Hooray for the all-purpose lesbian kiss, then, cynical though it may be. "L.A. Law" did it in 1991. "Picket Fences" did it in 1993. In 1994, 1997 and 1999, big prime-time shows -- "Roseanne," of course "Ellen," "Party of Five" and "Ally McBeal" -- did it. And, though 2004 was dry, we've had about one a year since 2001.

Still, every kiss feels like the first time. The kisses are said to break new ground, or to bring culture to new lows -- either way, we seem to forget that we've seen them before. Many times. And though the target audience for these kisses may now skew younger -- it's teenagers doing the kissing now, as opposed to Ellen DeGeneres and Roseanne Barr in stunts past -- the kissing scenes, with the big build-up and the quick, chaste, fully dressed payoff, ought to be familiar by now.

Next up, then, are Marissa (Mischa Barton) and Alex (Olivia Wilde) on "The O.C." (Fox). The gorgeous California girls will finally kiss tonight. And what with Alex's lending of her CBGB shirt, the couple's happy expedition to get Marissa a tattoo and the tantalizing hand-holding we've seen in the last few episodes, it's high time for the girls to make it to first base. Though Ms. Barton played the aggressor in a lesbian relationship on "Once and Again" in 2002, she's now a relative ingénue, enchanted by the confidence of Alex, a bisexual blonde who has already achieved legal emancipation from her disapproving parents in order to pursue another romance with a woman.

On WB's "One Tree Hill," sexually confused Anna (Daniella Alonso) jumped the sweeps gun by a week and kissed straight Peyton (Hilarie Burton) back on Jan. 25. Peyton rebuffed the advance, but Anna has continued to wrestle with her sexual identity into sweeps. On Tuesday's episode, she went to look for love online, checking "either" when asked on one matchmaking site which sex she preferred. In coming weeks, she'll try to decide whether to come out to her parents. (With any luck, emancipation won't be necessary.)

So what is the meaning of all the kissing? It evidently doesn't scandalize anymore. A poll on one fan site for "One Tree Hill" asked for reactions to Anna and Peyton's kiss. "I saw it coming" won handily over "I'm still shocked."

But the kiss did add a twist to the psychology of the characters. Fans now seem intrigued by how the encounter will affect Peyton, Anna and their future relationships. Though many profess to dislike Anna, who is not one of the show's stars, they also seem more engaged in the drama than ever. The same goes for "The O.C.," which, though its ratings are down in its second season, is nonetheless winning props from fans for showing a lesbian relationship over time and not merely presenting it as a one-off gimmick.