There I said it.

Both are serialized, broadcast network action-dramas where an isolated likeable group of people struggle for survival following a catastrophe they don’t understand.

ABC’s “Lost” is the sexy one.

An attractive international cast that maintain perfectly white teeth after being stranded for months on an island. After three seasons, the show is beloved for its Big Twists and Sneaky Clues that jerk the narrative this way and that, like shiny fishing bait dangled in front of viewers with attention spans too short to remember that a couple ago what they’re now being told wouldn’t make any sense.

CBS’s “Jericho” is pure Midwest morality tale.

The group of scruffy small-town characters on last season’s “Jericho” debut have gradually devolved into desperate survivalists — shell-shocked and stunned at the humanity draining from their Kansas community following a nuclear terrorist attack.

What makes “Jericho” better is the show is more consistent. “Jericho” earns its suspense without resorting to cheap ploys and is more successfully entertaining when watched cold, from beginning to end (which I recently did on DVD after resisting the series since its inception — a CBS terrorist attack drama starring that guy from “Scream”? Please…).

The backstories of the “Jericho” characters are gradually teased out, yet hold true. The evolution of their relationships with each other are often surprising, yet feel emotionally correct. And the story’s gradual ramp up to war with neighboring town New Bern is more tense and apocalyptic than any face off between the Losties and their cryptic boogiemen, The Others.

A season of “Lost” always feels transparently like it’s shoved along by a writers room rather than by the characters or the story. A succession of drunken ideas get thrown into the show that become next season’s hangover as writers try to figure out how to explain them (“Let’s introduce a mysterious monster … let’s introduce a mysterious hatch … let’s show a statue with four toes … let’s adds a box where things magically appear inside…”). Plot lines are introduced and discarded as fast as fans can complain about them on message boards. Mysteries drag out for years, with producers freely admitting many are slapped into the story without an upfront solution.

Whereas every major question mark in “Jericho” was neatly wrapped up in the first season. The show employed many of the same teasing cliffhanger tactics used by “Lost,” but writers either started with a firm plan and stuck to it – or are better at disguising their lack of preparedness.

Now.

Let’s hedge this argument a little bit: The absolute heights of “Lost” last season – the flash forward, Charlie’s death, Desmond’s Twilight Zone-style time-travel flashback episode – were arguably better than the best moments of “Jericho.”

But we’re talking about averages here. “Jericho” is like the quality mutual fund that starts merely good and kept getting better (especially after its winter hiatus). It’s the steady performer who always turns out a quality show that can look you in the eye and tell its story without flinching — unlike the desperate narrative U-turns of “Lost,” a series that bounces around like a volatile stock, spiking to pay off occasionally but often too inconsistent to invest your time lest you end up with an episode where, say, Hurly discovers a VW bus and drives it around the island – you go Gilligan!

Next month, both return for eight-episode seasons (shortened for “Lost” due to the strike, shortened for “Jericho” due to low ratings).

If “Jericho” is unable to get another renewal, that’s fine. Two endings have been shot this time, producers have reassured, so viewers are not left in a lurch. After CBS threatened the show with cancellation despite last season’s cliffhanger, they’re considerate like that.