If you’re not a fan, TLC has the premiere “19 Kids and Counting” also at 9. BET premieres “The Michael Vick Project” at 10.

The only finale tonight is A&E’s “Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal,” also at 9

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on CBS drew nearly 26 million viewers, the most since 2004.

SyFy has gone all fantasy on us. The network showcases a collection of storybook characters. Starting February 27 at 9 p.m., SyFy will start with “Beauty and the Beast,” and will continue with re-imagined tales of “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Aladdin” and more.

Finally, one we’re proud of, because we interviewed him last year, Chris Hardwick will get a second season of “Web Soup” on G4 starting March 3.

First and foremost, Oprah Winfrey will talk on the air today about ending her iconic syndicated daytime talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She will tell viewers that the show will end its run after 25 years on September 9, 2011. Oprah does have her own network, called OWN, launching next year, but we’re not sure what her future plans are beyond the show.

Other news, the season finale of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” starts at 9 on Sunday on HBO.

Some future premieres to talk about. ABC will start the sixth and final season of “Lost” on February 2 with a two-hour episode starting at 9 p.m. An hour-long recap of last season will start at 8, and the show will air Tuesday nights at 9 all season long. ABC will also launch an online companion for “Grey’s” addicts called “Seattle Grace: On Call.” on ABC.com. The six-webisode series will be set at Joe’s Emerald City Bar and will feature cast regulars including Gloria Garayua and Brandon Scott.

Over on NBC, “Chuck” will start its third season on January 10 with 2 episodes starting at 9 p.m. Then it will move to a regular time slot with another episode Monday January 11 at 8 p.m.

G4, the video game and Gen-Y network will start a show called “Campus PD” with a look at police on colleague campuses on Florida, Texas, California, and North Carolina. It premieres December 8 at 11 p.m.

Blast was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with the Southern devil himself and talk about Sawyer’s turn as being a hero, what mystery Holloway wanted solved most and life as a new father.

On how it felt for Sawyer to be a hero:

Odd and a bit uncomfortable, but funny enough, it kind of just happened that season because I had a newborn on the way, my focus was split, so I didn’t really even realize it was happening because I was working so much and I was just thinking, “Man, Sawyer talks a lot in the 70s. What’s wrong with this guy? He’s lippy!” (laughs) But as the season developed, I was like, oh, okay, I see kind of where this is going, because they never let us know where it is going, it just kind of happens. But it’s been a great exploration. It’s been a lot of fun, and they’ve really allowed me such opportunities to explore different avenues and different perspectives from which he comes, so this is a different perspective, and more of a humane side of him. So that was an interesting exploration, but I’m ready to get back to salty dog, so it’s good. Now that he’s lost Juliet, I think the leader/hero thing is gone. I think he doesn’t give a shit to be anyone’s leader at this point. He’s heartbroken, he’s back to “the world sucks,” and maybe throughout the season, someone can redeem him again and bring him back from hell. Because right now, he’s in hell.

On Juliet coming back or not coming back in the sixth season:

Note: It was revealed in the “Lost” panel Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) would be returning in the sixth season for a few episodes, but above Holloway referred to Sawyer as having lost Juliet.

Yeah, I don’t know, ask those crazy people (creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof), what are they talking about now? No idea. Maybe she’ll be this beautiful angel that appears and they can have this erotic—maybe (laughs). I don’t know how they’re going to do that, but it will be brilliant. They’re smart, those guys, so they’ll figure it out.

On who Sawyer should be with: Kate or Juliet:

Well I married someone more like Kate, so I guess they’d more volatile than everything being rosy and good like it was with Juliet and I. Both are valid and actually, in my life, I like both, but yeah, maybe as I get older I’ll chill out like he was with Juliet (laughs).

On what mystery Josh Holloway wants answered most:

Wow. Where the hell are we? You know? Are we in Purgatory, are we in a time warp, are we… where are we? What is this? Is it the Bermuda Triangle? Who knows. It’s funny enough, I always feel kind of stupid when you ask me these questions because I quit asking questions years ago. I’m like, okay, whatever. I don’t have a theory. I totally follow the storyline and I’m always like, oh, that was great, but now… The only thing I ever got right was that the Island moved. And I remember saying that to Damon and he got weird with me. I said, it’s like the Death Star, isn’t it? It moves. And he got all sweaty and weird. This was years ago.

On Sawyer possibly dying:

Knowing Damon, Sawyer must die. Maybe Carlton with soften him. (I) absolutely (am okay with it). I always thought he should die, like I said before, saving a frog or a rat or something like that. But I don’t know how they’ll do it. I think he should die because really, him in society is never going to work, so why go back. If it did (redeem himself) and he became a priest, then yes (he should live).

On “Lost” ending and leaving Hawaii:

I’m working on my bikini tan and my surfboard business, but it’s not coming along too good. I’m not sure. We’re going to keep our place there; we have a home there, so we’re going to go in and out. We’re in love with Hawaii and we have very close friends there. I fish like mad. So we’re going to keep the place and go in and out, unless acting goes the way normally acting goes and I’m broke and I have to rent it. We’ll see about that.

