Ask the Flying Monkey (November 11, 2008)

Q: The new season of Degrassi: The Next Generation started a couple of weeks ago, and since Marco has been written out, there seems to be this new guy Peter who has something for one of the other guys, Riley. Do you know where they are taking this storyline? – Jose, Pharr, TX

A: Marco hasn’t been written out of the show exactly. He just graduated, and it’s the nature of this Canadian teen soap that characters naturally come and go. He’s not a “regular” on season 8, but he will be back.

Adamo Ruggiero plays "Marco"

Meanwhile, yes, the gay torch has been passed, but not to Peter, who is definitely straight, but to Riley, the school’s star quarterback (played by 19 year-old Argiris Karras). In last week’s episode, Peter and Riley, in a post-Wii frenzy, found themselves sharing an expected kiss — and Riley was shocked to discover how much he liked it.

Peter, who thought he had finally found a close guy friend, was confused and wanted to talk. But Riley isn’t ready to accept that he’s gay, and he’ll go to great lengths to deny it over the course of the upcoming season, which is not the best news for the girls at Degrassi High. Unfortunately, Riley won’t be getting a boyfriend this season (nor will Riley meet Marco), but expect this storyline to get a lot of airtime — which just proves that this is a Canadian-based show, not an American one.

Degrassi airs at 8 PM Friday in the US on the N, and on Sundays in Canada.

Argiris Karras plays "Riley"

Q: So is it really true that Denzel Washington advised Will Smith not to kiss a man on film when he played a gay character in the movie version of Six Degrees of Separation? – Mandy, St. Louis, MO

A: Alas, yes. “What Denzel said is that the black community views black actors as heroes, and we're held personally responsible for the choices of our characters,” Smith told Premiere Magazine in 2006. “He said other communities don't hold actors personally responsible for character choices.”

Will Smith (left) & Denzel Washington

There’s no doubt truth to the idea that black movie stars have a much more difficult path to navigate than white ones. But Denzel’s advice doesn’t answer this question: what’s so terrible about kissing another man in the first place?

Ian McKellen, who co-starred in Six Degrees, witnessed Smith’s reluctance first-hand and has been publicly critical of Smith over the years, even calling it “homophobia” in one interview.

But one thing has always been clear to the Monkey: Smith has always been far more interested in being a movie star than an actor. And let’s face it: his career choices seem to have worked.

Next page! Robert Altman's queer plot points. Plus, a roundup of TV's gay male subtext.