As roc reminded us earlier this week, our favorite shows are running out of new episodes. That includes Grey's Anatomy, which is my personal choice for 2007's Best Comeback From a Lukewarm Season.

To make us feel better, ABC has released some midseason (which could be end-of-season) promotional stills of the cast. And not sharing the best ones with you would just be wrong. So here's a little eye candy for your weekend viewing pleasure.

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Sometime over the last decade or so, glasses became cool. And hot. And the world began to see what lesbians always have known: that women who wear glasses are both cool and hot. And downright sexy.

Personally, I'm glad views have changed. As a little tomboy, I resisted glasses as long as I could, to the point of memorizing the eye chart every year so I could pass the vision exam. When I finally was too blind to resist specs any longer, my family was about to move to Texas from Pittsburgh. One of my friends said, "Wow, glasses don't seem very Texan." At the time, I was devastated. Now I know better. Texans with glasses rock. … continue reading

We knew this year was going to be tough for the lovely Dr. Cristina Yang.

Her fiancé, Dr. Burke, skipped town at the end of last season's Grey's Anatomy, and we learned this season that he's gone for good. Recently, a new complication in Cristina's career has appeared in the form of Dr. Burke's replacement, Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Not that we object. … continue reading

With the writers strike on the verge of pushing some of my favorite shows into repeats and the holidays fast approaching, I'm relying on my security blanket to keep me warm during the cold, hopefully not-too-long, new-episode-free nights. While globalgrrl gave you her picks yesterday for desert island TV, I've got some movie picks to help soothe the pain of reruns run amok that could be our future. It's my guilty pleasure movie collection.

Entertainment Weekly's writers confessed their not-ready-for-the-Oscars list of favorites yesterday. And I've got mine today. Sure, these movies aren't award winners or, in some cases, even all that good. But every time they come on (or every time I pop the DVD in ... hey, I'm not proud), I can't help but watch.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985): I love this movie. Love it. The dancing. The hairstyles. The DayGlo. It's, like, totally awesome. I can still sing “Dancing in Heaven” from the final dance scene by heart. Plus, how can you beat seeing a young Sarah Jessica Parker, Helen Hunt and Shannen Doherty together in one film? Like I said, totally awesome. … continue reading

Seems I'm not the only one out there who thinks brains are an essential part of the beauty package. Personally, I can only look for so long before wanting to carry on a coherent, intelligent conversation about something a little deeper than fashion. I also like to be able to use words that contain more than a single syllable.

There are plenty of lists out there detailing beauties with big brains, but this one does a better job than most. The list includes some of the most obvious brainy beauties, like Jodie Foster, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Beals. But, like any list, it is far from complete. So because I know you are all simply beside yourselves waiting for another list, I will keep you waiting no longer. Here are some of the women who prove to me that smart is sexy. Think of it as my anti-Britney list.

Maggie Gyllenhaal

She has a degree in literature from Columbia University. She also tends to choose roles that involve a whole lot of brain power, and she isn't afraid to speak her mind. I love that in a woman. … continue reading

The new doc at Seattle Grace has already turned McDreamy's head.

We met Lexie at the end of Grey's Anatomy last season, although we didn't know much more than the fact that she and Derek flirted at the bar. Then, in a callback to Grey's first episode, she showed up as one of the new interns. This season, we learned that she's Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister. And the actress who plays her, Chyler Leigh, is quite the hottie. … continue reading

Fall TV is on the horizon and that means one thing: spoilers and speculation. OK, two things. And I’ve got some Grey’s Anatomy spoilers right here. So if you don’t want to know, enjoy Sandra Oh for a few minutes and move on.

Still here? You read the last chapter of Deathly Hallows first, didn’t you?

Grey’s Anatomy has been good to Sandra Oh. She’s won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award and has been nominated for an Emmy three years in a row. Maybe this year, she’ll win. Hey, she convinced everybody she enjoyed kissing Isaiah Washington — now that is good acting!

Oh’s character, Cristina Yang, has not been so lucky. The third season finale of Grey’s ended with her fiancé, Dr. Preston Burke (Washington) not only bailing out on the wedding, but taking off. Can you believe anyone would leave Cristina at the altar? I mean, really.

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What’s next for Yang?

As you've probably already heard, The Sopranos got a whopping 15 Emmy nominations this morning. Meanwhile, the HBO movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee did even better, with 17. (I missed that one entirely, so for me it's more like Scratch My Head at HBO Monopoly.)

Here are the big ones:

2007 Primetime Emmy Nominations

Outstanding Drama Series
Boston Legal (ABC)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Heroes (NBC)
House (Fox)
The Sopranos (HBO)

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Ugly Betty (ABC)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Partricia Arquette, Medium (NBC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Minnie Driver, The Riches (FX)
Edie Falco, The Sopranos (HBO) … continue reading

As you've probably heard, earlier this week TheEnvelope.com leaked a short list of Emmy nominations. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has made no comment on the list's accuracy, choosing instead to remind academy members that they have signed a confidentiality agreement (the Academy will mess you up, Emmy voters!) and also reminding the public that nominees won't be officially announced until July 19.

