The handsome Penn Badgley, a.k.a. Dan Humphrey, talked about all things Gossip Girl on a New York morning show Monday to promote the most recent episode.

As you'll see in the video below, he's a pretty grounded, down-to-earth individual. We like him a lot even if he doesn't read gossip / fan sites. We bet he'd like ours!

Here's what Penn Badgley had to say about Dan and Serena, what it's like watching his real girlfriend romanced by another guy on screen, and much more ...

Penn Badgley Talks Gossip Girl

Chace Crawford's, or more accurately, Nate Archibald's man-bangs have become a fan-favorite look (just ask Gossip Guy in our staff's Round Table discussions).

But at an event the other night (below, left), the Gossip Girl hottie cleaned up those trademark strands of hair, morphing into a typical, Upper East Side prepster.

What do we think? Bangs or no bangs?

How do you prefer your Chace?

This week's episode, "The Magnificent Archibalds," featured some pretty magnificent Gossip Girl fashion statements as well as drama and scandal.

Below, our Gossip Girl fashion contributor, the fabulous Liza L., breaks down the episode, telling us where we can get some of its amazing looks ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fashion in this episode was as magnificent as the Archibald family... or at least what the Archibald family was before its epic downfall.

Lily van der Woodsen had the best dress of the episode - Hugo Boss (not available on-line), Christian Louboutin simple pumps in Nude ($575, here) and jewellery from the Stephen Dweck Odessa collection (here).

Serena debuted a cascade of gorgeous outfits. When she stops at Blair’s apartment, she wears a Mayle Odette Coat: ($885, here) and a Chanel black quilted jersey flap shoulder bag ($3,080, here). At the Thanksgiving party, she wore a stunning combination of a Porter Grey skirt and a silk Charmeuse t-shirt ($112, here), along with Ginga Nine West shoes (here) and a Stephen Dweck Multi-strand necklace (here).

Vanessa fashioned a pure look of autumn spirit in an Anna Sui Splendor and Shape dress (approx. $550, here) and tall Minnetonka Fringe Boots ($88, here).

Jenny, at the end of the day, enjoyed Thanksgiving is a stunning Kova & T Amsterdam Tee in Burnout Black ($77, here), accessorized with Tarina Tarantino Gothic Lolita Pink Head Crystal - framed ring ($88, here) and an Alexis Bittar necklace (here).

Blair keeps her tradition of a blue-trench in a Stresis coat (here) and an Alexandra Vidal fall/winter 2008 dress (not available online).

Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick was not named The Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine (that honor went to Hugh Jackman), but the British hunk we know and love is among the celebs prominently featured in the article's list of candidates!

Here's the photo of him from the feature:

THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE? Even if Ed Westwick didn't win People's award outright, there are plenty of Gossip Girl fans who'd say the actor makes a compelling case.

How does the Gossip Girl bad boy sum up his dating style at 21?

"I'm childish at times, passionate, a little crazy, I guess," the actor and rocker admits. "And I pride myself on being one of the last romantics."

Oh, and ladies, just in case it ever comes up: "My weakness is the neck - when girls get too close to my neck, crazy things start to happen."

He's a fan favorite, and it's easy to see why. Ed Westwick – or is that Chuck Bass? – suits up and slips into character on the New York City set of Gossip Girl on Monday.

A MAN'S MAN: When he's not playing Chuck Bass, Ed Westwick rocks out with his band The Filthy Youth. What's not to love? [Photo Credit: Splash News Online]

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 "The Magnificent Archibalds" include memorable quotes, sketchy Aaron, Nate's letter to J, random run-ins and touching Thanksgiving moments ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

DANdy: Any interaction between Blair and Derota. I'll go with B's screaming at her housekeeper for "more flour!" in the middle of Blair's phone call with Serena.

Mister Meester: Chuck's passing remark that his "plans for the evening just got hung up in customs." The implication that he was flying in some girl(s) from out of the country to entertain him for a night is hilarious, even by Chuck Bass standards.

Gossip Guy: Haha, I have to give it to my boy Dan this episode. As far as I was concerned his awkward mumbling is perfection when he has to deal with something like Serena's new disgusting boyfriend. Favorite line of his? "Serena's not that big into cheese. You might wanna go with the Wines of Southern France." I just loved his pronunciation.

2. How sketchy is Aaron Rose?

DANdy: So sketchy, he broke his leg and gravy poured out! Wait... never mind. The dude is almost as shady as he is lucky.

