Mark Cornelsen and T.R. Knight look smart at Get Smart

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Access Hollywood caught up with T.R. Knight last night (at the Get Smart premiere with boyfriend Mark Cornelsen), and got his thoughts on the historic day in California marriage history.

• Here's a clip of out hottiepants Cheyenne Jackson being interviewed at the Tonys red carpet!

• Groomer Rumor has it that Queer Eye vet Jai Rodriguez will be playing Desi Arnaz in a West Hollywood production of the musical Dance With Me (which tells the love story of Desi and Lucille Ball) in July.

• One of our greatest (and funniest) straight allies, Stephen Colbert, was awarded another Peabody Award last night. Keep 'em comin'! Other recipients included 30 Rock, Dexter, Mad Men, and Project Runway.

• Hey, remember that unsavory TiVo/Focus on the Family collaboration that we wrote about last week? Looks like FoF has pulled the TiVo logo from their ads. Nice!

• Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Urie (as gay assistant Marc St. James on Ugly Betty) are amongst the nominees for this year's Teen Choice Awards. For the full list go on over here ... I'm sorry, I love Jake Gyllenhaal as much as the next guy, but is there anyone who qualifies as a "teen" who has even heard of Rendition?

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

• No more Heroes: Origins:
  So, NBC announced its TV schedule for the next year and, unfortunately, there wasn't anything really gay on the schedule. (Our sister site has reasons to be hopeful for Knight Rider, however.) One bit of bad news is that the Heroes spin-off, Origins, is dead. I was looking forward to the spin-off, which had recruited some big names to direct episodes, including Kevin Smith, who said he'd like his episode to introduce two gay heroes. That leaves us back to hoping the regular Heroes team will eventually see a gay character, which means my cynical side is doing a "Told you so" dance.
  
  

• Titans Together!:
  I missed this announcement the first time around, but apparently there's also a Teen Titans movie in the works, which will take inspiration from the classic version Marv Wolfman and George Perez gave us, which certainly had its share of gay fans. As much as I loved the animated Titans, it'll be interesting to see an adaptation that could look at the darker side of those characters. Hm, so many story possibilities just from the early issues ... and any chance of seeing Debra Winger make a cameo appearance?
  
  

• Cylons, the way they were:
  Tonight Battlestar Galactica returns, but I'm also getting excited about the upcoming spin-off, Caprica, which promises to be a sci-fi soap. It turns out the prequel series will explore the origins of the Cylons. I was initially feeling a bit cautious about this spin-off but the more I hear the more I want to see Caprica ... how about you BSG fans?
  
  

• Good news for It-getters, bad news for Lady Nocturne:
  Fans who share Stephen Colbert's comic book geekiness have been a little bit frustrated with how slow the Tek Jansen comics have been coming from Oni Press. Some good news came in today for fans of Colbert's Gary Stu: the series is back on schedule, with the second issue coming out in late June. (June? I'm going to be waiting forever for that collection, aren't I?)
  
  

• I think the real question is "Why is there a Pussycat Dolls reference in a fantasy MMO?"
  Considering World of Warcraft's history with gay characters, I was feeling wary when I heard about a discussion asking "Has Blizzard gone out of their way to make male elves gay?" However, the discussion sounds pretty positive, asking if Blizzard is playing to gay stereotypes in order to make a cheap, gay joke. I haven't really taken the time to get to know WoW, so I'm pretty curious to hear from any AfterElton readers who play it: do male elves' emotes encourage homophobic humor or is it all a matter that should be handled by GMs? Still, I did enjoy this bit of WoW machinima:

• Young Heroes in Love, Marvel edition:
  Yesterday, I gave my reaction to Young Avengers Presents #3, where the young romance of Hulking and Wiccan took another small step forward (an encouraging sign considering how much disappointment gay superhero readers have faced). Here's another take, with an interesting discussion in the comments. I can understand the worry that if the relationship isn't made clear, it'll be retconned away eventually, but I think the relationship has been pretty solidly established. In this case, I'm not worried about seeing another gay couple like the Legion's Lyle and Condo.
  
