 Georgina Sparks has arrived at NYU, and like the maenad from True Blood, she has cast a wicked spell over the city. Everywhere, formerly sane people's pupils are going black as they fall under her spell, and it's only a matter of time before they're committing unspeakable, inhuman acts against one another. Vanessa is the first to go: Just a few vulnerable words from Georgina and she forgets that just last year, girlfriend did the exact same thing, and fake-befriended her in order, it turned out, to wreak havoc on another hapless human. By the time G breaks out the heavy-handed compliments about Vanessa's documentary "about the community garden in her neighborhood," V's ready to carve someone's heart out for her, and doesn't even notice when Georgina shuts Blair out of her own dorm room. It takes Dan slightly longer to come around, but soon enough Lonelyboy gives in, and utterly forgets that Georgina actually pretended to be a different person under a fake name in order to sex him out of his relationship with his former girlfriend, now sister, Serena. And Carter Baizen is wrong: Serena's not just acting out because her daddy doesn't love her. Even though she doesn't have direct contact with Georgina, she's still affected, which is probably why she becomes possessed and lashes out cruelly when Chuck and Rufus calls her out on her dicky, marble-mouthed behavior. Meanwhile, Blair, the only ***** big enough to stop the tidal wave of destruction Georgina is planning, has lost her powers. We trust that next episode, she'll realize: They aren't in your headband, Miss Blair. They're inside you.Faker Than the "Adult Bankers" From Central Casting Who Are Always Meeting With Chuck at Inappropriate Locations:
• When discussing the dorms, Chuck says: "Forced all-nighters, communal showers, public schoolgirls? There's a place for all that and it's at the back of a video store." Please, like someone as rich and young as Chuck Bass has ever been to a "video store." Minus 3.
• Why did Rufus wake up at Lily's house and Dan wake up at Rufus's? Minus 3.
• Nate and Bree flip each other over during their romantic pillow talk at least once, maybe two times, over the believable limit. Minus 2, because the reason they have to keep moving them around is that they’re totally boring, and this is transparent.
• Bree asks to go into Nate's pants to see what he's like, but when she gets to his wallet, she fails to open it. Minus 2. Please. As any seasoned stalker would know, the wallet is the treasure trove. How else are you going to find out what his ex-girlfriend looks like, what his Available Balance is, and exactly what he bought at Barnes & Noble? This is Chris writing this, by the way.
• Since Vanessa brings it up by saying, "Of course she arrives in a limo," and Blair later tells the entire freshman class that she has "limos waiting for them downstairs" outside the party, we suppose it is time we address the problem of limos on Gossip Girl. Meaning: Why does everyone have them? In real life, the only people in New York who ride in limousines are out-of-towners, bachelorette parties, and maybe Victoria Gotti. Actual rich people just travel in Mercedes, Maybachs, giant black SUVs, or Town Cars like everybody else. Minus 5.
• While we're at it, we might as well disabuse the notion that Dan would ever have been as unpopular in high school as we're meant to think he was — not with that messy hair, those protruding biceps, those perfect cheekbones and strong, succulent lips. Real lonely boys have messy rooms, thick mustaches, protruding acne, perfect World of Warcraft scores, and a strong aversion to sunlight. Minus 3.
• Scott's pink-sleeved henley shirt, combined with Vanessa's colorful outfit, was absurd. Together, they looked like members of the Wiggles. Minus 1.
• When Katie hears Dan say, “The world of Greenwich Village intelligentsia is exactly Dan Humphrey’s natural habitat,” she somehow knows that he’s talking about himself in the third person, as if anyone does that. Ever. Minus 5.
• Scott is creepy and it’s totally obvious. Minus 8 for no one noticing his intense stares and bizarre outbursts. The kid with Tourette's is always the first victim of Freshman Week.
• Related: How is it not obvious to Vanessa that Georgina is totally evil? Minus 8. Even her accessories are malevolent.
• Okay, how have Blair and Serena not discussed their mutual sexing of Carter Baizen yet? Minus 2, because at the very least, Blair should have tried to convince Serena that Carter was just using her to sign her up as a hooker for that whole Eyes Wide Shut club thing from last season. Minus only 1, because the writers are clearly dying for us all to forget that ever happened.
• Serena is not going to college because she doesn't know what to do with her life? That's what Brown is for. Did she not read the guidebook? Minus only 2, because that is also so Serena. She needs her own sound effect, like Debbie Downer's, but maybe with a tuba.
• If they're freshman at NYU, why are they constantly hanging out on Prince Street in Nolita? The NYU bookstore isn't McNally Jackson. Minus 3.
• Is Bree wearing a housecoat? That is the dowdiest nightgown a college-age co-ed has ever worn in the history of rich people. Minus 4.
• Not to be macabre, but NYU students are not allowed on roofs. Especially not to, you know, have a big underage drinking party. Enough kids wind up jumping off those places when they're sober, okay? Minus 5.
• Okay, we loved the music at the party (yay Phoenix!), but to play Leighton Meester's song as Blair commits social suicide? That just seems wrong. Minus 1.
• Carter is always just roaming around random parts of the city. The Village, Nolita, Park Avenue, etc. Does he do anything?
• Wait, the moral of the story is that Serena doesn't have to go to college? What? And that Georgina and Dan can get back together? Are their collective hair products squeezing their brains too hard?? Minus 8. Total: 64 Realer Than Blair's Endlessly Morphing, Desperately Awkward Facial Expressions:
• Blair uses Smythson Stationery for her notebooks. Plus 2. Also, she wears multiple strands of pearls to the first day of freshman orientation. Plus 2. Also, the way she picked up her headband, it was like she was unsheathing a light saber. Plus 2.
• Lily isn't there to take Serena to her first day of college. Plus 3. Okay, okay, we know Kelly Rutherford just had a baby, but like we said last time, there's no place on earth a billionaire cannot travel at, say, 30 hours' notice.
• When Blair says she plans on being queen at NYU, Chuck says: "The only queens here are the ones with tickets to see Liza at Carnegie Hall." Plus only 1, because please, Liza? The only aging queen NYU queens would have tickets to see is Madonna. Maybe.
• Plus 2 for Blair’s retort that Chuck should really stick to doling out life lessons he knows, such as “Never drink absinthe with Daniel Baldwin.”
• Chuck refers to his apartment as “The Bass Cave.” Finally, he says something teenage. With his business deals and his new Gordon Gekko look, we worried he was becoming an adult. Plus 1.
