Look who's bleeping back, just in time for the holidays.

Last week, MTV's critically-praised The Osbournes (Tuesday, 10:30 p.m.) returned for a second season, and, thankfully, the season premiere had almost everything we've come to expect from the first family of dysfunction: (censored) profanity, sibling rivalry and Ozzy's ill-fated attempts to turn on the television.

But a lot has changed since Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack last graced our television screens. The reality comedy, which debuted last March and quickly became MTV's highest-rated show, catapulted the family into the realm of superstardom. Ozzy and his family became household names, appearing on what seemed like hundreds of magazine covers. Meanwhile, Kelly Osbourne launched her own singing career, covering Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" last summer.

Not all news was good for the Osbournes, however. Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon, was diagnosed (and is still battling) colon cancer, the news of which sent Ozzy, a recovering alcoholic, back to the bottle.

All of these developments had many fans asking whether success -- and potential tragedy -- would change The Osbournes. After all, the biggest appeal of the show was seeing that this foulmouthed, crazy, seemingly dysfunctional family was, at its heart, like all of us. One of the highlights of last season, for instance, was watching Ozzy warn the kids, preparing for a night out, "don't get drunk or high tonight and if you have sex, wear a condom." Sound familiar? But can this family, facing both success and illness, remain as real -- or at least, as entertaining?

Well, after the first two episodes of the season, it appears that the answer to this question is both yes and no. The show has definitely had its share of spontaneous, hilarious moments that made The Osbournes so invigorating last year: Jack gleefully informing his doctor that he's not allergic to Vicodin after breaking his arm, Ozzy and Sharon squabbling over whether to give President Bush cufflinks while on their way to a dinner at the White House.

However, now that they are superstars pursuing individual careers (Sharon's currently planning a talk show, Jack's trying to make it in the music industry) it seems that the family has less time to spend with together. Sharon and Ozzy spent most of the season premiere in Washington, D.C., while Kelly and Jack were in L.A. preparing for the MTV Movie Awards. The Osbournes is at its best when the family is together, cursing and swearing over a family dinner. If the first two episodes are any indication, we'll be seeing less and less of this in the upcoming episodes.

Also, the second episode was almost entirely devoted to Sharon's colon cancer discovery. While it was uplifting to hear her declare that she isn't going to croak "with a wig on," too much attention to this subject might make the show a downer.

That may be the problem with reality TV. Regular television, which is scripted, can keep our favorite characters the way we like them. Reality TV doesn't have this luxury and this sad fact may prove to be a double-edged sword for The Osbournes. Grade: B