The Week in Gay Geek: Spider-Man: The Muscial?, combining sci-fi crushes and more!

SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN, CAN BREAK INTO SONG LIKE OLIVE SNOOK CAN:
Here's a bit of news I didn't expect, apparently there's a Spider-Man musical coming to Broadway. There's reason to feel optimistic about the project -- it's directed by Tony-winner Julie Taymor while the music comes from Bono and The Edge. Still, despite those names I can't help but think of It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman.

Right now, Spidey is set to hit Broadway late in 2009 or 2010 (I want to know which city gets the test run). I'm not much of a Broadway geek, mostly because I now live in a city where the Spamalot tour sticks around for just one week (admittedly that's better than a one-Starbucks town), so I don't have a strong feel for how much optimism Taymor should inspire... what do you Broadway fans think, does this sound like the next Lion King or Carrie?

I GUESS IT WON'T BE A GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW MOVIE:
Marc Guggenheim is currently on the geek radar as the writer on Amazing Spider-Man and as one of the people working on the Green Lantern movie, but he also hits my gay pop culture radar as a writer on the first season of Brothers & Sisters and an Executive Producer on the gay friendly Eli Stone. Unfortunately, thanks to an interview at The Pulse he also hits an offensive note with some comic fans. In discussing the controversial One More Day storyline (where Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane was erased from continuity) he oddly brings up the issue of gay marriage:

"Part of the problem with the controversy behind One More Day is the understanding of what was retconned overstates the extent of what was done," he said. "Everything that happened in the last twenty plus years of comic book history happened! The only difference is that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson weren't married. They still dated. They still lived together. They still love each other. They just weren't married. Judging from the letters and death threats we received, I think some people were confused. It all still happened."

One More Day

"Here's my attitude, if anyone is upset about the marriage going away, then they must all be pro gay marriage," he continued. Because if you're pro gay marriage, you understand the distinction between a marriage and a civil union -- that a civil union is not equal to a marriage. We downgraded Mary Jane and Peter to a civil union. If that bothers you, then you're pro gay marriage."

Uhm, what? Is he saying that marriage and civil unions are the same thing and that gays who see a difference between the two (y'know, like those Federal benefits that straight couples have the benefit of taking for granted) are like those silly fanboys who are angry over a superhero story? Is he trying to play on the homophobic tendencies of superhero fans to make them feel stupid?

Comics blogger Dorian Wright, who drew my attention to Guggenheim's comments, explains his annoyance:

That's a rather nice bit of gay-baiting he pulled off. Guggenheim basically just called anyone who didn't like the One More Day story-line a f----t, while phrasing himself in such a way as to make it look like he's being gay-supportive.

What do you think? Does Guggenheim's comments rub you the wrong way, can reactions to Brand New Day be compared to marriage equity without trivializing an important civil rights issue?

THE MOST UNEXPECTED BATUSI PARTNER:
Comics gossip monger Rich Johnston has an interesting new rumor this week. Johnston claims that the legal battle between Fox and Warner Bros. over the upcoming Watchmen movie might lead to the live action Batman TV series hitting the DVD store shelves. The rights to the DVD has been a matter of dispute between the two studios for a while -- while Fox owns the film but Warner owns the rights to the characters. Johnston says that Fox is hoping that Warner will sign over the rights to selling Batman on DVD in order to get Watchmen into the multiplexes without delay.

Two great things I never expected to put together in an image:

From a gay geek perspective, that's an interesting collision. The Watchmen comic stands out as an early gay-inclusive comic (even though today we'd be complaining about them being "barely there") while the Batman TV series is full of camp and gay fave performers like Ertha Kitt and Julie Newmar. If Johnston is right on this one, it sounds like a win-win for the fans, at least.

After the break: Which sci-fi show has a Torchwood shoutout in the works?

BILLY, BE A HERO:
So far, what I've seen of the new Knight Rider doesn't really inspire me to find DVR space for the series every week, but here's a minor spoiler that might get me to give the revival a second chance. In a chat with the Sci-Fi Wire, Battlestar Galatica alum Paul Campbell teases a Halloween Torchwood shoutout, with Campbell's Knight Rider character dressing up as Captain Jack.

Knight Rider's Paul Campbell and John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness

I found Campbell to be pretty crushworthy on Galatica so Campbell dressed as Jack Harnkess could give me reason to give Knight Rider another chance.

SPECULATING THE TARDIS:
As much as I may be excited about Steven Moffat's upcoming run on Doctor Who, I'm still going to miss Russel T. Davies' influence and the gay sensibility he brought to the franchise. Davies raised my hopes that we may see his touch once more when he mentioned that he would consider returning to Who if a rumored big screen edition happens.

Russell T. Davies

In further Who/Davies news, the title of the Christmas special (the first of three specials Davies will work on before he leaves the series) has been revealed. I'm sure this one will have speculation that David Tennant will be leaving the role of Doctor soon, it's called "The Next Doctor". It sounds like I better get some "Russel Tovey for eleven!" postcards made.