AfterElton's Trending Topics: First TV Crushes

Here at AfterElton.com, people aren't shy about naming their TV crushes, whether it's a sometimes-brooding, sometimes-happy-go-lucky roguish time traveler, a gruff, strong-willed police officer or a cable TV decorator stud. But there had to be someone who started it all for each of us. The one who first made our young selves one day notice that there was more to these TV shows than just the spaceships, cartoons, and things blowing up. Someone who made our pulse race and previously non-tingly parts go all tingly.

That was the hot topic of conversations at the AfterElton break room this week: Who was your first TV crush?

The responses we got varied quite a bit. Some people remembered the teen idols of their youth, some people remembered a character who didn't make the wardrobe department work very hard, while others remembered someone who ... surprised us.

But we don't want to just hear from AE writers. We'd also love to hear from our readers. So in the comments tell us: Who was your first TV crush?

From the staff...

Brent Hartinger

Patrick Duffy in Man From Atlantis. Although I think it's far more accurate to say my crush was on his body-hugging swim trunks.

Even today, I stand fully by this crush!

Patrick Duffy from Man from Atlantis

Follow @brenthartinger

Chris O'Guinn

I spent a lot of time watching my mother's soaps. In particular, Days of Our Lives was the one I was totally into. I learned all I needed to learn about life from those wacky denizens of Salem!

So it's not too surprising that my crushes started there. And yes, I'm picking two, because everyone knows we bisexuals want it all!

Hope Williams Brady, played by Kristian Alfonso, was the gorgeous woman who just wanted to marry her scruffy beau, Bo. She had elegance and grace and eyes that I could stare into for hours. She needed a hero, and I was ready to be that for her!

For me, the guy I wanted most was Steve "Patch" Johnson. The bad boy with the heart of gold, he was the total package — looks, bad-ass attitude, leather jacket and secretly romantic. He even tried to change his whole life and become respectable just for his love, Kayla. Le sigh.

Days of Our Lives' Hope and Patch

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Christie Keith

Ah, this is so easy and so embarrassing: Laurie Partridge on The  Partridge Family, played by Susan Dey. I had a poster of her on my bedroom wall, and I wore my hair just like hers, long and parted in the middle. I even watched LA Law just because Susan Dey was on it.!

One of my earliest memories was of my bewildered mother asking why I wanted to look like Susan Dey and why I had her poster on my bedroom wall, so I immediately put up another one of David Cassidy; forgive me for not blistering my mom with a radical lesbian feminist tirade, but in my defense, I was only 11-years-old.

My next crush was Christine Cagney on Cagney and Lacey, played by a young, butch and hot Sharon Gless; by then I was old enough to know what was going on. After that, I became hopelessly devoted to Xena, Warrior Princess. I'm not sure if my crushes became less embarrassing with the years, or I just adjusted my perception of them so my inner queer fangirl could run free!

And who knows, perhaps my current love of Glee can be traced to those early musical episodes with Laurie Partridge pretending to sing back-up and play the piano.

Laurie Partridge, Christine Cagney and Xena

Follow @ChristieKeith