• Not only does Serena say, early on, “NYU is totally the perfect place for you,” when she knows he really wanted to go to Yale, she later says, when Dan says he’s making friends there, “I can totally see why people would love you there.” This character has such an underminer side. We love it.
• When Good Serena is required to lie, she always pauses and gets kind of distracted-seeming, like her mind is broken a little. This makes sense. Lying is hard.
• Chuck: “For people like us, a college degree is just an accessory, like a Malawian baby or a poodle.” Plus 1.
• Blair: "Riverdale doesn't count." Plus 1 for that, and another plus 1 for: "You should never have been seen in a club on Saturday night — it's strictly for Bridge and Tunnel only." We don't know about the first point, beyond it being funny, but the second is definitely true. It's actually in the Torah.
• When Blair arrives in her enormous freshman room, of course she would think it was a single. Plus only 2, because also, she'd have gotten one of those awkward personal-letter set-ups from her future roommate earlier in the summer, and therefore would know that she was about to live with her personal kryptonite.
• The look on the girl's face in the background as she examines her new headband is priceless. As is Blair's face when Georgina comes into her room. Plus 2.
• Vanessa: "Yeah, um, my room is just down the hall. So that's, awesome." OMG, V made us laugh!! Plus 2, because now if she just cuts off the bottom half of her hair hat, even we might give her a Freshman Year Second Chance.
• Dan says, “I know everything I learned about women from Judy Blume's Forever.” Plus 2, and an additional Plus 2 for the way his nerd gallery howled with laughter at that one.
• Plus 5 for Georgina's shiny wall tapestry, which is so perfect. We can't wait for when she drives Blair crazy by getting the smell of patchouli into all of her clothes, or burning down half the room by putting a colored scarf over a halogen lamp "for effect."
• Plus 5 for everything about Dorota.
• Ugh, Dan and V are both taking "Women and Literature." Plus 3. And an additional plus 1 for the fact that Georgina is reading The Prince, even though she was so unsubtle about it.
• What happens when Bree runs her fingers through Nate's hair is amazing. It's like trying to eat an angel food cake with a blunt spoon. Plus 2.
• Is Dan wearing the exact same plaid shirt that Rufus is wearing, only in a different color, on the same day? Plus 1, because we bet they even talked about it.
• Ugh, a kiddie pool at a roof party, fine. But the neon glow-in-the-dark necklaces and an earnest Battlestar Galactica debate? They're freshman at a party, not 14-year-olds in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot. We'll let that go as a wash.
• Jesus camps make house calls to Greenwich Village roof parties? Eh, we'll buy it. Plus 1.
• Blair: "There's a reason we never went downtown. It's awful!" Oh, Blair honey, you went downtown. We all remember. But plus 1 for your own selective memory. Total: 45 Well, this one ended up nineteen points on the fake side, which seems about right to us, as it's college, and while there may be, as Vanessa said, "no cool people" freshman year, there are also enough kids that somebody would want to be Blair's friend. And Serena probably wouldn't have gotten away with not going to school. And Carter Baizen would have to wear a belt at some point. But all in all, good stuff!
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| Ivanka Trump Has ‘A Thing’ for Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass September 21, 2009 Source: People.com
On the season 3 premiere of Gossip Girl, Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) gave Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) some advice on dating on the Upper East Side. “Sleeping with the enemy is hot,” he said, advising Nate to call Bree Buckley, played by Joanna Garcia, whose family are rivals to the Archibalds. “Why do you think I have the whole Ivanka thing?” Well, it turns out Ivanka Trump has a thing of her own for Chuck Bass. “Gossip Girl is my guilty pleasure. I’m addicted to it!” the real-life socialite and daughter to Donald Trump tells PEOPLE. “I have to confess I have a ‘thing’ for Chuck Bass myself.” But what does Ivanka, who is engaged to New York City publisher Jared Kushner, think of Chuck’s line? “Despite the tawdry implications,” she says, “having your television crush reciprocate is definitely flattering.”
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| Wild Gossip Girls Can't Be Broken (A hilarious review of Reversals of Fortune)
Source: New York Magazine
Sept. 16, 2009 It's a heartbreaking thing, the end of summer. And yet, fall comes almost as a relief. As the air turns crisper and invigorating winds sweep across the land, we're happy to wave good-bye to our summer friends, the ones with whom we've engaged in superficial conversation for the past few months, and go back to our real friends, our city friends. To leave behind that slow-minded pool gossip and partake once again in rapid, reference-rich conversation, with smart people who know (maybe?) who Anaïs Nin and Truffaut are. And with the new season, too, comes a fresh start, a chance to do something, to be something different. This is what we felt last night, during the season premiere of Gossip Girl, the Greatest Show of Our Time.Last night's episode was all about new beginnings. About taking on new roles — or shaking off old ones. The Humphrey family, now conjoined to the Bass–Van der Woodsens, were adjusting to their new social and economic positions, with varying degrees of success. Meanwhile, Rufus and Lily's son, Scott, had been playing the part of Vanessa's innocent love interest, though clearly his sights are set on something bigger. Nate Archibald was trying to resist playing the role his family wanted him to, though he will likely be foiled in this endeavor, for he is an imbecile, and his grandfather has a Ferrari. Blair and Chuck were finding that a little role-playing was helping them come to terms with their new, monogamous selves, and even Carter Baizen appeared to be in the process of transforming himself from a cocky, arrogant ******* into a sensitive, thoughtful young man. Serena, however, was basically the same. What was realistic about these scenarios and what was not, you ask? Let's recap! Realer Than Rufus Drinking Out of a Welcome Back, Kotter Coffee Mug Every Morning
• Everyone on this show has developed Famous Body. This is not really a points thing, it is more of an observation. Jenny is skinnier, Vanessa has approximately ten pounds more dreadlocks, and Dan's shoulders are so massive they are threatening to engulf his head. Again, however, Serena has stayed the same, and kept her special, breastial body. That is all.
• Also, can we just say that we love Jenny and Eric's new relationship? How fun would it be if you and your best gay (or you and your best hag) were suddenly in the same ridiculous, super-wealthy family? If Intel Chris and Intel Jessica were suddenly rich relatives, they'd already have quit their jobs and be doing exactly what Jenny and Eric have been doing, which is stalking the Barefoot Contessa through the Hamptons and pretending only halfheartedly to keep other people's juicy secrets. Plus 1
• Nate is terrified that he won't be able to find Bree at Columbia, which, granted, is a school with a big population, but which occupies approximately the same amount of real estate as Vatican City. Plus 1, because remembering is hard.
