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LOST. I think what the writing does better than most other shows is capture and then stay true to the characters. Hurley is Hurley whether he's talking to a hallucination, hoarding food, or marching off into the jungle intent on getting something he wants. Likewise Sayid is Sayid whether he's torturing someone, spending time with a woman he loves, or trying to decipher some code. Even when the characters do change, it's change that's consistent with (what we know and suspect about) their characters. That doesn't mean that a character never surprises us on LOST, just that after the initial surprise we think, "Okay, that's what I'd expect Charlie to do to someone who kidnapped his girlfriend and almost killed him."

The writers have had to pour on mystery while satisfying the viewers enough to keep them tuning in, a delicate balance.

Compare the writing of the new show Flash Forward (trite, boring/slow-paced, reads like someone tried inserting a science fiction subplot into an episode of CSI) with the new V (clever, funny, well-paced). Sure, V has its shortcomings and it's closer to popcorn theatre than literature, but it delivers what it promises, something I don't find Flash Forward making good on. In fact, Flash Forward has already invalidated its premise, that people have seen "the future" during a collective blackout. The show it could have been is already far superior to the show they're broadcasting. It's a mess.