On being a father:

Oh my god, its… I just can’t even answer it. So many things, it’s so rich and so difficult and wonderful. Now it’s just those smiles, every morning, when I first get to see the little bean smile, I’m like , Oh my god, it just makes my heart explode. It’s really just added richness to my life. I don’t care how everything else goes now as long as I’m a good father.

On who Richard is:

I was doing a scene last year before the series finale when Locke comes to the beach; I approach him and I’m happy to see him and the director says, “Ok that’s good, can you be a bit more suspicious of him?” I’m not even told on the day, in advance, why I’m told to play him in a certain way. I make it up every week; I make up a back story for my character; I play my role and what’s written. I’m completely in the dark and it’s a great exercise because I can’t plan anything at all … For so long I thought I was so authoritative, my character knew what was going on. One of the characters says, “I thought you knew everything,” and I say, “No, I don’t; I don’t know anything about time travel.”

On whether Richard is a hero or villain:

I think there is and I’ve always felt that even when I started killing Juliette’s husband, when they were recruiting her for the island, but even then I was justifying the means. There’s a higher purpose and I’ve sort of operated off of that monster from the beginning. If I am the villain it’s always more interesting to play him; someone who really thinks he’s doing it for the best reasons. I don’t know if they’ve changed the character because of the way I played him or if they’ve always known all along or if the character has ever gone beyond what he’s going to be. I’ve been happy to be along for the ride.

On the end of “Lost”:

I think they would be dissipating this mystery if they didn’t have an end date and I think it was smart of them to approach the network three years ago and give them the timeline.

On what question he is asked the most:

That certainly comes up; how old are you? Do you wear eyeliner? I get how old are you, who are you?

On where the eyeliner infatuation started:

Online. The eyeliner thing started online, someone said I was wearing it, and then it spread. They had been badgered so many times with questions about the eyeliner. I’ve been getting stuff about it since I was a kid, and they eventually just said, we have to put this in the script at some point.

On his “Lost” theory:

Do I have a theory? Someone mentioned it to me that I’m a descendant of the Black Rock. That’s not my theory, that’s someone else’s theory. I always thought I was an extension — an arm — of Jacob’s … Every time I think I have a theory, I’m completely wrong.

On joining the cast:

I remember when we were shooting scenes for when I was recruiting Juliette; I wasn’t a huge devotee, and I might have missed a couple shows and I knew there was this huge cult following. My wife was a huge fan at the time, and I was nervous. I walk onto the set, we’re in Hawaii with the most incredible and laidback crew, and it was the most relaxed vibe for any show. You would never feel like you’re on the “Lost” set.

On his favorite episode:

The episode that gripped me the most was “The Constant;” time travel, Faraday, Penny. (The episodes are) all compelling; every character is messed up, they’re all extremely dark, they all have a past. To me the one who provides the conflict is Michael Emerson. There’s so many complex parts to him; he’s the key to the show, but you can’t have the story without Jack. I think at the heart of it is that love triangle.

On “The Dark Knight”:

“The Dark Knight” was an amazing experience as well. But the fans of “Lost” are so devoted, extremely smart, unbelievably loyal; but if I’m recognized for most things, it’s for “Lost.” … I actually got the call for (“The Dark Knight”) when I was in the jungle for “Lost.” There’s a very similar audience for (“The Dark Knight”).

On future projects:

Nothing at the moment. I’m writing right now. I’d like to contribute in my own way. I’m writing a comedy. I’ll be going out with it in January.

Word of caution: spoilers for “Lost” and “V” to follow.

On the nature of “Lost” and her character’s fate:

“My theory is what it always has been — that it’s some kind of place where people who have done bad things go to redeem themselves. But I could be wrong, but that’s what I’ve always thought. With or without me, or with me as the case may be.”

On how many more episodes in which Juliette will appear:

“I’m not sure, but it’s more than one.”

On her decision to join the cast of “V”:

“One of the reasons I chose it is because I don’t like to be bored. And I truly believe that it’s almost limitless. For me, as a woman against the bad guys kind of thing, which I am drawn to, but you also have a lot of interpersonal relationships. I haven’t even met on camera half the actors that I’m working with, so truly you have things that are the way they are now and could go in any different direction. So I think that the fact that they’ve made it a character-driven action show is exciting. I think it’s limitless. I cannot stand when things go into a formula. It’s starts to make me crazy. I like things to be active, I like to be interested, I like it to be sexy.”

On the differences between Juliette and Erica:

“Juliette has the weight of the world on her shoulders. She spent three years basically being tortured. She is someone who is shell-shocked yet still strides through life, continues to push through. And I’ve loved that about her. And playing someone who is that broken and yet is still walking around has been an incredible joy for me. What I enjoyed about Erica and how it kind of came to be is a little bit of the flip side of that. It’s someone who is not broken — yet. It’s somebody who every single day of her life spends every second trying to protect her world, trying to protect her people. She puts herself in harm’s way, she is very active in her life. She’s active with her son. She was probably so active in her life that her husband left her. She is not someone who has made these crazy, horrible choices so as a result it’s almost like we get to see someone at the beginning of this journey, which I like. And I like the fact that she’s tough, I like tough women, but she’s outwardly tough. She’s an FBI agent. She walks around. You don’t want to mess with her. You know what I mean? I love that Juliette was sneaky and I love that Erica is out there.”