Mister Meester: Quite. He effectively blackmailed Serena to quit drinking in exchange for him dropping the "seeing other girls" thing. Diabolical. He is also completely undeserving of Serena, and doesn't even seem that into her, yet everything he says wraps her around his finger. I hope Dan sabotages him and sweeps S off her feet! Go Derena!

Gossip Guy: Are the writers trying to give me someone to hate more than Vanessa? You guys are coming awfully close. He's so sketchy he probably can't even shave that lame excuse for patchy facial hair that disgustingly grows all over him. I don't even know what that means.

Continue Reading...

Every Tuesday morning, the previous night's Gossip Girl is broken down by New York Magazine and assigned scores according to its amusing "reality index."

Below are some highlights (and lowlights) from the magazine's analysis of "The Magnificent Archibalds." Leave a comment at the bottom with your own!

• That was it? Lily's big secret was that she was in an institution? Serena killed someone. This is a bit of a letdown. Minus 3.

• "You don't know how he's been," Jenny says to Lily, as if Rufus has been making really unreasonable demands - insisting she go to school and not act like whore. Plus 2, because to a delinquent teenager, those are unreasonable demands.

• Jenny was staying at Lily's and the army of servants and private investigators didn't find out? What? What do they pay these people for? Minus 3.

• Rufus is in Lily's cell phone as "R." The code means the love! Plus 2.

  

• Holy. F*%king. Fishnets. Serena's Thanksgiving dress makes her ass look like a soggy, flat apricot. A slutty apricot. Minus 5.

• Jenny's raccoon makeup is symbolically gone in the last scene. It's like how Eric got rid of his highlights when he finally came out! Plus 2.

• Dorota's ring for Eleanor is Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U." Plus 25.

• Nate went away for a couple of weeks to be with his mom, then just showed up at school? You can't just ditch for no reason and miss half a semester. Minus 4.

Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively channeled her inner Little House on the Prairie (but still looked beautiful as always) at the 5th Anniversary of the CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund at Skylight Studios on Monday in New York City.

With Blake was her real-life love, co-star Penn Badgley ...

In last night's episode, "The Magnificent Archibalds," Nate finally got out from the shadow of his father's shady life ... although his romantic future with V remains uncertain.

Jenny came home to Rufus at long last, but Lily bolted from Bart when she learned he spied on her kids. Serena weathered a rough patch with Aaron and Blair appears to have come around to Cyrus after a special surprise presented to her by Eleanor.

Get the fill rundown here in our official episode guide!

Our photo gallery, video section, music guide and list of Gossip Girl quotes from the episode are live (though we will be adding more quotes throughout the week), while our fashion breakdown and our staff's Round Table discussion are still to come.

As always, be sure to check out our Gossip Girl forum to share your thoughts on last night's episode and all things Gossip Girl with the web's #1 fan community!

Gossip Girl star Connor Paolo, who plays Eric van der Woodsen, recently sat down for an interview with BuddyTV. Here's what Connor had to say ...

Q: So, I wanted to start out by asking you about any upcoming story lines that you've got coming up?

Connor Paolo: Well, the relationship between myself and Jenny really begins to evolve because she has to deal with people back at and stuff like that. And who better than Eric van der Woodsen, because he's awesome? He's really rough when he's cornered, so he's a good guy at your back. My relationship with Chuck also evolves because he goes through some pretty difficult times, and Eric does his best to be there for him.

Q: Can you give us a hint about what kind of difficult times Chuck will be having?

Connor Paolo: Probably not, but they're really difficult.

Q: OK, we'll just have to wait and see, then. I was going to ask you about Eric and Jenny because you guys are supposed to be really good friends, but we haven't seen those two characters very much together.

Connor Paolo: Me and Jenny really join forces in a big way for the Thanksgiving episode because we get involved in a lot of the stuff that she's dealing with with her parents, living away from home. So she comes to Eric for help and for advice and for a shoulder.

Q: And how about Eric's super-cute boyfriend? Will we be seeing him more?

Connor Paolo: Well, you know, I think when your last boyfriend wound up dating your best friend, you really can't get any worse. So, I think we will be seeing him a bit more just because I think Eric is due for a nice person in his life.

Q: So you've gotten to work with Taylor Momsen and Ed Westwick, but who among the cast do you really enjoy working with?

Continue Reading...