In 1995 diving legend Greg Louganis' autobiography Breaking the Surface was published and it became a best seller. In it he discussed how he developed into a champion diver; his torturous coming out process; and his revelation about being HIV+. Two years later the bookwas made into a TV movie that aired on March 26, 1997 on cable's USA Network. Starring 23-year old cutie pie Mario Lopez (far right), his portrayal was somewhat wooden - but this was easily forgiven, or not even noticed, because of the many scenes where he wore a Speedo!
After Breaking the Surface Lopez had a number of other roles that brought further attention to his physique, e.g. on Nip/Tuck - featuring a classic shower scene (left); on Broadway in A Chorus Line - a story made the rounds that he was furious that fellow actor Nick Adams also got to show off his hot body; and as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars - where he and his dance partner finished second. He's now a correspondent for the entertainment show Extra, which doesn't give him any opportunities to strip down or shake his hips. Interestingly, according to his Wikipedia entry Lopez is a conservative Republican who attends church every week.
Sex and the City aired Sunday nights on HBO for six seasons and its final episode aired on February 22, 2004. And despite HBO being in fewer than 25% of U.S. households it was nonetheless a national event. (Probably every HBO household had at least ten friends over that night to watch.) I didn't become a regular viewer until the show's last three years when I finally subscribed to HBO. (One aspect of the show I especially liked was the many scenes shot around my West Village neighborhood.)
Two lines I best remember from this episode involved Miranda (played by out lesbian Cynthia Nixon). The first was when her housekeeper, Magda, walked into the bathroom and watched Miranda gently bathing her husband Steve's addled mother (played by Anne Meara). She put her hand on Miranda's shoulder and said to her "You love" - a beautiful moment.
Later, Carrie's girls were so upset by how Carrie's fiance Petrosky (played by Mikhail Baryshnikov) was treating her in Paris that when "Big" asked them whether he should pursue her there, Miranda (who despised him) looked at him intently and said "Go get our girl".
Even before the final episode I found the whole Carrie-Petrosky relationship tedious. (Truth be told, Carrie was my least favorite character.) Instead, what I found most touching was the relationship between Samantha and Smith. Another beautiful moment in this episode occurred when Smith surprised Samantha by returning early from a business trip to be with her (she was going through chemo treatment for breast cancer).
To this day anytime I see someone walking a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the breed of dog Charlotte owned, I say to myself "Elizabeth Taylor", the name she chose for the dog. Also, every time I see a can of Green Giant Lesueur peas I think of Samantha handing a can of them to a priest she was trying to seduce (for a food drive) and saying "They're Lesueur, they're the BEST".
Five years later a SATC movie was released during the summer and was a big success. A sequel came out the following summer but wasn't as well received and grossed less than half of the first (but still more than $150 million worldwide).
Sigourney Weaver starred in the heartrending TV movie Prayers for Bobby which aired on the Lifetime cable network on January 24, 2009. It told the true story of Mary Griffith whose gay son Bobby committed suicide and how she channeled her deep regret at being unable to accept his orientation into something positive (she became a gay rights advocate). It was based on the 1996 book Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Son by openly gay journalist Leroy F. Abrams. (Abrams, founder of the Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association in 1990, died four years before the movie aired.)
When Prayers aired it had been six years since the last high-profile TV movie about gay issues aired (Angels in America on HBO). And since Prayers there have been no other such movies on network TV or cable. Weaver joined an illustrious roster of actors who've appeared in previous gay-themed movies:
Three years before Glee there was High School Musical, a wildly popular TV musical that aired on the Disney Channel on January 20, 2006. Instead of a glee club struggling with an inferiority complex, HSM revolved around a somewhat pretentious Musical Theater class. And although the subject was never broached it's all but certain that the student named Ryan (played by Lucas Grabeel, pictured with Ashley Tisdale) was gay since he had musical theater running through his veins. This "don't ask, don't tell" approach held sway for the next two HSM movies as well. Although a bit dim, Ryan was a good egg who had to put up with his diva twin sister Sharpay (pronounced like the breed of dog).