On Erica’s relationship with her son:

“He’s fallen in love with the visitors, and who wouldn’t? They’re coming here, they’re curing diseases, they’re beautiful, they’re peaceful. All of these that we crave and we want so much, they’re going to just hand to us. Anyone you ever love who died or who is dying or who is sick, they’re gonna make all that better. So of course you love that. And the sad thing about this is that it’s not true, there’s a horrible price for that. And I think that that’s kind of what makes it fun for me is to think that here is this insignificant woman with a little bit of combat training, and she’s going up against people who are far superior in every way. Intellectually, their weapons are more superior, their technology is more superior. You know they probably think faster. (laughs) They definitely move faster. I think it’s neat.”

On the original miniseries “V” and its re-imagining:

“I don’t know what it’s gonna be. I know that they’re going to try and take the most iconic moments and make sure that they do service to them. That’s what I’ve heard. Although I’ve heard that Morena (Morena Baccarin who plays V leader Anna) say that maybe she wouldn’t be eating a guinea pig. And I think they said, maybe you will.”

On the degeneration of Erica’s FBI partner, played by Alan Tudyk, and the impact that will have on her character. Tudyk’s character is revealed as a V when he attacks Erica and she hits him with a bar, splitting the scalp to reveal reptilian skin beneath.

“That’s part of what I was saying and I love that you asked, what I was saying about the deconstruction of the character. Yes her husband left her, yes she does this, but she’s still a relatively active person. That’s gonna rock her. That’s gonna rock her to some degree. We’ll just have to see how she handles it. I think that the way it looked and the way it was set up is that he was the only person she trusted, he was the only person in her life. Everyone else had gone. And now that he’s gone, I don’t know. It’s gonna be really interesting. She may be angry, she may be bitter. Maybe not. Bitter’s hard to play. (laughs)”

Catch the final chapters of “Lost” next mid-season. “V” will air beginning in November.

Ian Somerhalder told Blast that he will be back as Boone Carlyle for the final season of “Lost.”

“I was literally 20 minutes ago talking with (“Lost” Executive Producer) Carlton Cues. Uh, yes. I will back,” Somerhalder said.

When asked about the number of episodes he’ll be in, Ian Somerhalder said, “That I don’t know… I’ll be back as much as I can.”

Keep in mind this may have been a major slip, because he hasn’t slept in pretty much two days, but there you have it.

The major high points of the panel included:

• Jorge Garcia was one of the first to line up to ask questions to the panel and what started as a humorous tug and war of words turned to excitement as Michael Emerson made a surprising entrance from among the crowd.
• Michael Emerson and Jorge Garcia joked about their roles on the show when Jorge informs the room Emerson originally auditioned for the role of Hurley instead of Benjamin Linus. Just at that moment, the producers announced the footage of Emerson’s “audition” spouting Hurley’s lines from the pilot season.
• In Memorandum, it was a bittersweet ending as the hall lights dimmed and flashes of “deceased” characters faded in and out to the music of Boys II Men.
• Charlie Returns! And wait, there’s Sawyer! Another set of special guests include Josh Holloway who got into the character of Sawyer without a hitch before the crowded hall. Finally, after the memorandum completed its course, the lights of the hall rose and to the surprise of the audience Dominic Monaghan came on stage. He was eagerly met with a standing ovation followed by the gathering of the panel.

The spoiler portion of the article follows.

• The return of Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet, and Jeremy Davies as Dr. Faraday.
• Will Faraday be happily married? This question asked by a fan was responded by a statement from the producers, “In theory if Jack’s plan succeeds then Faraday would have a happy family. But Faraday will be back for the final season.”
• Richard Alpert’s storyline has been implied to be a part of the major storyline for the last season. Also there will be flashbacks which reveal his backstory.

This is a breaking news update. Stick with Blast for more on this story!

Starring Elizabeth Mitchell (familiar as Juliet from “LOST” — and BLAST will be doing its best to get that question answered, by the way), Alan Tudyk (“Firefly,” “Dollhouse”), Morena Baccarin (“Firefly”) Morris Chestnut (“Boyz N the Hood”), and Scott Wolf (“Party of Five”).

Beware of Spoilers Beyond This Point

The pilot opens with sprawling overhead shots of cities with the provocative tag-lines: “Where were you when JFK was shot?” “Where were you on 9/11?” Then it finishes with “Where were you today?”

Shortly after, the sudden arrival of hovering alien motherships over Earth’s major cities triggers panic until the beautiful, otherworldly, and human-looking “Anna” (Baccarin) appears projected on the bellies of the massive ships (which are not as well rendered nor as cool-looking as the Galactica) and delivers a message. In gist, it’s “We come in peace” mixed in with “hey, Earth has something we need, but don’t worry we’ll be best friends with you and cure cancer and then be on our merry way.”