• Nate creates a horrifically awkward moment by introducing Bree to his grandfather, her grandfather's archrival. The he gets distracted by another person and walks away, leaving her standing there alone. Plus 1, because remembering what you're doing in the moment that you are doing it is especially hard.
• Even stupid, random Serena knockoffs who "have an Abercrombie campaign" and know the security code to "Clooney's castle on Lake Cuomo" are aware that they need to prepare for back-of-the-limo sex if they want to get with Chuck Bass. Plus 3. (And an additional plus 1 for "Now take your American Girl hair and your poreless skin and get out!")
• Ugh, Vanessa fell for Dan's gay-looking half-brother. So, so correct. Plus 3. She'd have slept with Rufus long ago if she wasn't concerned about getting her hoop earrings caught in his chest hair.
• Plus 1 for Vanessa and Nate having "hooked up in Prague, but it didn't mean anything." This is so true. Making out in Prague never means anything. After a few shots of Becherovka, you'll make out with anyone. Intel Jessica has a blurry yet fond memory of one night in which she kissed a British rugby player, a Senegalese telecom worker, a Canadian hockey player, and a Czech poet with a goatee on only one side of his face (on purpose?), and at some point rubbed the bellies of a group of Japanese businessman for good luck. True story. She wishes she could include the Elvis impersonator from Las Vegas in that list, but that was actually a different night.
• We thought Chuck's double-breasted military thing with the wire boutonniere was heinous until we realized it was Thom Browne. Which made it perfect. Plus 3.
• Chuck has a "whole Ivanka thing." Plus 2.
• Blair thinks settling down "means death. Less sex, more silence." Plus 1, because she's only 19, and one day she'll realize what she's really afraid of is turning 30.
• Blair: "I know what you did this summer, and who. Cristiano Ronaldo? I hope you got your shots." Plus 2, because obviously Serena didn't actually rest between the Thighs That Are the Pride of Portugal. But kudos to Blair for making the point.
• Dan: "Do you know how hard it is to break one of those things [A hundred dollar bill]? I don't know why they even make them!" Oh, Dan, it was only a matter of time. Plus 1.
• Vanessa:: "Even Frodo eventually gave in to the power of the Ring." Plus 1.
• Carter's pants, throughout this entire episode, are flawless. Plus 1.
• Vanessa is thrilled she was able to give up being a barista, but goes to the same coffee shop three times in one day. Plus 1.
• Vanessa, on the polo match: "I'm sure Blair and Chuck will be there, if the murder-suicide I've predicted hasn't happened yet." Plus 2, because you know she's actually written out the murder-suicide in a series of marbled black Mead notebooks, in blue ballpoint ink, in all capital letters. With drawings in the margins.
• Blair, on the models emerging from the agency doorway: "Adam's apple! Catalogue!" Plus 1.
• Plus 1 for the teenagery way Serena rolled her eyes after getting rid of Rufus at the polo tournament. Like, yeah. Thank God she lost that old square, now she can finally get down to acting out her secret plan, which is to be photographed by as many paparazzi as possible, in hopes that her estranged father will want to see her after being bombarded with photos of her acting like a skank in the international tabloids.
• Actually, now that we think about it, Serena's plan is so ludicrous it's actually realistic, in the way that teenagers love to conceive of elaborate revenge fantasies that don't actually have any hope of working in the way that they imagine they will. That said, in this case, we don't even know what she's imagining. What does she think is going to happen? That Daddy van der Woodsen's going to see the picture of her topless in Heat and be like, "That skank's my daughter!" and hasten Stateside so that he can personally throw an overcoat over her ****? Or worse: That he's going to be like, "Hey, my girl's got a nice rack!" and finally start returning her phone calls? What? Still, Plus 8.
• Okay, Serena and Carter stealing the galloping polo ponies right out of Nacho Figueras's award-winning hands is not realistic. But if they did manage to pull it off, they'd obviously have sex in the well-manicured shrubbery immediately following, so, even.
• Alexandra Richards and Nacho Figueras play Alexandra Richards and Nacho Figueras, respectively. Plus 3! And Nacho's polo team, the real Black Watch, is way hotter than its opponents, which is so plus 1.
• Nate and Bree at least seem to be a little bit aware that when Gramps Vanderbilt says, "I want you to be happy," it's an obvious lie. Plus 1.
• Half-brother Scott wears blousy Oxfords and boxy khakis. Plus 1.
• When constructing her lie about the self-healing trip she's on, Serena says she relied on Gwyneth Paltrow's newsletter as a reference, particularly in describing a "cold-water colonic." "At least GOOP is good for something," she says. Plus 7.
• When Vanessa confronts Dan at the polo match, he presents a list of totally valid and sympathetic reasons he's not the same old Dan, which includes an illness in the family and major life changes, and brings up the very valid and obvious point that Vanessa is a shrew with class issues. Confronted with all of this, Vanessa calls Dan an *******. Plus 2, because sometimes the truth takes a while to sink in. Total: 49 Faker Than Serena Knowing How to Pronounce Anaïs Nin.
• That anyone who knows Serena would have bought the "Serena is at an ashram and took a vow of silence" story for even five minutes is not even remotely plausible. Minus 5, because everyone knows that her cleavage would deafen even the quietest room.
• Jenny shows up to breakfast at the van der Woodsens' looking like she's spent all night hooking in Atlantic City and no one even blinks. Minus 1.
•Minus 1 for Nate and Bree's "We met on the airplane and then were making out the entire way home from Europe" scenario. Maybe we're just bitter about the fact that we fly coach, but we find it hard to believe that people actually make out with their seatmates on a plane ride. Even on the slim chance that you were seated next to someone worth making out with, and not a fat businessman or a crying child or a woman with a small dog in a bag, wouldn't it be super weird to just start making out with a total stranger? We know that we just confessed to making out with strangers above, but on a plane there are so many different risks! Like what if they had bad breath, or were a biter, or one of those people who do the darting-tongue thing? As soon as you realized this, you'd want to stop making out with them, but there you are, stuck right next to each other, with like four hours left to go on your flight. Would it be acceptable to pull away, put on your headphones, and say, "Okay, so I'm going to watch The Bourne Ultimatum now"? On the plus side, if it does work out, you'd get breakfast delivered, which is nice. Still, minus 2.