This being a candy coated Disney fantasy world filled with smiling and fresh-scrubbed faces, Ryan was never harrassed. In fact, every clique in school co-existed harmoniously. In keeping with this dream world, the most sensitive boy in school was also the most popular, basketball star Troy Bolton, played by Zac Efron (and at 5'10", probably the shortest basketball superstar in history).
I didn't catch the movie when it first aired but during the summer I rented it to see what the buzz was about - and I was captivated. I especially liked the number Stick to the Status Quo which charmingly depicted the turmoil created when kids like Troy don't follow their assigned role. Inspired by Troy's example, other kids reveal their secret passions, e.g. a jock interested in baking, the math whiz passionate for hip-hop. Ryan, however, was not part of these "outings".
In the sequel we'd discover that Ryan once played baseball and taught the jocks a thing or two (oh, I bet he did - wink, wink). The movie had lots of gay subtext ripe for exploitation (by Michael Lucas perhaps?). I think Ryan was used as a distraction to divert attention away from the bromance between Troy and his best bud Chad (pictured, left). In fact, whenever they bickered their faces would get so close it seemed that a passionate kiss was imminent. Sure, both had girlfriends, but ...
High School Musical was a smash hit as was its two sequels (the last one was a theatrical release). Besides "tween" girls it also had much to offer gay viewers (of all ages), i.e. musical numbers, intricate choreography, a host of cute boys, a kinda hot basketball coach (played by Bart Johnson, pictured), a diva and, of course, Ryan. HSM paved the way for Fox's introduction of Glee, a primetime series with musical numbers and a very out gay character. However, I was never a fan of the show (although I've purchased some of its music on iTunes) - too much angst and gay Kurt gave me the willies (as did the new female football coach).
Buoyed by the success of Queer as Folk (which debuted at the end of 2000) Showtime produced a 1-hour drama about a group of lesbian friends and lovers called The L Word. It premiered on January 18, 2004.
Except for their same-sex themes the two series were very different: 1) QAF took place in Rust Belt Pittsburgh while The L Word was set in sunny and trendy Los Angeles/West Hollywood. 2) The L Word had more "name" actresses: Jennifer Beals, Pam Grier, Marlee Matlin and Cybil Shepherd. QAF had one, Sharon Gless. 3) QAF had a lesbian couple (Lindsay and Melanie) but L Word incorporated very little about the lives of gay men into its storylines. 4) The L Word ran for six seasons, one more than Queer as Folk. However, QAF aired thirteen more episodes (83 vs. 70).
After the series concluded in March 2009 Showtime aired a reality series that came out in the summer of 2010 called The Real L Word.
Ten years after its successful run on Broadway Tony Kushners' AIDS drama Angels in America conquered television when it aired on HBO in December 2003. It was shown in two three-hour installments, with the first airing on December 7 followed one week later by Part 2. It starred Meryl Streep (pictured as the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg), Emma Thompson and Al Pacino as the vile Roy Cohn (pictured with Streep). Jeffrey Wright was the only actor from the Broadway run who also appeared in the TV production. Streep, Thompson and Wright played multiple roles.
HBO's production was critically acclaimed and won a slew of awards. At the time its eleven Emmy Awards was the most ever awarded one show. Angels joined other acclaimed TV movies such as And the Band Played On (also on HBO, ten years earlier), Andre's Mother (PBS) and An Early Frost (NBC) in bringing the tragedy of AIDS into America's living rooms.
Queer as Folk originated in the UK and in December 2000 a US version began airing Sunday night on Showtime. It was set in Pittsburgh, but the city didn't embrace it. For instance, its iconic Steelers football team wouldn't allow the display of any team insignia on clothes or in bar/club scenes. Perhaps it was because the city was depicted in the show as a mini-Sodom - and gayer than San Francisco or New York. I told friends that if the city was really this gay I would never have moved away. (In reality it didn't hold its first gay pride parade until just a few years ago.) Pittsburgh was chosen in keeping wth the UK's version which was set in the gritty industrial city of Manchester. In actuality the show was mostly filmed in Toronto.
