ABC has picked up FlashForward for a full season, but all is not well for the show.

Hyped as a replacement for Lost, the drama has struggled to maintain solid ratings, while critics gripe about a lack of interesting characters or interesting developments on the series.

Now, showrunner Marc Guggenheim has departed the show, though whether he quit or was pushed out (likely the latter) remain unclear.

Guggenheim has an impressive resume. He created fan favorite Eli Stone and has written for Brothers & Sisters. He joined FlashForward subsequent to its pilot shoot.

We still tune in to the drama each week, but something is definitely missing from it. The characters seem stale, and too obsessed with their personal visions. What about the blackout itself? Millions of people died during it, yet we're supposed to be heavily invested in the Benford's marriage?!?

The magic of Lost is that it focuses on a small set of characters, lets the viewers know each intimately, and has built up the storyline to make it seem as if these people have an effect on the world as a whole.

FlashForward has, unsuccessfully, gone the other way. It instantly depicted a worldwide catastrophe; and then narrowed the focus to a tiny segment of the population.

Will producer David Goyer - who wrote Batman Begins and will likely take over for Guggenheim - fix this problem? We hope so.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.