Season Recap

After an outrageously long hiatus, "Lost" returns tomorrow, Feb. 7, at its new time of 10 p.m. This season has seemed a little desperate at times, trying feverishly to keep viewers riveted while the many, many plotlines spread out in chaotic ways, raising more questions than can possibly be answered. It’s been sometimes boring, and other times frustrating.

Still, like any addict, I can’t give it up! If you’ve forgotten some of the things that have happened in those six fall episodes (oh, they seem so long ago!), here’s a refresher.

• Kate, Sawyer and Jack are being kept in captivity by "Henry Gale," whose real name is Ben, and some of the Others. Kate and Sawyer are in outdoor cages, while Jack is in an old shark tank. Jack’s main caretaker is an Other named Juliet who looks vaguely like Jack’s ex-wife, Sarah. The Others have a thick file on Jack, documenting his entire life up until the plane crash.
• The Others’ community is like a real, modern village, with homes and kitchens and well-kept lawns.
• Kate and Sawyer are forced into manual labor, breaking and moving rocks. Being prisoners together, without any other original "Losties," brings Kate and Sawyer together to the point where they get it on in Sawyer’s cage, and he tells Kate he loves her.
• Alex appears at the place where Kate and Sawyer are breaking rocks and demands to talk to Ben, and tells Kate "They’re going to kill your boyfriend!" There is confusion about whether this means Jack or Sawyer.

Lots of other developments, so read more

"Heroes" is one of the best new shows on TV, and I'm very excited for the new episodes on Jan. 22! Whether you’re itching to read about your favorite characters or you’ve decided to pick up the series mid-season, check out my recap of the first ten episodes. Also, fans of the show can head over to my group, Addicted to "Heroes," to discuss!

The show centers around the work of Chandra Suresh, a geneticist determined to figure out how some people with certain genetic abnormalities are capable of superhuman powers. In his research he encounters Sylar, desperate to be extraordinary, and when Sylar finds out he isn’t, he goes about these killing these super-humans and opening up their heads. His exact tactics are unclear, but he is then able to “consume” their powers. Sylar kills Chandra and continues on his rampage to acquire every possible superhuman ability. Chandra’s son, Mohinder, begins piecing together the bits of the puzzle that was his father's work.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bennet has been studying extraordinary people as well, and even adopted one of them, his daughter Claire. He is intent on obtaining Chandra’s well-hidden list of superhumans and removing Claire from that list so she can live a relatively normal life. Yet there is something sinister about Mr. Bennet, too. For example, what is his relationship with the quiet Haitian man who can erase people's memories? Who are the people who go over Mr. Bennet’s house to meet their “biological daughter,” Claire? Why does he kidnap so many of these “special people” and keep some of them in his creepy hospital-like place?

There’s too much mystery surrounding Mr. Bennet’s character, so to move on to the main heroes in the show, read more

This season of "Lost" has seemed a little desperate at times, trying feverishly to keep viewers riveted while the many, many plotlines spread out in chaotic ways, raising more questions than can possibly be answered. It’s been sometimes boring, and other times frustrating. Still, like any addict, I can’t give it up! I am still anxious to see what happens next when "Lost" returns to a new time slot (10 p.m.) in February after an outrageously long hiatus. If you’ve forgotten some of the things that have happened in those six fall episodes (oh, they seem so long ago!), here’s a refresher:

• Kate, Sawyer and Jack are being kept in captivity by "Henry Gale," whose real name is Ben, and some of the Others. Kate and Sawyer are in outdoor cages, while Jack is in an old shark tank. Jack’s main caretaker is an Other named Juliet who looks vaguely like Jack’s ex-wife, Sarah. The Others have a thick file on Jack, documenting his entire life up until the plane crash.
• The Others’ community is like a real, modern village, with homes and kitchens and well-kept lawns.
• Kate and Sawyer are forced into manual labor, breaking and moving rocks. Being prisoners together, without any other original "Losties," brings Kate and Sawyer together to the point where they get it on in Sawyer’s cage, and he tells Kate he loves her.
• Alex appears at the place where Kate and Sawyer are breaking rocks and demands to talk to Ben, and tells Kate "They’re going to kill your boyfriend!" There is confusion about whether this means Jack or Sawyer.
• In Sun’s flashbacks, we learn that she had an affair with Jae Lee, and since we already know that Jin is sterile, Sun’s baby may be Jae’s. We also see that Jae died by either jumping or being pushed out of a building (out of room 1516, yet another variation on the "special" numbers in the show).

Lots of other developments, so read more

Anyone who has ever felt awkward or out of place has a friend in Betty Suarez, the magazine assistant with bad hair, a brace-face and tons of pluck in ABC's "Ugly Betty." Based on a popular Colombian telenovela, the show combines a sweet "beauty is only skin deep" moral with a campy mystery reminiscent of early "Desperate Housewives." Here's a rundown of what's happened so far:

Betty at Mode
Queens-bred Betty lands her first job in publishing as the assistant to the editor in chief at Mode, the highest of high-fashion magazines. She makes a splash on her first day when she shows up with her metal braces and gaudy Guadalajara poncho while everyone else is kitted out in Manolos and Marc Jacobs. In addition to being the laughingstock of the skinny, snotty staff, she also learns publishing mogul Bradford Meade has only hired her because he's sure his son Daniel — Mode's new editor in chief — won't sleep with her.

