Must-see Monday nights

Photo: Eric Liebowitz/The CW

Gay things on my TV last night (not including Rachel Maddow, of course, who is actually gay-gay):

> We already knew this, but Nate (Chace Crawford) is the only person in Gossip Girl-land who Chuck (Ed Westwick) will do anything under the sun for -- without ever demanding sexual favors in return. It's nice to see the BF(F)s back together on screen, leaving jealousy over their exes behind and instead bailing each other out of trouble and staring meaningfully into each other's eyes (see above).

> Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is one of those shows with so many hot people I can't ever decide where to look. There's bad-ass Lena Headey, doing way more than just filling Linda Hamilton's combat boots. There's button nosed stings-like-a-bee Summer Glau as the Terminator. There's Brian Austin Green and his biceps proving there is such a thing as life after playing the nerd on teen TV. Oh, and then there's Thomas Dekker as John, our civilization's one and only savior, now with 75 percent fewer emo bangs:

Photo: Courtesy FOX

Last night's season opener continued to be big and splashy and super-serious in that way that's almost too much -- but is saved again and again by good writing and good acting from all corners. Shirley Manson's evil wardrobe is just icing on the cake.

> I have no idea how I'm going to survive Monday nights once Chuck gets started again and Dancing With the Stars premieres. Thank you, television programming gods, for making the beginning of the week something to look forward to.

Comments

[Nate]

I can't believe you are a big fan of Thomas Dekker. Isn't he the homophobe who left the show Heroes because they were going to make his character gay? Why don't you proclaim your love to Fred Phelps while your at it?

[shana naomi]

@Nate: Yes, it's the same Thomas Dekker, and I hear your point -- though I think it's reaching to compare him to Fred Phelps. I thought his comments at the time about Heroes were completely ridiculous, and mocked them extensively (see http://tinyurl.com/dekkersearch). But I also wasn't terribly surprised that at that key a moment in his career he followed traditionally lousy Hollywood advice. (He didn't avoid talking about how he'd played gay before at the time.) I think he's a good actor on a good show I'm enjoying a lot, and I don't think our community gets very far by condemning everyone so quickly -- or by holding actors who play gay(ish) to some kind of holy higher standard.