Aug 29, 2008   | COMMENTS     

SEXY BRIT ALERT. You’ve no doubt seen the CW’s promotional campaign for “Gossip Girl” (premiering Monday) plastered on buses and inside magazines. They’re the ads that unabashedly spotlight photographs of the show’s salacious content, juxtaposed next to criticism from television critics regarding that salacious content.

“Very bad for you,” says one ad, with a picture of a male cast member holding a cherry — while a female cast member lurks in the shadows, poised to lick it. I’m all for advertisements that get conservative watchdogs in a huff, but I don’t think this particular campaign does the show much justice.

In truth, the “Gossip Girl” campaign is more controversial than the show itself, and if you don’t agree, you will after catching a couple episodes of its British counterpart “Skins” on BBC America. Next to “Skins,” “Gossip Girl” is about as provocative as Winnie-the-Pooh.

The British series sticks to the typical teenage-melodrama conceit and follows the exploits of a group of friends in Bristol. I’d hardly call the characters inspiring or creative; we’ve seen them all before.

There’s — among others — the arrogant, popular smart ass, Tony, and his attractive girlfriend, Michelle; his best bud, Sid, the shy, sensitive virgin; Cassie, the anorexic girl with a bad home life; and the token gay guy (henceforth known in these columns as T.G.G.), Maxxie.

What the show lacks in characterization, however, it certainly makes up for in scandal. The first scene of the first episode features peeping-Tom Tony watching his neighbor undress. The neighbor, an older housewife, revels in the attention. Minutes later, Sid is putting dirty magazines to good use. Subsequent episodes feature plenty of teenage sex (sometimes in soft-core territory), plenty of drug use and drinking, some pill-popping, a threesome and more naked backsides than an old episode of “NYPD Blue.” Blair and Serena, eat your hearts out.

What I love about “Skins” is just how much of a non-issue Maxxie’s sexuality is. You won’t find a soliloquy about the trials and tribulations of growing up gay on this show (and thankfully, I think that type of “Dawson’s Creek” introspection is over on American television, too). Maxxie is comfortable with his sexual orientation, and so is everybody else.

That may change — upcoming spoilers suggest that Maxxie and Anwar, a Muslim character in the gang, will have a falling out. But for now, the show has a refreshing take on teenage homosexuality, one that isn’t just a prop for a dramatic, angsty moment or a round of homophobic gags.

Each episode of “Skins” features a specific character. Maxxie’s episode, the sixth of the series, will air on Sept. 14. During a class trip to Russia, Tony, presumably bored with women, will set his sights on the blonde tap dancer. Hot.

“Skins” airs Sundays on BBC America at 10 p.m.

I CONFESS TO wanting to hate “The Cho Show” on principle, mainly because it’s the 437th kind-of reality show about a kind-of celebrity on VH-1. But I’ll be damned if Margaret Cho didn’t work every second to keep this skeptic laughing, and I’ll be damned if she didn’t succeed. “The Cho Show’s” format is, well, let’s be honest — pretty much ripped right from “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.” Like fellow gay icon Griffin, Cho has wacky parents, a faithful assistant, random friends from MadTV who provide awkward moral support, and millions of rabid gay fans who worship the ground she walks on. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and Cho infuses the familiar formula with her own original brand of humor and poignancy. I’m just surprised the publicity-obsessed Griffin hasn’t seized the opportunity to stage a celebrity feud with Cho.

“The Cho Show” airs Thursdays on VH-1 at 11 p.m., 10 central.