Playing it Straight back from the grave

You reality television junkies may find this interesting...

Fox's Playing it Straight, which was unceremoniously canceled in 2004 after only three episodes due to low ratings, is being given the Lazarus treatment this Sunday on Fox Reality. They're airing all eight episodes of the "is-he-or-isn't-he" gaydar-fest, starting at 2:00PM EDT.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it asked one single gal to choose a suitable mate from a group of 14 hot guys. Thing was, most of the guys were "undercover gays", and if she chose one of them, the gay guy would walk off with her money (if she picked a straight guy, he and she would split it).

Did I mention that all of this took place at the "Sizzlin' Saddles Ranch"?

Fox posted the outcome of the show a few months after it was yanked, but for those of you who would rather actually watch grown men call each other "bitch" for eight hours than just read about it, this is your chance. Here's the show's opening credit sequence, to whet your whistles:

It's interesting that the current Lifetime show Gay, Straight, or Taken? has pretty much the same premise but seems to be doing fine -- likely because it encourages the men to be respectful to one another. Not that it makes it any less pointless, of course.