• Why would Scott be looking creepily at his birth certificate while talking on the phone to his mom? It would be one thing if he was at his desk, but he's just standing there in the coffee shop, crinkling it like a psycho killer. Minus 1.
• Nate Archibald lives in Gramercy, and hangs around Irving Place? Not quite. Minus 2.
• Serena is being followed by the only cute, doable paparazzi squad in the entire world. Minus 2.
• Have we all so quickly forgotten that Dan, who was so desperate to get into Yale he basically mortgaged all of his beliefs, was forced to go to NYU because his dad wouldn't accept money from Lily? And now they're all laughing about all the riches they have piled upon them, and the "emergency fund" Rufus has been carrying around all summer. No. Dan is way too petulant to let anybody forget that. Minus 5.
• Also, it bugged us that Dan asked Serena who "that guy" was that Serena was pictured with in the international tabloids. He knows full well who Carter Baizen is. They met in December of 2007, at Serena's old place in the Palace. Carter had just returned from Dubai, and Serena's grandmother Cece, who was visiting, had invited him over. She planned to get the heir to escort Serena to the debutante ball — after she intimidated Dan out of taking her by giving him a speech that included these words. "Girls like Serena don't end up with Dan Humphrey. They end up with the Carter Baizens of the world." The plan worked: Dan was put off, and Carter escorted Serena to the ball. But later, Dan showed up and they got back together and slow-danced together in the foyer of the Palace. Minus 5, because do we have to remember everything? GOD. And minus another 5, because we're now weeping for our wasted lives.
• Vanessa's Navajo short shorts. Minus 2.
• Even we don't believe Dan would take a limo home from a coffee shop. Not a stretch one, at least. Minus 1.
• Dan: I see the cat's out of the bag.
Rufus: And topless on Valentino's yacht.
Jenny: That's not fair. Everyone's topless on Valentino's yacht.
Rufus: What about this one where's she's dancing on the table?
Eric: Well, that's what you do in Barcelona.
Rufus: And this one with Prince Harry doing shots off of —
Dan: That's what you do in St. Tropez! We'd give points for the sibling protection of Serena, but the fact that Rufus isn't weird about seeing his stepdaughter's splendiferous rack makes this a wash.
• The In Touch and Life & Style knockoffs are stylistically flawless, but sadly, those two magazines don't report on socialites. Tinsley Mortimer has barely even broken into "Who Wore It Better?" Minus 1.
• Minus an additional 3 because, as Intel Chris's British roommate pointed out, Hello and OK! would never score pictures of "Prince Harry doing shots." "Off of" anything.
• Okay, we may hate Vanessa's hair extensions, but they are clearly expensive, and too expensive for her. Minus 1.
• Where is Lily van der Woodsen? ON MARS? There is nowhere on the planet Earth that a billionaire could be where she would not be within reach of a single phone call. Minus 3.
• Dan and Serena's secret brother, Scott, was born in 1988. No points deducted, but shudder.
• We'd believe the polo if there were more Perrier Jouët, and less pewter. We are in the North, you know. Minus 1.
• Serena still only has a flip phone? Come on. Minus 1.
• Wait, Nate's grandpa was for abolishing DOMA? No. Minus 3. Total: 45 That puts us just four points on the real side — a good showing for a premiere episode, where the stakes are high and the instinct for absurdity is at its strongest.
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|
Interview with writer Josh Safran: Part 3
Source: The Examiner
Sept. 11, 2009
Gossip Girl's third season premieres this Monday on the CW and the fans are rabid. With the swine flu, sorry, H1N1 virus already posing a public threat, the last thing we need is a rabies epidemic infecting the population. I've come up with a solution to this particular strain of Gossip Girl rabies, and it's sooo much better than getting a shot.Two days ago, I began posting portions of my interview with Gossip Girl writer and co-executive producer, Josh Safran. So far, he has covered everything from leaked kisses to queen misses. Today, in the final installation, Josh administers the very last drops of what he is able to discuss about the coming season without giving it all away. Let's just hope there is enough to deter Gossip Girl rabies.Adrienne Gruben: Let's get some of the intrigue out of the way early. What can you tell us about this love child situation?Josh Safran: All I can say about him is that he definitely figures prominently in the show as the season opens, and that he has a complicated romance with one of our leads. You know, by you even saying the term "love child", it just strikes me as funny. It's such a soapy turn of phrase. And we might call him the love child too, in the writer's room. But yet the show never seems soapy to us. Even if the stories seem outlandish - I'm dating an artist who happens to be the son of my best friend's mother's new boyfriend -- the relationships between the characters, and the characters themselves, are always grounded.AG: It was announced that Hilary Duff will be on the show this season, and also Tyra Banks, who is a huge fan.
JS: Hilary plays a well-known actress named Olivia Burke who comes to NYU. We try to rip stuff from the headlines, so she's like Natalie Portman at Harvard, Claire Danes at Yale, Emma Watson going to Brown. That was our jumping off point. Hilary is so kind, so charming. I love the chemistry she has with Dan, with Vanessa. She fits into the world of Gossip Girl completely. And Tyra came in and just ran with what we gave her. Her attitude was, "I am here as an actress, use me," and she really went for it. She's excellent. That whole episode (Episode 4) is a blast.
AG: You mentioned trying to rip stuff from the headlines for Hilary Duff's character. Is this a common practice for the writers?
JS: Yes. Like Law and Order does it. Socialites are in the news, and our show is very much based around, socialites, the Upper East Side, heiresses and the like. We'll read about things happening to them, and it's like, "Hey! That would make a great Gossip Girl."
AG: Wh at else can we expect from season 3?
JS: The other thing to expect from the season is we are very clear that these characters are bridging into adulthood. College is one of the last transitional periods of your life, so we've taken that idea and ran with it. There is a scene in Episode 2, "The Freshmen", written by Amanda Lasher, that to me contains one of the major theses of the season, which is who are you going to be now that you're out of high school? Do you like who you are? Change happens now -- can you actually create your own path now that you're no longer under your parents' thumb? Stephanie has always been proud of the fact that we have never entered a classroom in the show. And I agree with her because the show is not about school - and it never was, so in that way the show isn't changing. The show has always been about kids and their families in New York. It's just now viewed through the prism of a time of change.
AG: The characters will be in different places in New York, and also out of state. How will you deal with that?
