It’s been three months, to the day, since our last Betty Suarez pratfall. Three months, to the day, since our last Wilhelmina Slater cocked eyebrow. Three months, to the day, since our last Mandy and Marc madness. I think it’s safe to say, we’re all ready for Betty, wouldn’t you? Ugly Betty returns to the air tonight with its first post-strike episodes, and not a moment too soon.

All photos courtesty of ABC/Vivian Zink

The campiest show on television is back for five all new episodes. The series will pick up on Betty’s 24th birthday. What can we expect? Well, since this season has already seen a death, near-death, near-wedding, baby mama drama, baby daddy drama, artificial insemination, amnesia and Posh Spice, I’d say just more of the same old, same old.

In honor the return of America Ferrera and company, the terrible twosome of Becki Newton and Michael Urie (aka Mandy and Marc) have recorded the show’s first-ever video podcast. Yes they call it a “video podcast” and not the shorter, more succinct “vlog.” Gosh, is The L (Wrong) Word-iness contagious? Regardless the terminology, the clip is fun and now I cannot stop singing “Ready For Betty.” I really can’t. I’ve tried everything. … continue reading

Like my co-worker Karman said so poetically today, I'm "sick of having the cloying, traditionally heterosexual holiday crammed down [my] throat every year." But if I did celebrate Valentine's Day, I'd be pleased to get one of these lovelies in my box. Inbox! I meant inbox.

First, here's an awesome Alien-themed valentine that I really did get in my inbox this morning, from my very talented friend Andy Swist (click for a larger version):

Isn't cartoon Ripley foxy?

Next, here are a few Lost ecards from the ABC website:

I do trust you, Juliet, I do! … continue reading

I like to keep an eye on what the boys over at AfterElton are doing — and they’ve been raving about Ugly Betty for so long now, as one of the gay-friendliest shows on U.S. TV, that I figured I should check it out when it came over to the U.K. last year. While I can’t say I completely share their enthusiasm — the main gay character, Marc St. James, seems way too much like Jack from Will & Grace to me, and as such he isn’t exactly breaking any new ground — the show itself is fun, and quite sweet, and I would probably watch it quite happily, if it were not for one thing.

That one thing is Dulux, the international paint company that sponsors Ugly Betty in the U.K. Before every episode starts, and at the beginning and end of each advertising break, I have to watch another Dulux commercial. Now, normally this wouldn’t be a big deal — after all, you can just press the mute button and think about something else for five minutes — and perhaps I shouldn’t even be calling attention to this. But here’s an example of the Dulux ads that have been running recently in the U.K., on the theme of paint colors that are a “perfect match”: … continue reading

It's hard for me not to get excited when Salma Hayek's name gets connected to a project. The reasons are too numerous to count, but like many AfterEllen.com readers, I can resist neither her business savvy (lately earning Ugly Betty a new batch of nominations) nor her stunning presence (lately earning us photos like the one below).

For these reasons, I'm trying to imagine how this casting news will turn out to be good casting news: Hayek is set to play a bearded lady alongside vampire John C. Reilly in Cirque du Freak, a movie adaptation of the children's book series by Darren Shan. Paul Weitz will direct, which indicates it could go in the direction of American Pie (yikes!) or About a Boy (cheers!). That said, I don't know how Cirque's plot — centered on a battle between bloodsuckers and their rivals, the "Vampanese" — will fit the model of understated humor set by the latter Weitz picture. … continue reading

As Joan Jett sings, "You don't know what you got till it's gone." That's how I've been feeling about TV lately — new episodes seem so very precious because you know each one could be your last.

Yes, I'm exaggerating, and even if there were no strike, I'd be eagerly anticipating 30 Rock. Tonight, Edie Falco makes her last appearance as Jack's Democratic dish.

Meanwhile, on Ugly Betty, "real women" take to the runway and Annie Potts (Designing Women) plays a psychic. … continue reading

Is it Monday? No? It sure feels like it. So here's some eye candy to help while away the day.

1. Annie Leibovitz snaps Cate Blanchett on the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

I need that picture to be much, much bigger. (From Vanity Fair — see more here.)

2. All you need to know about Lost in 8 minutes and 15 seconds (ha): … continue reading

Whenever I see someone with one of those “Kill Your Television” bumper stickers, I feel two distinct emotions. One, shut up, Smuggy McSmugerson. I bet you don’t read the copies of The New Yorker in your bathroom either. And two, yeah, sometimes I do feel like taking a 12-gauge to the old idiot box. This year I got my usual mix of joy and pain from my television. The highs were so very fantastic. The lows so very sucktastic. Here's a rundown of my top and bottom five TV shows for 2007.

Five I Loved:

1) 30 Rock: Everything about this show, well, rocks. It’s smart, funny, geeky and good to the gays — just like its creator, Tina Fey. She is the antidote to the mediocrity that keeps trying to choke our culture into submission. This show alone is reason enough to own a television. … continue reading

Yesterday, the American Film Institute selected its 10 best films and TV shows of the year. Nobody gets to vote — there are no nominations, no names submitted for anyone's consideration. You might call the lists unilateral. You could also call them surprising.

Here are the top films, in no particular order (er, in alphabetical order):

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
Juno
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
The Savages
There Will Be Blood

Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Savages:

Atonement didn't make the list because only American films were considered ('cause, uh, it's the American Film Institute). Other current favorites, like Sweeney Todd, just didn't make it. Well, there's no accounting for taste. But isn't it weird to see Knocked Up and Juno on the same list? And right next to each other like that? I guess unplanned pregnancy is the new black. … continue reading

How can anyone not love Ugly Betty?

