A-LISTS hollywood by tim Parks
TV’S TEENAGE DREAM
Well, Katy Perry sure hit the nail on the head with her hit song, “Teenage Dream.” It’s almost like she had her hammer at-the-ready, in regard to the explosion of LGBT teens currently being featured on the small screen. Certainly the gay friendly singer didn’t set out via song to highlight the current crop of teens and she couldn’t
have called the now-defunct Psychic Friends Network. Perhaps she bumped into the phone line’s spokesperson Dionne Warwick at an industry event? It’s as if she knew this song would encapsulate what’s transpiring on the small tube. I bet her gaydar is an add-on feature to her cupcake bra from her “California Gurls” video - OK! Let’s hope that TV executives commit to heart her lyrics from “Teenage” of; “Don’t ever look back,” by continuing
the trend, and not treating the current craze as a mere crush that will peter out. Not like that, and put it away! Speaking of the past and where we have come in terms of gay portrayals on TV, it’s refreshing to see the repre-
sentation of kids today being dealt with on a somewhat non-issue aspect. Back in the day, you’d be lucky to catch a young person coming out on an Afterschool Special, while teen shows
like Saved By The Bell, reserved “very special episodes” for main characters like Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) getting all hopped up on goofballs. (So that explains why she later starred in Showgirls - mystery solved!)
Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are It’s no surprise that Glee latched onto Perry’s unofficial anthem (hello, it’s a musical- based show, people!) when the show introduced viewers and Kurt (Chris Colfer), to Blaine (Darren Criss) and The Dalton Academy Warblers. After being bullied and then kissed by closet case Karofsky (Max Adler) at William
McKinley High School, Kurt has enough and decides to switch teams (not the way you’re thinking). He is then seemingly serenaded by swoon-worthy Blaine, who is the only gay member (oh really?) of the glee club at his new alma mater, which offers him a safe haven with its zero tolerance policy regarding bullying. In a sense, Blaine becomes Kurt’s Jedi Master, by teaching him how to stand up for himself, that being gay is but a piece of the human pie (Blaine likes college football… shocking!), and how to successfully adopt the Cowardly Lion’s mantra of “courage.” However, Kurt hasn’t gone too far from being too much of the “just-a-dandy-lion”
variety of gay teen, as he recently had a slumber party with Rachel (Lea Michele) and Mercedes (Amber Riley), but his character’s evolution is one of the best parts of the show’s sophomore season. While the Christmas episode featured a rather flirtatious duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Out-
side” between Blaine (Obi Wan In The Gay Know Be) and Kurt (his young Padawan) I am glad that the powers-that-Glee (I mean that-be) are showing that the two don’t need to have a special lightsaber duel to connect with one another. In layman’s terms, it’s nice
to see this type of relationship between two teens unfold on the small screen. Relationships also factored into Showtime’s United States of Tara’s second season
storyline, as Marshall Gregson’s (Keir Gilchrist) character vacillated between conflict and acceptance about his sexuality. Moosh may have caught some of his mom’s (Toni Collette) dissociative identity
disorder (I guess Purell doesn’t work on everything) as he opted to date and bed clingy Courtney (Zosia Mamet), and then let the very out-and-proud peroxide blond, Lionel (Michael J. Willett), steer him queer as the two become an item. He addressed the pink elephant in the living room, by coming out to his dad (John
Corbett) and his sister and his mother’s “alters” were clued in during Season One (by the by, Season Three starts on March 28). I’ll admit, unlike the aforementioned shows, I have not seen an episode of 90210,
even in its first go-round with Shannen Doherty’s Picasso face (one eye is clearly higher than the other, k?). I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that a recent plotline had Trevor Donovan’s West
Beverly Hills High character, Teddy Montgomery, being blackmailed. Nope, it wasn’t someone out to expose that the actor is really 32; rather his clandestine boyfriend Ian (Kyle Riabko) wanted $50K not to spill the beans about Teddy’s true proclivities. So, the jilted, um, lad comes out to his classmates, and now actor Freddie Smith will help ease his romantic pain, as Marco, his new love interest.
28
RAGE monthly | MARCH 2011
Glee’s Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss)
United States of Tara’s Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) and Lionel
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84