Gossip Girl star Blake Lively flew from New York to her native Los Angeles to be at the hospital bedside of her father, actor and director Ernie Lively, who was seriously injured in an auto accident, celebrity news magazines report.

The elder Lively, 61, perhaps best known for his role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films (which starred Blake) and guest work on The West Wing and The Ghost Whisperer, was injured in the morning on October 13.

The Tarzana, Calif., resident was taken to an undisclosed Los Angeles area hospital where he is being treated for a broken back, arm and nose.

"It was pretty bad — he's lucky to be alive," the source says, adding Blake was on the first flight back to Los Angeles to be with her father.

"They are as close as any father and daughter could be — she was beside herself when she got this horrible news. Her dad taught her everything."

Here's wishing Mr. Lively a speedy recovery!

Below is a PSA about the importance of voting, featuring a quartet of Gossip Girl stars - Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick - along with Samuel L. Jackson, Anne Hathaway, Kate Walsh, Marcia Cross, Dana Delany and others:

Follow the jump for a second ad featuring Blake and Penn - this one is sponsored by MoveOn.org and leaves no doubt as to their preferred candidate:

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While attending Mohegan Sun's Wind Casino celebrity-filled grand opening this past weekend, TV Guide bumped into Jessica Szohr on the red carpet.

What they found out was an intriguing Gossip Girl spoiler of sorts.

"There's a lot going on," Jessica Szohr (Vanessa) said. "There's some flirtation with Chuck Bass coming up — but I think she still misses someone else."

"There's going to be a love triangle between Vanessa, Nate and Jenny, there's a funeral... That's all I can say. We can't talk about it!"

Who do you think will die on Gossip Girl this year?

Jessica Szohr, a.k.a. Vanessa on Gossip Girl, and Robert Buckley, who stars on Lipstick Jungle, attended a Mohegan Sun Casino opening in Connecticut last weekend. They are not dating, of course (he is with his co-star Lindsay Price), but it's still a cute photo.

Some of our writers aren't fans of Vanessa, but we love Jessica Szohr:

As fans sound off in our Gossip Girl forum on their favorite couples and story lines, our staff members gather each week to analyze the burning questions, funny quotes and other memorable moments from the best show on TV.

Welcome to the Gossip Girl Insider Round Table!

Topics from "New Haven Can Wait" include Serena's Yale aspirations, Dan's new BFF, and the cat fight to end all cat fights ...

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1. What was your favorite Gossip Girl quote from the episode?

DANdy: During the classic Serena-Blair cat fight, Blair screamed "ow, my headband!" after Serena dared to focus her (hot!) might on Blair's band. I laughed out loud at Blair feeling the pain of her favorite accessory.

Mister Meester: Nate's question to Dan, "Do you ever get tired of carrying around that chip on your shoulder?" This is the kind of zinger he probably thought up months ago and was just waiting for the right moment to (anticlimactically) use.

Gossip Guy: It's tough, but I'll give it to when Chuck Bass told the guys of Skull & Bones that they may be the future world leaders, but Chuck Bass now owns them. He didn't even want to go to Yale. He just showed up for more power. What a guy. And so glad he didn't sell out Nate! Makes me want to be his best friend even more!

2. Worse Humphrey idea: Jenny being home schooled by Vanessa, or Dan becoming BFFs with Nate?

DANdy: No offense to Vanessa, or to baristas around the world, but home schooling so far has resulted in Vanessa earning a living by serving coffee. Letters of recommendation to one's self never look good on a resume.

Mister Meester: Dan and Nate as friends may not be likely, but it's not unrealistic. Nate's always been a nice guy and not enamored with his own social status. As for Jenny and Vanessa, give me a break - but props to the Gossip Girl writers for making V the boss of Rufus, further laying the foundation for their inevitable hookup.

Gossip Guy: Definitely Jenny being home schooled. You know why? The idea involved Vanessa. 'Nuff said.

