocks into little rocks for the Others. They're physically exhausted, emotionally strung out, haven't bathed in God knows how long and are living in dirty prison cells exposed to the elements in the middle of a hot, steamy, mosquito-filled jungle. Oh, and they've been smacked around a lot, with Sawyer being tortured and beaten.

Yet the two lovebirds get it on like a couple of turbocharged teenagers, with the hapless Jack watching on a video screen. Believable? Not. Lame? You betcha.

But hope springs eternal, and after waiting several months, there was a lot of anticipation for the next batch of shows.

So what happens in the first installment? Just before a gunman shoots Sawyer, a young woman pops up from out of nowhere and hits the bad guy with a ... slingshot.

YES, the show had me for the first two years, despite the polar bears, smoke monsters and weirdo cults. I could swallow all that, no problem.

But now I am asked to believe that Kate would do the nasty in, well, truly nasty circumstances? And that slingshots are effective weapons in a firefight?

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to check out "Grey's Anatomy," a show about studly doctors having sex with hot interns. I hear it's much more realistic.