And this one is HUGE for me...

1. Dr. Arizona Robbins* played by Jessica Capshaw (Grey's Anatomy)
2. Christine Cagney played by Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey--they weren't gay but they were *so* gay in my mind)
3. Sgt. Pepper of Police Woman played by Angie Dickinson (my first tv crush)
4. Jim Rockford of The Rockford Files played by James Garner (I wanted to be Jim Rockford and eat tacos at sunny taco stands and live in a trailer by the ocean and drive a Trans Am and always get the girl!)
5. Kelly Garrett of Charlie's Angels played by Jaclyn Smith (my second big tv crush)
6. Dr. Kerry Weaver of ER played by Laura Innes (will always be near and dear to me for special reasons :) )
7. Starsky (the car. the hair. the car.)
8. Servilia of the Junii of HBO's Rome (Lindsay Duncan = delish!)
9. Brenda Chenowith of Six Feet Under played by Rachel Griffiths (it's a Rachel Griffiths thing)
10. Buddy played by Kristy McNichol in the series Family (I'm such a cliche on this one)

No, I never thought any tv character would ever supplant Chris Cagney. Yes, I ended my ABC boycott. I'm rather late and rather reluctant to the Callie/Arizona storyline because I felt so burned by the Callie/Erica disaster and I was so overwhelmingly sick of tv lesbianism being a ratings ploy with quickie hot chick kisses and no character development and abrupt endings that I just couldn't stand it anymore. I was told by my better half to give Grey's Anatomy another chance because of this new storyline so I kinda half watched it because, let's be real, Grey's Anatomy is sometimes not so good. Cough, Izzie storylines, cough. And because I didn't (and maybe still don't much) trust the show to really represent a lesbian relationship meaningfully over time--so much so I'm like three episodes behind and only watching it via on demand well after the episodes air.

Then I watched the episode, "Invest in Love". It's one of the better written episodes (poignant and funny and human). And Jessica Capshaw has a definite star quality unseen from a newcomer to the series since Kate Walsh or Sara Ramirez or Eric Dane. And the character of Arizona Robbins with her Heelys sneakers and optimism and straightforwardness is very much needed on a show chuck full of navel gazers. There's great chemistry in her scenes with all of the other characters. And she's fun. And the ending of this episode in the clip above just makes a person feel so hopeful about love and relationships.

Bigger than all of that for me, though, is simply having a full on lesbian on a primetime tv show. Storytelling is so central to human happiness and human knowing. It's essential. We need to see our stories reflected back to us in order to feel a part of our society and in order to grow. Lesbians have so little stories and characters to watch that it's easy to forget how much I personally miss it and need it. It's evident how much imagination is required to negotiate television when you're lesbian. My list is filled with guys I pretended to be while watching as a girl and with straight characters I had to turn gay in my fantasies. Excepting maybe Servilia of the Junii (some pretty rawr woman on woman scenes there). Dr. Arizona Robbins makes me happy because she's a lesbian who gets to just be a person who loves another woman and she gets to work normally within the hospital. It simply feels good to have an awesome lesbian character on the tv.

I've rambled enough. Feel free to share any of your recent tv, book, film, play revelations worthy of notice.

1. Affinity by Sarah Waters (heartbreaking and haunting and utterly divine)
2. The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett (gorgeous writing and unforgettable characters)
3. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (the most fun picaresque lesbian adventure book evah!)
4. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (genuine, honestly earned, tears when I finished it)
5. A Good Man is Hard to Find (and still, no one writes better short pieces than the fabulous Flannery O'Connor)
6. Light in August by William Faulkner (quite beautiful)
7. Emma by Jane Austen (I was one of those English majors who resisted reading Austen and I didn't until I was nearly 40 only to discover I really like her work)
8. The Great Gatsby (yes, it is one of the great American novels of all time)
9. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout*
10. The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (sheer poetry in prose with awesome characters)

Olive Kitteridge is a novel told in short stories. Olive is not an easy character and she isn't always at the center of stories but she taught me a great many things about life. Written in exquisite prose with no wasted words. Masterful and haunting.

I've enjoyed a rare month in my life in which 3 artistic experiences within 3 genres have shook up long stagnate top ten lists. It's exciting. So, I'm going to spam my blog with fresh lists starting with my personal top ten all time favorite baseball movies.

1. Field of Dreams (sentimental but it's effective and it's Iowa)
2. The Natural (sentimental but it's effective and it features Glenn Close in a very sexy role)
3. Sugar* (this one's new to my top ten--see below)
4. Baseball by Ken Burns (What dumb ass would make an 18 hour documentary the topic of her thesis? Oh, yeah, me. Hee!)
5. Damn Yankess (Gwen Verdon. Delish!)
6. The Bronx is Burning (gritty realism + New York + stellar acting = just plain good)
7. Stealing Home (Jodie Foster + baseball = happy even though a sad story)
8. Eight Men Out (really transports me to that era in baseball history)
9. Bull Durham (it's fun and it's Susan Sarandon at her best)
10. Bang the Drum Slowly (the De Niro remake)

Sugar is a character driven story with an authentic baseball backdrop. It's one of the better movies to capture the sense of foreign-ness. If you are typically put off by sports themed movies, try this one out anyway. It will not disappoint. It's low key and lovely storytelling.