Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (September 26, 2008)

AE: What’s the reaction from gay readers or women with gay best friends?
JF: I think gays are surprised that there's a gay comic strip in mainstream newspapers.

Women seem to love Lila and most of my fan mail is from them. Many compare it to Sex in the City. Others have said Lila is like The Mary Tyler Moore Show with a gay Boyd instead of a Jewish Rhoda. The women who most object to Lila have been some female editors who don’t like Lila’s lack of ambition or desire to just get married and live at home.

I’m tired of all the super successful people on TV and in movies. Debra Messing’s character on Will & Grace had her own design firm. The Sex and the City women were all wildly successful and wealthy. And Tina Fey’s character on 30 Rock is a television executive. Most of us are not that successful. We’re just regular people working jobs we mostly don’t like. Lila and Boyd are just two people trying to live their lives and find, oh, I don’t know, the easiest way out.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
First, Sunday’s season premiere of Brothers & Sisters. Full disclosure: while I appreciate the treatment of its gay characters, I’ve never been a fan of the show (I find it something of a schmaltz-fest). So having me review it is a little like having John McCain champion new regulations for the economy. But I’ve seen Sunday’s episode, and I thought it was one of the weakest ever.

Kevin and Sarah act unbelievably self-centered, and I would’ve been annoyed at how unlikable they’ve become, except it’s so obviously a plot contrivance that it was hard to take it seriously. Meanwhile, the episode has one of those infuriating other plot-contrivance scenes where the whole family just “happens” to mistakenly assume they’re spending the weekend with Kevin and Scotty at their private beach place… a weekend that, of course, culminates with one of the show’s incredibly clunky family fights. But hey, at least Kevin and Scotty kiss.

[Addendum: Michael insists that I add that if you're a fan of the show, you'll probably like this Sunday's season premiere. He apparently did. Don't ask me why. He also says you should read his new interview with the new B&S showrunners.]

Matthew Rhys and Luke MacFarlane in
the Brothers & Sisters season premiere

Photo credit: ABC

Desperate Housewives also returns with a new season on Sunday. I’ve seen this episode too and while I was a little disappointed by how little the “five year jump ahead” really shook things up, it’s nice to have the show back. Plus, there is a scene with Bree, Gabrielle, and a kitchen door that had me absolutely rolling on the floor laughing. And there's a funny "in" joke where gay couple Bob and Lee react to Queer as Folk's Gale Harold (or maybe I was reading into it).

Desperate Housewive's Gale Harold & Teri Hatcher

Photo credit: ABC

The new season of Pushing Daisies returns next Wednesday. I loved this show when it debuted last year, but something has gone seriously awry. I couldn’t even make it through the whole episode. Is it too late to have them jump ahead five years?

Daisies' Lee Pace

Photo credit: ABC

Next Page! Is anyone else getting kind of sick of Shia?