JS: I think kids who grew up in New York tend to circle back to New York after they go to college. I went to Tisch after high school, but I had friends who went to Yale, to Brown, to Sarah Lawrence -- you were never too far away to come home on weekends, or when you didn't have class. Blair and Georgina are at NYU, Nate is at Columbia, Serena is at Brown. Chuck is not going to college, he's going to run Bass Industries, Jenny and Eric are still in high school. Just know that on the whole, you are going to find people in different places than where we left them. Some, in part, because of their transitions having left home, gone to college. From moving out from their family. And with the adults, Rufus and Lily are engaged.
AG: What is the writer's room like? What do you guys talk about?
JS: The writer's room contains some of the smartest, funniest people you've ever met. It's like group therapy you actually can't wait to go to. We just laugh so much. They're all fantastic people. I can't imagine not seeing them everyday. We talk about our lives, our childhoods, we come to the table with our favoritepieces of literature, of art. We'll talk about things that inspire us, take strong stands on films like Metropolitan and Adventureland. Each writer connects with each character personally. Jessica Queller, a writer from the first two seasons, just had a way with a Blair line, that sardonic, exasperated wit of Blair just flowed from her. She would come in and plop down and at some point during the work day, she was doing it to be funny, but she'd sigh (does high voice) and say, "I want to die!" And [executive story editor] Robby Hull ended up putting a "time of death chart" on the wall because over time, she would say it earlier and earlier in the day, so it went from 6:15PM, to 3:50PM to 2:21PM and by the end of the season she was saying it at, like, 9:02AM. And either moments like that between all of us or the tone they set would go back into what we were writing.
AG: The characters are all so different, and the couple dynamics are all so different. The scene where Chuck and Blair wake up in the limo outside of Georgina's camp, and they both immediately check themselves in the mirror, and Blair takes out a mint and Chuck uses mouthwash, that is writing that wouldn't work for any of the other characters, and of course the humor is amped up since it is a couple (they're weren't yet, but they were getting there) behaving that way. Writing for them must be a really fun. Do you have as much fun writing for everyone else?
JS: I feel like all the characters and couplings are fun in different ways. Each couple, be it Dan and Serena, Lily and Rufus, Chuck and Blair -- each one represents different things we love writing, seeing play out. Chuck and Blair are our longest standing teen couple on the show, so their dynamic is going to reflect that, their history, their issues, but I feel like when you look back, Serena and Dan also had amazing chemistry, they were super fun together, the way their issues played out, and even if they're no longer a couple, they still have that chemistry in their scenes. Just like Nate and Dan have great friend chemistry together. Their scenes together always make me smile. Writing for Chuck and Blair takes a different part of your brain, the more dastardly, manipulative, bon-mot tossing part, but I'm also grateful to be able to write Serena's knowing sense of humor, her soul searching, her strength, Jenny's bold determination and irreverence, Rufus' steadfastness. All the different sides to each character and coupling is what makes the show interesting, and I don't weight one over another. You need a well-balanced meal.
AG: Your fans discuss every detail of the show online, and they're very thorough. Anything they've missed?
JS: You know what we talk about a lot, and we are surprised people don't seem to notice is that one of the things that sets this show apart from other teen shows is that, like Sex and the City, we have a structure every week. Gossip Girl has an event every week. It has never not had an event.
AG: Maybe that is why I've always wanted to do a drinking game based on Lily saying the word "caterer." By the end of each episode, I'd be trashed.
JS: That never occurred to me before. The room is going to love that! But yes, we structure it so that every week, the episode leads to an event. I feel like it is much like a procedural, and you might think you are watching something a little soapy, but there is actually a procedural element in it. The event of the week can be small, like Blair's birthday party, or as large as graduation. Bart's funeral. Blair's annual sleepover. We didn't consciously decide it. But starting somewhere in the beginning of the first season, it just happened that way and I love that about the show. The writers, we love building to that, it grounds us, it grounds the stories.
AG: Right, it's like, everybody gets to be in the same room, the excitement of getting ready, everybody saying, "Will you be my date?"
JS: Or the story of not everybody getting to go, or wanting to go. For "The Wrath of Con," the event was Poppy and Georgina's Russian Tea room tea, where it was just the two of them, except it wasn't because everyone was actually there, secretly, watching from the sidelines. That's another great thing about Gossip Girl -- getting to shoot places like The Russian Tea Room. New York is just such an amazing place to shoot. As a city, it's really opened its arms to us. You get so much production value just from shooting on the sidewalk. Whether it's Jenny and Dan's expansive view of the city from their roof, or getting to shoot in the National Arts Club, like [Executive Producer] John Stephens got to do in the amazing upcoming episode he directed -- you just can't build that kind of history, that kind of beauty. AG: This question will seem outlandish to some, but if people knew what an animal lover you were, it would seem totally normal. If your two dogs, Jimmy, a jindo, and Isobel, an Australian shepherd mix, and your cat Henry were in high school, what group would they fit into?
JS: Henry, would be the head of the chess club. Or maybe Henry would be a cool rider, like Maxwell Caulfield in Grease 2. Isobel is like the really beautiful girl who is also goofy. Jimmy is an anime character.AG: Any final thoughts on the show before Monday?JS: It bothers me when people think of this show merely as a guilty pleasure because I think it's more than that, and I hope it'll stand the test of time. The show is smart, sharp. The writing staff is full of emotionally intuitive people who pull from their own personal histories as much as they do from headlines. And, of course, we draw from classic works like "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" and "The Great Gatsby" as much as we do from pop culture. Blair can quote Chekhov and Britney in the same breath. I feel like it's that strange mix that makes Gossip Girl special.
ADD A COMMENT | Interview with writer Josh Safran: Part 2
Source: The Examiner
Sept. 11, 2009
Gossip Girl's third season premiere this Monday will give fans a chance to hit the reset button on the "who on Gossip Girl is doing what to whom" part of their brains. To reduce any further cranial atrophy due to inactivity in the Gossip Girl cortex, I came up with a solution.Yesterday I posted part one of a three part interview with Josh Safran, writer and co-executive producer of Gossip Girl, where he addressed the internet leak of Chuck's man-on-man kiss, the responsibility he feels writing gay-themed storylines, and better ways to play cat and mouse with journalists and bloggers trolling for scoops.Today's post, part two of my interview, is all about the characters: their romances, their friendships, their ascents to power, their secrets, and how, even after all the shenanigans they've pulled, the writers are still able to create untried storylines for them.
