Ask the Flying Monkey! (June 03, 2008)

Q: Whenever I see a picture of 50's star James Dean, there's always that classic quote of his: “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” But where did the quote come from? – Lin, Corning, NY

A: There are certain quotes that sound so perfect that you wonder if the person to whom they’re attributed ever really said them — for example, Bette Davis saying about rival Joan Crawford, “I wouldn’t piss on her if she was on fire.”

And the quote you mention is certainly the perfect quote from James Dean, the bisexual (or, some say, completely gay) movie legend whose youth and beauty was preserved forever when he was unexpectedly killed at age 24. But did he really say it?

People have been quoting it for decades without ever saying exactly where the quote comes from. Both Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations and The Dictionary of Quotations are notably silent on the issue, but the Monkey thinks this is actually a cleaned-up version of a line from Dean’s first movie Rebel Without a Cause (1955), written by Stewart Stern: “I woke up this morning, you know... and the sun was shining, and it was nice, and all that type of stuff. And the first thing, I saw you, and, uh, I said, ‘Boy, this is gonna be one terrific day, so you better live it up, because tomorrow you'll be nothing.’”

Q: Is the Tales of the City mini-series a dead deal? I haven't heard anything about it in a long time, which is a shame because the last three books are some of the best. Also any word on a Queer as Folk reunion movie, it would be interesting to see how these characters evolved. -- Mike, Philadelphia, PA

A: As you note, the first three books in Armistead Maupin’s wildly entertaining seven-book series (including the latest, Michael Tolliver Lives, which Maupin himself is finally referring to as a Tales book) have all become TV movies: 1993’s Tales of the City (wherein we first encountered the wonderful Laura Linney in a serious way), 1998’s More Tales of the City (produced by Showtime when PBS pathetically bailed on the project after conservatives complained, despite fantastic ratings and glowing reviews for the first entry), and 2001’s Further Tales of the City.

Maupin’s reps were doubtful whether there’d be any more movies in the series, but getting a definitive answer from them has proved difficult. However, as recently as 2007, Maupin himself said he doubted there’d be any more films made. That said, he is currently working on an eighth book in the series.

As for Queer as Folk, neither Showtime nor Temple Street Productions (the Canadian entity that actually produced the show) has any plans to do a Queer as Folk reunion, nor is there anything currently on the horizon.

The Monkey regrets being the bearer of bad news.

Q: I wonder if the reason As the World Turns is stepping up the “Nuke” story line is because all the college students and soon the high school students will be out for the summer. Thoughts? – Kat, North Carolina

A: You’re absolutely right! According to MediaLife, As the World Turns saw its median age drop more than any other daytime program last year. And while the ratings for most other soaps fell, Turns’ ratings are up, especially in two key demographics—“women, age 18-49” and “women, age 25-54,” which have both risen nine percent. Ratings for “men over 18” have risen as well! (Ratings are momentarily down, but I think it's a temporary blip, not a trend.)

Interestingly, the influential MediaLife specifically credits AfterElton.com for the declining age of the soap’s viewers: “With young-skewing sites like AfterElton.com, a gay blog, giving Turns regular attention, that has drawn in new, younger viewers to the program.” Yay, us!

The point is, it’s certainly a (great) sign of the times that younger viewers, both male and female, are most engaged by a storyline involving a couple of gay teens!

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