Lost-in-space Farscape hero John Crichton was supposed to have had two more years to find his way home. But since the news broke Friday that he and his intergalactic gang of fellow felons will find their starship in dry dock at the conclusion of the cult hit's fourth season, executive producer David Kemper just might turn out to be the only person ever to know for sure how their journey winds up.

"We're a year ahead of what fans are seeing," he explained to TV Guide Online before being informed that the end of the road was right around the corner for the Sci Fi Channel series. "If I were told tomorrow we have six episodes [left], I'd have a hard time getting to where we would need to be."

While the charismatic former Star Trek scribe could tell Earthling Crichton how to get back to where he once belonged, giving him specific directions might be tougher than translating Delvian to English. "I know where the end of the series is," Kemper explained, then offered a convoluted analogy to express how many light-years away from that place the program is now. "It's in New York. And what I mean is, we're in San Diego, and the ending is in New York. Are we going to drive straight through or take a whole lot of detours? Are we on a plane, a train or being pulled on a skateboard by a big dog? Nobody knows. But we know that, in the end, weary and beaten, Crichton will end up in New York." (Huh?)

At least that was Kemper's original plan. As soon as the axe fell, he joined his colleagues in a race against time to find the show formerly known as Space Chase a new venue — either a different network or perhaps even a company to finance a feature-film finale. It's the loyal audience that's his main concern at this point, not his own career. "I figure if I come back after Farscape and nobody wants to hire me, I won't get hired," he said matter-of-factly. "But I know enough about how to make a television show now that I can contribute to the people.