Do you think in 20 years US television will get this far?

[Starchild]

Originally posted by Asher
The participants were hand-picked because they were flaming homosexual Gods of fashion, etc...

And yet I never got the call back from casting.....

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

Do you think there will ever be a similar US show, a "realistic" teen drama?

Already has been one. It was called "Freaks and Geeks" and was canceled due to low ratings. Though I don't know if they had any gay characters on it (didn't really watch it too much).

I liked 'Freaks and Geeks'- they used to show it on Channel 7 in Melbourne.

'My So-Called Life' had a big gay homo in it too, and a gay teacher.

[MikeH]

I remember Degrassi Junior High, that was a great show.

[Whoha]

Absolutely, US TV has just gone down hill for the longest time, and will continue its slide. and now that you guys have done it the idea will no doubt be stolen.

[Last Conformist]

In 20 yrs US TV will be airing live orgies with occasional breaks for live executions.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Pyrodrew
"Desperate Housewives" had 2 teen gay boys (who didn't seem stereotyped) caught naked in pool together last episode, but I don't know if they're regular characters & I don't believe the show is a "youth-oriented" teen drama.

I saw that episode, and I hope they do take it somewhere.

[St Leo]

IIRC, "The OC" (or some reality drama) has 2 regulars that are lesbians (teens or 20-somethings) in a relationship who've kissed and are exploring their relationship, not butch ugly stereotype lesbians. I never watched more than 20seconds tho.

Are lipstick lesbians or butch lesbians the primary stereotype?

[Kuciwalker]

Re: Do you think in 20 years US television will get this far?

God I hope not. I once saw an episode of Degrassi. It made me want to puke.

[GePap]

From my reading of it, nothing on US regular TV comes even close. Having "lesbians" on the OC hardly counts, as this is probably done most for the purient tastest of the male watchers- there is no in depth discussion of homosexuality or how it feels to be gay, exploring deep relationsships, that sort of dynamic. Will and garce is also a huge example- I mean, Will lives with Grace, not with any of his lovers- Grace has gotten married, what 3 times? Will and Jack for some reason have never formed a long term relationship lasting even a whole season- which is fine, since not having this allows the show to ignore having to look in depth at an actual gay relationship.

No, the US is NOT ready to show a show in whcih "real" gays hash out their lives. The only show anywhere close is supposedly the "L word" on paycable Showtime, abdout lesbians.

[-Jrabbit]

Surprised no one (edit: until GePap) has mentioned The L Word on Showtime. It's getting tons of buzz.

I also remember (this is pretty far back) the Danny character on the show Soap. It was realistic family interaction (though virtually no exploration of his gay lifestyle).

Overall, the thing to remember is that US TV is all about ad sales. If a gay-bar reality show were viable, it would be produced, aired, and promoted heavily. There is no consideration to the social implications of plotlines and characters, except in terms of their effect on ratings.

Queer Eye was shocking in a non-threatening way, and was embraced by the critics and public. It was good TV at first, titillating for straights, satisfying for gays, with stars that were (mostly) charming and pretty good at the makeover thing.

But it turned very formulaic. And Kressey offended (at least) as many people -- gay and straight -- as he charmed. Another problem was that they seemed to have a hard time finding "normal" New Yorkers -- there was a nasty run of shows where every straight guy was an aspiring artist, musician, VJ, photographer, etc. That obvious, cynical promotional aspect, when combined with the obscenely blatant product placement (How many different brands of "product" could Kyan honestly recommend? How did we go from fabrics, paints, and light construction to "your fabulous new bedroom suite, flat-screen TV, and all-new kitchen appliances"? ) and the cast's massive cash-in on book deals, guest shots, etc --- turned the show into predictable promotional trash.

So now, after a long off-season of focus group research for retooling things, they think every episode has to be "very special" and as a consequence they've screwed it up royally -- with wedding proposals, departing soldiers, blahblahblah. But it's been franchised to Britain and to the Straight Girls side, so the money continues to flow (for now).

OK, I got off track with my QE4TSG rant. Sorry.

I haven't seen the DeGrassi stuff. Glad there's something real out there. My main point is that it will happen in the US when someone sees profit in it, and not a moment sooner.

[Whaleboy]

Gay teen star trek!

[Patroklos]

Maybe I don't want to watch a deep exploration of gay realationships.

Just like I don't want to watch a deep exploration of heterosexual relationships.

Half of Six Feet Under's plot is about a deep exploration of gay relationships. And not sissy/pansy ass steriotypical gays like the ones pictured in the O/P. One of them is a bad ass cop.

[Whaleboy]

Maybe I don't want to watch a deep exploration of gay realationships.

Just like I don't want to watch a deep exploration of heterosexual relationships.

Then why are you here?

[Dinner]

My English teacher in college was a lesbian but she was 100% butch.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by Patroklos
Maybe I don't want to watch a deep exploration of gay realationships.

So don't then. Its very simple.

Just like I don't want to watch a deep exploration of heterosexual relationships.

There's your safety "I'm not homphobic" line. Well done.

Half of Six Feet Under's plot is about a deep exploration of gay relationships. And not sissy/pansy ass steriotypical gays like the ones pictured in the O/P. One of them is a bad ass cop.

So in order to be a man of any worth you have to be "badass"? There's no room for anything else, gay or straight? Wow...

Anyways... I swear that guy in the picture (the blond one) must be over 30 years old. There was this Canadian show in the early 90s called "Ready or Not" and I swear he was one of the characters. And he was playing a high-school kid then too. Either that or they look exactly alike.