Strange as it seems, Freep.com reports that Colombians are not too fond of the American version of their country's show, Yo Soy Betty la Fea. They see the U.S. show as a lame imitation of the original. Fabian Sanabria of Universidad Nacional doesn't mince words in stating his feelings toward Ugly Betty.

"Watching the gringo version would be like reading 100 Years of Solitude in English. It makes no sense."

Hmm. I read One Hundred Years of Solitude in English and it made perfect sense to me. At least it did after I got past the Buendía family lineage. … continue reading

How do you get a bunch of actors to stop talking? Wait, wait: I know this one. Does it involve a pineapple, a screwdriver and a three-legged dog? Oh, sorry; you weren't joking? In all seriousness, the way to get a group of top-flight, big-name actors to finally stop speaking is to stop giving them scripts. A slew of A-list actors are appearing in the new Speechless campaign, a collaboration between the striking members of the Writers Guild of America and members of the Screen Actors Guild.

So far 14 black-and-white, mostly wordless spots have been released, with more on the way. Among the actors already appearing are Oscar winners like Holly Hunter, Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn and TV heavyweights like America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and Ed Asner. Even L Word alums like Rosanna Arquette and Alan Cumming joined in the silence. Here are some of my favorites so far. (For the entire list, check the Speechless channel on Brightcove.) … continue reading

You know when you're having one of those WLT days? No, not a craving for a wombat, lettuce and tomato sandwich — 'cause, ewww. No, I mean a Wishful Lesbian Thinking day. Well, I had one of those the other day when I read the plot description for the new film The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Robin Wright Penn, Winona Ryder and Julianne Moore have signed on to star in the new drama which, according to Variety, is about Pippa, “a dutiful wife whose husband falls for a younger woman, freeing her to explore her buried sensuality and leading to a very quiet nervous breakdown.” Robin plays Pippa, Winona plays the younger woman, and Julianne plays a place Pippa explores her buried sexuality ... hopefully. See, ain't WLT delicious?

Now, I'm not sure if this case of WLT will pan out. My gay Spidey sense says yes, especially after reading this plot description. But even without a payoff, this is the kind of thinking that has launched a million shippers sites. There are the gold standards (Xena and Gabrielle), the wishful turned wish fulfilled (Willow and Tara) and the just plain awesome (Daria and Jane).

So with that, I thought I'd share a few more of my most recent WLT daydreams, culled from current TV and film. … continue reading

Writers strike or not, November heralds in sweeps. And sweeps heralds in guest stars. And guest stars herald in ... OK, I'm officially out of stuff to herald. But I do know that when it comes to sweeps month, the very special guest star is trumped only by the lesbian kiss as the most popular sweeps stunt. So, let's rate the ratings stunts, starting with the big guns.

Note: A few of these guest stars are showing up tonight, so set your DVRs!

Al Gore on 30 Rock (tonight!): Former vice president. Oscar winner. Nobel Peace Prize winner. Rightful Almost next president of the United States.
Stunt Wattage: 10, but we should dial it down to 8.5 to conserve energy.

… continue reading

We're more than a month into the Fall TV season — time enough to figure out which shows we don't want to miss and which ones we miss on purpose. Sarah and Lori have been giving their week-by-week reviews of what they're watching in She Made Me Watch This, but if you're like me, you get so caught up in how adorable they are that you totally forget what they're saying. And some readers can't watch the vlogs for various reasons. So here's a slightly different forum for weighing in with your opinions of this season's series — after I weigh in with mine, of course.

Let's start with what was probably the show most anticipated by AfterEllen.com readers: Bionic Woman.

My one-word review: meh. The eye candy factor only goes so far. I just don't care about these characters. Even Katee Sackhoff can't hold my attention for an hour in a boring show. TiVo-worthy? Nope. … continue reading

It’s T-minus seven days to Halloween weekend, and you know what that means, right? It means that it’s time to find a costume. But before you grab that bed sheet and just pass yourself off as Casper again, why not take a cue from the stars instead? Look, wasn’t it nice of Bones stars Emily Deschanel/Wonder Woman and Michaela Conlin/Cher (with Catwoman Tamara Taylor hiding in the background) to model their outfits in advance for us?

It’s easier to look like a famous star than you might think. Here is a quick do-it-yourself guide to dressing up like your favorite celebrity this Halloween, complete with a handy checklist of supplies you’ll need for each look. … continue reading

Last week (it seems like an eternity ago), I launched a vlog about people of color in entertainment with my friend and co-host, Sarah Pecora, and we asked you guys to help us determine what we should call it. Well, you delivered! Although I still have a fondness for The P.O.C. Report, I was shamelessly won over by mlei's utilization of my last name in the phrase "The Lo-Down." So welcome to the first official episode of The Lo-Down!

This week, we talk about three shows we watched last week on TV (last week's episodes, not this week!):

• Heroes, including new hero Dania Ramirez's lesbian connection and her thrilling new X-Files-ish power.
• Why Sarah thinks Sarah Shahi is better on Life than in The L Word (Malinda maintains it's about hot pants).
• Our favorite lines from Ugly Betty, and Malinda's favorite fantasy role model from UB.

We also continue to provide relevant P.O.C. acronyms at key moments. Speaking of acronyms, last week several of you called us out for misspelling "Philipino Olympic Committee" (as an adjective, it's actually Filipino). Before I get started on my rant about spelling (believe me, I have one!), let me just say that we got the acronyms from AcronymFinder.com, but even then, I got things wrong. The actual acronym they suggested is Philippine Olympic Committee, which does exist.

Check out this week's vlog: … continue reading