She’s already been a private dancer, now Angela Bassett will be in private practice. OK, fine, it’s more like general practice. The Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress will join the fifteenth and final season of ER in the fall.

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The move marks a transition for the 49-year-old actress from the big to the small screen. TV has previously been the domain of Angela’s husband, Courtney B. Vance, a veteran of both Law & Order: Criminal Intent and State of Mind.

Photo credit: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

Angela will play an attending physician who is returning to Chicago after working the past few years in Indonesia tsunami relief. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Her arrival in the second episode next season promises to shake County General's ER to the core.”

Unlike The Linster, I haven’t been a regular ER patient watcher for quite a while now. In fact, Maura Tierney and Goran Visnjic are the only regulars I remember from back when I used to tune in at the end of my Thursday night Must-See TV block. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the current cast – particularly Linda Cardellini and Parminder Nagra. But I guess there are just so many times you can see someone scream “STAT!” over a crash cart. … continue reading

A sad thing happened to me last Thursday. ER returned with new episodes — and I forgot. Granted, tornadoes were swirling through town at the time, but I didn't even remember to be irritated that bad weather always seems to strike during prime time. For someone who has watched ER faithfully since its first year, apathy is a bad sign. So, I have mixed feelings about the show coming back for one final season.

Photo credit: Brian Bowen Smith

I'm not sure what happened to my fandom. After all, Maura Tierney's still around.

Photo credit: James Sorensen

Considering all that her character Abby Lockhart has been through, that's quite a feat. Alcoholism, bipolar mom and brother, failed marriage, medical school, unplanned pregnancy, life-threatening childbirth — reading Abby's Wikipedia entry is exhausting. Maybe that's part of the problem. … continue reading

If you're anything like me, this post will take you a while to read. It certainly took a while to write. Blame it on the eyes of Elizabeth Mitchell.

Good god, how hot can one person be?

I doubt that Mitchell needs an introduction to this audience. I mean, she got to make love with Angelina Jolie in Gia.

She also played the sultry shrink who escorted Dr. Kerry Weaver out of the closet on ER.

And now she plays the enigmatic Dr. Juliet Burke on Lost. … continue reading

I don't think too much about dating, these days. I've haven't been single for a while and have no desire or plan to be single again. But when I saw Entertainment Weekly's list of “TV Characters You'd Date,” I asked my girlfriend and a couple of friends to play the who-would-you-date game. My girlfriend chimed in immediately with Dana Fairbanks. (I was not surprised. She's mentioned her before.) One friend led with Olivia Benson (Law and Order: SVU) and followed up with Tasha Williams (The L Word) and Diane Russell (NYPD Blue). The other shared that Kris Munroe (Charlie's Angels) was her first love (and the one against which all subsequent loves have been measured). And then she threw in Mary Bradford (Eight Is Enough) and C.J. Lamb (L.A. Law) for good measure..

And, of course, I made my own list. Which got very long. Here are but a few.

Liz Lemon — 30 Rock

This one is so obvious that I almost feel stupid explaining it. Smart is hot. Funny is hot. And hot is hot. Even though she might eventually send me looking for my own “lady Steadman,” I would not pass up the chance to date Liz Lemon.

Alice Pieszecki — The L Word

Once again, smart + funny + hot = an obvious choice. She's out and proud, and I like that in a woman. Alice did, however, have a lot of competition for my affections. On pure physical attraction (plus major smarts), I'd probably go with Bette. But she cheats, and I don't like that in a woman. Then there's Tasha. Swoon. And Carmen. Swoon. But I think I would laugh most with Alice, so there you go.

Alex Cabot — Law and Order: SVU … continue reading

This week, instead of posting an episode of Who Thought THAT Was a Good Idea, Lori and I are giving you Part 2 of our Favorite Lesbian Moments from American TV shows with prominent lesbian characters (see Part 1 here).

In this episode, we discuss and show scenes from shows like Heartbeat (1988), Friends (1994-2004), and Out of Practice (2005), as well as Kim and Kerry's relationship on ER and Willow and Kennedy's on the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I do a lot of the talking in this one (for a change), since Lori doesn't know the details of most of these shows or characters. But Lori gets in some good zingers — when she's not letting her eyebrows do all the talking. … continue reading

It's all about bad lesbian TV in this week's Who Thought THAT Was a Good Idea?, as Lori and I count down some of the worst lesbian story-line decisions on American television — starting with Serena Southerlyn's coming-out on the way out of Law & Order, and ending with ... well, you'll just have to watch and find out for yourself.

Give us your thoughts on the worst lesbian moments in American TV history in the comments — and if you missed it, check out our favorite lesbian moments in last Friday's episode of She Made Me Watch This! … continue reading

In this Very Special Edition of She Made Me Watch This!, Lori and I discuss some of our favorite lesbian episodes and moments on American television in the last 20 years. Relive the glory days when there were actually lesbians on prime-time network TV, as we discuss (and show clips!) from lesser-known shows like Dark Angel, Once and Again and Wonderfalls, and more popular ones like Buffy, Xena, ER and The L Word.

Let us know your favorites in the comments — and look for a countdown of our least favorite lesbian TV moments in Monday's episode of Who Thought THAT Was a Good Idea? … continue reading

Choosing a favorite television character seems a little like choosing a favorite child. I don’t have kids, but I have cats — same thing, right? My favorite varies according to which one wakes me up at 4 a.m. or which one insists on sitting on my keyboard when I have a lot to do or which one throws up in my shoe.

Yet, the brave writers at Slate inspired me with a list of the characters they were most happy to see again in the new television season. Some of their choices make sense.

Others make me scratch my head. … continue reading

There's an interesting list over on DoubleVixen.com showcasing positive female TV characters. The list includes Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Liz Lemon from 30 Rock, George Lass from Dead Like Me, Zoe Washburne from Firefly and Rose Tyler from Dr. Who.

Looking at this compilation suggests several things. First, it suggests that the number of positive female characters on the telly is even lower than I thought. I know that the number of strong, intelligent women I see staring back at me from the TV screen is woefully inadequate. However, I didn't think it was so bad that we could only find five such examples, especially since three of them come from shows we can only see on DVD or in rerun land. Second, it suggests that Joss Whedon knows how to write wonderful women. Both Buffy and Firefly provided more than one example of a positive female character. Clearly this guy needs to write more TV shows. … continue reading