That certainly bodes well, doesn’t it?

We fast forward a few weeks to a point where humanity has largely welcomed and become enthralled with the “visitors” (“V”). This is the part that doesn’t ring quite true, even in context of this being a show about alien invasion. If giant alien spaceships that demonstrate clear superiority and just happen to electronically disable human jets that approach it, it seems difficult to believe that humanity as a whole would be, like, just so totally super excited to be, BFFs.

Thankfully, there are a few characters here and there who feel the same way. One of them is a doubting priest (Joel Gretsch) who questions the Vatican’s official position on the Vs (“we are all God’s creatures”) as well as one of his parishioners who staggers into the church, bleeding to death and begging the priest to deliver a package to a secret meeting.

Meanwhile Elizabeth Mitchell’s character, Erica Evans, is an FBI agent working with Alan Tudyk to uncover some kind of “sleeper cell” in a plot line that is very random and very unexplained. The lack of exposition is saved by the charismatic Dale Maddox, played by the always excellent Alan Tudyk (whose first appearance on screen prompted the biggest cheer of the night — Comic-Con is the natural environment for “Firefly” fans, after all).

The story moves along as V spokesman and leader apparent “Anna” encounters a middle-echelon broadcast reporter played by Scott Wolf. He asks her as she enters the UN if all the Vs are babes and she replies with, “You’re not so bad yourself.” The positive press coverage on her sense of humor inspires “Anna” in a very Big Brother-esque scene to announce to one of the other V’s that she chooses Wolf’s character Chad Decker to interview her.

One of the first hints of the Vs’ nefarious plots is revealed a few minutes before the interview is to take place. In short, Anna instructs Decker to ask only questions that cast a positive light on the visitors. When he tells her that it’s not a journalist’s job to spin, she threatens to cancel the interview and seduces the reporter with the promise of career advancement should he do as she asks. Decker casts away his scruples and relents.

The final act of the pilot culminates in Erica and Dale’s investigation leading them to some kind of warehouse. Erica enters first and discovers an anti-V rally, led by one guy who makes some very good points. He suggests that the Vs are reptilian-like creatures that cloned humans so as to appear human and asserts that the Vs’ reveal of themselves to Earthlings was merely the last stage in their plan to conquer the world.

Erica asks for proof and the doubting priest comes forward, bearing the bloody message given to him by his parishioner. Inside are photos of a mysterious terrorist suspect that Erica has been investigating and who she hasn’t been able to attach to any name or any of the many forged passports they found at a crime scene earlier. Just as the group of skeptics begin to put the pieces together — specifically that the man in the photograph is a V — they are attacked.

Shockingly, among these attackers is Dale Maddox, who tries to kill Erica until she manages to strike his head with a bar and discovers that the claim of the reptilian-like aliens wearing human skin is in fact the case.

The pilot ends with Erica and the priest, who both managed to survive the attack, realizing that they now need to form a resistance.

So what’s the verdict?

The potential for true drama and intrigue is definitely there. The interplay and politics of the Vs’ relationship with characters like Chad Decker and Erica’s V-obsessed teenage son could certainly be interesting and the gradual reveal of the Vs’ true intentions make for a promising story.

The bad?

For the most part the writing was predictable at best and flat at worst. Several of the characters suffer from LOST-imitation-itis, which is to say that the writers are clearly attempting to create a diverse ensemble each with a interesting to-be-revealed backstories but unfortunately fall short. Characters like Erica Evans’ son, the priest, Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut) are all plagued with dull and familiar dialogue (a possible exception being Nichols, who is at the end revealed as a “traitor” V, an alien who fights on the side of the humans) that serves to make them feel like filler characters.

On the other end, of course, is Morena Baccarin’s fantastic performance as “Anna.” She is unsettling and somehow nonthreatening at the same time. Creepy, yet pleasant. On the whole Baccarin is the standout performer and her character Anna is certainly one of the most intriguing and unique characters on the show.

Visually, the show is clearly a pilot — the CGI shots are uninspiring. The cinematography, on the other hand, was nicely done and on the whole the pilot was edited superbly. There were many moments of great storyline juxtaposition and parallels that really contributed a lot to the sense that there is a lot of story to be told with this premise.

In all, it earns a B rating. Certainly intriguing but ultimately hampered by its lackluster plotting and general predictability. Despite that, though, it is absolutely worth a try when it arrives on screen later this year.

Little did they know these pictures had already been released to the world six years ago… in the first season of “Lost.”

That sneaky Oceanic flight 815, popping up first on NBC’s “Chuck” and now in Bolivia. These news reporters are sure to be more careful with exclusive pictures from now on.

Without warning your body buckles down. You’re swimming in darkness until images flood your thoughts in rapid succession, and slices of your life are put into motion.

Just when you think you understand what’s going on, your eyelids snap open, and you awake to a world engulfed in chaos.

Equally as disturbing is the knowledge that within that brief and shattering moment, you just caught a glimpse of your own future.

