BROTHERS & SISTERS & RUSH LIMBAUGH?!?

***MINOR SPOILERS***

No, the windbag better known as Rush isn't really showing up on this season's Brother & Sisters, but a stand-in known as Luther Reeves will spout off Rush-type nonsense during the second episode. All I can say is it's about time!

One of the raps against B&S' first season was that the Republicans on the show — Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe) and Kitty Walker (Calista Flockhart) — were about as real as Harry Potter and Hermione. After all, Lowe's senator was pro-gay, pro-immigrant, and pro-environment — not exactly standard planks in the current Cro-Magnon Republican platform.

The addition of Luther Reeve, even if only for an episode, helps to change that a bit. Here are a few of the comments made by Luther during his radio show as Kitty, Nora (Sally Field), and Kevin (Matthew Rhys) listen. (Note, this could change if it is not filmed and edited as written in the sides supplied to me by AE reader Kong Chang).

LUTHER REEVES (V.O.)

But that's not the worst of it. McCallister and Kitty both have gay brothers, and hold onto your airsick bags folks, they're dating. Kind of makes you nostalgic for Billy Carter and Roger Clinton.

Now that's the Republican party I've come to know and loathe! Reeves continues on to say:

The White House is a symbol of all that's great about our country. I can't stand the thought of that stately mansion being defiled by McCallister and Company. I'm sorry, but I draw the line at the First Brothers doing God doesn't want to know what in the Lincoln Bedroom.

See, I can all too easily imagine Rush or Bill O'Reilly or Ann Coulter saying exactly that kind of stuff — if not worse. I won't spoil what else happens between Luther and the Walkers, but let's just say Kitty, Nora, and Kevin don't take this lying down. Oh, and the speculation that Abraham Lincoln might have been gay also pops up in the conversation.

All in all, it sounds like fun and I applaud Jon Robin Baitz and Co. for discussing this part of the Republican party.

No word on who has been cast yet. Senator Fred Thompson's presidential campaign appears to be imploding so he might be looking for a good gig. Or how about Dennis Miller? He's gone wildly toward the right, and ever since his own talk show and the gig on Monday Night Football tanked, he needs work. And I can't imagine another "actor" better suited to play a loud mouth jerk.

Any other suggestions?

BTW, there are a ton of other spoilers floating around out there, but speculation is that the show's creators are getting sneaky and slipping in some fake ones. But given what Baitz told me at the TCA, I do think it's true that Scotty **** *** ******** for ***** ******* and that ***** **** get *** ******* ****** out of *****.

WITHOUT PREJUDICE WITH MERIT

Numerous times I've been discussing gay issues with someone straight and they refuse to believe that in 2007 there are folks out there who still hold truly reprehensible beliefs about gay people. Well, thanks to the Game Show Network's new program Without Prejudice, the blatant bigotry that still exists is now right out there for all to see.

The set-up for the show is that five strangers decide which of another five strangers will get $25,000. The winner is selected by voting one person off at a time as information about each contestant is revealed. The idea is that the winner will be chosen "without prejudice", but of course the show is exploring just how prejudice does influence the decisions. Dr. Robi Ludwig serves as the host and guides the discussions.

Next Tuesday's episode brings homophobia to the forefront thanks to Ralph and Ikona. That's Ralph on the right, Ikona next to him, and Michael in the sweater. Oh, Michael happens to be gay.

Amongst other brilliant gems of logical "thinking", Ralph believes gay people choose to be gay while Ikona "knows" most gay people are gay because they were raped when they were three, four or maybe five-years old. Yep, in 2007 this woman feels perfectly comfortable going on television and spouting such garbage. Thankfully, Michael does a pretty good job of refuting their nonsense.

Even better, one of the five contestants is Jim, an out man with a partner of seven years who is about to have twins via surrogate. Naturally, for Ralph and Ikona this is an abomination unto the Lord. (As an aside, Ralph is totally down with mail order brides and thirty year age gaps between husband and wife as long as it's the bride who is younger. I know — I was shocked too!)

Even though Jim wasn't expecting it, he also does a pretty good job of putting a gay face to the bigotry of Ralph and Ikona.

Unfortunately, the show isn't always scintillating viewing, but in a world of Flavor of Love, Hey Paula, and so much other dreck, I really want to give the creators credit for even trying to elevate television by putting on a show that discusses these issues. And in case their progressive point-of-view isn't already screamingly obvious, their efforts at education extend beyond the program itself. The homepage for the show features links to articles on homophobia, heterosexism, and a whole slew of educational information and groups including GLAAD.

Just wait until Rush gets wind of this.