  

My love for Stephen Colbert is well-documented. My love for R.E.M., not so much ... probably because I'm not really a big fan. But try and tell me that this clip from Wednesday's Colbert Report, which features Colbert's insano-pundit alter-ego interviewing the rockers from atop an enormous stool and using their new record to cover his junk, isn't one of the best band interviews ever. And don't miss out frontman Michael Stipe's winking responses to the questions about writing songs about girls...

• Post-apocalyptic wishes and radioactive dreams:
  One of this year's most anticipated games is Fallout 3, the follow-up to what's seen as one of the best and most innovative role playing games. Those eager Fallout fans got some exciting news this week. Not only is the game done (with bugs to fix) the game promises to be huge -- with some 200 possible endings. Wow. Now if only someone could tell me if the game has any same-sex couples, as Fallout 2 did...
  
  
• Welcome to the Dollhouse, Helo:
  Before the Writers' Guild went on strike, we were pretty excited over the news of a new Joss Whedon series. Now that Hollywood has gone back to work, they've begun casting the roles not played by Eliza Dushku. Battlestar Galactica hottie Tahmoh Penikett will be playng Dushku's romantic foil. Nice...

  

  Maybe it's just the articles I read, but I haven't seen the usual talk of "We can work around his Battlestar Galactica commitments." Hurm, I wonder...
  
  
• I'd buy a record from a group called Doctor and the Three Companions:
  Oh, goody, the series four Doctor Who trailer hit the web this week. Check it out. I know this isn't a common opinion, but I'm looking forward to seeing the return of Donna. I like the idea of an everywoman companion who isn't immediately wowed by everything The Doctor does and the promise of a big companion meet-up is pretty exciting, as well. (Though why not throw Mickey into that mix, as well? And weren't we already promised that Captain Jack would be a part of the mix?) The fourth season arrives in the USA on the Sci-Fi Channel April 18, starting with the "Voyage of the Damned" special which co-stars dance diva Kylie Minogue.
  
  
• Look who's honoring him now:
  Four years ago, indie game developer Stardock introduced a strategy based around presidential politics, The Political Machine. The game was simple, but fun. It was like something you'd expect to play during a social studies class with the cool teacher. (So calling all you Oregon Trail fans...)
  
  This week, the publisher announced it would be coming out with a new 2008 edition. Here's what I find amusing: Four years ago the screenshot for the media screen showed a pundit looking a lot like Bill O'Reilly. This time, their media screen looks like:

  

  Notice the portrait in the corner? Heh.
  
  

Happy Birthday, John Barrowman!

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Gus van Sant's Sean-Penn-starring Milk wrapped shooting in San Francisco this past weekend, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt a few different handfuls of snaps. Anyone else think it looks like Cruising without the Crisco?

• Exactly how many times did Neil Patrick Harris say "vagina" during the Q&A for Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay at SXSW? And while we're on the subject, the pic got a near rave from Variety, who called it "one of the ballsiest comedies to come out of Hollywood in a long time."

• J.K. Rowling again expressed her shock that anyone would be bothered by Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore's being gay, adding, "I think homophobia is a fear of people loving, more than it is of the sexual act."

• Stephen Colbert spun comedy gold out of the Governor Eliot Spitzer scandal (notice how no one is calling it a "Straight Sex Scandal!"), including noting that his "whoredar" failed him and that he is the prostitute who engaged Spitzer, but that most of his $4300 hourly fee went to his pimp, Jon Stewart.

• Twittering from SXSW, Whitney from Popcandy had this to say about the new comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which stars Veronica Mars' Kristin Bell and How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel): "It was funny throughout with repeated full-frontal male nudity and awesome puppet vampires!" Finally, someone has made a film out of my ongoing inner monologue.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

• We've got movie sign!
  It's been a heavy week for comic book movie news. The most exciting bit for me is that the Justice League movie is set for a 2009 debut. Rapper Common will get to don Green Lantern's power ring while The O.C. hottie Adam Brody is cast as The Flash. Physically, Brody's pretty far from TV's Flash, John Wesley Shipp:





The difference seems apt, however, since we're talking The Flash, who probably should have more of a runner's physique.

