I just got around to watching last week's "Lost" yesterday, and on the whole I agree with the prevailing opinion. The show has gotten its momentum back, finally. This season's arbitrary killing of random belatedly introduced cannon fodder characters was way more entertaining than last season's.

However, though, does it strike anybody else that whenever "Lost" does flashback shows set on the island, it skirts dangerously close to "newpeat" territory? That was not a whole recommended weekly allowance of episode, people. Also, while I don't know exactly what I would have done differently (I sure wouldn't have kept them alive), the demises of Nikki and Paulo seemed like the most cavalier, gruesome dismissals of unwanted cast members since Poochie was literally yanked off of "Itchy and Scratchy." If you're going to cycle in new characters strictly for the purpose of having additional people to kill without relative consequence, just killing them off in the nastiest way imaginable doesn't excuse the creative laziness that led to their introductions in the first place. I'm just saying.