TVSquad

(S01E17) "We're here to help Serena no matter what the problem is." - Blair

After a "wow" episode last week, expectations (at least mine) for this week were pretty high. I had loads of questions about the video and hoped that answers would be giving in "Woman on the Verge." The episode definitely met my expectations and set the scene for what could be an action and drama packed season finale next week.

What I liked most about this week's episode is the "no matter what" friendship seen between Chuck, Nate, Blair and Serena. They were able to put their problems aside and work together. As the saying says, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." The quartet definitely proved that saying this week.

The CW released its 2008-09 prime-time schedule tonight, and here's the rundown:

Returning: Reaper, Smallville, Supernatural, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, America's Next Top Model, Everybody Hates Chris, The Game

Out: Aliens in America, Life is Wild, Girlfriends

New: 90210, Surviving the Filthy Rich, Stylista

More after the jump...

Word on the Upper East Side streets is that evildoer Georgina Sparks will elect residence in NYC permanently next fall. According to E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos, Michelle Trachtenberg's mutli-episode arc stint will become a regular one when Gossip Girl returns for its second season.

Trachtenberg has gotten fair reviews about her portrayal of bad teen Georgine Sparks so far, and her addition to the cast did create some, err, sparks! The character is there to generate some waves and is not worried about hurting people along the way (see "All About My Brother" if you need proof). So what will this permanent addition mean for the show? More drama? More secrets? More backstabbing? Serena going back to her evil ways for good? No matter the answer, you can bet that Sparks will see her name in print on the Gossip Girl blog more than once.

Kristin Dos Santos also says that the show will have a second season of 24 episodes and that the first few episodes back will see the characters on vacation in the Hamptons.

(S01E16) "S. Memories can fade. A video is forever. ♥ G."

Hello Upper East Siders! Did you hear the latest gossip on the streets? E was caught kissing A and S admitted to B that she killed someone! XOXO - Gossip Girl

After such an episode, I think the only thing we can say is "OMFG."

Holy frik! We've only just started to embrace the return of our shows after a shortened strike season. Now, they are almost over. In the next few weeks all of our network favorites will say good-bye for the summer to be replaced with reality shows, reality game shows, reality soap operas, and Regis on primetime (again).

Needless to say, I'm a bit depressed. As I am sure you are as well. But, we will do our duty and press on. Thusly, we here at the sprawling lakefront offices of TV Squad (you choose the lakefront) have compiled list of when your favorite, and not so favorite, shows will be saying good-bye for their summer vacation. As usual, taking the fickleness of the networks, these times and days can change at a moment's notices. We will try to update you of those changes as quickly as our little fingers can type it out.

So, with a leaden heart, here are your season and series finales.

The new Beverly Hills 90210 is busy casting and coming together, but it doesn't seem like any of the stars from the original Fox hit will be involved. Don't look for Brandon Walsh among the characters, at least not with the man who created him. Jason Priestley admits that nobody from the new 90210 has even contacted him about an appearance. In a brief interview with momlogic.com, Jason said, "I'm certainly open to it. I loved working on that show. I loved everything I did on that show. I had so many jobs on that show, I loved it so."

On the other hand, Priestley makes it abundantly clear that he has no interest in following in the dancing footsteps of two of his 90210 castmates, Ian Ziering and Jennie Garth, by joining Dancing With the Stars. He just can't dance and he makes no bones about his inability to do a Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly turn. His hobby is on the race track, not the dance floor.

Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester is heading to Los Angeles. According to E!, the actress is set to reprise her guest-starring role on Entourage. Back in season one, Meester played pop singer Justine Chapin in the episodes "The Review" and "Date Night." The character was modeled after a pre-tailspin Britney Spears--a self-professed virgin who happened to have a thing for Vince (Adrian Grenier).

Meester will appear in at least one episode in the first half of the season. Production of season five of Entourage began in April, with a premiere set for September. The show was supposed to return in June, but was delayed by the writers' strike.

