Gillian Anderson: "The Crown"

I am four episodes into the new season of "The Crown," and I'm finding it as wildly uneven, bewitching, sloppy, and beautiful as always (at the least).

Season Four moved from the delightful, upsetting "Fairytale" to the hackneyed, endless "Favourites," and that's just what life is like, if you're a fan of "The Crown."

So far, my favorite moments involve Di, the princess-to-be, roller-skating in a palace, fighting her way through a Camilla date, and beginning to discover her own "fan appeal."

That said, I'm also just as enchanted as everyone else by the bisexual, bi-continental wonder that is Gillian Anderson. Who could have seen this role coming? Maybe we *all* ought to have seen this one coming. Anderson was just twenty-four when she landed the lead in "The X-Files" (Pamela Anderson and Jennifer Beals were under consideration). GA won an Emmy; she was mistreated on-set after having announced her pregnancy. She fought, for years, for fair pay. She has been Lady Dedlock in "Bleak House," has warred against Laura Linney in "The House of Mirth," has held her own against Hannibal Lecter for several hours of bizarre TV. (Only a gay man--Bryan Fuller--would invent a bride for Hannibal, and only a gay man would see Gillian as the inevitable "Bedelia du Maurier").

I'm so happy to have this season of "The Crown," not only because it gives meaty speeches to Gillian Anderson, but also because it creates an opportunity for Anderson to go talk to Terry Gross on NPR. This is my dream season. Included here: a gallery of my favorite Anderson characters.

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