The vamp comes back to heat up prime time

The media's job in a tough time is to divert us.
By MARISA GUTHRIE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
The vamp is back. Thanks to the modern feminist movement, the exhibitionist behavior of reality show contestants and the frank sexual exploration of "Sex and the City," female taboos on TV have been shattered.
The days of the no-nonsense workaholic female character are waning. These days, prime time is the place for a girl to get in touch with her sexuality.
Nicolette Sheridan's "Desperate Housewives" divorcee Edie Britt wears her carnal heart on her diaphanous sleeve.
"[Edie's] our libidinous protagonist," said Sheridan, whose character is embroiled in a lusty catfight with Teri Hatcher's Susan Mayer for the attention of the neighborhood bachelor on the ABC drama. "She's your neighborhood slut."
Eva Longoria's Gabrielle Solis is unhappily married to a nouveau riche cad. So what does she do? Have an affair with the 17-year-old gardener, of course.
Others are hot
And the women of ABC's sizzling new drama aren't the only ones hot to trot this season.
U"Nasty hot" is how a "Boston Legal" character described the brilliant and beautiful lawyer Tara Wilson, played by Rhona Mitra. And her colleague Sally Heep (Lake Bell) is just as hot, if not quite as nasty.
UDrea de Matteo may not have the outrageous wardrobe she had playing the miniskirt-and-spike-heeled Adriana on "The Sopranos," but as Matt LeBlanc's sister Gina on "Joey," her behavior, or her, ahem, assets, certainly haven't been toned down. She's proud of her boob job even if she conceals her true age from her teenage son. Better not to know that mom gave birth to you when she was barely out of high school.
UEven Jenny McCarthy, who rose to fame as eye candy on MTV and the pages of Playboy, has been enjoying a career resurgence. She'll star in UPN's midseason sitcom "The Bad Girls Guide." And this season, she returns as the floozy who sleeps with Faith's (Kelly Ripa) dad on ABC's "Hope & amp; Faith."