Although I found plenty in the series to criticize (e.g. too much sex, Brian's sex appeal escaped me, Michael's suportive mom Deb was a bit crass) I tried not to miss an episode (it's the reason I signed up for pay cable). And it was refreshing to see unvarnished gay lives represented, bringing back memories of when Tales of the City aired on PBS in 1994. Of the show's ten main characters I liked Emmett Honeycut the best. As a former Pittsburgher I found Michael, his mom Deb (played by Sharon Gless) and Uncle Vic to be the most authentic in their depicton of blue collar residents. Perhaps because I was older than most of the show's characters by at least 10 years I identified most with Uncle Vic.
I liked the show's selection of music which was made available on a number of CD compilations. One song I especially liked, Straight to ... Number One, was from the first season and was played during a hot encounter between Brian and Justin (each episode was guaranteed to have a few such steamy scenes).
The show aired for five seasons and had 83 episodes (compared to just ten for the UK version). And in 2004 Showtime began airing a distaff version of QAF called The L Word (QAF did have a lesbian couple). It had 70 episodes which aired over 6 seasons.
Pedro Zamora was an openly gay cast member of MTV's fledgling reality series The Real World. He was cast for the 1994 season that took place in San Francisco. During casting Zamora made the show's producers aware that he was HIV-positive and subsequently educated his housemates and, by extension, the viewers of the series about AIDS. Sadly, his health rapidly deteriorated after the show's taping ended and he died the day after the final episode aired on November 11, 1994. He was only 22 at the time of his death.
November 11 also happens to be the date in 1985 that the landmark TV movie about HIV/AIDS, An Early Frost, aired on NBC. It starred Aidan Quinn who appeared earlier in the year with Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan. Co-starring Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazarra as his parents and Sylvia Sidney as his grandmother, the movie told the story of Quinn's character, Michael, coming home to tell his family that not only is he gay but he has contracted AIDS. It aired a month after Rock Hudson's death from AIDS complications.
In the mid-80s an AIDS diagnosis was truly frightening because so little was known about treating it and drug regimens proved highly toxic for many patients. Zamora died during the peak years for AIDS deaths (1992-95). However, at the time of his death a glimmer of hope arrived for persons struggling with HIV/AIDS as a category of drugs known as "protease inhibitors" was emerging from clinical trials with encouraging results. Although not a cure, they would prove effective in extending & improving the quality of life for many.
In December 2000 Queer as Folk debuted on Showtime, a drama that portrayed a world of gay men and lesbians - all of whom were white (a la NBC's Friends). Gay cable network LOGO remedied this exclusion by producing the drama Noah's Arc which aired its first episode on October 19, 2005.
The show revolved around the lives of four black and Latino gay men living in Los Angeles. (Actor Darryl Stephens, left, who plays Noah, is openly gay.) It became LOGO's highest rated show, but oddly, was cancelled after two seasons and 17 episodes. (Word was that it was too expensive to produce.) Two years later a Noah's Arc movie was released in a small number of theaters (the usual fate of gay-themed films).
Regardless of whether the characters are gay or straight, the most common way to get African Americans characters written into shows is as part of an ensemble with a white cast. Recent examples of such gay African American roles include Lafayette Reynolds from True Blood (portrayed by actor Nelsan Ellis, far left); police officer Keith Charles on Six Feet Under (portrayed by Michael St. Patrick, near left), and Cameron and Mitchell's friend Longines (pronounced "lawn-gen-ess") from the ABC sitcom Modern Family.
Based on Randy Shilts' 1987 book by the same name, the TV movie "And the Band Played On" told the story of the unfolding AIDS crisis and the various obstacles presented by various parties as authorities attempted to determine a way to stop the spread of the deadly disease. It aired on HBO on Saturday, September 11, 1993. Its star studded cast included Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Ian McKellen, Swoozie Kurtz, Anjelica Huston, Richard Gere, BD Wong and Steve Martin among others. Although it recieved critical acclaim, some critics wrote that this cast of well-known actors might distracdt viewers from the seriousness of the plot.
The movie won the Emmy for Best TV Movie. After it aired it was released in theaters around the world - but not in the U.S. And less than 6 months after the movie aired Randy Shilts (left) succumbed to AIDS at the age of 42.
