'Rules' Star Sagal Gets 'Lost'

Katey Sagal will guest-star on an episode of "Lost" early this season, but her role for the moment is as cryptic as the meaning of Hurley's numbers.

The former "8 Simple Rules" star will be playing a character named Helen in the third episode this season, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 5. It seems more likely that she would appear in the show's flashback scenes; higher-profile guest stars were primarily used that way in "Lost's" first season.

It also appears that the flashback for the episode, titled "Orientation," will concern Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Kevin Tighe ("Murder One"), who appeared last season as Locke's father, Cooper, will reprise his role.

Beyond that, ABC is offering only the broadest of hints about the episode, saying Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Locke "learn more secrets about the hatch." The show's producers have said episode three contains a fairly major revelation about what's inside the hatch. Elsewhere, Michael (Harold Perrineau), Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) face a new challenge after escaping the raft.

Sagal, who played Cate Hennessy on "8 Simple Rules" for three seasons, most recently appeared in the ABC Family movie "Campus Confidential." The one-time "Futurama" and "Married ... with Children" star also had an unbilled cameo on "The Shield" earlier this year.