Tag Archives: television

I’ve finally caught up on True Blood, HBO’s vampire drama/comedy that started a few weeks ago. Vampires have “come out the coffin” and gone public after a Japanese company perfected artificial blood. As with X-Men, there’s a gay rights vs. “special rights” subtext as the public debates the Vampire Rights Act. There’s also a virus that plagues vampires, gay vampire …

Some folks are becoming increasing shrill in their demand that Ellen DeGeneres step forward with huge donation to Prop 8. But to my mind, what she does every day on her show and in this PSA is immeasurably more valuable than a few more airings of the lame ads we’ve seen so far.

Set your phasers on “fail.” An American version of Absolutely Fabulous is coming to Fox. Edina and Patsy are ready to take on L.A. Fox is developing a redo of Jennifer Saunders’ enduring Britcom “Absolutely Fabulous,” to be exec produced by Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum for Sony Pictures TV, Tantamount and BBC Worldwide America. Christine Zander (“Saturday …

Saturday Night Live is working to get Sarah Palin to appear on the show before the election. If you’re among those who speculate that the only thing better than Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” would be Sarah Palin making a cameo on the show, there might be hope yet. If the buzz is to be believed, …

When this “late night movie” graphic was flashed around 11:30PM last night, I was reminded of how adult I felt as a teenager if I was still awake when the post-Tonight Show programming began. The late show graphics usually included a crescent moon, or an owl, or an empty bed – all designed to say “You should be sleeping, you …

Rosie O’Donnell is trying to bring back the variety show, starting with a special on the night before Thanksgiving. NBC will air “Rosie’s Variety Show” as an hourlong live special the night before Thanksgiving, with an eye toward expansion to a full series order should viewers embrace the project. The special will feature celebrity guests, musical acts, comedy skits and …

Via Gawker: Dirty Jobs host, Deadliest Catch narrator, and former opera singer Mike Rowe has yet another accomplishment to add to his already impressive resume. Readers at Gay.com have voted him the number one dude they’d like to cheat on their boyfriends and husbands with. Poor old silver fox Anderson Cooper’s stock is on the decline, as he came in …

Here’s CNN assessment of the rise of LGBT characters on television this season, with some soundbites from GLAAD’s Neil Giuliano and the Family Research Council’s Peter Spriggs, who of course says it’s all part of the gay propaganda agenda. CNN’s conclusion: “Things are changing in the right direction.”

From last week’s Stand up To Cancer special. Listen for my favorite word.

Huge numbers for Obama’s speech last night. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was seen by more than 38 million people. Nielsen Media Research said more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final “American Idol” or the Academy Awards this year. Obama talked before a live audience of 80,000 people …

Billy Mays, the advertising pitchman (and bear icon) that the Washington Post is calling the most ubiquitous face on television today, is getting a reality show. About being an advertising pitchman. In the fall, Mays will start taping a TV reality show, “Pitchmen,” which will follow the creation of a two-minute commercial, from start to finish. But with many of …

…the Banana Splits Show. Hanna-Barbera’s 1960s phenom is returning in a multiplatform effort starting Sept. 2, with shorts and musicvideos airing on Cartoon Network and its website. Future efforts will include DVD and audio CD releases, as well as live performances. Turner Animation’s Stu Snyder noted that the Splits have “been entertaining kids for years,” but the return of the …

Donald Wildmon, the founder and head of the American Family Association, is asking its members to petition Congress to end all funding for PBS. The AFA is pissed because of an upcoming PBS show, The Bible’s Buried Secrets, which according to the AFA , contradicts long-held beliefs. From the AFA’s “Action Alert“: Take Action Sign the petition urging Congress to …

Cable network LOGO has issued a press release touting what it calls a “striking shift” in gay demographics. According to LOGO, most young gays now want to live in the suburbs and raise kids. The full release: LOGO RESEARCH REVEALS STRIKING SHIFT IN GAY DEMOGRAPHIC NEW YORK, NY – August 5, 2008 – Logo, a division of Viacom Inc.’s (NYSE: …

Gay icon and perhaps the most beloved grandmother character in television history, Estelle “Sophia Petrillo” Getty died this morning at age 84 after suffering through several years of dementia. From her website today: To all of Estelle’s Fans, Sadly, today July 22, 2008 at 5:35 a.m. Pacific Time, we said our last good-byes to our little friend Estelle, who passed …

Bawdy 70’s game show The Newlywed Game is coming back to the airwaves. But via Good As You, check out the eligibility rules (PDF):I can’t imagine any self-respecting queer couple wanting to go on The Newlywed Game, but then again I didn’t use to think that people would eat worms for money on TV.

For the second year running, GLAAD has named ABC as the major television network which has best presented the lives of LGBT people. Among cable channels surveyed, FX was named as best. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today released its second annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index, a report that maps the quantity, quality and diversity of images …

The Denver Post is reporting that Mike Jones, the gay escort who brought down televangelist Ted Haggard, just turned down the producers of Fox’s game show Moment Of Truth. Mike Jones, the former male prostitute/masseur who jump-started the Ted Haggard scandal, just turned down a chance to make $500,000. But not the easy way. He was in talks with the …

“Tell Tyra that the Queen has returned, and while you’re at it have Heidi clear the runway. I’m going to pump some ‘realness’ into reality. To be a winner on this show the contestants need to be a fashion designer, an American Idol, and a top model all rolled up into one. And they definitely have to be smarter than …

Last night’s gay wedding on Brother’s & Sisters is considered by some to be the first on-air marriage of major characters in television history. However, I’d always thought that Pedro Zemora and Sean Sasser’s 1994 commitment ceremony on MTV’s Real World was the first. But I can see the argument made that MTV wasn’t/isn’t a “major” network or that Pedro …