Adrienne Gruben: How do you keep each character's storyline fresh?
Josh Safran: There's always a little bit of a worry, like, "Has Serena done too much? Is there anything left for Chuck to do since it seems he's done everything?" The fact of the matter is, there is always more. We surprise ourselves with how much story there is still to tell with these characters. I love them. I think Cecily did a great job creating them in the books. I think Stephanie and Josh did a great job of creating them for the series. I think they constantly expand.
 AG: So let's talk about platonic and romantic relationships. What about Dan and Serena?
JS: I'll say this because Stephanie said it somewhere else: this season isn't about Dan and Serena as a couple.
AG: By the end of season two, you really got the sense that they were platonic. There were no longing glances or Serena hanging on Dan's every word.
JS: That is a real testament to what great actors we have on the show. These are two people who in real life are a great couple, and yet, on screen, you believe that they are just friends, that they are no longer in a relationship.
AG: Not to pander, but they practically seem like siblings, in a good way. It's remarkable.
JS: That's what I'm saying. These actors are all so good, and I know everyone says that about the show they work on, but our cast is just simply amazing.
AG: Let's talk about the female friendships and the relationships between mothers and daughters. The two  episodes where I cried were "The Serena Also Rises" and "Valley Girls". Those episodes mined the mechanics of both those kinds of relationships. I think on Gossip Girl, like in real life, they can have some of the same intensity as romantic relationships.
JS: Serena and Blair are the central relationship of the show. They always have been, and always will be. Second to that are the friendships and family relationships across the board. We try to write from that theme, although it isn't always recognizable on first glance. "Valley Girls," for instance, was about mothers and daughters, female friendships, and how they grow and change and deepen through surprising circumstances. In "The Serena Always Rises" when Serena told Blair to step out of her light, leading into their catfight the next episode, a lot of the writing of that relationship and its issues came from a very personal place for the writers, myself included. It doesn't matter that I'm not a teenage girl. The guys on the staff get female relationships, and the girls get things like Nate and Dan's bromance. We're good in each other's skins. This season, with Serena and Blair in different places, their friendship might be tested. But their bond is always so strong underneath. It's funny, at the very beginning, people talked about how Blair was dark and Serena was light, but as we've shown, they each have both. Which is universal. And it's some of this stuff that we're talking about that makes me hope people will still be talking about these characters in ten years, like they do about Angela and Rayanne from My So-Called Life, or Rory and Lorelei from Gilmore Girls.
 AG: Let's talk about a few of the characters who provided big surprises at the end of last season. I thought Georgina's switch from being spiritual to acting like her old self was a little drastic. It was like "Boom! I'm spiritual! Boom. I'm not!"
JS: Just like a lot of people's relationship to religion, it's more complicated than that. All I'm saying is wait and see because her relationship with [Jesus] is not that black and white. And as for Michelle, I wish we could clone her because she is on Mercy this season. We just love having Georgina around. The range of her character, from psycho b*tch in season one to "saved" in season two -- and you believe both of them completely -- is testament to both Michelle as an actress and Georgina as a character. She's a blast to write.
AG: Did you research the Jesus camp?
JS: Leila Gerstein, the writer of that episode, did. And she was the one who came up with the "OMJC" phrase, which I thought was genius. All that, and she's a nice Jewish girl from New York.
AG: With Jenny, you will be ping-ponging back and forth between college and Constance, since Jenny is now queen. By the way, Jenny assuming Blair's queendom surprised me since she is an outsider and she and Blair had that altercation, actually a history of them. Plus for a moment we thought she was going to sell Blair down the river with that piece of gossip.
 JS: You know, as Stephanie says, Constance is a major part of Gossip Girl. Eric and Jenny are now the age that Serena and Blair were when they first started. Jenny is going to be a different kind of queen than Blair, and that is what is going to make that story not a retread of Blair's queendom in seasons one and two. And continuing on from finding people in different places than when we left them, that's also true where Jenny and Eric are concerned. She's queen -- but not exactly comfortable with it.
AG: What about the relationship between Dorota and Blair? Is their current relationship, the camaraderie, the  fact that they are co-conspirators, what you had originally intended?
JS: When Dorota is introduced in the second episode of season one, you watch Blair talk to her as if she's one of Blair's parents. Their relationship just came out that way. Incidentally, Zuzanna [the actress who plays Dorota] doesn't have an accent, but her parents are from Poland. She mimics their accent. We love writing the dynamic between Dorota and Blair.
AG: I love Vanessa, but I feel like because she had a crush on Dan for 14 seconds, and during those 14 seconds, Serena perceived her as a threat, there is a small, but vocal contingent that won't allow themselves to see how great she is; they won't let it go.
JS: That is funny to me, especially when you think of everything that Blair and Chuck, or whoever else, has done. I guess there is that group that felt very protective of [Dan and Serena's] relationship.
AG: Plus her one dastardly act, hiding Nate's letter to Jenny, she admitted it and apologized. I can't imagine the show without her. I mean, she is a certain type of quintessential New Yorker.
JS: She so is. She's indie. She's intellectual. She's homeschooled. She's not rich. Her parents never wanted to be rich. Her sister is in a scrappy punk band. The writers love writing for her. We love watching Serena and Blair's world from her vantage point. Interesting things will be happening with Vanessa, we haven't seen her family backstory, and we will be delving into that, specifically her relationship with her mother.
AG: Onto the more secondary characters, did you write the bit where Vanya is reading Ann Coulter because Dorota suggested it to him?
JS: No, that was written by [episode writer] Sarah Frank Meltzer. The character of Vanya is someone we introduced in the webisodes, and if you haven't seen them, you should. You'll see more of Vanya this season.
AG: Is Gabriel based on Rick Von Sloneker from Metropolitan?
JS: No. Gabriel is based very loosely -- and I mean loosely -- on someone else. When we initially come up with stories, we'll take stuff from headlines, but by the time we actually get through the episode, the real story has gone so far in the other direction, that there is hardly ever any real connection to its origin left.
AG: I have a really outlandish question. It came from my wondering if there were any circumstances that could really shake up the character dynamics, and then I realized that what I came up with might bring joy to Gossip Girl fans who are also sci-fi fans--all three of them. So: What would be the challenges for the characters if Gossip Girl took place in space?
JS: The challenges? You want to coop them up? That ship would blow up! We can't even be on a city block without characters going at each other! The ship would last an hour and a half and then boom!
