2007 was quite a year for gay geeks, with gay representation in comics books, on science fiction television and in video games being a frequent discussion topic. While these topics aren't entirely new, this year the discussion was at its most active.

On TV, we saw ourselves more often, especially on BBC America's Torchwood ... even though we had frustrating setbacks on shows like Heroes. Things looked incredibly bright for gamers, who found themselves expecting a good number of games with expected gay-inclusiveness and found it easier to find each other.

Additionally, gay geeks became more visible. Logo debuted its collection of animation, Alien Boot Camp,which included bumpers showing gay fans at comics and sci-fi conventions, as well as gay comic creators like Alison Bechtel. For a long time, this subset of queers weren't seen often, with gay geeks being happily surprised when they found each other, but that's changing as our visibility within the gay community increases.

Let's take a look back at the past year, shall we?

Here they come, the sound of drums

If we were to declare a king of the gay geeks, Russel T. Davies would be the candidate to beat. The Doctor Who producer did plenty to increase gay visibility on sci-fi television. The past season of Who regularly showed gay people as simply a part of the human tapestry. More importantly, 2007 was the year Torchwood made its USA debut. The series quickly became BBC America's biggest hit and, seeking to maintain the momentum from season one's success, the network announced that the second season will air only two weeks after it airs on BBC Three.

The success of Torchwood, as well as Doctor Who, is a significant development for gay sci-fi fans. On Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness is a very different way of portraying queer men on television: as a dashing, heroic lead. Meanwhile, Captain Jack's return to Doctor Who this season continued to show his relationship with The Doctor as one having the kind of strained affection previously seen only with female companions like Sarah Jane Smith and Rose Tyler.

While Doctor Who is an obscure series for American fans, it's a major franchise in the UK and the series is the target of constant rumors and speculation regarding arrivals and departures both in front and behind the cameras. Those rumors included talk that Davies' may be cutting back on his Who duties with Steven Moffat taking over the series. Moffat wrote some of Who's most popular episodes and created the gay-inclusive Coupling and Jeckyll. If the speculation has any merit, Moffat sounds like a promising replacement.

We're still holding on for our hero on Heroes, Monday nights

For some media pundits, Heroes is a solid example of what diversity should look like on television,; but for people who actively advocate for increased diversity, the show is a mix of potential and problems. Last December, we noted that early promotion for the series had Zach as gay but that the show had suddenly turned away from the idea. Discussion into the character continued into the new year. Out producer Bryan Fuller confirmed that the character was written as gay, only to have those plans derailed by the management of Thomas Dekker, who played Zach. In its second season, Heroes was supposed to add a lesbian character but she, too, disappeared before becoming a major presence.

We're starting a new feature here, a round up of little items that might be of interest to my fellow gay geeks who frequent AfterElton.com. If it's wearing a cape, Vulcan ears or a pocket protector, you'll find it here.

• Yahoo! Games' rundown of controversial video games includes the gay controversies for SimCopter and Bully as well as the camp classic FMV game Night Trap. Mortal Kombat makes the list, as well -- am I the only one who thinks of that should be considered a camp classic, too?
  

• Some of you comic readers might be familiar with When Fangirls Attack, a linkblog that serves as a resource for discussion of the treatment of women and female characters in comics. WFA has grown to have an impact on comics coverage and now ComicGays seeks to do something similar for gay science fiction fans. As with WFA, you'll find a mix of opinions, including some cringe-inducing ones like the guy who uses Parthenon's elimination on Who Wants to Be a Superhero? as an argument against same-sex marriage. Sheesh.
  

• Meanwhile, check out what I think is the greatest thing I've seen in ages: Dorian Wright, the man behind ComicGays, has taken this week's Doctor Who episode and given it the LOLcat treatment. (Mild spoilers at the link.) My favorite image comes a couple weeks later, though. (Watch out for even bigger spoilers at there.)

• Who caught this week's Eureka? I've been waiting for the show to give us confirmation that Cafe Diem manager Vincent is gay beyond that one "Is he cute?" line and I was afraid we'd get that confirmation in the most cringe-inducing way. The episode saw Sheriff Carter suddenly find himself irresistible to women and I was bracing myself for a scene where Vincent embarrasses himself by throwing himself at Carter. Thankfully, that didn't happen, but, if Vincent's gay, I hope they clarify his sexual orientation before the season ends. Eureka has been outstanding at showing that women and ethnic minorities contribute to the city's well-being. It'll be great to see that inclusiveness were extended to gays, as well.

