In this week's Two Gay Guys, Brent and Michael discuss the bounty of swag publicists send to bribe them into covering certain shows like The Starter Wife. Later, the guys preview The Starter Wife the season premieres of a number of shows, including Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sister, My Name is Earl, Pushing Daisies and more!.
The guys also review Bart Yates' new novel, The Distance Between Us.
Check it out after the break!
Submitted by
on Fri, 2008-09-26 07:54.
I have to agree with Brent re Ugly Betty
I was very disappointed with last night's premiere--not only was it all about Betty, it was as if Betty hadn't changed, or the world around her hadn't changed, in 2 years. I actually appreciated the fact that the show focused on all the other characters in the past; in fact, in the first season, the show didn't get really interesting until it moved the focus beyond Betty.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
I'm confused as to why the need for all the changes?
I just finished watching Ugly Betty and I'm pretty disappointed, too but for different reasons.
For my tastes, there was too much change to a point where this isn't the 'Ugly Betty' I enjoyed anymore, but a 'spinoff' that only kept the original chracters' names.
I liked the old 'Betty' because it was warm and familial - both thematically and in its art design. The new 'Betty' leaves me (literally) cold.
Although she still lived at home, the character of Betty was still very independant and it was comforting that when things were really hard for Betty, she had her family (physically) around her. Sure that's not 'real', but as TV, I enjoyed the fantasy. I liked seeing the story lines develop for the other characters because it made it seem like Betty wasn't by herself on the show.
Who has Daniel become now? Can I expect to see that he's completely let go of his previous character's arc to show the 'better' person inside who's working at demonstrating he wants to, and can do the 'right' thing? In this new environment, it seems that he's just given in and decided to be the irresponsible 'bad boy'. And does he really live in his new office space (or are they just so similar that I can't tell the difference)? That's odd...
The old 'Betty' played the gay at just the right level of comedy for me. It was at a level of familiarity that gave me a sense of good-natured warmth. In the new 'Betty', should I expect to hear gay characters like Mark spout lines like, "Just like taking candy from a tranny"? Was that 'forced' humor ('funny' because they snuck the word 'tranny' into a common phrase)? A reference that all or most transexuals are on crystal meth? If it's the latter, should I 'laugh along with' because the comment came from a gay character as opposed to a straight character? On the same note, is it also a 'bolder' and more adult choice to have the Kimmy character call Betty and her sister, "Pig Latin"? The old 'Betty' wouldn't have gone there.
Justin is older now and more 'sterotypically' gayer. In this first episode, it seems clear he's learned how to zing the stinging barbs and knock lesbians for being butch and unfeminine. (But again, it came from a gay character so it must be OK for me to laugh along.) Given the environment of acceptance I saw in the old 'Betty' show, I wouldn't expect him to develop this way.
I'm not sure about how I feel regarding his reaction to Betty's announcement that she is getting her own apartment. It was very cute and it did make me laugh, but I'm not sure if perhaps I'm being too hypersensitive regarding how that moment was directed. I don't think I'd be as effected if Justin's final reaction was consistent with his other behavior. I could also be fine with it if it was an example that he was growing and becoming more comfortable with bolder self-expression.
What bothered me though was the direction. It just struck me odd that the scene was directed to point up his final 'over-the-top' reaction as a laugh moment. In the old 'Betty', Justin's behaviors and charateristics were just accepted as 'there'. I hope that the new 'Betty' is not going to use the Justin character to play 'flamboyancy' for a laugh. It's sweetly funny and endearing when it occurs organically. It's 'cheap' when it's played just for the laugh.
And the art direction.... I miss the obvious lack of color in this first episode. The old 'Betty' was escapist entertainment for me. I liked the 'orange' Mode and the warm browns, reds and wood tones in Betty's house. Now that she has her own apartment, I'll miss that. Without all the color in her environment, Betty seems really out of place. She sticks out like a sore thumb.
Daniel's new office is rich in warm colors, but in that (literally) loose structure, Betty just looks like a slob. Against the old Mode set, Betty's bohemian costuming made her look as if she was a 'free thinker', marching to her own drummer. There was still that sense of 'belonging' however, because the warm oranges and softly translucent walls matched her personality. With Daniel's new loosey-goosey office as the backdrop, her 'pattern on pattern' look comes off more like chaos against chaos. Maybe it's just too much of a change and I'm still in 'shock'...
I'm not liking the new 'Betty'. It's just too far removed from the old one to be the same show._________________________________________
-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
Hmmm... Is it just me or
Hmmm...
Is it just me or did this vlog appeared sometime yesterday and somehow magically disappeared while I was watching it half way through?
Maybe I had too much beer....
good eye
You may have had too much beer, but you are nevertheless on to something.
We posted early yesterday but then realized it gave spoilers about last night's Ugly Betty - so decided to pull it back for a day.
hehe,I was wondering if it
Wait...you can have too much beer?
:)
Eric
well said
Sums why I gave up on the show.
Betty gets smug
The show is suffering from its own success, everyone seem to have an entitlement of, "We're a hit show, get over yourself." Betty's newly found self-reliance is a bore. It was her fish out of water story that made her so appealing. In particular to gay people, who so heavily identify with her. It is her strong family ties that give her her self-confidence. Why remove her from that environment? Daniel's new frat boy life is very unappealing too. The struggle for MODE has been lost. I don't know what to think yet but it certainly feels like someone may have jumped the shark.