AG: So let's put them in suits and let them float around, Major Tom style, but not float away, of course.
JS: Even with no gravity, Blair would still think she's floating in Serena's shadow, and that everything revolves around Serena -- the earth now, especially - and Serena would still pretend to be oblivious to that fact.
ADD A COMMENT | Interview with writer Josh Safran: Part ISource: The Examiner
Sept. 10, 2009
Gossip Girl begins its third season Monday September 14, and the pre-premiere chatter is louder than ever. So to quiet everyone down (or possibly amp them up further), I'm presenting a three-part interview with Josh Safran, writer and co-executive producer of Gossip Girl. There was much to discuss.There is the kiss that launched a thousand spoiler alerts. (For those of you just returning from space, journalists and bloggers ran with a leaked storyline where Blair furthers a hairbrained agenda by fooling Chuck into kissing a man.) There is the heightened sensitivity that Safran, the show's only gay writer, feels towards covering gay themes. There is the story behind Gossip Girl's more outrageous stories. And the most scandalous of all: there are schemes to foil the leakers. Or at least to try. And so, without further delay, I bring you Josh Safran, part one.
Adrienne Gruben: The kiss leak is born from this new age of spoilers, a relatively new phenomenon that's been building, but gained more traction this year. NPR even did a story on them. Some people say they create great intrigue and some say they dampen a story's impact. What is your take?
Josh Safran: First of all, I was surprised [by the leak]. We never intended it to get out there, and we didn't want it to, either. I understand why they exist and some people like them and some people don't, and if you don't like them, don't look, but what I don't like is how it feels more and more like everything is being spoiled. Like there isn't somebody going, "You know what? I have two pieces of information. Why don't I use one and not the other?" Although not everything gets out, of course, it's sometimes hard to write stuff when you feel like "can we do this, or will it get out?" It's just troubles us. I wish that people gave a little more care to what they put out there.
AG: As you know, but some of the readers might not, Gossip Girl was developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage based upon the books by Cecily Von Ziegesar. In the books, Chuck was bisexual. Personalities Examiner Jorge Carreon wanted to know why, in adapting Chuck's character for the show, he was not also written as bisexual.
JS: Chuck is not bisexual in the first book. The pilot mirrors the first book, and Josh and Stephanie drew from there for each character. We've deviated from the books for the show quite a bit, but it's important to state that there was never a "we don't want to make Chuck bisexual" conversation. The book was used merely as the launching point for the character of Chuck, for each character. Once the show was up and running, the writers' room mindset, per Josh and Stephanie, was to "let the books be the books and let's use them where we can, but let's also make the series the series." Also, you have to remember that when we started, the entire series of books is a year of their high school life-- their Senior year. Josh and Stephanie made them Juniors for the first season, so we couldn't even delve into the college stuff yet. And now, we are so far away from the books in a lot of ways, especially after Season 1.
AG: Were you planning to use the kiss as part of the promo marketing before the episode? JS: All I can say is that the moment that people are talking about was created organically for the story. And there was honestly never any thought that it would be anything other than enjoyable for the audience as they watched. We just thought, "This will be a great episode," and I think the audience will see when they view the show that [that moment is] not a stunt. I'm proud of how we've woven gay characters into the tapestry of the show. I feel like, as the only gay writer on the show from the beginning and as someone who feels a huge responsibility towards the creation of fully realized gay characters in television, I am supremely proud of what Gossip Girl has done with its gay characters.
AG: Like Eric?
JS: Yes, if you look at Eric, in my mind, he is in one of the only, if not the only, secure relationship on the show. He is also one of the youngest out gay males on network television. And starting with Georgina's outing of Eric, we've done, in my opinion, really strong stuff surrounding the reality of being a gay teenager, that how for some people in your world it's not a big deal, but for other people, they might try to use it against you, hurt you for it. It's never black and white, and it's never easy.AG: On the reality of being a gay teenager, Eric attempted suicide in the first episode. Teenagers attempt suicide more than any other demographic, but then to add the difficulty of being a gay, closeted teenager into the mix, and in a rigid society no less...
JS: After the pilot, where Eric had attempted suicide, Josh and Stephanie gathered all the writers and we  met with people from a suicide prevention organization in Washington. They had seen the episode and they wanted to talk to us about the responsible ways to further that story and I was very grateful for that. We all were. We talked about how one of the top reasons for young, male suicide attempts in America is over struggles with homosexuality, and from that moment on it became clear that that was Eric's story, and Stephanie and Josh were quick to embrace it. For me that ties back to what it's like to be a gay, closeted teenager who is having issues and doesn't feel comfortable with coming out. I was hoping that in showing Eric's story, the way we have from the beginning, we would be saying to someone in a similar situation, "Your life doesn't have to be so scary, you are not alone." Eric was outed, but he ultimately found power in that and he eventually was accepted by everyone. He accepted himself. I feel like we still approach any subject matter from the Gay and Lesbian viewpoint with the same kind of responsibility.
AG: Wow. After hearing all that, I feel bad bringing this up, but I've read some criticisms of Eric's story lines online, that you don't use him enough.
JS: I've read the internet talk, some amongst the gay community that we don't tell enough stories with Eric, I feel it's important to add that we don't drive stories through Eric because he is not a regular. That goes for anyone who is not a regular, but I think that actually works because it allows Eric to have a healthy relationship with Jonathan. If we had to showcase him more, that wouldn't be the case. This is Gossip Girl. I mean, look at the regulars' relationships - up and down each week! He has a great relationship.AG: So with all of that back-story on the show's intentions for gay themes, and your feelings of personal responsibility, let's get back to the kiss, which it turns out, did not come from a place of gay for the sake of shock value, or gay for the sake of a shocking promo.