Would you change or surrender to it? And more importantly, how did this all happen?

The search for answers begins with ABC’s upcoming “Flash Forward;” a suspenseful drama meets (somewhat) science fiction series to air this fall. The show’s premise details the aftermath of an unexplained event where people all over the world lose consciousness simultaneously. Matters complicate themselves further when everyone awakens with visions of the future.

Currently, the credits for the TV series reads like a fanboy or fangirl dream. This includes producers David Goyer (co-writer of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”), Brannon Braga (“24,” “Threshold”) and Marc Guggenheim (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Eli Stone”).

Equally as impressive is the ensemble of talent such as Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, Peyton List and John Cho, to name a few.

Recently Blast was invited to a press screening of the pilot in Los Angeles; an assignment which left this reporter curious and excited as all I had to go on were a couple of promos before seeing the pilot episode.

Let me also preface that I am sworn to secrecy about the details concerning the pilot. Although I know it’s going to be a long summer until it airs, it is certainly worth remaining spoiler-free. And speaking from experience, less is definitely more going into watching this show.

This of course helps when the actors are simply stellar. I have to give kudos to those in charge of casting this show. The sheer mix of actors whose range of talent varies from film to screen and theater just play to one another’s strengths. I’m more than certain viewers will be in store for a pleasant surprise.

What can be discussed is the overall feel of the show. It’s very clear there is a conscious effort from the producers to afford audiences more than the benefit of the doubt. As someone who loves a good story on TV sans the reality train wreck, I am relieved by that fact.

This brings me to a point where I feel the need to tackle general concerns about the use of time as a plot device. Whenever time is manipulated in any way, there develop issues about continuity. It’s a precarious rope to walk as far as storytelling because it requires not only accuracy but clear explanations that work within the rules of its plot. Failure in even a small way can distract the audience, generate major plot holes and ruin the dynamic of the show. Fans tend to either suspend their disbelief or outright hate it.

Luckily for us, Guggenheim and Goyer are aware of this challenge. In the post-screening Q&A both producers spoke candidly about their enthusiasm for the show’s premise. They were also none too shy in expressing their grievances when good shows don’t allow their characters to ask the more obvious questions during a crisis.

Fortunately, viewers can rest assured when it comes to “Flash Forward.” The series in itself is unique despite its ominous tone; a noticeable factor in its promos, causing online fans to draw comparisons to ABC’s own “Lost” and NBC’s “Heroes.” However, based on the released material on hand and what I’ve seen of it, there are valid arguments for why “Flash Forward” on premise alone will garner as insatiable a fandom as its contemporaries.

Whereas “Lost” and “Heroes” work within the challenging constructs of the island and super-genetics, “Flash Forward” presents itself more of the philosophical question: Is there a certain fate outside our inevitable death? Or is free will an illusion?

They’re some pretty heavy questions, but they are the kind of questions which appear to work more in favor towards this premise because it’s more of a global effect rather than a limited central group of people.

While “Lost” still remains beloved amongst fans, as well as intriguing and riveting, there have been lags in the past too obvious to ignore for long-time viewers. And while “Heroes” deals with the same “global” themes of “ordinary people with extraordinary abilities,” the series unfortunately struggles balancing the intrinsic conflicts between the core characters and the science of the show. In effect, most “Heroes” fans were left with convoluted time warps and doomsday plots. While those ideas keep you at the edge of your seat, the consistency of characters that audiences grew to love during its pilot season seemed lost.

“Flash Forward” has the advantage of working with not only innovative writers and producers, but the cast itself, once again, set the series off to a great start. Sometimes, the success of a show relies on the group dynamic. The direction of this pilot definitely allows each actor to play upon their strengths in an effortless way.

I know I have pretty much given my approval, but I do so with several things in mind. The concept of time warps and butterfly effects are nothing new; if anything, it raises the standard for any series attempting this angle. And yes, the leading characters are not uncommon as far as archetypes. And there were some more predictable moments, which is natural if you watch enough television. There will be some scenarios where, if someone missed an episode, they could get lost, yet with the availability of watching episodes on the network sites it shouldn’t be too big of a hassle if you’re interested enough in it. So, essentially, for some viewers it may appear generic because of its familiar outline.

But here’s my stance. I learned long ago there is no such thing as an original idea. What matters most is how you choose to tell a story, and finding ways to make its premise relevant to an audience. What will make “Flash Forward” hit a chord with viewers are the same reasons which incidentally made “Heroes” and “Lost” successes in their pilot seasons: the characters.

So for those who want to set a date for the show, remember to tune in on ABC Thursday at 8 p.m. eastern/7 p.m. central September 24 when the series makes it debut.

But check out this ABC promo clip below:

Note Dominic Monaghan’s usage of “was” when referring to Charlie’s death in season four of “Lost.” Also note that this video is promoting ABC’s fall line-up.

“Lost” creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have said that the sixth and final season, in 2010, will return to the character-driven drama that characterized the first season, but does this also mean they will return to the characters featured in the first season as well? Many fans have speculated that the Jughead bomb did reboot the timeline and return the characters to the beginning of the first season again, which the return of Claire and Charlie would support.

