Is it just me or has this whole summer’s television viewing been permeated with an air of desperation? I am left feeling a bit lost, just counting down the days until the fall arrives. Wait a minute; my subconscious is trying to tell me something! There’s less than a month to go until the new season begins for “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost,” two of my favorite shows from last season. That means there’s only…um, weeks (math is hard!) to go until we find out all the whodunits and the whathaveits of those season finales. On “Lost,” will Sawyer (Josh Holloway) still be sporting that faux samurai ’do that he had on the raft? Could Boone come back as a hot gay ghost (hey, it could happen)? Maybe “D.H.” will build an entire show around Jesse Metcalf’s workout routine, or have him moonlight as a male stripper.

This will make all of the salivating I’ve been doing looking through Web sites (no, not those kinds) on said shows to find out some dish to bring to you – intrepid readers – worth it. Along the way, I’ve discovered some interesting nuggets about casting that could’ve been missed.

Last season ABC managed to pull off a one-two punch to the gut of reality driven programming with the scripted hits “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives,” and I can only hope that these two beloved shows will avoid the sophomore slump. So here’s the doings set to make season two more exciting on both shows.

We’ll start with those misfortunate souls stuck on an island with an omnipresent danger (no, not “Taradise” with Tara Reid on E!). According to co-creator and executive producer Damon Lindelof at July’s Comic-Con convention in San Diego, “Lost” will be going into the hatch during the second season premiere on July 21 at 9:00 p.m. (Take note, it’s an hour later, people!) The first three episodes will spend the better part answering the cliffhanger that left many fans feeling, well, shafted and not in a good way. There are reports swirling around faster than Martha Stewart with a Swiffer that another major character is going to bite the dust! Reportedly, it is a female character vying for some dirt time (I’m pulling for Shannon. It should have been her and not Boone in season one in my humble – and blinded by how pretty Ian Somerhalder was – opinion.).

Michelle Rodriguez of Girlfight is onboard as passenger (pun heavily intended) Ana-Lucia Cortez, who had met up with Jack in a flashback during the season finale. Her casting seems to solidify the theory that because she was seated in the rear section of the plane, the tail section also landed on the island, thus more survivors, including Rose’s husband, Bernard.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje of “OZ” will also be joining the series as Emeka, a mysterious man dwelling on the island.

And what of Michael, Sawyer and Jin, who were on the raft blown up by The Others? Their fate, and that of Walt who was kidnapped by The Others, will be revealed (duh). Of note, on the raft, Sawyer sings Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” which features the foreshadowing lyrics: “Old pirates, yes they robbed I, sold I to the merchant ships minutes after they took I from the bottomless pit.” Soon after that, the raft is attacked by The Others, and the hatch is blown open…hmm, coincidence? I think not! Nothing on “Lost” ever is. Everything is symbiotic, symbolic and maybe even a little supersonic (because the s is for super, the u is for unique…). The shirt that Boone wore during his death knell had the number 84 on it. Doesn’t ring any bells? Well reverse that number and you get 48, the same number of survivors. When Hurley literally hauled buns to catch the ill-fated flight in the season finale, he passes a girls soccer team and the numbers on their team jerseys are: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. Those are, of course, the same numbers that he used to win the lottery and the numbers on that damn, damn, damn hatch.

Could you imagine Michael Keaton playing Jack? The original plan was to kill Matthew Fox’s heroic doc character, Jack, off (sounds dirty) in the pilot episode. That was before the powers that be came to their senses two-fold. Actor Jorge Garcia (Hurley) tried out for the part of Sawyer (somehow those sweaty, shirtless axing-of-tree scenes wouldn’t hold the same resonance), and he was so impressive they wrote the part of Hurley expressly for him, dude! The same thing happened for Yoon-Jin Kim (Sun). She was vying for the part of Kate, and again a part was written just for her, and they added on a husband for good measure. The role of Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) was originally intended for someone much older, but the brass decided only a former hobbit could snort heroin (it’s brown sugar, FYI) with such aplomb. And Vincent the dog is played by a bitch named Madison.

Speaking of bitches, and not of the female dog variety, “Desperate Housewives” is slated to have a new bitch on the block. Well, more in the boardroom. Joely Fisher has been cast as Lynette’s (Felicity Huffman) evil boss, which means Tom (Doug Savant) will try his hand at playing Mr. Mom. During the Sept. 25 premiere, viewers will also be saying “how do you do” to new neighbors, Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard), a concert pianist, and her son Josh (Mechad Brooks). Of course, having chosen to reside on Wisteria Lane, the Applewhites have a dark secret to keep (which will be revealed at the end of the first episode).

Perhaps Bree (the incomparable Marcia Cross) will whip up a nice batch of scones (this reads better if you say it with a Minnesota accent) to welcome the new neighbors. But she has troubles of her own. Rex is really dead (but will be featured in flashbacks), and she will clash big time with his mother, played by Shirley Knight (a.k.a. the former Mrs. Jack Nicholson). If that wasn’t bad enough, she will also be fending off Roger the pharmacist’s advances, as he, umm, tries to insert himself into her life. After the erection he got playing mini putt-putt (no, that’s not some form of self-gratification…well, maybe for some it is), I certainly hope he doesn’t suggest a fun road trip to Disneyland!

Someone in need of some fun is Susan (Teri Hatcher), who will learn about Mike’s (James Denton) true relationship to Zach (Cody “Chronic” Kasch). Someone who could teach ol’ Susie a thing or two about fun is Edie (Nicolette Sheridan), who will become involved with Susan’s ex, Karl (Richard Burgi)! Oh no she din’t! But, that’s not the only man to occupy space in Edie’s (I am talking about her heart, OK?) life. Her young son will also be a new man in her life.

Someone with one man too many is Gabrielle (Eva Longoria). Carlos is in the slammer and soon her strappin’ beau hunk gardener, John, will be in the same predicament. (This confirms creator Marc Cherry’s statement that Jesse Metcalf will only be in a handful of episodes this season, but he’s hoping to bring him back the following season for a bigger role.) What’s a knocked-up beauty to do? Well, at least she’s got that Emmy nomination (15 total for the show).

Hey Eva, it could be worse. You could be Sela Ward or Calista Flockhart. These two were up for the role of Susan and turned it down! Well, if Calista had been cast…how would Mike have found her naked in the bushes when she locked herself out of the house? I mean all twigs look alike, right? Other names being thrown around as could’ve-been-contenders are: Heather Locklear, Pamela Anderson (nice, an ex Mrs. Tommy Lee reunion) and Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice). Somehow, I am thinking that the role they were considering was Edie.

Need to quash your cravings for these two shows before their respective second seasons get underway? Log on to www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to the “Desperate Housewives” home page and take a quiz to see which Housewife you most resemble. I am an Edie, go figure! And “Lost” will be out on DVD on Sept. 6, with “Desperate Housewives” to follow on Sept. 20. Until next time, that’s all the news that’s fit to print.