I've seen the first two episodes of the new season of "Lost" — which returns with a vengeance beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21 — and I'm somewhere between excited and mystified.

The first episode, "Because You Left," starts off interestingly enough with a pseudo back story involving a prominent individual from the Dharma Initiative who makes a tantalizing reference to the "hostile, indigenous" (Monster? Entity? You fill in the blank.) that resides on the island.

Oooh!

We also quickly learn that back in the day, the Dharma people knew full well what powers the island possessed and were determined to harness those powers (whatever those might be) for their benefit. Yes, "Lost" finally reveals what one of those powers is. But is it really a surprise to anyone who's watched "Lost" for the past 4 1/2 years?

Not really.

On the island itself, Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), along with the freighter bunch — including physicist Daniel (Jeremy Davies) — are seeing numerous flashes in the sky (remember the initial Oceanic 815 plane crash?) and things are disappearing and reappearing at will. What's going on?

Hurley (Jorge Garcia), along with some help from Sayid (Naveen Andrews) — who is channeling his inner James Bond — have begun their journey back to the island, but not before stopping for some greasy food, of course.

"You know, maybe if you ate more comfort food you wouldn't have to go around shooting people," Hurley tells Sayid, who has just turned down fries.

Later on, Sayid — referencing his past as a pawn for Ben (Michael Emerson) — advises Hurley: "If you ever have the misfortune of running into him (Ben), whatever he tells you, do the opposite."

Meanwhile, Ben and Jack (Matthew Fox) begin their bizarre "Weekend at Bernie's" homage, hauling Locke's (Terry O'Quinn) body around town in preparation for the return to the island. Oh, they don't actually show them carting Locke around, but they do mention taking his body from the Los Angeles funeral home and storing it in a vehicle somewhere.

Kate (Evangeline Lilly) has her own problems to deal with. She's living alone — or so it seems (with "Lost," you're never too sure) — with Claire's son, Turnip Head (aka Aaron), when two men come to her door with an unusual demand, a legal power play made on behalf of some unseen person.

Yes, plenty of stuff happens in the first hour alone. Things slow down a bit in the second episode, "The Life," though it does include a surprise appearance by a former castaway (go ahead and guess) and a woman from Desmond's past who it appears holds the key to controlling the island.

Of course, does any of this mean anything in the grand scheme of "Lost"? As usual, for every question it answers, 10 more take its place. But hey, look at the bright side: There's only 34 hours left until the final episode next year!

NEW JERSEY UPDATE

Old Bridge's Nikki O'Connell was not long for the world of reality TV.

After making it to the second-to-last episode of NBC's "Momma's Boys" last week, Nikki was unceremoniously kicked to the curb by Marlboro's Rob Kluge.

It was rather sad, really, because Nikki received virtually no screen time, and it was unclear whether she ever even got to go on a date with Rob. Rob, meanwhile, butted heads with his mother, Esther, over who is the best woman for him. Esther prefers Lauren, a Jewish girl, while Rob likes Camilla (he even bought her jewelry!).

"Love is not a decision," Rob declared dramatically (though I sense he meant it, which is really very sweet). "It's a feeling."

Who will win out: love-bug bitten Rob or a determined Esther? We'll find out when "Momma's Boys" wraps up its season at 10 p.m. Monday.

Over on "The Bachelor" (8 p.m. Monday on ABC), Marlboro's Lauren Wanger continued to impress Jason Mesnick and walked away with the third bestowed rose.

Still, Jason seemed a little perturbed when Lauren told him point blank she needs him to pay more attention to her.

"Lauren is the type of person who needs a lot of reassurance," Jason concluded. "She just might need more than I can give her right now."

Attention is definitely hard to come by in "The Bachelor" manse when there's a gaggle of women all vying for his attention. But Lauren didn't seem too concerned about that.

"I want to be the girl that marries him," she declared. "As long as I get a rose, I don't really care."

Will Lauren continue to beguile Jason? Or will he get fed up with her need for attention? Tune in Monday to find out.

"Lost" program note: Both new episodes of the season will repeat from 9 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24.