Marc & Lee channel Agatha Christie's greatest literary detectives in order investigate recent Doctor Who episodes, as well as unwrap the mysteries of the Battlestar Galactica mid-season finale.

Also, Marc, still giddy that no one correctly answered the latest Mystery Geek Challenge, shares the geek highlights of NewFest and questions Beth Grant's true commitment to Sparkle Motion. Also in this episode, the boys of Angry Puppy review The Beast with a Billion Backs, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Polar Opposites.

Check it out after the break!

Logo (our mother ship) is one of the proud sponsors of NewFest 2008: The 20th Anniversary NY LGBT Film Festival , which runs from June 5th to 15th. We've already mentioned the festival's closing film, Were The World Mine, and another festival entry, The Sensei, so let's take a look at some other highlights (for a complete list, check out the festival's website).

The festival opens with Tru Loved, which stars Alexandra Paul, Cynda Williams, Jasmine Guy, Bruce Vilanch, Marcia Wallace, Alec Mapa, Jane Lynch, and Nichelle Nichols (what a cast!), and is described as a "thoroughly modern high school romantic comedy":

"Sixteen-year-old Gertrude aka Tru is a typical high school teenager from an atypical home - she is raised by her two moms, interracial couple Leslie and Lisa, who have just moved to a new town in suburban southern California, while her two dads remain in San Francisco. At school, Tru catches the eye of Lo, the closeted star quarterback who soon makes a deal with Tru to pretend they are an item. It’s seems like a perfect solution – it keeps his friends and family from asking too many questions, and it allows Tru to instantly find a place to belong in her new school. But when Tru befriends picked-upon openly gay student Walter and decides to join him in forming a Gay-Straight Alliance, she falls for GSA member Trevor, a handsome metrosexual who has been raised by his gay uncle. Her new love affair threatens to expose Lo's true desires and standing as big man on campus."

Chris & Don: A Love Story 

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One of the two "centerpiece" films is Chris & Don: A Love Story, about the relationship of Don Bachardy and writer Christopher Isherwood, who was many years his senior:

"When 18-year-old Don Bachardy was introduced to 49-year-old Christopher Isherwood in 1950s Malibu, neither man knew it would be the start of a love story that would last for 30 years. Chris & Don chronicles their years together, with the vibrant and engaging Don at this extraordinary documentary’s epicenter ... a touching, illuminating portrait of the enduring power of love."

See more upcoming festival entries after the break!

NewFest 2008: The 20th Anniversary NY LGBT Film Festival will run from June 5-15th this year. For full coverage visit the website, but if you're going, be sure to show up the final night. The musical Were the World Mine will close the festival, and from the looks of it, it promises to be a feverdream the likes of which have never been seen before:

"If you had a love-potion, who would you make fall madly in love with you? Timothy, prone to escaping his dismal high school reality through dazzling musical daydreams, gets to answer that question in a very real way. After his eccentric teacher casts him as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he stumbles upon a recipe hidden within the script to create the play’s magical, purple love-pansy. Armed with the pansy, Timothy’s fading spirit soars as he puckishly imposes a new reality by turning much of his narrow-minded town gay, beginning with the rugby-jock of his dreams. Ensnaring family, friends and enemies in this heart-wrenching chaos, Timothy forces them to walk a mile in his musical shoes. The course of true love never did run smooth, but by the end of this moving musical comedy of errors based on director Tom Gustafson’s prolific award-winning short film, Fairies, the bumpy ride comes to a heartfelt conclusion. With vibrant imagery, a first-rate ensemble cast and innovative music rivaling the best of pop/rock and contemporary Broadway, Were the World Mine attempts to push modern gay cinema and musical film beyond expectation."

Note to self: Must.See.This! You can see a sneak peek of what is sure to be the gayest musical ever made (and that's saying something!) after the break.

Last night marked the close of the 19th year of NewFest, the New York City LGBT film festival, after 11 crazed days that offered nearly 250 films from 33 countries, a series of panels, and a few swinging parties.

The fest closed with Save Me, a film starring out actors Chad Allen and Robert Gant as men who live in an "ex-gay ministry" run by a well-meaning Christian woman, played by Judith Light. The film was definitely one of the highlights of the festival both due to its star wattage and the message of understanding that it offered to both gay and Christian audiences. And the post-screening Q&A with Gant, Light, and the film's director and producers offered even more insights, including the great news that the film will be released in October through Roadside Attractions. A bona fide gay film in theatres? Somebody pinch me.

During the Q&A, Light and Gant spoke about their involvement in the project (both are also producers), which manages to discuss the issue of "gay reparative therapy" without demonizing either the men who seek this kind of help or the individuals that claim that they can provide it.

When asked about his own sexuality and career, Gant had this to say:

"I came to terms during Queer as Folk that as much as much as I want to make a great living, and following along with the mindset in Hollywood that you can't be gay and make a good living, I decided that following the truth and being who I authentically am was vastly more important in the balance of things. And I've experienced that that has been proven true and of great benefit to me, and i wouldn't have made any other choice in the world. As a result I've realized what it means, and that's that you have to participate in that process in a different way -- you have to create things to help create your career, your future. And you can do that -- just, you have to take these things one step at a time. And I'm really grateful to have the opportunities and the forum to live my truth and be openly gay -- and who knows what's going to come from it. All i know is that I'm happy and that I wouldn't choose to do it differently at all."

Just a quick check-in on a few items around the site.

First, we're sorry if you've been having issues getting onto the site over the past day or two. We've actually had a one-two punch of a new, more robust search engine being installed in the back-end (no, that's not a euphemism) and our sister site AfterEllen.com's getting mad traffic on one of their recent articles, which has slowed things down a bit. Dammit, sis! We're so having a Jan Brady moment right now...

Second, we've got a great interview up on the main page with celebrated author Armistead Maupin, whose new book Michael Tolliver Lives tells the continuing story of Michael Tolliver from Tales of the City, one of the keystones of gay literature (and television). Do check it out, won't you?

Also, those of you in NYC who have more than a passing interest in gay media are welcome to swing by NewFest (New York City LGBT Film Festival) and see me mumble my way through a panel on gay blogging with some fellow journos from Queerty and Reverse Shot this Saturday. Now you can be bored and offended not just by my writing, but by my very person!

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled gay media extravaganza. Thank you.