Brothers & Sisters aired the next-to-last episode of the season last night, and it was an important night for Kevin (played by Matthew Rhys), Scotty (played by the out Luke McFarlane), and Saul (Ron Rifkin). Look for a full recap of Moral Hazard later, but it was too juicy an episode not to post about this morning. Uncle Saul is in the doghouse for single-handedly destroying the family business, so he has a few drinks, and "accidentally" wraps his car around a tree. He calls Kevin from jail, and the two of them have a fantastic conversation in Kevin's car, where Saul finally, officially comes out.

Kevin comes home to Scotty, and after witnessing all the dysfunction in his family, finally realizes how fortunate he is to have someone who is "kind, and caring, and changes the lightbulbs". He then asks Scotty to marry him (on one knee, no less), and Scotty does the absolute cutest "clutching the pearls" I've ever seen. The episode ends with Scotty saying "yes", and a very hot, close-up kiss. It was nearly perfect. *sigh*.

Unfortunately, to get to the sublime, we had to go through the ridiculous.

Trying to compare Kevin and Scotty with Desperate Housewives' Bob (Tuc Watkins) and Lee (Kevin Rahm) is like comparing apples with garishly dressed oranges, but when you have two gay couples back to back on high profile network shows, it's impossible to avoid. In this episode, Eva Longoria (whose Gabrielle character grows more monstrous with each episode) suspects her new tenant (played by Justine Bateman), is turning her home into a brothel, and enlists the aid of Bob and Lee to get to the truth. What follows is eye-rollingly predictable, with Lee trying to play a straight "john" and Gabby screaming for him to "butch up!" (what, is she moonlighting as a judge on Step It Up And Dance?)

It ends with Lee on the ground, having the crap kicked out of him by two women, and ... that's it for Bob and Lee on this episode.

And seriously ... what the HELL were they wearing?

Gale Harold fans rejoice. The sexy and very popular star of Queer as Folk will be turning up on the small screen again on the May 18th finale of Desperate Housewives. According to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello he'll be playing "a quick-witted, charming and buttoned-down suburbanite. Picture a young Jack Lemmon, only without a cross-dressing Tony Curtis dragging him down."

Hmm. Nothing about Gale Harold reminds me in the least of Jack Lemmon. I guess we'll have to wait and see how this pans out.

While Harold's May 18th turn on Desperate Housewives' is billed as a guest appearance, there are rumors that his character will have a central role in next season's big mystery.

Televisionista has been following the Desperate Housewives beat steadily, providing us some tantalizing rumors about where the show might be headed in the next season. One possibility for the fifth season of the suburbia satire has the show jumping ahead five years, leaving the viewers to catch upon what has happened in the meantime.

Intriguing enough, but the latest addition to that rumor gets even more interesting: in it, only one of Wisteria Lane's desperate househusbands will still be around when the show picks up five years later, and he'll be sharing his home with Andrew Van De Kamp.

Desperate Housewives is one of those series that I've gone back-and-forth with ... there's plenty that makes me want to give up on the series - particularly the way these characters don't seem to learn from their mistakes - but every time I'm ready to give up on the show something pulls me back in (something usually involving the Van De Kamp family). Still, it's been a while since a rumored storyline really grabbed my attention and this "five years later" story does that.

And I like the idea of Andrew breaking up Bob and Lee (or just stepping in after some other force splits them up) since it makes the househusbands a part of the last interesting family on Wisteria Lane, giving them a pretty strong connection into the dynamics of the neighborhood. I'd hope the relationship would be pretty accepted by the time we join the story, so that Bree's reaction (and journey to acceptance) can be left as something to be discovered with all the other secrets of those five years.

Of course, it's just a rumor so I'm just imagining the possibilities ... what do you think? Do you see potential here? Will it finally give Andrew something interesting to do and, more importantly, give Bob or Lee the chance to be a more interesting character than Betty Applewhite?