Yet no amount of humiliation (and there's a lot of humiliation) can deter the spunky Betty, who quickly proves herself a valuable member of the Mode staff. She saves fashion spreads, covers for her boss while he nurses hangovers, and talks a famous photographer who'd sworn off working with Mode into shooting for them again. She's even been offered a job at a new magazine that targets empowered young women. But will Betty really leave behind her Mode job and her friendship with Daniel? We'll have to wait till January to see.

The mystery
The previous Mode editor in chief, Fey Sommers, died in a fiery car crash ... or did she? What we know so far: The catty creative director, Wilhelmina Slater, spends lots of time on the phone with a shadowy woman whose face is wrapped in bandages. Daniel keeps getting phone calls from a woman who hints that Daniel's father is keeping secrets. And Bradford, who had an affair with Fey years ago, appears connected to her death, though he's now trying to cover his tracks.

To hear more about Betty and Mode, read more

Season four of Fox's "The O.C." got off to a rocky start. Given, a few hitches are expected when your main characters move into a new phase of their lives (e.g., graduating from high school), but the early part of the season was sorely lacking the campy melodrama we know and love. However, if you stopped watching after the first few episodes of Season 4, you should tune back in in January, because it's getting good again. (You can even sign a petition to save "The O.C.") Here's a recap of the season so far.

• Just in case you missed it—maybe you live in Encino or something—Marissa Cooper died at the end of Season 3.
• While Summer escapes to Brown University, Ryan defers college to take a job at a bar, Seth is working at the comic book store, and Taylor travels to France.

To see the rest, read more

"Friday Night Lights," which started its first season this fall, takes us to the heart of Dillon, Texas, an impoverished town that doesn't have much going for it besides its high school football stars. The mayor speaks at pep rallies, the radio stations constantly chatter about the team, and the fans will settle for nothing less than a state championship.

Coach Eric Taylor took over as the new coach of the Dillon Panthers this season and immediately faced a tragedy when star quarterback Jason Street was paralyzed making a tackle. Since then, Dillon has struggled to rally around the team, questioning the coach's decisions and facing the reality that even the best Panther players are just teenagers trying to muddle their way through high school.

Here are some of the highlights so far:

• Jason's girlfriend, cheerleader Lyla Garrity, stays perky and positive even in the aftermath of Jason's injury. But the pressures of being the supportive girlfriend ultimately get to her, and she somehow ends up in the arms — and the bed — of Jason's teammate and best friend, Tim Riggins, who blames himself for Jason's botched tackle.
• Gawky sophomore Matt Saracen takes over at quarterback and becomes at least competent, leading the team to a winning record. His new status as a team star causes some tension with his old nerdy friends. He also takes a liking to the coach's bookish daughter, Julie, who returns his affections — much to the dismay of Coach Taylor, who can't deal with his daughter dating at all, but especially not dating one of his players.

Two more, so read more

Desperate Housewives was not at its best last season, and many people felt the series got a little cheesy and muddled. The first ten episodes of Season 3 seem promising, though, with many of the same old characters and antics, but also with new mysteries to mull over. In case you need a refresher course in what’s been going on so far on Wisteria Lane, read on.

Lynette
Lynette grapples with the challenge of including Tom’s child Kayla in the Scavos’ lives, while trying to avoid Kayla’s mother, Nora. Nora, meanwhile, uses Kayla to manipulate her way into as many of the Scavo activities as possible. Tom decides he wants to leave the advertising world and open a pizza parlor, though Lynette thinks it’s a terrible and risky idea. Claiming to support Tom in whatever he does, Nora comes on to Tom, who rejects her. Then Lynette awesomely kicks open Nora’s door and tells her to keep her interactions with her husband and family strictly to dropping off Kayla at the house.

The following episode, titled “Bang” was the big shocker episode of the season. To find out why, read more

It hasn't been an easy year so far at Seattle Grace Hospital. The doctors of "Grey's Anatomy" have been in turmoil ever since the season two finale, when Izzie crossed ethical lines in an attempt to save a patient she loved, leading to Burke's shooting. This season has focused on how the consequences of Izzie's actions continue to change lives at Seattle Grace. It's a far cry from the "Grey's" of season one, when all the drama came from doctors sleeping with each other — though of course, there's still plenty of that too.

The show's central storyline has been the plight of Burke, who was once one of the finest heart surgeons in the country and now wonders if he can ever wield a scalpel again. The operation Derek performed to fix nerve damage in Burke's arm left him with a hand tremor, but Derek — who's distracted by other things, namely the demise of his marriage and his lust for a certain intern named Meredith — clears Burke for surgery. Burke knows he shouldn't be operating, but Cristina offers to help him. They become a team, "a well-oiled machine," as Cristina says.

But soon their illusion starts to fall apart. You'll see what I mean if you read more