Hang on, help is almost here

FINALLY, September is here and the answers to last season’s cliffhangers (well, a few) are coming. On Wisteria Lane, the “Desperate Housewives” will be more desperate than ever; far away in the South Pacific, the castaways of “Lost” will be more lost than ever; and in Miami, it will take more than a little nip-tucking to repair the damaged doctors of “Nip/Tuck.”

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Desperate Housewives

Season premiere: Sunday, Sept. 25 (ABC, 9 p.m.)

Where we left it: Zach was pointing a gun at Susan inside Mike’s house as the two waited for Mike to enter. Mike left Paul on the side of a mountain after threatening him with a gun. Pregnant Gabrielle is not sure who her baby’s daddy is. Carlos, her husband, went to prison. Bree received a phone call informing her that her husband, Rex, had died. Lynette and Tom decided she must return to work after he got fired.

Tantalizing hints: Susan will learn the truth about Mike’s relationship to Zach. Gabrielle finds a way to convince Carlos that the baby is his. Bree starts to pick up the pieces as a widow, and the pharmacist who killed her husband is still in the picture. Lynette joins the workforce in an unusual way. Edie’s child appears.

New faces: Alfre Woodard and Mehcad Brooks, who moved in next door to Susan in the finale, play a mother and son with a dark secret.

Things to count on: The brand new mystery lingering over Wisteria Lane throughout the season involves Betty Applewhite and her son, Matthew (Woodard and Brooks). Rex is definitely dead. We know why Mary Alice killed herself, but that doesn’t mean her husband and son will get any less creepy.

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Nip/Tuck

Season premiere: Tuesday, Sept. 20 (FX, 10 p.m.)

Where we left it: Christian was stabbed by the Carver, and his fate is unknown. Sean and Julia remained separated but amicably so. Matt was dumped by Ava, who used to be a man. Kimber, a frustrated actress and model, began her career as a porn director. Gina was hospitalized with AIDS-related complications.

Tantalizing hints: In the first episode, Julia asks Sean for a divorce; Christian’s fate is revealed. During the season, Liz, Julia and a healthier Gina enter into a business partnership related to nip/tucking. Devastated by his breakup with Ava, Matt explores his sexuality more deeply. A drug-free and more-in-control Kimber succeeds as a porn director. Sean reevaluates his career choice. Quentin Costa, the surgeon who repaired Sean’s Carver wound, relocates from Atlanta to Miami.

New faces: Bruno Campos as Quentin Costa becomes a regular. Rhona Mitra plays a detective trying to nab the Carver. Guest stars Joan Rivers and Vanessa Redgrave return.

Things to count on: The Carver will be unveiled. The medical practice will go through a financial crisis. Surgeries will veer even more often into the unexpected, such as the removal of a 600-pound woman from a couch.

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Lost

Season premiere: Wednesday, Sept. 21

(ABC, 9 p.m.)

Where we left it: Jack, Locke, Kate and Hurley were staring down the much-talked-

about hatch that appeared in the 10th episode. Walt was kidnapped by a group of vicious pirates, possibly the Others. The raft, set afire by the pirates, was sinking. Michael and Jin were floating in the water, trying to survive. Sawyer, who may have been shot by the Others, fell into the water. And the rest of the castaways remained on the island, awaiting the return of the foursome exploring the hatch.

Tantalizing hints: The season’s first episode resolves the mysteries of the hatch, and the lives of the castaways change forever. The second episode reveals the fate of those who left the island on the raft. And Episode Three introduces several new characters.

New faces: Michelle Rodriguez is Ana Lucia, a flight passenger who showed up in a flashback in the season finale and survived elsewhere on the island; Cynthia Watros is Libby (is she a castaway, a pirate or something else?); and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a mysterious island man. Jolene Blalock appears in Episode Two as a figure in Sawyer’s past. Julie Bowen returns as Jack’s wife; we learn how they met.

Things to count on: The revelation of what is in the hatch will raise more questions. The mysterious recurring numbers (on the flight, the hatch and Hurley’s lottery ticket) will resurface in the second episode and remain a driving plot point. The entire cast returns but for Boone (Ian Somerhalder), resting in eternity. For the first seven or eight episodes, it will not be clear if the survivors of the raft incident will be reunited with the castaways on the island. And by season’s end, the cause of the plane crash will no longer be a mystery.