TV Jots

Still, despite the broad spectrum of pretty faces that encompass various ethnicities, ages, and eras, I have a couple of beefs about some deserving faces (and bodies) that were inexplicably overlooked. Let’s start with Smallville‘s half-Asian star Kristin Kreuk, an actress who is easily one of the most gorgeous women ever to grace the small screen. Why she’s not included in these types of superficial pieces more often completely escapes me. Perhaps it’s because Smallville is on the low-profile CW network, plus she’s not six feet tall in bare feet. These are the only two reasons I can think of that might explain why she’s passed over time and time and time again.

At least TV Guide readers didn’t ignore her co-star Tom Welling—just as easily the handsomest guy on the tube these days—designating him Sexiest Crimefighter with a whopping 67 percent of the vote (obviously, I’m not alone in my shallow assessment). Heck, even Smallville baddie Michael Rosenbaum scored 35 percent to be named Sexiest Villain, beating out competition that included two indisputable beauties, Battlestar Galactica‘s Tricia Helfer and Ugly Betty‘s Vanessa Williams.

Another disappointment is the total absence of any love for Texan Jensen Ackles, star of another underpraised CW standout, Supernatural. Incidentally, Ackles played the boyfriend of Kreuk’s Smallville character Lana Lang from 2004 to 2005, until he left the show to headline his current series. I still remember Ackles from his daytime soap work on NBC’s long-running Days of Our Lives. He earned three consecutive Daytime Emmy nods for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series while on the sudser, although he never won. Casting him as the badass older brother on Supernatural was wise beyond belief. The actor who plays Ackle’s younger brother in the show, fellow Texan Jared Padalecki, happened to be a runner-up in the reader poll for Sexiest Bad Boy (Jericho‘s Skeet Ulrich placed first); yet, Ackles wasn’t even among the six actors listed. How could that occur?! Blind, blind, blind, I say.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out the snub of Desperate Housewives‘ hottest (ex-)husband by far, Ricardo Antonio Chavira. He has been showing up in all kinds of projects on the small screen this year, from an episode of USA’s staple crime dramedy Monk to A&E’s recent true-crime telefilm The Kings of South Beach, always looking good and delivering a fine performance.

Finally, where is Prison Break‘s Wentworth Miller, a guy who seemed to appear on TV Guide‘s cover every other issue last year? It looks like his “it boy” period has receded and the torch passed on to no less smoldering Shemar Moore of CBS’ popular crime procedural Criminal Minds. Oh well, that’s entertainment for you—here today, gone tomorrow … unless you’re Kristin Kreuk, of course, in which case all of the editors and photographers repeatedly fail to recognize the timeless beauty right under their noses.

TV’s 21 Hottest Stars

As selected by TV Guide editors (in alphabetical order and with asterisks (*) denoting especially nice choices)

• Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters)
• Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy)
• Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy)
• Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy)
• Marg Helgenberger (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
• Josh Holloway (Lost)
• Rashida Jones (The Office)*
• Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights)
• Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights)
• Ali Larter (Heroes)*
• Evangeline Lilly (Lost)
• Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives)
• Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty)
• Shemar Moore (Criminal Minds)*
• Jennifer Morrison (House)
• Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes)*
• Rebecca Romijn (Ugly Betty)
• Roselyn Sanchez (Without a Trace)*
• James Tupper (Men in Trees)
• Skeet Ulrich (Jericho)
• Nadine Velazquez (My Name Is Earl)

Kristin Kreuk photo courtesy of The CW
Jensen Ackles photo courtesy of The CW
Ricardo Antonio Chavira photo courtesy of ABC
Wentworth Miller photo courtesy of Fox