Meanwhile, some new teaser images for the Wolverine movie hit the Internets this week. Maybe it's the well-defined back, but this one has me thinking of Mark Sivestri's sexy New X-Men cover:





We also heard little more news about the Watchmen movie, as the DVD will include a Tales of the Black Freighter animated short narrated by Gerald Butler. While it may seem odd to be discussing the bonus features on the Watchmen DVD when the movie hasn't come close to hitting theatres, that actually feels rather apt considering the way the original Watchmen comic was full of bonus features itself.


• Number one on the threatdown: Orcs!:
  I so love it when my geekdoms collide. Apparently, the World of Warcraft CCG considered including a character card inspired by Steven Colbert. The card is pretty brilliant:
  





"He's putting the hoard on notice." Heh.

Still, my inner gamer nerd can't help but shake my head and think about how "truthiness" would throw off the game balance. Then again, it's been ages since I've played a CCG, so maybe things have changed and truthiness usually puts Colbert in God Mode during his interviews, so maybe its all apt after all.


• The week in fanart and mashups:
  Brilliant. You've got to check out these comic covers of Vertigo comics re-imagined as Silver Age classics. (Thanks Heidi) Here's Y: The Last Man:
  





It's been ages since I've played Doom but if there's a mod giving you the Rick Roll of Death as a weapon, I could dig up my old 3.5" floppies. (Of course, finding a floppy drive is another question.) Ah, yes, demons do fear classic Stock/Aitken/Waterman...

And while we're discussing cool fan art, let me draw your attention back to Torchwood Babiez, where part two has already come out. Not only does the series manage to get even cuter, we've got a twist ending to this one.


• Link of the week:
  This could be my new favorite blog not named after Elton John: Get Off the Internet is a new blog collecting the best in people saying stupid things online. Think of it as the new Fanboy Rampage blog except that now it's not just comic readers making fools of themselves.
  
  

Last night Stephen Colbert continued his shameless attempts at winning my heart (Enough, Stephen! You had me at "Warrior Poet!") by running the hilarious first segment of a two-part interview with the Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese.

In the span of mere minutes, Colbert's insanopundit persona shoots about a dozen holes in the conservative arguments against equal marriage rights for gay people, and manages to come up with a new word for gay marriage ("Man-riage!") and use "Appletini" to boot. Atta boy!

The "exciting conclusion" airs tonite ... so if you're not too hazy from doing imaginary body-shots off of a cardboard cutout of Perry from Make Me a Supermodel during our liveblog, do check it out.

My love for Stephen Colbert (both the actor and his insanopundit alter-ego) is almost as well-documented as his support of gay visibility by this point. But in a typical one-up, last night Colbert pulled a hilarious move in an interview with South Carolina's fourth district Representative Bob Inglis, asking the Republican rep could support gay marriage.

When Inglis notes that it's the heterosexuals who are threatening marriage and not the gays, Colbert counters that the gays have already ruined moustaches and short-shorts for "the rest of us" and gives some photographic evidence to support his claim.

Check it out after the jump. You'll like.

Oh Stephen Colbert, how do I love thee? And how much did I miss you in the ten weeks that you weren't there to tuck me in at night? I know that last week we ran a poll about whether you prefer The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, and while I am still a fan of Jon Stewart's three-ring circus, I'm shocked that more people aren't as head-over-heels for Colbert's unabashedly (and unintentionally) gay-friendly Insano-Pundit as I am.

To demonstrate why I love Stephen so much, I'm posting two clips from last night's episode. How could you not love Colbert screaming "F*CK YOU OLD MAN" at hatemonger Bill O'Reilly (whom we lovingly profiled a few weeks back) through a mouthful of lo mein? Watch and learn:

Or how about a discussion of the political race in which Mike Huckabee's head is Photoshopped onto gay photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's legendary self-portrait (whip and all)?

It's not just his irrational fear of bears, or his love of monkeys on the lam, or even his impeccably-tailored suits and JC Penney Catalog hair. In fact, I haven't figured out exactly what it is about Stephen that I love so much, so I'm dating this post's headline with the expectation that I'll return to the topic ... because writers or no, he's bound to give me good reason to.