So as we know, gay hero Parthenon was eliminated last week and sadly did not make it to the Final Three and advance to last night's Who Wants to Be a Superhero? two-hour finale. But that doesn't mean that his presence on the show didn't make a lasting impact (aside from being occasionally totally hilarious, that is). In the Feedback After Show exit interview with the winner, we learn even more about the hero that we came to love over the course of the season.

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Last night's penultimate episode of the hilariously illogical, curiously camp and always unpredictable Sci-Fi Channel reality show Who Wants to Be a Superhero? was ... well, illogical, camp and unpredictable. The challenges were more opaque than usual, which is what perhaps resulted in the ultimate ousting of the show's gay hero, Parthenon.

It's disappointing to see Parth get the gold-glittered boot after his very first time in the bottom three and even more disappointing that we won't have a gay hero in the finale, but let's face it: he did kind of blow those first two challenges, and more importantly, his impromptu jig lacked spirit. And we can't have a superhero who can't pull some jazz hands when the situation demands.

This episode was all about cracking codes, something that the heroes were not too terribly good at, for the most part, especially when it came to finding the hidden challenges within the challenges. The first code-crack involved a classroom full of fourth-graders, whom the heroes had to enlist to answer some questions in order to decipher a coded message. Of course, the real challenge here was in seeing if the heroes could relate to kids.

Hyper Strike was a big hit, which is unsurprising since the guy does somersaults for a living (not that there's anything wrong with that). Hygena and Defuser seemed to get along well enough, but Parthenon went into Bank Branch Manager Def Con 4 managing style with his kids, which didn't endear him at all. Now, Parthenon has always performed at the top of the superhero class, and won several challenges. He's smart. He's got good problem-solving skills. But he's a bit iffy in the people skills department, at least within the boundaries of this competition, and he does seem to place finishing the job above anything else both in terms of the kids and in what we're about to see.

On last night's Who Wants to Be a Superhero, gay hero Parthenon yet again managed to avoid the bottom three (which he has yet to find himself in, if I'm not mistaken) but did get a slap on the wrists for ... well, for screaming like a girl during the challenge. Considering how gay last week's episode was, it was a bit disappointing to see Stan Lee come down on Parthenon for his mid-challenge shriek, as it seemed like they were saying that he needed to butch up or ship out. But at this point it's so obvious that the gay hero's Dudley Do-Right image is a tough nut for the competition to crack, and that the show is having a hard time finding anything about him to criticize.

Case in point: the "secrets from the heroes' past" segment, in which Doctor Black Party unearthed embarrassing information about the heroes to one another and to Stan Lee.

First up is Whip Snap, who apparently "borrowed" a friend's car (Stan says she stole it) and slept on the roof of a girl that she had a crush on. Okay, that's kind of embarrassing, yes. And a bit stalkery. But as much as we love Whip Snap for her tenacity, it's not like emotional stability has ever been her strong suit in this competition.

Hygena, meanwhile, harbors the secret wish to take burlesque dancing classes. Considering they teach pole dancing at my local gym and it's flocked to by all sorts of women, I don't see this as being any kind of terrible secret. Although I do love when Doctor Black Party holds up a feather boa as a clue to her secret and Hygena looks at it quizzically for a moment before guessing "...College?"

Hyper-Strike, meanwhile, got fired from a circus because he couldn't do a hands-free kip off of a gym floor during a performance. The best part about this is that it's communicated via a video of his circus pals pantomiming the event, which serves as a good reminder that, unlike the other heroes, Hyper's home life is actually less normal than running around in tights in a loft with a bunch of glitter-covered strangers.

We come to Parthenon and I actually get a little worried. First off, Doctor Black Party calls him "Fancy Pants," which is a bit odd considering all the men are wearing Spandex leggings. We see a video of Parthenon's partner at the gates of his house, and he notes that every room in the house has its own theme. Oh dear ... are we going to see Parthenon's dungeon? Or his Precious Moments room? This could get ugly.