I don't know why it matters, really — we're used to hanging chads and other forms of disenfranchisement in the U.S., so what's a little spilled ink among TV fans? Plus, who really tunes in for the nominee announcements anyway? (There's a motivating factor this year, though: Kyra Sedgwick will be one of the announcers. Won't it be weird if she has to announce herself?)

Anyway, whether these nominees are guesses or sure things, I'm happy to post some photos. The Emmy Awards ceremony airs Sept. 16 at 8/7c on Fox. (Visit TheEnvelope.com for the full, unverified short list.)

1. Possible nominees for Best Comedy Actress:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Teri Hatcher, Desperate Housewives
Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

America Ferrera … continue reading

It's Friday, and the lists keep coming. As Dorothy Snarker wrote yesterday, "You know you can't resist them and, clearly, neither can I. So let's put on our yelling caps and take a look at this puppy." Today we have the annual Forbes Celebrity 100, a list of "the world's most powerful--and best-paid--celebrities." Who's No. 1? Oprah Winfrey.

Worth an estimated $1.5 billion, last year Oprah earned approximately $260 million. She has two reality shows in ABC's fall lineup in addition to her many other media ventures, and you may remember that this past year she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Oprah has often been a friend to the gays, too. Long dogged by rumors that she is a lesbian, she has never flinched from openly addressing the subject. And her talk show has covered lesbian and gay stories over the years, including "When I Knew I Was Gay" in November 2005 and "Wives Who Confess They Are Gay" in October 2006. … continue reading

Network TV used to have an unwritten rule that there could only be one Asian American woman, if that, in a leading (or even prominent recurring) role on TV at a time. Or in a few-year span.

In the '90s it was Margaret Cho on All American Girl, followed by Ming-Na on ER, and Lucy Liu on Ally McBeal. Then at the turn of the century, it was Keiko Agena on Gilmore Girls, and Kristin Kreuk on Smallville, plus a few others sprinkled in now and then.

But a few years ago, something happened — more specifically, Lost and Grey's Anatomy happened, or maybe common sense just finally kicked in — and we began to get three or four Asian American women in regular roles on network TV shows. Then last season, it was five.

And the networks discovered something odd: people of color tuned in, and the white people didn't stop watching. In fact, ratings even went up on some of the shows. (Gee, maybe this whole diversity thing isn't such a bad idea, after all!)

Now, going into the 2007-08 season, we're looking at a record seven shows with prominent leading or supporting roles on primetime network TV (eight if The CW renews Smallville).

That's almost double the number of even a few years ago. Yes, it's still a pathetically small number, and there's still no Asian American equivalent to shows like Everybody Hates Chris or the upcoming Latino family drama Cane. But at least it's trending in the right direction — and it's six more than the number of lesbians we're going to get next season!

But on to the new roles.

First, Lucy Liu makes her triumphant return to television in Cashmere Mafia (ABC), a drama about career women in New York that we blogged about yesterday. Here's her official Cashmere headshot: … continue reading

This past Sunday, the New York Times said there's something wrong with Grey's Anatomy and its upcoming spinoff. And it's something kind of serious: According to the author of the article, Alessandra Stanley, these shows are bad for women.

Stanely notes that "career girls" on TV started off "competent-but-flaky" (see Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas), but have devolved into "basket case[s]" — and it's all thanks to Ally McBeal.

Unfortunately, says Stanley, the Kate Walsh spinoff seems even worse in this regard: … continue reading

In a two-page article this morning, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes is creating a spinoff for ABC based around Kate Walsh's character Dr. Addison Montgomery (previously known as Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, before her divorce from McDreamy).

Finally, proof that God does answer prayers!

The spinoff's two-hour pilot will air on ABC in May, to gauge viewer interest in the spinoff before ABC has to make its decision about which new series to pick up for the fall. There's no title for the series yet, or any plot details - in fact, ABC won't even officially confirm the spinoff - but the WSJ speculates that the decision was fueled by Addison's popularity combined with Shonda's struggle to give her a proper storyline on a show with 12 major characters. Whatever the reasons, I'm all for it! (And it's nice to see a series created around a woman in her late 30s, for a change.)

Let's take this opportunity to admire the greatness that is Kate, who told Women's Health magazine last year about playing Cristina's Sandra Oh's lover in Under the Tuscan Sun, "It was funny, that part came in the middle of a trilogy of lesbian roles for me. I had just played a closeted lesbian suburban wife in an indie movie, and then I played a lesbian detective on Karen Sisco. Do I give off a girl-on-girl vibe, I wonder? Or is it because I'm tall? I guess the chicks just dig me!"

How about D) all of the above?

What do you think of the spinoff? Discuss!