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2. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and 30 Rock both purport to be about life behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live-type show. Studio 60 is set in Los Angeles and 30 Rock is set in New York, but neither has any gay characters. Should I really complain about this? I mean, it's not as if there are any actual gay people producing shows in Hollywood.

Well, I suppose there is Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives) and Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck). But other than that — oh, wait, I forgot Marco Pennette (Crumbs), Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek), Randall Winston (Scrubs) and Darren Star (Sex and the City). Still, they're hardly noteworthy.

Did I mention Jon Robin Baitz (Brothers & Sisters), Bryan Singer (House), Paris Barclay (Cold Case), David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik (The Class), or Max Mutchnik (Will & Grace)? Okay, so maybe there are a few gay men involved, but I'm just being overly critical, aren't I?

3. The Unit stars Dennis Haysbert of 24 fame as the leader of an elite commando force. (Gee, there's a fresh idea!) Poll after poll has shown that Americans support letting gay and lesbian soldiers serve openly in the military. Here is Hollywood's opportunity to show the Pentagon just how great an idea it would be to let qualified gays serve instead of taking on pudgy 45-year-old Rambo wannabes, drug-addled 20-something slackers, and convicted felons.

Plus, imagine how groundbreaking it would be to show a gay man snapping necks with as much vim and vigor as any straight man. This would let Hollywood be diverse and violent!

4. Another annoying myth about gays and lesbians is that we all live in immaculately decorated downtown apartments, and have stylish haircuts and so much disposable income that Microsoft millionaires are jealous of us. What better way to dispel that notion than with The Knights of Prosperity, a sitcom about a group of blue-collar crooks who set out to rob Mick Jagger's apartment.

I haven't seen Joe Pesci doing much lately, and I know he got tired of playing the same old role. So why not cast him as some gay schlub who wears his pants up to his armpits and works in a 7-11 while dreaming of hitting it big as a crook? Besides, Joseph Gannascoli who played Gay Vito on The Sopranos proved that Americans are ready for queers who don't live on the Upper East Side and think collecting Judy Garland trading cards is a contact sport.

5. Law and Order: SVU. I'll be the first to admit the Law and Order franchise, along with other crime procedurals like CSI: Outer Space (or whatever version they're currently on) has done a good job of including gay story lines. But far too often that has meant being the victim in Special Victims Unit.

Yes, they have occasionally thrown us change-ups by having gays be the villains, thereby showing that we really are just like everybody else. However, it's time for them to take the next step and make a gay man one of the leads. Not only do we fall victim to crime and occasionally commit them, but we can solve them as well. And who better to demonstrate that than Christopher Meloni? He's already shown in Oz that he's got the guts and acting chops to take on a gay role. And, yes, I admit, I'm just desperate to see the man play gay again.

6. AfterElton.com has already documented how lame it is that after two seasons and more characters than a daytime soap opera, Lost still hasn't found a gay character. Come on. A jumbo jet full of people, not to mention the Others (known in my house as the 700 Club), and so far there hasn't been a single queer on the island? Heck, at this point I'll even take the cliché gay flight attendant squealing for Matthew Fox to rescue him from some polar bear.

And this from the show that has given us the hot, sympathetic Iraqi, the Korean couple, the African-American father and son, the likable chubby guy and, well, you get the picture. Diversity is a concept Lost clearly understands. (Note to Lost producers: I worked as a flight attendant for 17 years and might be willing to work with a hot, sweaty, shirtless Matthew Fox. In fact, I'm waiting by the phone right now!)

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