LOS ANGELES (AP, CNN) - When we last visited "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," our spunky, fiend-fighting friend looked like a goner.
But when UPN snatched the show from the WB network, it clearly wasn't paying big bucks for a slayer to be named later. So the question now isn't if Buffy will come back from the dead, but how?
The mystery is among the many that TV viewers have been left to ponder while enduring a long, ugly summer of slimy "Fear Factor" and sleazy "Big Brother 2."
Now we're at the cusp of a new season, so relief is here at last. Since May seems like a mighty long time ago, let's take a quick look back at the plot threads left dangling -- on "Buffy" and then some -- when we left some of our favorite TV shows.
"Friends" (NBC, September 27) -- We thought it would be Monica and Chandler's will-they-or-won't-they? wedding cliff-hanger. Well, it wasn't, and they did. As it turned out, the big question on "Friends" at the close of last season was whether Rachel really is expecting a little one. An equally big question: Who's the daddy?
"ER" (NBC, September 27) - Kerry's late-season exit from the closet might create some delicious confrontations with Dr. Romano. Meanwhile, as Sherry Stringfield returns to the cast, we'll witness the departure of original cast members Anthony Edwards and Eriq La Salle. Big question: Will Abby go for Luka or Carter?
"Once and Again" (ABC, September 28) -- An examination of divorce evolves into a drama about remarriage, thanks to Rick and Lily's season-ending, backyard wedding. But can their sets of headstrong, hypersensitive kids coexist under one roof? Will anorexic Jessie start eating? Big question: Can the show survive a third season in yet another time slot, this one on Friday nights?
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (UPN, October 2) -- If you didn't catch the final episode, Buffy leaped into the void to spare the life of her sister Dawn, who wasn't really her sister but was the key to the portal to a very hellish place. Big question: Will Buffy get together with Spike, the bloodsucking, bottle-blond Brit?
"The West Wing" (NBC, October 3) -- President Josiah Bartlet's decision on his political future was a mystery only if you didn't catch him -- in a bit of not-so-gentle foreshadowing -- digging his hands in his pockets before the big speech. But who needs clues? After all, why would we want to watch the exploits of a lame-duck president? Big question: Will Bartlet be impeached for his multiple sclerosis cover-up? (NBC plans to air a special episode October 3 that the network says will address the terrorist attacks. The originally planned premiere is October 10.)
"The X-Files" (Fox, November 4, tentative) -- We last witnessed Scully and Mulder in a long-anticipated embrace, dropping hints that he was the dad of Scully's baby. Now that David Duchovny's officially off the show, Scully apparently reteams with stolid Doggett. It remains to be seen what they'll do with Annabeth Gish, as Special Agent Reyes, and ex-"Xena" Lucy Lawless, who has signed on for several episodes. Big question: With Mulder gone, does the alien subplot persist?
"Ed" (NBC, date unavailable) -- Just when it looked like Ed and longed-for Carol were going to move beyond a mere flirtatious friendship, Ed's ex-girlfriend, Bonnie, the ambitious prosecutor, came a-knocking. Big question: Does Ed choose the blonde or the brunette?