 JS: Look, of course once in a while we're like, "Wow, wouldn't it be explosive if "X" happened?" but that's usually more like, "Wouldn't it be explosive if Serena was on the end of a Ponzi scheme?". We don't think about the smaller moments. We don't think about what they're going to promo. It does not come through our heads because from a logistical point of view, when we're breaking a story, it's so far away to its airdate. This kiss happens in episode 6, and episode 1 hasn't even aired yet, and won't for weeks! We'd so like to bury things so that people are actually surprised when they watch the episode, but lately with all the spoiler sites that isn't possible. Our intention for this was that people's jaws would drop while actually watching the episode because they wouldn't know we were going there. And the thing is, it's a great episode filled with so many juicy things. It's not like we were sitting their pitching promos like "You'll never believe what Chuck's about to do!", and again, when you see the episode, you will see it's not that kind of moment. It's truly a tiny character beat in a much larger story. I'd be the first person to say, there's no way we can do that if it's going to make people think it's a stunt. And it's not even me. The writers are incredible, really sensitive and cool, I'm so proud to work with them, and not one person in that room is driven by stunts or the idea of sweeps. Everything is always character first, be it "I killed someone" or Blair and Nate getting back together [in Season 2]. People have said that we write stunt plot lines for sweeps. I'm not even sure the CW competes in sweeps. Stephanie always says, "On Gossip Girl, every episode is a sweeps episode." And it is.
AG: They're never going to totally go away, but is there a way on your end to circumvent, or at least outsmart, people trying to get information?
 JS: Well, now we sometimes use fake sides, just in case, because I know of cases on other shows where scripts, or sides, ended up in the recycling, they ended up there totally innocently, and inadvertently got into the hands of someone who realized it was a find. So now we're just going to have to be creative. When Chuck kissed Blair in the finale last year, we were determined to throw people off. We had a crowd of a couple hundred people, and dozens of paparazzi, and we decided to have Nate also do the same scene -- kiss Blair outside of The Plaza -- to throw people off. Chace and Leighton were such good sports, Chace came in early, and we had Leighton and Ed do their take, with the hundreds of people watching, and then Chace came out, and he did the same take and everyone was like, "Whoa!". You heard this loud collective gasp, and it was this great moment because the crowd knew they were being played, they just didn't know which way. I had my camera and took pictures of the crowd. It was really fun to do, and even though when the pictures of both kisses hit the press, a lot of people figured "it's got to be Chuck and Blair," because people kind of knew, it was still a way to subvert the spoilers, and have fun.
AG: Since we talked about how you hate it when things are leaked, anything you can leak yourself before someone finds it in a trash, or taped to a streetlamp?
JS: Well, there's something we're putting together right now, an event we're really excited about. It's something we've been wanting to do for a while now -- a musical. But a musical in only the way Gossip Girl could do it. Sometimes we have an idea like this, but then something else comes up and we put it on the back burner. Hopefully this time it'll happen.
AG: Ok, this is a bad musical pun, but I will be singing your praises for compromising your beliefs a little and leaking this.
JS: It was either tell you, or find someone digging it out of my recycling tomorrow.
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Gossip Girl Causes Problems For NYPDSource: the star online
Sept. 8, 2009
While most teens will fall over themselves at the mere mention of Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen, Chace Crawford and Leighton Meester – the cast of Gossip Girl – but the New York Police Department probably aren't that crazy about the stars or their show. Why you ask? Just over the weekend police personnel had to step in to protect their cast of the hit TV show when fans swamped the outdoor production set. According to The New York Post, police barricades and security guards had to be brought in to keep devoted fans at a distance as the cast shot scenes in and around Manhattan's Empire Hotel. The fact that Lively and Badgley are also an off-screen couple didn't help. While taking a break from shooting a scene, the couple were seen cuddling and that sent not only fans wild but it also gave the ever present paparazzi photo opportunities. “It was chaos. Fans were screaming and people were rushing to get to rooftops to get a glimpse,” a source at the scene told the newspaper. The cast were on location for Westwick's character's roaring '20s party.
ADD A COMMENT | Reports of Gossip Girl’s “gay kiss” just gossip?
Source: thecelebritycafe.com
Sept. 1, 2009
In Cecily von Ziegesar’s original Gossip Girl books, Chuck Bass is a brazen bisexual, but the CW network has kept the television character only Frenching females . . . until now.
Normally, the television’s womanizing socialite Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) can be seen on “Gossip Girl” lip-locking with love interest Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). But with all the recent relationship rain, apparently CW thinks that Chuck Bass needs a rainbow. The lucky lad? The little-known actor, Neal Bledsoe. “It’s true! Multiple Gossip Girl insiders confirm . . . the CW phenom is currently shooting an episode for its upcoming third season in which Ed Westwick’s legendary lothario (Chuck Bass) kisses another man,” wrote Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday. Indeed, the Internet is hopping with headlines reading, “Ed Westwick filming gossip girl gay kiss,” at Glamour Magazine, and “Gossip Girls Ed Westwick ‘shares gay kiss,’” at EntertainmentWise.com.
But while the male-male make out may make for titillating titles and send “Gossip Girl” fans fanning themselves, this seemingly forward-thinking “gay kiss” plot may have sizeable holes. According to People, Bledsoe reportedly plays an NYU administrator who is looking for a student to give the freshman speech. Leighton Meester’s character, Blair Waldorf, reportedly sets Bass up with him to boost her chances at getting the gig.” As the Examiner.com reports, “The whole thing is just a cruel ruse by Chuck's almost-girlfriend Blair to somehow seduce the gay guy so he will choose her to give a speech to the freshman class at NYU.” And in the same, very provocative piece in the Gay and Lesbian Issues section of the Examiner.com, Kelvin Lynch writes, “The so-called ‘gay kiss episode’ is insulting for two reasons: (1) it portrays a gay man as easily cast under the spell of a straight man, and (2) it portrays a straight man as so dim-witted he will work around the ‘ewww’ factor to do anything for a girl he likes. Given, the show is known for pushing the sexuality envelope, but this is a new low, he adds.
In year 2009, when same-sex marriages are becoming legal in new states every day, with Kevin and Scotty married on ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” and Andrew Hodge getting rosy with teen gardener Justin on “Desperate Housewives,” one has to wonder: How will Ed Westwick’s on-air smooch make out? Will the show garner greater intrigue for its arguably controversial kissing or will the straight female demographic turn off? And perhaps more prickly, has CW found a heterosexual (loop) hole in which to safely insert their “bisexual” story line? If so, how will gay rights activists and the gay community react?
Either way, somewhere in the airwaves between 1991 and 2009, televised same-sex kissing became less new, but still news. While gaining frequency in the last two decades, it still holds an erotic fascination that fixes it as tabloid foreplay and stimulates more than five pages of blogging responses on Entertainment Weekly’s Web site from viewers across the country.
Any curious ink slinger has to inquire: How many laws will have to be passed, how many gay marriages sanctioned, how many on-air male-male make outs before a (gay) kiss is just a kiss? In short, when will there be no gossip for the boys?
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