Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (December 7, 2007)

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT GEORGE MICHAEL ON HBO'S EXTRAS!
We'd heard a while ago that Brit pop star George Michael was set to spoof himself on HBO's hit comedy Extras. Well, I just finished watching the episode, which is also the series finale, and I have to give credit to Michael for not being afraid to mock himself. That said, I'm not particularly thrilled to have a popstar frequently busted for using drugs and cruising public places for sex used for laughs on a hit sitcom. Yes, the show spoofs celebrities quirks with exaggerated portrayals, but I'm not sure just how how exaggerated this one was.

To give you an idea of what to expect, check out this picture of Michael along with Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais) and Bunny (Gerard Kelly) sitting on the "queers" bench (aka the "waiting bench") in a London park.

(Photo Credit: Ray Burmiston/HBO)

No, Andy doesn't come out in the series finale. He's out for a stroll when he runs into Bunny, a friend of his who happens to be trolling for sex in the park. Michael then arrives on the scene on lunch break from doing his community service resulting from his last infraction. No, not that infraction. Apparently, he and Annie Lennox got into trouble illegally dumping refrigerators. (You'll have to watch to really get the joke.)

I don't want to give everything away, but let's just tabloid reporters do show up and I did enjoy this bit of dialogue as Michael heads off into the bushes.

Bunny (to George): Come on then you. I'll give you a quickie.
George: Oy. I'm not that desperate, Matey.
Bunny: Cheeky, bastard!
George (waling away): Actually, will you do me a favor and look out for paparazzi. I'm gonna go and try over there.
Andy: Yeah.
Bunny: Love to. Cheers. I've had him before, you know.

BTW, I've never been a particularly big an of Extras which reminds me of The Office (gee, there's a surprise) and even Seinfeld. I've just never gone in for folks being nasty to each other. That being said, I found the finale of Extras (which is 90 minutes and feels more like a movie than a sitcom) to be brilliant and appropriately Christmassy in a rather dark way. There is a fantastic send-up toward the end of the cult of celebrity and a very satisfactory resolution to Andy's quest for fame. And special kudos to Ashley Jensen who absolutely shines here as Maggie (and as Christina on Ugly Betty.)

The series finale of Extras debuts Dec. 16th at ( PM.)

WAIT UNTIL THEY FIND OUT THE THIRD BOOK HAS GAY ANGELS!
In last week's column, I mentioned that the new fantasy flick, The Golden Compass, opens this Friday with Ian McKellen as Iorek the Bear. What you might not know is that the movie has the panties of certain religious fundies wadded up more tightly than Joan Rivers' forehead.

Foremost of those ticked off is William Donohoe, president of The Catholic League who is upset that author Philip Pullman is an atheist and that the trilogy questions religious authority and even the very existence of God. If you're not familiar with Donohoe, he refers to "the gay death style" just to give you an idea of which corner of wacky bigot land he operates from.

There is nothing gay in Compass, and by all reports, the movie version pretty much whitewashes the religious aspect right out of the whole story. But book three has a pair of gay angels who help lead an attack on a God-like figure.

That might not sound like the best portrayal of gay people in the world (and more in line with The Left Behind books' gay anti-Christ), but in Pullman's books the angels are heroes and you just know that seeing heroic gay angels would probably give Donohoe and his brethren fits right there on the spot!

But they'll only film books two and three if movie one is a hit. So with that in mind, I urge you to rush out and see The Golden Compass this weekend because I really want to see those gay angels. And remember — every time you buy a ticket, a gay angel gets his wings!