Truth is, none of us will really know until the final season starts airing in 2010. Unless you’re Michael Ausiello. Then you probably know already.

Starting off as a cross between Survivor and Stephen King’s “The Stand”, it has since lost its everyday feel, and embraced its full sci-fi nature. At the end of Season four, we found out that Locke had gone to the mainland, and that the Oceanic 6 and the others who escaped need to return to the island.

At the beginning of this season, the “Losties” were split into two groups. On the mainland, Jack and Ben were trying to gather the rest of the Oceanic 6 to go back to the Island to save the others they left behind and fix the mistake they made by leaving.

The enigmatic Sawyer took charge of those left behind back on the Island — Juliet, Bernard, Rose, Miles, Faraday and Charlotte — where the Island is out of sync with the world and is shuffling through time. They finally end up, after the death of Charlotte and separation of Rose and Bernard from the group, among the Dharma Initiative in 1974. More on that later.

Three years off-Island pass and, through many twists and turns, all the mainlanders end up on the an Ajira plane which they were told would return them to the Island by the enigmatic Eloise Hawking. While flying over the Island, Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid are pulled in by the time-skips and simply vanish from the plane, leaving Sun, Ben and the dead John Locke behind. The plane crashes on the Hydra, a Dharma station on the Islands smaller sister island, still in 2007.

Jack, Kate and Hurley are found by Jin — dressed in full Dharma garb — and we realize that at least three of the Oceanic 6 have made it to the rest of their group, who are stuck in what is now 1977. Things have certainly changed in the three years since Sawyer, Juliet, Miles and Faraday came across the Dharma Initiative. They had been living a fake life with the initiative, even claiming spots of power. Sawyer in particular became the head of security for Dharma in his three years there.

To make a long season short: most of the Losties have been tossed back in time, and need to deal with the Island’s mysteries, the Dharma Initiative and trying to change the time loop they discover they are trapped in. To be sure, “Lost” has maintained its title of the best and most confusing show on television.

Now that a basic recap is out of the way (yes, I know, we haven’t talked about Richard, Widmore and Ellie in the 50s, Locke being resurrected, or Hurley rewriting “The Empire Strikes Back” to make George Lucas’ life easier), last week the season finale “The Incident” aired, and for the first time in “Lost”s long history, gave us a look firsthand into the mystical nature of the island.

The episode begins with two people sitting on a beach on the Island, with a fully constructed statue of Anubis (this has been seen in previous “Lost” episodes only as a foot and finally answers the season five question “What lies in the shadow of the statue?”), arguing to each other, and watching an old ship sail towards the island (yes, that was The Black Rock). One is revealed to be the mysterious Jacob, which the Others take orders from but who has never been shown in the show before, and the other is a man who professes to wanting to kill Jacob but needs a “loophole” in order to do so.

Throughout the episode, the show flashes back to important moments in the Losties lives — right after Jack’s surgery where he used “One…two…three…four…five” to contain his fear, when Locke was thrown out the window by his father, when a young Kate was caught trying to steal from a convenience store — to show that Jacob was there for all of them. He directly impacts some, while just merely being around others. The two biggest changes are making sure that the car that hits Sayid’s wife doesn’t claim his life as well, and bringing Locke back to life after his fall that claimed his legs. He also appears and talks directly to Hurley, confirming what many fans have thought for a while: Hurley isn’t crazy; he’s special. Needless to say, Jacob has been planning for these people to make a visit to his Island well before they got on the plane.

What is interesting is the time span of when the events happened. Jacob visited Kate, Locke, Sawyer and Jack before they travelled to the Island, but visited Hurley and Sayid after they had left as part of the Oceanic 6. Whether this is important or not has yet to be determined.

It is also interesting that Jacob gave them advice — like telling Kate not to steal anymore when she was young and telling Locke to move on with his life from his father — that those characters have all since broken. We have seen from Kate’s flashbacks that she has stolen numerous time, as we know from the other characters’ backstories that they have not followed Jacob’s advice. Did he know they wouldn’t all along? Or was being brought to the Island punishment for not listening to him? But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The main plot of the episode was that Jack had gotten his hands on the hydrogen bomb Jughead that was buried at the beginning of the season and plans on destroying the hatch before it is ever made, thereby changing time so Oceanic flight 815 never would crash on the Island Sawyer and a few of the others protest this, saying that if they can’t change the future, they will just end up destroying the Island and therefore themselves. Jack, ironically now the man of faith, refuses to hear it, and ends up in a long-awaited bloody fist fight with Sawyer.

Meanwhile in 2007, Locke convinces Ben why Ben should kill Jacob instead of Locke (Locke saying he was going to kill Jacob was the cliffhanger finale from the episode before). Richard, who is leading them to Jacob on Locke’s behest, brings them to the remains of the statue and Ben and Locke enter to find Jacob.

