The most recent episode of "Lost" was promoted as the episode "people will be talking about all year long." It got me talking, all right. I immediately said, "What a disappointment."

Just a little over a year ago, I posted my review of "Lost." In my review I praised the show for having "genuine suspense & good storytelling." What a difference a year makes.

Even though the show had some questionable story lines last year, it was still, for the most part, consistently thrilling. I looked forward to each episode, and certainly waited with great anticipation over the summer for the second season to begin. Finally we'd get some answers! Or not.

Instead of answers, all we got were more questions. And frankly I am increasingly caring less about their answers. The second season started off with revealing what was in the hatch. I had no idea what would be in there, but I can assure you that I would never have guessed the ridiculous concept that the creators of "Lost" came up with. The hatch was a full functioning little house with electricity, running water, food, and a computer. With a side entrance that the castaways were never able to find before. Oooook.

So now inside the hatch we have a round-the-clock watch of the "doomsday button," where one of the survivors must punch in a code, Hurley's lotto numbers, into the computer or who knows what might happen. I think the more pressing question is, who cares? Just one more "mystery" that will seemingly drag on forever.

Also in this second season we have learned there were other survivors on the other side of the island. The population on this island just continues to grow, huh? Maybe that French lady could start a census when she inevitably shows back up.

The problem is, that with so much going on, there seems to be so little actually happening. It's amazing how a show that last season was so intriguing, so nerve wracking, so downright addictive could so quickly turn into a jumbled mess.

One can only hope there is a master plan in place. One that won't drag this series on for longer than it needs to be. We're only half way through the second season, and it already seems like they are coming up with stories that you'd expect to see in season seven. The next episode will be all about the other survivors from the other side of the island. Uh, excuse me; we already have a ton of unanswered questions about the original survivors! We need to introduce more?

"Lost" needs to shape up, or this viewer might just ship out.