I can see queerly now the rain has gone
While the pile o' hotties cast photo is as old as those thin ties Chandler used to wear on "Friends," you have to admit, the hottie close-up feature on the "Queer as Folk" Web site is pretty mesmerizing. See, you drag your pointer across the name of the cast member, and the photo zooms in on him or her, lying prone, bedroom eyes flickering. And, perhaps in a tribute to the "Friends" pile o' hotties shot, Ted is donning his best David Schwimmer sad doggie eyes. How much is that meth addict in the window?

The fourth season of the show premiered on Thursday, and QAF fans will be delighted to learn that Ted is crawling out of his meth-addled, gang-banging phase (Ah yes, we've all been there, haven't we?), Justin cuts his golden locks and joins a group dedicated to taking the streets back from gay bashers and Michael and Ben take an active role in keeping that annoying teenager out of trouble and away from his cartoonishly evil mother. And just when things are starting to feel a little too "After School Special," everyone goes to Babylon and dances, drinks and makes out with hot strangers while muscle men in outfits stolen from Caesar's Palace leap around onstage. Ah, boys will be boys!

Adriana and Tony
Of course, when it comes to portraying the tragic carelessness of overgrown boys, no drama can touch "The Sopranos." Tony, in particular, is following in the footsteps of the black bear from the first episode of the season, recklessly wielding his power and clumsily swiping at what he wants, heedless of what might get destroyed along the way. Suddenly, he doesn't seem to have any intimate relationships -- no wife and no girlfriends, he turns to his cohorts less and less for advice and support, he leans on his cousin Tony B. but the relationship continues to feel strained, and he seems to have less faith in his nephew Christopher than ever before. With his ties to Carmela and Meadow severed, A.J. was the only family member he had any rapport with, up until last night's episode, when his bullying led his son to move back to Carmela's.

As unthinkable as it might have seemed for Tony to suddenly find himself attracted to Adriana, in some ways it made more sense than anything else he's done since his separation from Carmela. Adriana and Tony have always been birds of a feather, really - they're practical and concrete, without needs that go too far beyond wanting to care for and be cared for by someone else. So, while Carmela falls in and out of love and Christopher writes screenplays, becomes an addict, and chafes at the limitations of the mob's hierarchy, Tony and Adriana stay the course, handling whatever lands directly in front of them. In many ways, they belong together.

Which is what makes their temptation, and the mess that ensues, all the more heartbreaking. The second we can imagine Adriana and Tony together, even as the disastrous consequences crowd into the picture, we want it to happen, partially because they're each on such a lonely, tragic path, and partially because it may force Tony to break with Christopher, which he may have to regardless, as it becomes increasingly clear that Christopher's self-pity and temper would make him a liability as second-in-command.

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