Outside, some of the survivors of the Ajira plane crash who the season revealed had some unknown motive for being on the Island, finally met up with the Other Others. Ilana, their leader, addresses Richard as “Ricardo” and asks him “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” He is the first to answer and responds in Latin “He who saves us all.” Ilana and company had been dragging around a giant metal crate and open it to reveal — dun dun dun! — the body of John Locke. They said they found him after the plane crash on the beach, which means the John Locke Ben and Sun have been following is not a resurrected Locke like we have all believed, but instead the man at the beginning of the episode who said he wanted to kill Jacob.

Back in 1977, Juliet realizes whether Sawyer loves her or not, he will always love Kate more, and decides to side with Jack. Radzinsky and Dr. Chen are fighting over whether they should keep digging to build the Swan and set off the “incident” that made it necessary for the hatch to be built or stop. While they are fighting, Jack and company bust on to the scene guns blazing and manage to throw the hydrogen bomb in. After a precious silent “goodbye” moment, everyone squeezes their eyes shut, waiting to wake up in 2003 in Los Angeles when… nothing happens. And then the “incident” occurs. Metal objects start being sucked down the drill shaft and a chain wraps around Juliet and drags her down. Sawyer is unable to save her and heartbrokenly is pulled back from the shaft by Jack and Kate.

Inside the statue, it is clear Jacob knows Locke is the other man and says, “It looks like you’ve found your loophole.” Ben, who professed earlier in the finale to having never met Jacob, lets his jealousy shine through at the thought Locke had already met Jacob and he hadn’t. Jacob asks Ben not to kill him to which Ben replies with a really long version of “What about me?” Jacob replying with “What about you?” probably wasn’t the best move as it instigates Ben to stab Jacob multiple times, whose dead body then rolls down into a pit of fire and burns to death.

Before he died, though, Jacob whispered, “They’re coming,” which leaves us with a whole slew of additional questions. Who is “They”? Perhaps the other Losties are coming back or maybe it’s a new group of people. Perhaps even someone else from the past. It’s certainly open-ended and can’t be good, leaving us with something more to muse over for the next eight months.

In the final moments of the season five finale, the camera travels down the shaft to find Juliet still alive at the bottom. She looks over and sees that Sayid’s “detonate-on-impact” plan didn’t work as the bomb is still whole. Turns out the hydrogren bomb hadn’t caused the incident like earlier in the episode had implied. She grabs a rock and starts smashing the bomb until it explodes and there is a flash of white light and then…..

“Lost.” End of finale.

What this white flash means is certainly a mystery everyone wants to know. The bomb went off, but the ramifications won’t be known to viewers until 2010. This only hint we have gotten. The clip shows an eye opening similarly to the way the first episode begins. The eye also appears to be Jack’s like in the first episode.

Frankly, we shouldn’t be surprised if we begin season six back at episode one, right after the crash, except knowing everything that happened. This theory could allow Jacob to still be alive, Locke not to be dead, and every awful thing that happened in the past five seasons to not have happened. I would be happy to have Charlie and Boone back. However, anything could have happened. If five seasons of this show have taught us anything, it’s that there is no boundary “Lost” can’t cross. From here on out, everything is fair game.

In season six we should find out why Jacob has chosen these people and what they are needed for. He is certainly going to be a big focus of the next season, and probably has the answers that Lost fans have been craving for several years.

Since there is in fact a sixth season the bomb can’t just have killed all of the characters, but we don’t know for sure if it altered history like Faraday believed it would. It will be interesting to see if the last season can live up to the hype. After a slow start, season five hit its stride and became both enjoyable and compelling. The concept of time travel is hard to pull off, but creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse did it well, never making destiny solid. Everyone was always at risk, but at the same time, so was the future. The finale was the best episode of the season and left me wanting more but not feeling slighted.

At this point, everyone has different theories on what will happen in the last season. The original popular guess that the Island was Purgatory was shot down early, and since then hundreds of new ideas have popped up. A quick search on the internet will bring you thousands, but I guarantee not one of them will end up 100 percent right. Personally, I am sticking with an Egyptian motif after the appearance of the statue, and that Jacob is Osiris and the smoke monster (and the man on the beach) is Set. However, I’m sure that the writers will prove me wrong. Because of these theories and how long everyone involved has waited, season six is shaping up to be the best season yet.

But season six needs to answer a lot of questions in 17 episodes. Who are Jacob and the other man? What is the Black Rock ship doing in the middle of the Island? Why did this all happen? And most importantly: What is the Island? These are just a handful of the more important questions that the series has brought up, and I’m sure that hardcore “Lost” fans have a lot more they want answered. So if the reset button was in fact just pushed, hopefully the series will return to the feeling of the first season, when it was about not only the mystery, but the people involved. If they dredge up that first season feeling and those spectacular twist moments, then we are only just beginning, because never before has America loved being so lost.

Entertainment editor Terri Schwartz contributed to this article.

What did you think of the finale? What are the questions you think season six will answer? Let us know below!

If the Season Five premiere indicated anything, it was that Lost needs to give every character parents as cool as Hurley’s. But unfortunately, I don’t think Sayid’s dad could also be Cheech Marin.

