Kids: Behind the Scenes of Gossip Girl

This has turned into a noteworthy week for television. LOST and Grey's Anatomy both come back after what seem like limitless absences.

30 Rock finally switches to the more family un-friendly hour of 9:30 (I guess NBC realized that jokes about double-teaming girls don't actually make a person think, "my kids should be watching this!")

President Bush appeared on Deal or No Deal and actually managed to embarrass himself less than Presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain did on their "hilarious" guest spots on WWE Raw or whatever-the-hell it's called (sample joke: John McCain calling his supporters "McCain-iacs.")

But of course, the biggest news in the world of television can be summed up in four simple words: Gossip Girl is back!

The first new episode since way back in January was right in line with what we GG fans have come to expect. And who cares if only 2 million people actually watched it (2 million less than watched the season premiere of The Hills on MTV.) There was a copious amount of underage drinking and casual drug use, the usual dollops of deception and lies, and just for good measure, a semen joke that I'm sure made the 14-year-old boy inside all of us giggle with delight.

It was perfect.

More impressive and important than the episode though, was Gossip Girl cover story over at New York Magazine (the unofficial press home of Gossip Girl.)

The massive article, at once both totally infantile and utterly fascinating, lived up to its subject matter in every way possible. It was trashy, genius, hilarious, unbelievable and ridiculous.

It was perfect.

It also shined a light on the show and everything that goes into making it. And after reading the piece on Gossip Girl, it's pretty clear that no one on the show is actually "acting" anymore. It's one of those "chicken or egg" debates. I'm not entirely sure which came first: did the young actors bring their personalities to these absurdly rich and spoiled UES teenage characters? Or, did the absurdly rich and spoiled UES teenage characters infect their susceptible young hosts?

Take Ed Westwick. On the show he plays Chuck, the teenager with an ascot and a bottomless bank account. Chuck had quite the episode this week. Within the first five minutes of the show, he was smoking pot in his bathroom (before school, natch!) and making the aforementioned semen joke. I'm paraphrasing his comment to Serena, but it was something along the lines of: "If you don't want my DNA, I would suggest not using your hand towels." ZING! Ring the bell!

Later in the episode, he actually made reference to throwing his "junk" on the coffee table. And of course there isn't a scene he's in, where a tumbler filled with some alcoholic drink isn't within arms reach. Chuck is pretty much the most absurd and hilarious high school student I've ever seen on television (during family hour, ps.)

You could argue that Westwick is doing the best portrayal of that guy since James Spader. Or even Ryan Phillipe. But it seems Westwick is just acting like he does on a normal, everyday basis. Here, take a look for yourself. Hint: concentrate on the bold parts.

"Did I tell you I met Albert Hammond Jr. the other night?" [Westwick] asked Leighton [Meester, who plays Blair] one afternoon at the Rose Bar


...


It was Ed’s day off, and he was intoxicated, not only with the idea that a member of the Strokes knew who he was but also with actual booze, having downed approximately four Jack-and-Cokes. Ed, who doesn’t actually turn 21 for another couple of months, knows all the hot bars through Nicole Fiscella, the 28-year-old model who plays Blair’s sidekick, Isabel, and who also happens to have worked as the hostess at Bungalow 8 during its prime.

Are you kidding me?! Ed is Chuck. He's a functioning alcoholic. He's a total daft ass, the kind of person who hangs out with hedge fund managers and predictably has a band called Infant Sorrow. Or Filthy Youth. Whatever. He acts like he's got nothing but money to spend. Hell, he even wears an ascot! I'm not sure about that last one, but everything else is spot on.

It doesn't stop with Westwick. Time and again in the article, it's proven that these actors are these characters. Sensitive and douchey Dan is played by sensitive and douchey Penn Badgley. Blank slate and tussled banged Nate? Played by blank slate and tussled banged Chace Crawford.

And of course we have Blair and Serena, played by Leighton Meester and Blake Lively, respectively. On the show, Blair is the Queen Bee, a glorious bitch who revels in the misery of others and seems like the type of girl you could certainly find yourself being friends with in spite of all that. Meanwhile, Serena is the former bitch who has now become reformed into this oh-so-perfect, I-have-to-be-friends-with-everyone phony. And deep down you really don't particularly like her.

Well wouldn't you know it? In real life, it's the exact same thing. While Leighton Meester seems like a great time (she loves Goodfellas for Christsakes!), Blake Lively comes across like a real stuck-up flake. The kind of actress who thinks she's an "ACTRESS" because she's working on some bad movie with Robin Wright-Penn. Yeah because when I think acting pedigree, I think of the girl who had the lead in Accepted. Leighton comes across much more likable. She's a flake. A ditz. A pretty nasty girl. But you get the idea that she knows it's all fleeting.

It's a fascinating read. And a fascinating show.

In the end, despite poor ratings, it was quite a week on the Gossip Girl front. But the question remains: which was better, the cover story or the episode?

Honestly, I don't even see a difference. You've heard of art imitating life, right? Well Gossip Girl and it's companion piece are like that. Except with a coke problem. And most likely, an STD.