Connor Paolo as Eric, a gay character on TV’s ‘Gossip Girl.’ Paolo, 18, is straight in real life. (Giovanni Rufino/the CW)
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SCOTT SODE
Friday, September 12, 2008
Catching
up
on
the
first
batch
of
“Gossip
Girl”
episodes,
I
was
struck
by
two
thoughts:
One,
that
this
is
unequivocally
the
best
show
on
television
(take
that,
“Lost”-ies),
and
two,
that,
in
a
heartbeat,
I’d
go
straight
for
Blair
Waldorf.
Or
Leighton
Meester.
Or
both.
The
former
is
a
matter
of
taste,
and
I’ll
be
the
first
to
admit
—
when
it
comes
to
television
—
mine
ain’t
that
sophisticated.
But
I
have
a
hard
time
believing
anybody
who
watches
the
show
and
doesn’t
walk
away
completely
and
totally
addicted
has
given
it
a
fair
shake.
Its
escapist
qualities
alone
are
unrivaled
by
anything
else
on
television,
and
let’s
be
honest
—
after
Hurricane
Sarah
at
the
Republican
Convention
last
week,
we
could
all
use
a
little
escapism
in
our
lives.
What
makes
“Gossip”
a
cut
above,
however,
is
that
in
its
second
season,
the
show
is
blissfully
oblivious
to
the
hype
that
surrounds
it.
Unlike
hit
series
that
have
succumbed
to
the
pressure,
gone
for
the
jugular
(Marissa
Cooper
a
lesbian?
Please),
and
as
a
result,
descended
into
maddening
sophomore
slumps,
“Gossip,”
in
its
second
year,
just
seems
to
be
sticking
to
what
it
knows
best.
I’m
not
saying
it’s
particularly
creative.
The
season
premiere,
in
a
nutshell,
could
be
any
episode
of
“Gossip
Girl,”
in
a
nutshell:
Blair
(Leighton
Meester)
manipulates
Chuck
(Ed
Westwick)
and
vice
versa.
Jenny
(Taylor
Momsen)
whines
or
cries.
Serena
(Blake
Lively)
wonders
if
she
should
be
in
a
relationship
with
Dan
(Penn
Badgley)
and
vice
versa.
T.G.G.
(Token
Gay
Guy)
Eric
(Connor
Paolo)
shows
up,
but
mostly
as
a
prop
for
another
character.
One
of
the
couples
has
sex.
One
half
of
the
aforementioned
couple
regrets
having
sex.
Everyone
goes
to
a
party.
The
end.
XOXO.
Shows
deserve
credit
when
they
do
interesting,
innovative
(and
sometimes
different)
things,
but
they
also
deserve
the
same
amount
of
credit
when
they
listen
to
what
their
audiences
want,
stick
to
what
they
know
and
find
new
ways
to
keep
their
familiar
signatures
fresh.
“Gossip”
does
all
this
and
succeeds
with
flying
colors.
Even
spoilers
for
the
show
sound
altogether
familiar
yet
promising:
The
producers
plan
to
further
explore
the
Chuck/Blair
relationship
this
season
(after
all
these
bad
girl/nice
guy
hookups
on
teen
soaps
over
the
years,
I’m
so
ready
for
a
bad
girl/bad
guy
one
again),
and
in
episode
seven,
according
to
“Entertainment
Weekly,”
Eric
will
get
himself
a
man.
As
for
Blair/Meester,
maybe
I’m
just
a
sucker
for
complicated
women.
You
can
have
your
earnest
Joey
Potter-esque
heroine
and
your
wrong-side-of-the-tracks
Ryan
Atwood-ian
leading
man,
but
in
my
book,
a
teen
soap
is
only
as
good
as
its
slightly
crazy,
secretly
damaged
conniving
bitch.
You
get
rid
of
her,
you
soften
her
up
and
suddenly
you’re
as
forgettable
as
the
last
three
seasons
of
“Dawson’s
Creek.”
Not
since
Tiffani
Thiessen
bolted
the
old
“90210”
10
years
ago
has
there
been
an
actress
who
can
play
the
archetype
to
such
devilish
perfection.
In
Waldorf,
Meester
creates
a
pretty
young
thing
who
confidently
wears
her
wealth
like
an
entitlement;
she’s
bratty,
spoiled
and
bitchy.
But
—
perhaps
by
expertly
expressing
Blair’s
underlying
vulnerabilities
—
Meester
never
allows
the
character
to
sink
into
caricature;
in
lesser
hands
the
character
would
have
easily
devolved
into
Marissa
Cooper
2.0
by
now.
A
Valerie
Malone
for
the
next
generation,
you
can’t
help
but
delight
in
Blair’s
more
reprehensible
qualities,
and
you
can’t
help
but
be
mesmerized
by
Meester’s
presence.
Case-in-point:
in
one
of
the
best
scenes
of
the
entire
series
so
far,
Blair
walks
in
on
her
ex-boyfriend
Nate
(Chace
Crawford)
and
his
secret
cougar
girlfriend,
Catherine
(Madchen
Amick)
mid-tryst
in
a
library.
“Oh
my
effing
God!”
Blair
screams,
and
the
delivery
is
so
spot-on,
so
appropriate
for
the
character
and
so
self-referential
at
the
same
time
(the
line
is
“Gossip’s”
unofficial
catchphrase,
though
before
this
episode
I
don’t
think
it
had
ever
been
used
on-air),
I’d
be
shocked
if
anyone
wasn’t
doubling
over
in
laughter.
Meester
is
the
show’s
M.V.P.
by
a
long
shot.
“Gossip
Girl”
airs
Mondays
on
the
CW
at
8
p.m.
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