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10/22/2008

Comments

James van Maanen

Amen to this post. And to its beyond-the-grave close. We'll have to look to one of the gay cable channels for something like your request, and from the state of things there, the quality we get will NOT be Mad Men-level. Until gay becomes the majority circumstance, television will not honor the minority viewpoint -- except in some token manner. Or by taking a quality British series such as Queer as Folk and turning it into typical American sleaze/schlock.

The Gay Recluse

Thanks, Jim -- we're obvs on the same page here.

Francis

try "Torchwood" with John Barrowman on BBC. sexy and engrossing in an inclusive post gay science fiction world. great writing, ok acting and high production.

The Gay Recluse

Hey Francis -- thanks, I'm definitely on board with Torchwood, but it's definitely not exploring deep issues of identity and alienation in the way we've come to expect from series such as The Sopranos and Mad Men. Six Feet Under is probably the closest thing I've seen to achieving what I envision, but in a way it might have been more interesting if Nate had been the gay character.

jesus

i'm a little surprised by how drawn in i've been by these shows because i'm not a sci-fi person, but try battlestar galactica and/or heroes. seriously good television, and supremely intelligent. nothing explicitly queer in either (at least not through season 1 of heroes, which is the only season i've seen), but they are definitely exploring issues of identity and alienation outside of the straight-white-male paradigm.

The Gay Recluse

Thanks, Jesus -- will def check those out. Though in addition to wanting something explicitly gay, I guess part of me is also looking for something that's also Critically Acclaimed in the way Mad Men and The Sopranos are/were (and with good reason).

jesus

battlestar galactica and heroes are definitely critically acclaimed. i know heroes is just finding its stride again, after what i've heard was a mediocre second season--cut short, thank god in this case, by the writers' strike. season three is supposed to be great again. but battlestar has maintained quality throughout, has won a peabody and by many (including myself) has been called among the smartest television ever written. it's truly a phenomenal show. there is one lesbian in battlestar, though it is only really explored in the movie that was released between seasons. unfortunately--and i'm not convinced it's homophobia per se--she's the wicked witch of the west.

i share with you the desire for something explicitly queer. there are budding lesbians (one latina!) on grey's anatomy. unfortunately, that is not among the smartest tv ever written. ugly better is not either, but it is amusing. it's full of queer stereotypes, but can be forgiven because every character on the show is a stereotype. the potentially great thing about it is that it looks like they're about to take on the coming out of a young, latino high schooler who is unabashedly and unapologetically himself (and, yes, a princess). he is, actually, truly, a beautiful character.

if you're willing to go back a bit, buffy was pretty excellent, and explicitly feminist and queer, though very white. geez, when did i become such an expert on sci-fi???

jesus

ps: battlestar, heroes and ugly betty are all beautifully shot as well. and two of heroes' up-and-coming stars (the almost unbearably beautiful and talented hayden panettiere and milo ventimiglia) are vegetarians in real-life, which in my book gives them and the show extra points. :-)

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Music: Death Culture at Sea and Saturnine

Listen or download songs and records from my indie-rock past with Saturnine here and Death Culture at Sea here.

Music Video: Remembrance of Things Past

Watch the rock opera Remembrance of Things Past written and performed by Saturnine and Frances Gibson, starring Bennett Madison and Sheila McClear.

Video: The Chaos Detective

The Chaos Detective is a series about a man searching for 'identity' as he completes assignments from a mysterious organization. Watch the first episode (five parts) on YouTube.
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