The New York Times-20080127-Television

Return to: The_New_York_Times-20080127

Television

Full Text (239  words)

Television

Ginia Bellafante

The Others continue to encroach. Claire had her baby. Jack has Stockholm Syndrome. Eight months after the third-season finale, LOST, ABC's survivalist hit, begins its fourth season on Thursday at 8 p.m., with a two-hour premiere. For the uninitiated -- or viewers who have merely been watching lazily -- ABC.com has an amusing recap of the past three seasons, more than 60 hours of television reduced to an eight-and-a-half-minute video.

Immediately following the return of Lost is the debut of ELI STONE, (ABC, 10 p.m.), a one-hour drama that might be best summed up as Regarding Henry meets The Secret and sits down with Touched by an Angel. The premise: An aggressive and successful San Francisco lawyer named Eli Stone begins to do good in the world after experiencing hallucinations (George Michael features in them) that turn out to be both a symptom of brain illness and possible proof of his talent for prophecy. Eli Stone comes from the production team that brought us Brothers & Sisters.

Pop stars who are not George Michael get dissected by nerdy Forbes editors in FORBES 20 CASH QUEENS OF MUSIC, an E! channel special (Saturday at 6 p.m.). Learn how much these female pop singers make and how much they spend on necklaces, handbags and family compounds.

[Illustration]PHOTO: A scene from Lost on ABC. The show's fourth season begins on Thursday night with a two-hour episode. (PHOTOGRAPH BY ABC)