Hey, remember the gay guys on Desperate Housewives? The ones who throw fabulous Halloween parties and then vanish into the night? Looks like Bob (Tuc Watkins) and Lee (Kevin Rahm) be back in action in the upcoming May 4 episode, called "Opening Doors". 

Check out last week's BGWE where I talk about what is going on here. Gaby gets Bob and Lee to help her try to learn the truth about Justine Bateman, who takes great offense. And here are some brand-spankin'-new pics of the fellas from ABC ... enjoy! (Don't miss the rather hot action shot after the break)

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.

• Either the pic at top is of Kylie Minogue's performance at the Brit Awards, or the ghost of Marilyn Monroe is mounting a stage production of Earth Girls Are Easy.

• The Bay Area Reporter has a great interview with Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter of the in-production Harvey Milk biopic being helmed by Gus van Sant. (via Towleroad)

• Poor Jimmy Kimmel ... his girlfriend is "F*cking Matt Damon", and he has to settle for Ben Affleck? That's like aiming for Hall and getting Oats... (chances are the clip will air on Kimmel's post-Oscar show this Sunday)

• ABC announced the return schedules for most of our favorite shows (considering that they air almost everything that's actually watchable these days) including Betty, Daisies, Housewives. Grey's, and Brothers & Sisters. All but Daisies return by late April with new eps.

• The Rocky Horror Show recently revived itself in Sydney, and Rocky creator Richard O'Brien was there to give it his blessing.

• Speaking of Australian monsters, radio host Sonia Kruger has come under fire for calling Alan Jones, a competitor whose sexuality is a topic of much speculation, a "queen". Considering that Kruger played Tina Sparkle in Strictly Ballroom, it's safe to say that her next step will be to challenge Jones to a paso doble-off.

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

That's right, folks: last night the WGA East and West voted to call off the restraining order initiated on Novemeber 5th, and the strike is over. Now all that remains to be seen is what will happen to the capsized television season ... will the survivors make it through the inverted liner to rescue? Will there be a shlocky sequel starring Sally Field and a wretched remake? And most importantly, who will sing the theme song!?

Very little is known at this point, but the biggest news is that the Oscars are still indeed on for Sunday, February 24th, so go ahead and start planning your party menu accordingly (Into the Wild Rice Pilaf! Charlie Wilson's Three-Bean Dip!). ABC had announced previously that their nine most successful shows have already been renewed for next season, which includes Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Pushing Daisies, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, and basically anything else with a gay, transgender, or vaguely queer actor or character. So all set on that front.

Otherwise the various networks are left to pick up their own pieces. Saturday Night Live will return on February 23rd, but no guest has been announced yet (UPDATE: Tina Fey will host the first episode and Ellen Page will host the following week). And 24 won't be back until 2009, if that matters to anyone anymore.

Long and short of it is that we now have a slew of emergency reality programming to suffer through, and the nets are left scrambling to push some actual quality programming into the pipeline. We'll let you know as we learn more about our faves!

Out former baseballer Billy Bean

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.

• Michael Ausiello is reporting that the Grey's Anatomy cast is being called back to the set following positive strike negotiations, and that other ABC gay-faves like Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters will likely follow suit. First-seasoners like Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money will likely not resume filming until summer.

• I know that when I watch this PSA from gay former pro baseball player Billy Bean I'm supposed to be paying attention to the message that "ex-gay" ministries are a load of crap, but I can't help being distracted by how adorable he is. Does that make me a bad person?

• People picked out actor Cheyenne Jackson to be their highlighted hottie of the week (much in the way they picked out author Perry Moore as their hot guy of the week a few months back). There's no mention of Jackson's sexuality in the blurb, but let's face it: the guy's hot six ways to Sunday, regardless of his sexuality.

• Project Runway's most recent lovable gift from a galaxy far, far away - Elisa Jimenez - recently showed at New York Fashion week. Unsurprisingly, she brought the crazy with her.

• A man is alleging that gay UK radio presenter Nigel Wrench drugged and raped him at a New Year's Eve party last year, and told the courts as much. Wrench denies the accusations.