Not long ago, we told you about a lesbian-themed episode of MTV's half-hour show Sex...with Mom and Dad. The premise of the show is that "Loveline's Sex and Relationship Expert Dr. Drew [helps] a teen and their parents work through their problems about sex, dating and relationships." An AE reader (thanks Michelle!) tipped us off to yet another lesbian-themed episode of the show.

Alex, 18, and her mom live in ritzy La Jolla, Calif., and all is not well at home. Alex came out at 14, and her mother still hasn't accepted it. She thinks Alex is going through a "phase" that can be chalked up to her "lack of experience" with guys. As a result, Alex is angry and withdrawn from her. Can Dr. Drew help them?

I'm not a regular viewer of the show, but I know Dr. Drew from his work on Celebrity Rehab. Talking about lesbian sex with a parent and child is probably tough, but this is the guy who can make Gary Busey look sympathetic. By comparison, this should be a snap.

Over the years, her mom has called her anti-gay slurs like "dyke" and (inexplicably) "fag," which has damaged Alex's self-esteem. Her mother regularly asks her why they aren't close and if Alex can see that she always has a "tone" with her. I think Alex speaks for all of us when she responds simply, "Duh!"

So the two of them hop the next silver mini-van to be bathed in the calming glow of the eternally khaki-clad Dr. Drew.

Watch the show here in four clips (apologies to our international readers, but MTV has only made this available to U.S. viewers):

Clip 1: Willing to Try

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Jenn is pouting because Jonica was prominently featured on this past week's South of Nowhere episode. She thinks Jonica's lines are corny and the girl is "tired."

Both Jenn and Dee think it's also suspicious that Lily is acting like Spencer's friend, but asking a lot of questions. Is she really just trying to get in good so she can know the gossip about the Davies sisters?

Stay tuned for a new episode of Come With Me next week, and watch previous episodes here.

AE reader runchaorun tipped me off that Tuesday night's episode (7.7 "Face Value") of the CBS missing-persons drama Without a Trace included the abduction of a lesbian, Ariana, played by former All My Children star Kelli Giddish.

I'm a fan of Without a Trace in general, and I loved their March 2006 episode "Check Your Head," in which two women who were secretly in love with each other but afraid to admit it are ultimately united.

But this episode ... well, the best I can say is that it started off promisingly.

American viewers can watch the first two minutes here:

Ariana is introduced in the opening scene working at a crime scene as a victim's advocate, after which she disappears. She is casually revealed to be a lesbian a few minutes later when her the FBI agents bring in her girlfriend Val (Kristen Ariza) to question her about whether she knows of anyone who might want to hurt Ariana, including any violent ex-girlfriends (not because lesbians are violent, but because people who choose this line of work have often been victims of abuse themselves).

Val assures the detectives that she has met all of Ariana's ex-girlfriends, and they're not violent, but discloses that Ariana's mother was stabbed to death by her boyfriend when Ariana was young.

They show a flashback of the two women having dinner together, as Val recounts to the agents her efforts to get Ariana to quit her dangerous job to get a graduate degree.

So far, so good. In fact, it all seems quite progressive because of the sheer matter-of-factness with which the writers are treating Ariana's sexual orientation, and her relationship with Val. There's no big "reveal" that Ariana is a lesbian, or that Val is her lover; these are just presented as facts that rounded out the character.

But then the writers do something I've never rarely seen them do in seven seasons of the show — they introduce a second, completely unrelated abduction (of a little girl), and back-burner the original case (of the missing lesbian). … continue reading

This week, Jenn and Dee are celebrating Spencer's 18 birthday. She's finally legal — which leads to a discussion of who is hotter: Spencer or Ashley?

Things get heated, but luckily, they are able to come to an agreement.

Stay tuned for a new episode of Come With Me next week, and watch previous episodes here.

I want to love True Blood. I really do. I want to see dark, misunderstood creatures of the night that look great in black and have a sexual magnetism that no man or woman can resist — much like myself.

But Sunday night's True Blood left me hanging. I couldn't get past the bad dialogue spoken with the faux Southern accents out of the middle school production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  Did Jason really start flossing his teeth after that energetic session with Dawn?  Was Sookie really going for a bit of self-love, or was she just trying to remember where she put her keys?

If I have to ask, not hot.

When you go to a diner, you order scrambled eggs because you know that it's a safe bet — you can't screw up scrambled eggs. You'd think that girls doing manual labor in short shorts on a blistering hot day would be the scrambled eggs of hot scenes. 

Not so much: Sookie doesn't even break a sweat pushing that lawnmower before Gran comes out in her house dress and a glass of lemonade.  … continue reading

After a hectic summer schedule, Lori and I are back just in time to review the first week of the new fall shows, including: 90210 (The CW) and Raising the Bar (TNT), and returning favorites like Bones (Fox), America's Next Top Model (The CW), and Gossip Girl (The CW).

Plus, why parents should make their kids watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family), why Sarah likes Life (NBC), and why The Closer (TNT) is bugging Lori this season.

Check back next week for a new episode of SMMWT!, and watch previous episodes here.

Something's not right in L.A.'s Priority Homicide division.

The writers on the fourth season of The Closer — TNT's hit drama series starring Kyra Sedgwick as a calm, no-nonsense, tough-as-nails professional Deputy Chief trying to command respect in a man's world while battling a fondness for sweets — have apparently decided that what cable's most-watched Emmy award-winning show really needs is More! Kyra! Naked!

Well, more Kyra in her underwear, anyway. And before some of you ask, no, this is not a good thing — not like this, anyway.

So far this season, Sedgwick's character Brenda Lee Johnson has been shown at length in her underwear or lingerie twice, once in each episode — double the number of times she has ever been shown undressed in the entire first three seasons — for reasons that appear to advance the plot not a whit. It's out of character, and it's jarring, like watching your co-worker suddenly strip down in front of you at the office. An attractive co-worker to be sure, but it still feels wrong. … continue reading