The Week in Gay TV: Goodbye "Betty", Welcome Back "Glee", and the Return of the "Big Gay Sketch Show" !

Welcome to a new edition of Week in Gay TV, taking a look at the shows that will be battling for your attention in the upcoming week including our goodbye to Ugly Betty, the return of Marco on Degrassi and the eagerly-anticipated return of Glee.

This week kicks of with the season finale of VH1’s concert series Friday Night Alright. This time, the series is airing a performance done especially for the show as Adam Lambert goes unplugged. The glam side of Adam is what frequently gets noticed but he certainly showed that he has the talent to shine without any razzle dazzle on while he was on American Idol. Hopefully this will offer a good reminder of his diversity ad a nice warm up for his American Idol appearance on Tuesday.. 

Adam Lambert performs unplugged

One reason Degrassi: The Next Generation has appealed to some of its viewers for decades is that the series hasn’t forgotten its history. That usually means appearances by the likes of Caitlin or Joey (but not, frustratingly my old-school favorites, Stephanie and Voula) but this week it’s Marco who makes a return to Degrassi as a student teacher.

Adulthood has been a tough road for Marco, especially since he hasn’t become comfortable being by himself. Loneliness has left him vulnerable to falling under the influence of a new friend who paid for his fashionable clothes and nights out by prostituting himself, then got too clingy in his friendship with Griffin. Now, teaching puts Marco in a difficult position with the students he has befriended outside of class.

Adamo Ruggiero

I’ve been upfront about my disappointment in Degrassi of late, with the long running drama stumbling in the seventh season when a bunch of new characters were added to the cast. Degrassi’s pacing has been off since then and I’m hoping next season’s telenovela format will help the series find its voice again. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy having Adamo Ruggiero on my TV again. 

The Food Network also continues to transition to a channel of cooking-themed reality programs with the new reality drama Private Chefs of Beverly Hills which features six chefs dealing with the demands of outrageous clients. One of those chefs is Work Out alum Jesse Brune. Could those difficult clients be much worse than working for Jackie Warner?

Meanwhile, Friday also sees Pam Greir returning to Smallville to intimidate people as Amanda Waller, “America’s Sweetheart” (as the promos say) Tina Fey appearing on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, an attempt on Arthur’s life  happening at a tournament (is that going to be the plot of the second episode of every season?) on Merlin as well as the penultimate Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Now that Spartacus is aware of Batiatus’ treachery, he’s plotting his revenge. And that ain't going to be pretty!

But first it looks like Solonious is in a bit of a pickle. I wonder if there is a way out of this situation?

A surprise party for me? You shouldn't have!