I won't tell you who wins, but I will tell you that Michael isn't the only panelist — or contestant — with considerably more enlightened views than ol' Ralph and Ikona. This episode airs on the GSN this Tuesday at 9 PM.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

If you think you hate the dog days of August, imagine how the NFL players enduring Training Camp must feel. I don't know how many football fans we have here, but even with all the athletic scandals currently going on (dog fighting, steroids, illegal gambling) I still find myself looking forward to September and the kick-off for the new season. Even if you aren't that in to the game, I thought you might enjoy these pics -- and my snarky comments!

My teeth aren't that perfect! You really think your agent could get me a toothpaste commercial?

Thank God I remembered my tights! Otherwise, my tush would end up on some website!

Oh, stop! I do not have the best butt in the whole NFL! Do I?

Don't take a picture now! This isn't my good side!

I'm here for the Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot. Should I strip down to my jockstrap now?

WHEN THE AFTERELTON HOT 100 MEETS AM I ANNOYING?

One of the most frequently asked questions about our Hot 100 List — other than how could you have left so-and-so off the list, you &*#($*&#! morons! — is whether or not we plan on doing the list every year. The answer is a resounding yes! In fact, from here on out the list will officially be referred to as AfterElton.com's Annual Hot 100 List! So check back next July when we'll run the whole shebang again.

One of my favorite things about the internet is that you put something out there and then someone else comes along and puts a completely different spin on it. Case in point, one clever fellow took our AfterElton.com Annual Hot 100 List (okay, so maybe I won't say the whole name every time!), transported it over to www.amiannoying.com and deduced how annoying (as determined by the sites users) the guys on our list are.

For instance, our number one Jake Gyllenhaal is the 22nd most annoying person on their list. Who was the most annoying? That turns out to be soccer star David Beckham who placed 39th on our list. Poor Tom Ford barely made the Hot 100 at all coming in at number 93 but ranks as the 2nd most annoying person on the list which is the largest switching of places for anyone.

Other fun tidbits include the fact that there doesn't seem to be any backlash against T.R. Knight. He placed 8th on our list, but is only the 82nd most annoying person on the Hot 100. So who was the least annoying? That would be Gerard Butler, but don't ask me why! Check out the whole list here.

BUT THEY WON'T BE WEARING TOGAS

Next Thursday Logo (AfterElton.com's parent company) and the Human Rights Campaign team up to make history when seven Democratic presidential hopefuls participate in The Visible Vote 08, the first Presidential Forum ever held specifically on GLBT issues. But unlike the ancient Roman forum, the candidates won't be taking the stage draped in togas to answer their questions. But I bet if they did, the ratings would be a lot higher.

Participating in the forum will be Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Christopher Dodd, former senators John Edwards and Mike Gravel, New Mexico Governor Bill Richards, and Representative Dennis Kucinich. Leading up to the event, Logo and HRC will be hosting celebrity bloggers on their website including Lance Bass, Wilson Cruz, Billie Jean King, and over very own Brent Hartinger. The site also allows folks to submit their own questions for the candidates, participate in polls, and draw mustaches on George Bush, Dick Cheney, and and First Lesbian Mary Cheney. (Okay, I'm kidding about the last part. I wish I weren't, but I am.)

Check back on Thursday when Brent and I will blog the whole darn thing!

GREEK, THE BEST YEARS, AND AS THE WORLD TURNS

Given that were smack-dab in the middle of summer there is a surprising amount of gay stuff on TV to check out. The best gay thing last week had to be Calvin's (Paul James) coming out to Rusty (Jacob Zachar) over on Greek. This continues to be such a well-done storyline with Calvin's sexuality — as he put it himself — being the least interesting thing about him. (Does T.R. Knight get a nickel every time someone says that now?)

I also appreciated that when Calivn's dad arrived on campus to check up on him, he already knew Calvin was gay and didn't have a problem with it. In fact, he was strictly worried about Calvin cutting himself off from his frat brothers by hiding parts of himself — especially his athletic prowess. By the episode's end, Calvin had come out about being a jock and scored points with his frat brothers.

I interviewed James on Wednesday (the interview should go up on Monday), and he said the scene with his dad had originally been written with the dad not accepting his son's sexuality, but James and the writers decided to go in a different direction for which I am thankful. James also shared some other info with me, but you'll have to check back on Monday for the rest of the scoop!

The second best gay thing on TV this week was actually a bi thing as it turns out there is a bisexual character over on The N's new college drama The Best Years. (Is there something in the water? Are kids out of school for the summer really dying to watch shows about kids in school?)