God's Christian Warriors (CNN) 9:00 PM EDT
Christiane Amanpour takes a look at the collision of religion and politics in this three-part documentary. The final chapter, airing tonight, is a look at conservative Christian activists who have taken anti-gay activism as one of their major battles. Nothing terribly new, but a good reminder of how badly these "warriors" want to see us disappear. (Check out our full review for more.)

Who Wants to be a Superhero? (Sci-Fi Channel) 9:00 PM EDT
In a challenge where the two encounter creepy crawly things like snakes and spiders, one of the heroes lets out a frightened scream. Will that scream turn out to be from out contestant Parthenon, as the ads suggest? And, if so, how badly will Stan Lee hold it against him?

Shameless (Sundance Channel) 11:00 PM EDT
In case you missed any episodes of this twisted but unconventionally sweet British series about a family consisting of six kids, an alcoholic father and an absent mother, the Sundance Channel is airing the beginning of the first season once again. Gay teen Ian Gallagher gets a lot of focus in the series, especially his affair with a Muslim store owner.

Yes, this recaplet of last Thursday's Who Wants to Be a Superhero? is way late, but it was kind of bumped back due to a little thing called The Kiss Heard Round the World (and the lady in the Malt-o-Meal) on Friday.

But if you missed it, the increasingly camp reality competition had its gayest episode yet last week, as out hero Parthenon kicked ass and took names (or at least sweat-pants) at Universal Studios, where the costumed combatants had to literally talk complete strangers out of their clothing. Here's how it went down...

The heroes, remember, had returned to their lair after the double-elimination to find that their secret identities and — GASP — Stan! Lee's! Pencil! had been stolen by someone, likely the evil, shag-throw-loving Doctor Black Party. Defuser of course kicks into full-on Vin Diesel in The Pacifier mode, treating the rest of the heroes like a scrappy bunch of PG-movie kids and a wayward duck as he tries to maintain order.

They soon get a message that they'll be trying to intercept the passoff of the stolen materials — which also included a $50,000 check for a charity — with the assistance of the pink-haired cartoon from the esurance commercials. No word on whether they'll be able to file claims on their stolen identities with Pinky if they fail.

The heroes essentially have to talk three strangers out of three articles of clothing in order to assume a fake identity and ambush the handoff. Because, you know, no one will suspect the guy being followed by a camera crew so long as he's not wearing tights, right? They have to procure a shirt, pants, and shoes from three different people in the park.

This of course isn't the easiest thing to do, but Parthenon cleans up when he finds a group of ladies who are powerless to resist his sassy brand of superhero charm. Is it just me, or is Parth walking with a little more spring in his step these days? Looks like someone added a little extra sugar to his Tang this morning.

As the World Turns (CBS) Check local listings
The previews promise more screen time for Luke and Noah today, with a kiss coming up tomorrow. Let's hope it turns out to be worth the waiting.

Big Brother (CBS) 8:00 PM EDT
Dustin is nominated for eviction and, with the way these fickle housemates suffer from short attention spans, it's hard to get a read on which way the vote is leaning, though with the influence of the diary room at work, I'm feeling pessimistic. On the other hand, when are the producers going to show us that Jen's figured out the whole America's Player twist?

Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (Sci-Fi Channel) 9:00 PM EDT
This week, the superheroes have to adopt a disguise as information about their secret identities is stolen. Hooray for reality TV that doesn't leave me feeling sad inside.

As the World Turns (CBS) Check local listings
Yesterday's teasers indicate that Luke and Noah go swimming on today's show, can a fight over a towel follow that -- or will they make us wait until tomorrow? After hearing Maddie worry about her relationship with Noah feeling "forced", I'm thinking ATWT fans may get their Nuke after all.

Big Brother (CBS) 8:00 PM EDT
As I mentioned in my recap of the last episode, with his alliance facing its first crisis, Dustin has taken a strong leadership role, though one that hasn't gotten much screen time. I'm hoping that'll be different in tonight's episode

The Visible Vote '08: A Presidential Forum (Logo) 9:00 PM EDT
Democratic Presidential candidates Hilary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich Barack Obama and Bill Richardson speak to gay issues in this political forum. If your cable provider doesn't offer available, you can also watch it online.

Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (Sci-Fi Channel) 9:00 PM EDT
Now that this reality show has added hammy actors (which really works well on a show hosted by "Stan the Ham") playing villains, this show has found its cheesy stride in its second season.