The Joy of Sets: Get Your Gay Pride On!
Brad Rowe courtesy Regent Releasing, Joanna Lumley courtesy BBC, Reichen
Between the apparent pick-up appeal of airport bathrooms, Christian Siriano and his hot tranny messes, California's same-sex marriage ruling and the new "Sex and the City" movie, it's been a very interesting year for the GLBT scene. And I mean interesting in a cool way. Like somehow the whole "all men created equal" stuff may start meaning something.
So I figured, with gay being the new bitch, which was the new black last Spring (thank you, Tina Fey), and June being Gay Pride Month, I thought it was only appropriate to devote a little time to shows on DVD that are as fabulous as the fans who make them must-see...
Dante's Cove - Season Three just hit stores and lemme tell you, when I first heard that
Amazing Race fame-seeker Reichen Lemkuhl was joining the cast, it was not a good day. The show is campy fun with its mix of island passion and occulty plotlines (and lord alive is there flesh for all walks of life to enjoy), but did it need a reality-show himbo? Turns out, you need to see the final hour to understand why he's there. Why he's rarely clothed, on the other hand, is pretty evident from the start.
Buy Dante's Cove on Amazon.com
The L Word - Why more straight men aren't addicted to the Sapphic soap is beyond me. Hello guys! Beautiful women, artfully shot, going at it like teens on Red Bull and curiosity! All the seasons available are great, but I suggest starting at the beginning and enjoying how it actually gets better as the years progress. Oh, and Sarah Shahi's Carmen? Yeah, wow.
Buy The L Word on Amazon.com
Shelter - It's easy to see why this here! TV-produced feature about a surfer finding first love scored Best Film at the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival. Not only is star Trevor Wright able to transmit the adolescent angst associated with coming of age, he's also nailed the fearful apprehension of coming out. Even better than that is Brad Rowe, as his best friend's older brother, who finally shows that he's more than just the pretty face from "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss."
Buy Shelter on Amazon.com
Exes & Ohs - There are only six episodes in this first-season set , but they're a fun little flipside to the glossy glam of
The L Word. Creator Michelle Paradise is a complete comic charmer and the often-bittersweet storylines (pet care, bad dates, disapproving parents) celebrate the refreshingly normal sisterhood of the lesbian community.
Buy Exes & Ohs on Amazon.com
Absolutely Fabulous - Oh please. Go get the Absolutely Everything complete series set and tell me this isn't the gayest show since Paul Lynde's Halloween Special. Patsy and Eddie may be voraciously hetero boozehounds, but any pair who can inspire so many transvestites deserve an A-plus for being TV's top hags.
Buy Absolutely Fabulous on Amazon.com
Rawhide - Oh wait, that just sounds gay. Sorry.
The Big Gay Sketch Show - Maybe it's not as polished as
SNL or
Mad TV, but there are more laughs in the two sets available than a night out with your bitchiest buds. LOGO truly has something to proud of indeed here with this one. The
Facts of Life spoofs alone are enough to help me see past the Rosie O'Donnell appearances.
Buy The Big Gay Sketch Show on Amazon.com
So that's it. What are your fave shows of the same-sex variety? And don't worry, we won't judge your crush on
Work Out. Not that there's anything wrong with it.
Next week: A Father's Day gift guide!
Until then, don't hog the remote. -
Damian Holbrook