INSIDEGUY
P.S. I thought the Lindsay Lohan bit was so sweet and so the old Betty.
Ugly Betty
I didn't think that UB was that bad. It was still colourful. Her apartment was very colourful. Daniel's new player office was very colourful. New York was very colourful. And Kenley picked another 50s prints and threw it on Betty's back! LOL.
I think her moving out is in the right direction - she's still struggling in the work place but she's growing up. Did anyone pay attention to what Ignacio said? I think if anything, this episode does what it's supposed to do, setting up the rest of the season on how Betty can put things together, not in the same old way but in the new, but still Betty way!
Gio and Henry are to be rid of because they can't make it to the NY production. It was getting a bit old anyway with that story. Season 2 was a mess, so was Betty's life - perhaps it's the intention that she'll be able to steer her way back in season 3. They should definitely give Ana/Hilda more story coz she's FUNNY!!
I do agree that DH has no other way but to change into a totally new direction. Brent says that it's gone back to season 1 - which is disappointing to hear. Season 4 was such a brilliant season. If anything, they should let Edie go because she would have to go lesbian now that she's fooled around with all the husbands!
Pushing Daisies
Well, I haven't seen the first episode of the second season of Pushing Daisies yet (Entertainment Weekly did like it, however). But I do hope the network doesn't interfere too much with the show, which sounds like a recipe for disaster. This show is simply much too quirky for network television; I can't see it ever becoming a huge hit, and the network has made a major miscalculation if they're trying to change the basic premise. I never did think the programme would have a long run; I love it myself, but it really is too unusual and odd for it to catch on in a big way, I think. But no matter what, I'll be watching, simply because I simply adore Kristin Chenoweth. (Hmmm... I'm much too old to be a fanboy of any sort anymore, but she is the one celebrity who I am quite enthusiastic about at present...)
I wrote about Ugly Betty on that show's recap, but what the heck, I'll repost my thoughts here...
First off, I have to say that I absolutely loved the B-52's montage that opened the show; 'course, I always did like that song "Roam".... And I thought all the New York location shooting very much added to the look of the show; I hope they continue to film a lot of scenes outdoors to give the programme a definite sense of place. This sets it apart from all the series that are shot in California, which tend to have a sort of mind-numbing sameness to them...
Overall, I enjoyed the episode, though it was a little flat. I'm a bit surprised at how much some people did not like the third season opener; I honestly didn't think it was that bad. Oh, I have a few caveats, I suppose. The Gio and Henry relationships were wrapped up VERY quickly in just the blink of an eye, considering how heavily that love triangle figured in the previous season. I know neither actor was available to shoot in New York, and so better to cut your losses quickly, perhaps... Still, the transition was too abrupt. I am hoping that Betty will not have a romantic relationship of any kind this season; jumping right into another entanglement that would tend to make the character look shallow or flighty. I like the cute boy next door, but here's hoping that he turns out to be just a friend for Betty, nothing more.
And speaking of the boy next door... Hmmm, I'm not at all sure it was a good idea to move Betty to her own place. The family relationships are the heart of this show, and it's going to be much more difficult to explore that aspect of Betty's life when they are living in different locations. I would hate to have Hilda, Ignacia, and Justin's airtime cut way back because there's no logical way to work them into scenes. (I was hoping that Justin would have a larger presence on the programme this year, not a smaller one.) From the viewpoint of Betty's growth and maturation as her own person, it does make perfect sense for her to finally get her own place. But I don't think it will be good for the show, so I'm on the fence about that plot development....
I also think that the writers need to get Daniel and Betty back to the offices of Mode AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. It's spreading things too thin to have them working elsewhere. I'm assuming that Daniel's employment at Player will be of short duration; I don't expect that whole set-up will last longer than a handful of episodes. I hope not, at any rate. BIG mistake if it does.
Betty's comic bit at the Player photoshoot was unfortunately not particularly amusing. It made no sense, really---why didn't she just have Amanda (who would have absolutely jumped at the chance) put on the costume? Illogical...
Sorry, but my opinion of Hilda dropped WAY down, what with her affair with a married man (no matter how cute, if personality-free, he is). She's better than that---she should have kicked him to the curb, unless he ended his previous relationship for good. I hope that storyline doesn't drag on too long. Oh, plenty of inherent drama there which I'm sure a scriptwriter would enjoy, but I don't like the story and I think it's out of character for Hilda.
So, a bit of a mixed reaction from me on this episode. I can foresee a number of potential problems with the show if some storylines don't go in some different directions very soon, but for the time being I am just as much a Betty fan as ever, and I'll continue watching---avidly, even!
I'm like a superhero, with no powers or motivation...
SHAMELESS SEASON 6 - IAN and MICKIE
So technically this really applies to the Spring 2009 but I am a huge!!!!! fan of Shameless which has two recurring fabulous gay characters and 2 (sometimes more) lesbians and yet get's so little coverage here.
It's surprising to me because Ian is such a complex and layered character and his coming out story and various sexual encounters/ relationships has been handled with such fabulous writing.
Both Ian and Mickie are very sexually active (no more or less than your average late teenage /early 20's boy) and Ian's just had his first real "boyfriend" (which, ahem, met a bump in the road) but still...
I just love, love, love this show's handling of gay characters over all and I'm wondering if there's any chance folks on AE will be covering it more closely in the future.
Any word on anyone from AE covering Shameless when it returns in the Spring?
THE STARTER WIFE