Gossip Girl is getting a lot of exposure these days. A week after the OMFG scandal, the cast of Gossip Girl has made People magazine's list of the most beautiful people of 2008. No argument here. Eye candy is one of the main reasons why I love the show. My only complaint is that Matthew Settle and Kelly Rutherford were left out. Rufus Humphrey and Lily van der Woodsen are currently two of the hottest parents on TV.

Other familiar TV faces made the list, including: Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria Parker and Marcia Cross, Sarah Silverman, Ugly Betty executive producer Salma Hayek, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate, Dancing With The Stars' Carrie Ann Inaba and Jason Taylor, Vanessa Hudgens, Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, and Minka Kelly from Friday Night Lights.

(S01E15) "I made one mistake. It doesn't mean I need a human ankle monitor." - Jenny

Back in early February, I told you what I thought of Gossip Girl so far. Starting this week, I'll review GG on a weekly basis. What an episode to start reviews with! Since I've never read the books the series is based on, I had no idea who Georgina Sparks was but I had a hunch that she was not daddy's little girl. I didn't expect her to be so twisted and evil.

That's the rumor about Reaper that is swirling around the industry. And it might be true, because even though it does better in the ratings overall than Gossip Girl, the latter show has already been renewed.

That's because Gossip Girl has several things going for it that Reaper doesn't: buzz, sex, controversy, and higher ratings in the younger 18 to 34 demographic that networks and advertisers love.

The CW recently released risqué campaign posters to get new viewers to tune in to its show Gossip Girl. The campaign, titled "OMFG," got fans and the press talking as soon as the sexy posters hit the web and magazines. Two posters were released: the one you see on the right featuring characters Serena and Nate, and another one with Blair and Chuck. Also, a "OMG" version of both posters was used.

This week, the Parents Television Council (PTC) took notice of the ads and declared war against The CW.

At the end of March, gossip columnist Michael Ausiello from TV Guide reported that a male character on The CW's Gossip Girl would come out of the closet and that this revelation would significantly impact the lives of the other characters.

Since then, fans of the series have been speculating about who could that character be. Fans of the books will recall that Chuck is presumed gay and that Dan questions his sexuality. However, neither are the person Ausiello was referring to (note that there are no plans to have Dan go down that path on the TV series at this point). Want to know who it is?

Spoilers coming up!

Every TV season, there is at least one scripted show in which clothes characters wear almost become as important as the characters themselves. I remember when Sex and the City was still offering fresh episodes and I was writing spoilers about the series, some of my readers emailed me asking for information and set pictures of what the ladies would be wearing in upcoming episodes. I received the same type of emails when The O.C. was on the air: fans wanted to know what Marissa and Summer would be wearing so they could try to find the clothes in stores. That information was almost as critical to them as knowing if Marissa and Ryan would hook/break up!

This year, a few series tried to be fashionable such as Lipstick Jungle, which had a partnership with Maybelline and even offered fashion tips during commercial breaks and on the show's website. However, when I surf the web on general TV websites and boards, the fashion talks seem to be directed more towards one show: Gossip Girl.

If you're like me, you probably get annoyed when you roll down your window and your beard blows up in your eyes... And if you don't have a ridiculous beard, but are still like me in your appreciation for a good teen drama, this might be relevant to your television scheduling.

It seems the overlords over at the CW have hatched a new plan. The last five episodes of Gossip Girl, set to begin on Monday, will not be available for online streaming. I know. OMG! Right? I'll pause while you text your BFF. Over at the New York Times, Paul McGuire, senior VP of communications for the network, is quoted as saying, "This is an experiment to see if this moves the [Nielsen ratings] needle at all."

When you want to conjure up some ratings magic, a special guest star always helps. And if you can get the star to commit for a few episodes during May sweeps, well that's even better. With that in mind, the CW has signed Michelle Trachtenberg for a multi-episode arc on Gossip Girl.