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Every Tuesday, the previous night's Gossip Girl is reviewed by New York Magazine and assigned scores according to its arbitrary but funny "reality index."

Below are some of the highlights (some realistic, some very far from it), from the publication's analysis of this week's episode, "New Haven Can Wait" ...

• Can we just say that Jenny, a.k.a. Taylor Momsen, is SO genius at adolescent sulk? Possibly that is because she is actually 15, but still. Plus 1.

• Even Serena knows better than to wear a skanky-ass top like that to a college interview. Not that we're complaining personally. Minus 2.

• Lily appears in Page Six as Serena's "unidentified friend." Page Six would definitely know who Lily Bass is, but they'd also definitely try to block out any reminder of the fact that the hot eye candy they're featuring is underage. Plus 2.

• Blair's meltdown in front of the director of admissions? She's too composed and clever for that. But we totally would have. So only Minus 3.

  

• Blair calls Brown "an enclave of trustafarians and children of celebrities" who "major in drum circles and semiotics, whatever that is." Ha! So true. She also spits out stereotypical private-school phrases, like "Everyone knows that the only real Ivies are the holy trinity: Harvard, Yale, and Princeton." Plus 3.

• This deserves a separate point. Serena is a terrible student. The show talks about this incessantly. Far more famous kids want to go to Ivy League schools. They wouldn't be so gaga over her, no matter how shiny her hair is. Minus 3.

• Also, bonus for undermining "knowledge is power" for a generation of 'tweens. Power is tits and hair extensions, kids. Live it. Plus 1.

• Why is Vanessa the boss of Rufus? Jenny should have had the sh!t grounded out of her after last episode, don't you think? Minus 3.

• Thank God at least Nate wants to go to USC. What, did Yale suddenly become the only school in America? Plus 2.

• Where did Chuck get hookers in New Haven? Minus 5. And since when are there that many straight guys in a room at Yale? Minus 5.

Gossip Girl's ratings aren't the only thing growing this season. The CW has ordered two additional episodes of the show, extending Season 2 to 24 total!

The move comes as the gap between Gossip Girl's hype and relatively modest ratings has narrowed. The teen soap is up double digits over last season.

We've seen six episodes in Season 2 so far, most recently last night's all new "New Haven Can Wait." Next week, it's the much-anticipated "Chuck in Real Life."

Gossip Girl never disappoints lately.

Last night's episode, "New Haven Can Wait," was chock full of the backstabbing, bickering, plot twists and lighter moments we've all come to love - at Yale this time!

Miss it? Need a refresher course? Just wanna read about it one more time? Check out our official recap! Our list of Gossip Girl quotes (in progress), gallery of pictures, guide to last night's music and some videos from the episode are also live.

Our Gossip Girl fashion recap, Round Table discussion and more are still to come!

Click for the lyrics - and to listen / purchase via iTunes - for the Gossip Girl music selections from last night's "New Haven Can Wait."

• Friendly Fires, "White Diamonds"
• Julie Andrews, Rex Harrison & Robert Coote, "The Rain In Spain"
• The Submarines, "The Wake Up Song"
• The Duke Spirit, "Wooden Heart"
• The Section Quartet, "Time Is Running Out"
• Jamie Blake, "Dragstrip Girl"

If you can identify any missing songs or lyrics played on last night's episode, just leave a comment and let us know - we'll add them!

After a week off, Gossip Girl returns this evening with an-all new episode, "New Haven Can Wait." As most of you know by now, the whole gang goes to Yale and Chuck encounters a secret society, while Blair's rivalry with Serena turns nasty.

What do you think / hope will happen tonight with our favorite character(s)?

Discuss "New Haven Can Wait" and everything Gossip Girl in our Gossip Girl forum!

We invite you to take a look at some quotes, pictures and videos from the episode that we've posted already. After the show, we'll add our official recap, as well as a Gossip Girl music guide and our staff's Round Table discussion!

Blair visits Yale, only to be shown up by Serena yet again ...