Dear lord. The only thing worse than a family play group is one from some pretentious, conservative, religious school. Like the one I encountered at my local chicken fast food restaurant. I was like an atheist deer caught in a god-fearing headlight; believe me, there was enough holy water thrown at me to clean my paintball gun (and legally, I’m not confessing to anything in that statement). With floor length skirts and turtle necks abound, I thought for a moment that I might be watching the new season of Big Love. Which I’ve been waiting for forever since the strike. Surprised I frequent a series about men marrying multiple womyn? Me too, but there is something quite satisfactory about watching three womyn, who are obviously lesbians, use a man under wifely pretenses. And I have much love for HBO. Big love.

But I digress. Times like these actually make me want to have kids, but just so that mine can corrupt the goody, impulse-suppressed spawns that I saw at this establishment. Thinking about this was all I could do not to regurgitate my waffle fries, for the adult-sized crocks and overuse of the names Elijah and David were too much for me to handle. “Mommy’s right here!” they take turn yelling in dramatized, high-pitched, soothing voices, “are you ok?” Here’s some info: your children’s ears haven’t developed enough for frequencies so high. Just go get your kids. And sit. And where’s your husband to reprimand you for wearing your khaki pants below your belly-button?

I would much rather watch Big Love on HBO. Why, oh why do I go out in public places like this? It must be punishment for trusting that the public is becoming more educated on the realities of living in a socially-stinted world. I would much rather watch bickering wives and the ever-turbulent, but oh so entertaining, fighting compound crazies in the safety of my own home. The best part, other than the fact that the second season is just as good as the first season, is that it is make believe. The scene that I described above, is so polygamist satire I couldn’t believe it. But on the television, you can pretend that all of the real people, who are similarly disillusioned and stuck in the past, are make believe too. And you can turn it off when you have seen too many cardigan sweaters for your own good. Bad womanyst you may think I am, but who doesn’t love to see just how ridiculous the institution of marriage really is? You’re right Common Organic, there are many toxins out there.

Even if you’re not a fan of ABC’s Lost – a science fiction television show about a group of airline passengers who crash on a mysterious – and treacherous – island – it’s likely that you know someone who is. With its in-depth character development, nail biting suspense, and tantalizing hints of what lies behind the curtain, Lost is undeniably compelling, and Thursday’s episode, titled The Economist, was no exception.

Told from the point of view of Sayid, a morally gray former Iraqi soldier, this episode left us with more questions than answers – par for the course when viewing Lost. Rich in ethical gradients, filled with suspense, and peppered with science – the formula works, and the creators of Lost have used it to full effect. This season, they’re digging a little deeper – adding ‘flashforwards’ instead of flashbacks, introducing more off-island characters, shedding just a little more light onto the physical properties of the island. In some shows such tactics can seem cheap and contrived, but Lost feels fresh and new this season. Case in point – even after three seasons of watching Sayid, I still didn’t know what he would choose at the climax of the episode. Lost could never be accused of becoming too predictable.

With the writer’s strike over, Lost fans can give a small sigh of relief. The plotline of this innovative television show will not be held hostage for profits, and we no longer have to fear ignorant ‘scabs’ stepping in and ruining the story in a misguided attempt to conclude the series. That doesn’t mean we can completely relax, though. In the back of our minds, anyone who has loyally watched Lost has wondered if the writers really have an ending in sight, or if they’re making all of this up as they go along. Add to these doubts a late season premiere, a few unresolved love triangles, and episode after episode of answers that only lead to more questions, and you’ve got yourself a sinkhole of viewer mistrust.

And yet, I can’t stop watching. I don’t want to miss even one second of the snail-paced storyline, one seemingly irrelevant flashback, one instance of Hurley saying ‘dude’. It may all be a hoax. It might be canceled any day. But this sci-fi geek is keeping the faith.

Not that I haven’t wavered, just as the quality of the episodes has fluctuated over the years. I have thrown my hands up at the screen, have exclaimed ‘we’re –nowhere-‘ as the credits rolled. I have even declared that I had given up, that I would no longer be watching Lost after a particularly abysmal episode in Season 3 . Inevitably, though, another fan reels me back in. And that right there is a large part of the draw of this show – endless message board fodder as we theorize and pick apart each scene, sometimes frame by frame, trying to detract some hidden meaning.

To those of you who have given up, or never watched in the first place, now is a great time to jump in. After two seasons of little forward movement, Lost seems to be back to the slow but steady and engaging pace of Season One. ABC’s site presently has an hour-long recap to bring old and new viewers alike up to speed. Don’t have an hour? No problem – YouTube has a Lost in 8 minutes that will give you the quick and dirty version. Either way, you can quickly delve into new mysteries, new characters, and new nail biting moments every week. Or, if you’re a ‘details’ person (read: obsessive dork), the season DVDs are rich in cast commentary and special features to squeeze every ounce of content (of which plenty is buried deep) from each episode.