Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (March 20, 2009)

How I Met Your Mother: Ahhh, NPH. I always knew one day you’d show up again in my corner of the universe. And you don’t look a day over 900! I wonder if you also think back on those precious years we spent together in the Eagle Nebula. Sigh.

Brothers & Sisters: Boo hoo, my sister doesn’t respect me. Wah wah, my brother embezzled from me. You think you people have problems? Until your baby brother’s been tortured insane by aliens and then comes back to bury you alive for centuries while he blows up your home city and gets your closest friends killed, then you don’t know from sibling troubles.

Star Trek: Let me get this straight – after 20 different Star Trek series and 400 umpteen movies, this show about the future where humanity is all hunky dory couldn’t bother to include a single gay or bi character? Seriously? What. A. Joke. I should check out the BBC. I bet they have gay characters in their sci-fi shows.

I can’t take anymore of this. I’m going to see if I can prod this Frank person back to consciousness so I can get to my spa treatments, um, I mean to my rigorous daily training regimen. So long, people of AfterElton.com. It’s been a pleasure saving your asses.

WE NOW RETURN TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED COLUMNIST…
What happened? The last thing I remember was typing the column and the next thing I know I’m quivering on the floor in a puddle of my own vomit.

Usually that only happens when I’m recapping Brothers & Sisters.

Well, as I was telling you before that odd interlude (and why does my mouth feel like someone has been french kissing me?), I had the chance to interview Carole Barrowman, who co-wrote the new Torchwood comic along with lil’ bro John. I had a great time talking with Carole, who like her brother has a great sense of humor – and is also a huge sci-fi fan.

Carole Barrowman

Photo credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

AfterElton.com: Congratulations on the publication of the Torchwood strip. Can you give us a preview of what happens?
Carole Barrowman: It’s a story just about Captain Jack, and he is called to a remote island in the northern part of Scotland. There’s been a series of bizarre murders, and he goes in to investigate, and what he discovers is that the murders may have something to do with something in his past. And that’s all that I’m going to say. [Laughs.]

AE: Do you think the strip shows something new about Captain Jack that maybe we haven’t seen before?
CB: It’s interesting. I think it does, and John thought it did. He really wanted Jack to get to Scotland. He thought that would be cool, given our family background. And then we thought about wanting to highlight some kind of emotion or something about Jack that we don’t always see. I think maybe you see an aspect of his compassion, and there’s certainly an element of guilt in the comic.

AE: What was it like for you two to collaborate on the writing?
CB: He pretty much leaves the writing to me. He is a great storyteller and he’s got a great imagination, and we really collaborate well together, but he doesn’t do any of the actual writing … His involvement is very much on the storytelling side, “Here’s what I think Jack should do,” and “What if we put him here?” Then I’d shoot a draft to him and sometimes he would say, “I don’t think Jack would say that.”

Next page! Captain Jack full monty rumors and the the Face of Boe.