The bisexual character here isn't actually one of the students, but a character named Lee Campbell (Alan Van Sprang, pictured) who owns the college hang-out Colony Night Club. In last week's episode, one of the character's learned Lee is bisexual while Lee finally told his good friend Dawn he contracted HIV from a philandering ex, which is why he avoids social situations.

Both the sexual orientation and HIV plot points where handled matter-of-factly and while the other characters reacted with some measure of surprise, they were accepting and caring. Which isn't to say this is a Hallmark Channel show. Indeed, the first episode involved one student getting drunk and falling to his death, while another is dealing with the sexual abuse inflicted on her by her father.

Plus the show treats its female characters a whole lot better than does Greek which, sadly, really does treat their women like hyper-sexed, Machiavellian Barbie dolls. You can catch up with all the The Best Years episodes over at The N and a new episode airs Friday at 9:30 PM.

Finally, we blogged about how Luke (Van Hansis) finally confessed to Noah (Jake Silbermann) on Monday that he likes him — he really, really likes him! Turns out Noah's dad is hell bent on his son enrolling in the military to shape himself into "the man he could be." Makes it sound like there is something about his son he suspects the military can fix. Frankly, the episode was a bit of a disappointment, but yesterday's made up for it.

In it, Noah, who is fine with Luke's being gay, forces Luke to explain why he can't just be friends with someone he likes "that way", the pressure he feels being the gay kid and Oakdale, and, most importantly, how lonely he feels.

Noah talks about his own feelings and despite his protestations he isn't gay, there are clearly indications he is. The whole exchange works pretty well and part of the reason I think this storyline is so believable and popular (compared to the rest of the show which a lot of our readers Do.Not.Like!) is that this is fresh ground for the show's writers and they can be pretty straightforward with it and are able to avoid so many of the usual soap opera cliches.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE

Not much in the theaters this week, although AfterElton Hot 100 winner Matt Damon shows up in The Bourne Supremacy while Paul Rudd arrives in the comedy The Ten.

DVD is somewhat better as Tuesday brings us Kevin Smith's critically acclaimed Small Town Gay bar. We'll have Alonso Duralde's review of it the same day. Also released next week is the documentary Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig.

I promised fans of BBC America's Hollyoaks that I would do some investigating as to why the network has been bouncing around their favorite program even after BBCA's new president Garth Ancier specifically said at the Television Critics Association they wouldn't do that no more, no more. Said a BBCA spokesperson via email:

BBC America, like most television networks, is often forced to make changes to their schedule based on the ability for a show to attract an audience. At this time, the decision has been made to place Hollyoaks in the 3am ET weekday timeslot.

Why you cheeky blighters! We oughta smack you upside the noggin 'til you're too gobsmacked to think straight. We've had enough aggro from you prats so you'll bloody well watch we put on the bleedin' telly or we'll feed you to the wharf rats on the Thames! BTW, we do so value all our viewers and appreciate your writing us!

It has been suggested that Hollyoaks got bumped because the gay teen storyline is coming up, but I honestly can't see that as what's going on here. I suspect that like most American networks, BBCA is under pressure to produce now and if a show isn't pulling the ratings they want then they'll pull the plug. But BBCA better start making better programming choices or they won't have any viewers left to offend.

Speaking of BBCA, this week brings us their latest import Hotel Babylon. I've watched the first two episodes and while the show does include Michael Obiora as a desk clerk who is gay, he doesn't have much to do gay or otherwise so far. The show itself is slick and sexy as it supposedly pulls back the curtain on what really happens at a luxury hotel. The episodes go down easily, but are instantly forgettable and I won't be shocked if it gets moved to 4 PM and then trundled off to air right after Hollyoaks at 3 AM.

Out actor Bryan Batt hasn't had much to do on AMC's Mad Men, but something gets going with the show's gay character come episode eight. Parthenon is doing just fine on Who Wants to be a Superhero with another new episode airing on Thursday night.

HGTV's hit show Design Star is back on Sunday night with two out contestants. Check out our two-in-one interview with both next Thursday.

In addition to a new episode of The Best Years, The N's Degrassi: The Next Generation airs their sixth-season finale at 9PM tonight, and out Marco has a storyline this week. Dustin is doing well on Big Brother 8, somehow HBO's John From Cincinnati is hanging on (Barry Cunningham plays a small gay part), Spike TV's The Kill Point also has a small gay part (I still haven't been able to watch this show!), Jeff Lewis is out and on Bravo's Flipping Houses, and, of course, there is Greek on Monday. As always, check out our Queerview Monday through Friday for everything gay!

Now I'll shut up so you can have the BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER!