Because the new NBC show (and its intriguing gay cop character) Southland has proven to be such a hot topic here at AfterElton.com, we're hosting a Viewing Party for tonight's episode, hosted by the immeasurably patient Ed Kennedy, who was also the man behind the curtain for this week's Brothers & Sisters Viewing Party.
The Live Chat is over now, but just hit replay to follow along!
Submitted by
on Thu, 2009-04-23 18:51.
Loved it, but..
Loved the episode, 'cause I love this show. But where was my seven minute big gay reveal?
Do the drag queens count? 'cause they were fierce, but Cooper didn't really do anything spectacular there.
The gay cop is the most complicated gay character on television
He's quite groundbreaking that way
I think that Cooper is a significant advance in gay representation specifically because his character role isn't centered on his sexuality. To be honest that's a breath of fresh air. A lot of writers claim that it's difficult to use gay characters on TV because they can't think of suitably "gay" storylines for them. But really what I think we need are more characters on TV for whom being gay is an aspect of their character, not the whole of it.
So here we're seeing a lot of facets to Cooper. He's committed to his job. He's cynical but still believes a difference can be made from time to time. He has a painful back problem. He has an ugly family history. These are the elements of a full-developed character. That he happens to be gay as well is gravy. Hopefully that will be explored in more detail. But I'm glad it's not everything.
As for the show overall, I think it's still embryonic. It's got great potential and characters. Hopefully it will last a while and we'll get to see it develop.
I agree the issues I have are related to it being the start
So, has the show actually told us that he is gay?
We missed the first episode here, due to weather, but based on episodes 2 and 3 I have absolutely no reason to believe that this character is gay. Was something said or indicated in the first episode? The quote from the show's creator about his exposition scene being moved to the third episode certainly was misleading. There was literally not one word or action from today's episode that would indicate that he is anything other than another straight cop.
So is that what everyone is raving about the stunning originality of this character? That he will never say or do anything on the show that indicates he is not hetero, and the only reason we know it is from the show's publicity machine? So, what exactly is the point of "saying" the character is gay at all?
Cooper Being Gay Was Revealed Already In Episode 1
He was revealed to be gay, definitively, in the first episode, at the very end of the episode.
I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't say what happened
You should watch that episode online if you can.
Hope that helps.
"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)
If you are just watching the show waiting for
Well - guess (the royal) you blew it
Tough, you want an explicitly gay character go back to Will&Grace. I find the show to be very interesting - tonight we had the moment with drag queen and the dialog between Coop and the rookie about Coop's lying about "protect and defend". Did you not catch that? Well - maybe "we" are not as perceptive as "we" are publicly portrayed.
Plus re the liveblog - yes some of us gay's who were in the military( Like Snicks) actually fired "guns" and actually qualified as sharpshooters (how gay is that!).
My question was based
My question was based entirely on what show creator John Wells said, that was quoted on AE:
John Wells: "Yeah, because we are able now to kind of tease out the theme that we had written that got cut is actually going to show up in episode three now. So it saved us about a half day shooting"
So, is this the episode that Mr. Wells was referring to or not? He clearly stated that due to time constraints in the pilot, the material that clearly indicated that Cooper was gay, beyond a barely there allusion that many viewers failed to see at all, was being used in episode 3. So, this was episode 3, and I certainly saw nothing of the kind.
I am not trying to be hostile, I am just asking, based on what Mr. Wells was quoted as saying, where the frak was the scene that he was referring to?
You have to be careful about what Wells says based on how
In defense
In defense of BobbyBaby, I was expecting something more on the gay front last night too - and why I pushed Michael to have the livechat. That was based on what Wells said to Michael's friend, the TV reporter from Pittsburgh, which got republished here on AE. I was expecting a lot more gay, actually.
That said, I love the character, and love how the show's developing him - like Psionycx said, he's gay, but that's not who is he, it's just a facet. We're having somewhat of a hard time connecting with him, because he's so unlike any gay character on television, past or present. That, and the show runs a huge number of stories every episode at breakneck pace. And as Craig pointed out, the stories, as plentiful and maddening as they are, are actually what's building the partner bond between Cooper and the rookie. I recognize it from my time shooting guns in the military (but I missed being a sharpshooter, damn birth control glasses).