Aside from that, the two-hour premiere was as epic as expected. The characters left on the island are in danger, moving through time and space quicker than their human brains can comprehend. Their camp is gone because it “hasn’t been built yet,” friends — like Desmond in the hatch and mysterious Other Richard Alpert — become gun-wielding foes and Charlotte’s nosebleed and memory loss looms as ominous signs for the rest of the castaways.

On the mainland, lawyers (and an unnamed client) come after Kate to prove her maternity of Aaron; Jack and Ben work together to gather the survivors for what Ben has convinced Jack is a very necessary trip back to the island and Hurley and Sayid run into a group of assassins trying to kill them for reasons only an unconscious Sayid knows, while Hurley hides as the media pegs him for three murders Sayid committed.
Interesting points:

Sayid says they should “do the opposite” of whatever Ben tells them to do. Hurley takes this advice to heart when he turns himself into the police for murder rather than return with Ben.

Kate meets up with Sun, who passive aggressively blames her for Jin’s death aboard the freighter. Sun, by the way, has become a fierce bitch between this season and last. She’s dealing with Charles Widmore and tells him she too wants to kill Ben.

The writers are clearly setting us up for some guilty-dirty-Juliet-and-Sawyer-sex because Sawyer believes Kate died on the helicopter and Juliet…well, the man has his shirt off for the whole first hour – can we really blame her?

Faraday manipulates time to plant a memory in Desmond’s mind about their meeting (as each other’s constants) and how he needs to find Faraday’s mother in order to remember, and save, the rest of the survivors.

In the end, Ben approaches a woman in a church who we’ve seen before: the enigmatic Mrs. Hawking. She tells Ben he’s only got 70 hours to convince everyone to return and to find the constantly-moving island. He tells her he obviously needs more time and she tells him to suck it up. My theory here is Hawking is Faraday’s mother.

The Others are apparently running a butcher shop where Ben is storing John Locke’s frozen corpse. While traveling through time, Richard tells Locke he is going to have to die in order to bring everyone back. I think once Locke hits island soil, he’ll be resurrected – have we mentioned Locke is a metaphor for Christ yet? No? You sure?

After finally getting a name and some screen time, Frogurt bites the dust. (Okay, that wasn’t interesting but it was pretty funny. If this show does nothing else, it gives viewers some seriously awesome death scenes – I’m looking at you, Arzt.)

Another theory: My friend, who admittedly watches the show stoned, brought up the idea that Charlotte is Penny and Desmond’s child from the future and her saying she could not remember her mother’s maiden name was a big ol’ clue to that regard. That’s also why she and Desmond can never meet. I’m not sure how much I buy that but then again, I was sober.

Next time on Lost: Getting everyone together for a reunion is going to be harder than Ben anticipated. But if we know anything about the little manipulative twerp, it’s that anything fucking goes.

Season Four began with the castaways and company divvied up into those who wanted to be found and those heeding Charlie Pace’s final warning: beware the rescue squad. And it ended with them similarly split by the disappearance of the island, moved by Ben in time and space to hide it from competitor Charles Widmore.

Six survivors made it home while some, including lovable rogue Sawyer, sociopath Others leader Ben and blonde doctor Juliet remained on the island. A few others, such as time-traveling physicist Daniel Faraday, are unaccounted for because they were on a boat between the helicopter and where the island once was.

In the fourth finale, it was revealed that in order to rescue those left behind, the Oceanic Six – Sayid, Hurley, Sun, Kate, Jack and Aaron – must return to the island.

It won’t be easy and other escapees like Desmond, Frank, Walt and even the dead body of John Locke are necessary to the plan’s success. This could take up most of Season Five’s plot, including answering how Locke made it off the island, why he was living under the alias “Jeremy Bentham” and what ultimately killed him.

According to co-creator and producer Damon Lindelof, the upcoming season “is about why [the people who have left the island] need to get back.” Lindelof also said there will be significantly fewer flashbacks and flash-forwards as the show has finally caught up with itself in real time.

One-time series regulars Michael, who died after the freighter he was aboard exploded, and Claire, who may or may not have shown up as a ghost, are both no-shows for this season. Her story has been put on hold until the sixth season, which makes sense considering how jam-packed Season Five looks to be. Jin, also on the freighter, is on board for the fifth season, making the outlook on his character’s future sunny.

Writers have also confirmed that nature woman Danielle Rousseau and maligned cop Ana-Lucia Cortez will be coming back from the dead for short stints.

Some intended storylines pushed back from the fourth season due to the Writer’s Strike are scheduled to be explored this season, including the reason Libby was in the mental institution, why Ms. Hawking was in a photograph with Desmond’s monk, what happened between Ben and the real survivor of the hot air balloon crash and the four-toed statue seen by Sayid, Jin and Sun.

Previews on ABC’s Web site have also shown Kate fleeing with Aaron after being ordered to submit to a maternity test she will undoubtedly fail and Ben and Jack preparing to gather the rest of the Oceanic Six to return to the island — but who actually makes the journey remains a mystery.

Season Five of Lost premieres at 9 p.m. on Jan. 21 on ABC.