Ming-Na Boldly Goes Where Stargate's Never Gone Before

Chinese-American actress Ming-Na is used to forging new territory. The talented and gorgeous performer has made a career of playing inspirational, strong women while many of her contemporaries glided by on nondescript "girlfriend" roles. Her work has shone a light on the doubly complex experience of being a member of a minority and a woman with her memorable roles in The Joy Luck Club and voicing Disney's only Asian princess, Mulan, the cross-dressing warrior heroine. After her near-decade starring on the successful medical drama ER before its end in 2004, most of us have come to know and love the sincere, vulnerable female characters she's embodied and Ming-Na's signature twinkling laugh.

The gifted actress took on a new challenge when she joined the cast of Syfy's latest original series, Stargate Universe. A self-admitted geek, Ming-Na was excited to explore the sci-fi world and work with a large ensemble cast as a group of civilians and soldiers who've been stranded in space aboard the ancient and mysterious Destiny ship. Aside from playing the challenging part of a strong-minded strategies and human resources expert member of the International Oversight Committee, Ming-Na's character, Camile Wray, is also the first LGBT person in the Stargate franchise's world. It's the first Asian American lesbian character on basic cable and one of the few lesbians currently on American prime-time television.

Planet Out spoke to the beautiful and bubbly Ming-Na about playing a lesbian for the first time, all the exciting high-stakes drama aboard the Destiny, and shooting a love scene with a woman, Reiko Aylesworth, for November 20's Stargate Universe episode, "Life."

PLANET OUT: Thanks so much for speaking to us today. I'm all caught up on my Stargate Universe episodes so I have lots of questions.
MING-NA: Me too! No, I'm just kidding ... [laughs]

Carrie Underwood's Big Ol' Xmas Special

Get ready to gush! America's cutest country star and one of the most successful American Idol winners, Carrie Underwood, has a Christmas special all set for Fox this holiday season.

The variety show, called Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, will combine singing, dancing, skits, and showcases. Performing alongside Underwood will be fellow Idol alum David Cook, country superstar Brad Paisley, Kristin Chenoweth, Christina Applegate, and the biggest draw of all: icon Dolly Parton.

Neil Patrick Harris @ActuallyNPH on Twitter

The cute comic actor Neil Patrick Harris has a diverse fan base; from gay guys to Middle America, everyone has a soft spot for the former Doogie Howser, MD, who playfully pokes fun at his TV past and proudly shows off his partner, David Burtka, on his arm at every A-list red carpet event.

During a whirlwind year that included hosting the TV Land Awards, Tonys, Emmys, and Golden Globes, Harris was all over the media. It was only a matter of time before the coolest magic-practicing celebrity brought his charm to the 140-character-limited land of Twitter.

The social networking site, which allows fans to (somewhat) directly interact with a bevy of celebs, welcomed How I Met Your Mother star NPH to its ranks with a brand-new, Verified handle, @ActuallyNPH.

Standout Sidekick: Porsche on 'The Wanda Sykes Show'

Wanda Sykes is making late night television history. The first out lesbian to host a major U.S. network late-night show is promoting more than one incarnation of LGBT representation on her program. Adding to the visibility, relevance, and progressive point of view of the chat show’s panel is the stunner Porsche, a drag queen of Fire Island performance fame.

Porsche spoke to Advocate.com about making his mark on the funny, groundbreaking talk show and plans to boldly bring a real slice of drag queen Americana to middle-American television audiences.

Alec Baldwin: Hot or Not?

Out actor and Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson recently debuted as a new cast member on NBC's comedy 30 Rock. Though it seems his character will be a love interest for Jane Krakowski's character, Jenna, Jackson admitted he wouldn't mind exploring the chemistry with series star Alec Baldwin.

Jackson told E! Online, “Alec Baldwin is incredibly sexy. He's an alpha male."

Rachel Maddow on Beauty

The highly respected hostess of the nightly news program The Rachel Maddow Show knows what sets her apart from so many female news anchors. All politics aside, Maddow has a very different approach to her appearance as an on-air newscaster.

"The women in American cable news look like a beauty pageant," Maddow said at a seminar recently, as reported by Gatecrasher. "I'm not very pretty. I sorta look like a dude, and I have short hair, and I wear boring gray jackets, and I have a big nose. No one's gonna confuse me with a Fox News anchor. No one's gonna call me the anything-Honey."

Kathy Griffin: 'Let's Dance' on TV

The Emmy award-winning star of My Life on the D-list is getting another television show! Kathy Griffin will host Let's Dance, debuting on ABC November 23. The new show will premiere with a special 90-minute episode immediately following the popular Dancing With the Stars season finale.

Each week contestants will compete by re-creating famous and favorite celebrity routines. ABC has already added five episodes of the show to its schedule.

One things for sure, in a sea of weepy, feel-good reality fodder, Griffin will pack some punch with her comments.

Sir Ian McKellen Is Inked!

The dashing star of X-Men, The Lord of The Rings, and Gods and Monsters recently revealed he has a single sentimental tattoo inked on his skin. The distinguished actor and iconic LGBT rights activist Sir Ian McKellen got the tattoo as a reminder of the magical and meaningful collaboration of artists for the Lord of The Rings feature films.

"It's of the number 9 in Elvish, because there are nine members in the Fellowship of the Ring," Sir Ian explained of the lone body art. "Elijah Wood was holding my hand the entire time," he added.

Augusten Burroughs’s 'Dry' Coming to TV From Ashton Kutcher

Talk about an A-team. Augusten Burroughs has partnered with Ashton Kutcher’s production company, Katalyst Films, to create a duo of television series: a Showtime comedy inspired by Burroughs’s memoir/ode to alcoholism, Dry, along with a drama for CBS titled The Nature of Fire.

The latter will center on a group of male firefighters who are completely thrown off when a female arson investigator joins their squad.

"I'm a chimpanzee stepping behind the wheel of a Ferrari," Burroughs said of his foray into television from writing. "As long as somebody from Katalyst, CBS, or Showtime is there to shout, 'Red means stop,' we should all be fine and come out of this with some very nice television."

Another of Burroughs’s books, his early memoir Running With Scissors, was adapted into an excellent film starring Annette Bening in 2006, with a screenplay cowritten by the author.

Hugh Jackman Won't Repeat his Oscar Gig

Say it ain't so. The thrice-over talented Aussie hunk Hugh Jackman won praise and prestige when the Wolverine star hosted the 2009 Academy Awards ceremony. The star of stage and screen sang, danced, and charmed the A-list crowd and viewers, to the delight of the show’s producers. So much so, in fact, they invited Jackman to return as the show’s host next March.