TV's Most Influential Gay Male Sex Scenes

5. Noah's Arc: Ricky and Dwayne

So you're thinking, Dwayne? I don't remember any Dwayne on Noah's Arc .

That's kind of the point, because Ricky (Christian Vincent) probably doesn't remember him either, given the fact that Ricky burns through the boys at something like the speed of light. Which is, of course, part of his charm.

In the premiere episode of Season 1, "My One Temptation," we meet Ricky, one of Noah's best friends. If you've never seen the show, you'll be amazed to find out that Ricky's not the one with the biggest muscles, but he's definitely the one with the busiest sex life.

Dwayne, played by actor and model Nate Adams, was a clerk in Ricky's boutique. Well, he was until Ricky instituted a "no doing the help" policy and promptly fired him, did him in the storeroom, then rehired him. Oh, Ricky.

While the other characters in Noah's Arc are all in relationships or chasing them, Ricky starts out joyfully single and sexually active. He does end up testing the waters of coupledom later in the series, but we first meet him as the attractive, human face of cheerful promiscuity.

The gay community hasn't always welcomed representations of gay male promiscuity in drama, and Ricky's characterization was both welcomed and criticized. Using elements of a stereotype in a characterization is always tricky, and there's a double burden for a character who is a gay man of color. But Ricky and Dwayne's storeroom sex scene just busted onto TV screens without apology or angst, marking the first graphic representation of gay men of color having recreational sex in television history.

Hotness Rating: 7/10
Romance Rating: 4/10
Significance Rating: 7/10

6. The Wire: Omar and Dante

Actor Michael K. Williams, who plays "homothug" Omar Little on HBO's The Wire, has no problems playing gay. And Omar has no problems being gay. He's TV's first completely unthreatened, unconflicted gay stickup guy with a heart of gold.

Do not, however, kill his boyfriend, because the guys who tortured Brandon (Michael Kevin Darnall) to death in season one definitely paid for it. Omar's next lover, Dante (Ernest Waddell), also discovered that one of the main drawbacks of being Omar's guy is being kidnapped and tortured, although, unlike Brandon , he survived.

In the third episode of the series' second season, "Hot Shots," Dante teases Omar into proving he's really gay by having sex with him. Omar is not all that hard to convince, and, says producer and writer Rod McCullom, their scorching kiss was "debated across black pop culture, even discussed by rappers and basketball players." Now, that's a hot — and important — sex scene.

Complexity and depth aren't often found in television characters of any color or sexual orientation. The Wire breaks all kinds of ground with the character of Omar Little. As McCullom wrote, "Williams' performance as Omar is one of the best portrayals of a black gay man ever seen on television. One moment he is ruthless and cutthroat; the next, he is sweet and tender with one of his boyfriends."

Hotness Rating: 6/10
Romance Rating: 7/10
Significance Rating: 8/10