ULTIMATE X-MEN DISCUSSION ALERT:
This week, Ultimate X-Men #97 hit the comic shop shelves, the final chapter in the story that controversial included a(nother) death of Northstar as well as similarly dire consequences for Colossus. I figure it'll be good to have a space to discuss the story. However, since I don't want to put spoilers at the top of the post, this item is only here to let you know that there's a summary of the conclusion and a few reactions at the end of the post. Please add your reactions in the comments!

SAVE US MOVIE SIGN:
This has certainly been a week full of news for DC superhero movies and there was a gay aspect to most of those stories. Most exciting is a positive script review for the Greg Berlanti-directed Green Lantern movie that certainly builds the hype:

"Let me start off with saying that within just reading the first few pages, I knew Berlanti, Guggenheim and Green had gotten the character right."

Green Lantern Hal Jordan and director Greg Berlanti

On the other hand, this part is a tiny bit worrysome

"The script, if greenlit, is a sure-fire hit for fan boys, but in scale it's big, VERY big, and we are hearing rumors that it may be too big for the director currently attached, Greg Berlanti."

I'll be disappointed if Berlanti is deemed as not having the experience for Green Lantern. After all, Bryan Singer and Christopher Nolan weren't blockbuster movie directors when they brought X-Men and Batman Begins to the multiplexes.

And then comes the more surprising rumor of gay icon Cher as a possible Catwoman for the next Batman film. What makes the rumor rather interesting for me is the comment that Cher's Catwoman would be "like a vamp in her twilight years." Which strikes me as an interesting take on the iconic villain. I'd love to see a Selina Kyle who has benefited from years of villainy.

Cher and Catwoman

On the less-gay front there's talk of the Superman film franchise getting a reboot, Batman Begins-style. In the various reports I've read, I've seen Superman Returns director Bryan Singer compared to Ang Lee (who directed the first unsuccessful Hulk film), which makes it sound unlikely he'll be participating in the next Superman movie.

Sigh, that's a lot of gays-getting-booted-from-superhero-movie rumors for one week, isn't it?

TAKEI ALERT!
Is the number of gay actors performing in video games on the increase or have I only just started to notice? Not only will we soon hear Stephen Fry's voice in Fable 2 but now comes word that George Takei will be appearing in the between-mission cinemas for Red Alert 3.

George Takei in Red Alert 3

Actually, the Red Alert 3 cast has more than a bit of a gay sensibility. In addition to Takei, the cast includes gay faves like Tim Curry (whose history as a video game voice goes back as far as cult classic Gabriel Knight), Oz bad guy JK Simmons as well as Gemma Atkinson of Hollyoaks and the very gay Hollyoaks spin-off In the City. I'd be rather excited if most RTS strategy games — including the original Command & Conquor — didn't quickly end in frustration for me.

After the break: When Fallout 3 is planning on destroying your social life, Hex' Thelma meets Elizabeth Bennett and the latest fates for Ultimate Colossus and Northstar.

As you might have heard, Fox only recently managed to get the voice cast of The Simpsons to agree to do another season, giving the show a record-breaking twentieth. However, Verne Gay of Newsday suspects this could be the series' swan song. The reason? Increasing costs -- especially with those increased voice cast salaries -- while ratings have been trending downwards.

After twenty years (twenty years? Aw, gee, once more I'm feeling like I should go join Abe in yelling at clouds), it's hard to imagine TV without new episodes of The Simpsons, especially considering all the great gay moments the TV series gave us.

Harvey Fiersten's super-assistant Karl

In 1990, we got our first gay Simpsons guest appearance when Harvey Fierstein appeared as Homer's secretary, Karl. Karl was a one-man Queer Eye crew, helping Homer pick out a suit, helps him speak before executives and generally helps his confidence. Karl also sacrifices himself to save Homer's job, kissing Homer before departing the series. In hindsight, the role was a pretty stereotypical, but at the time it broke new ground for animated series.

You might have heard that Mensa, the organization for people with very high IQs, has assembled a list of the Smartest TV Shows of All Time. Frasier makes the list at number 8 (aided, no doubt, by the performance of David Hyde Pierce as natty Niles) and four shows known for occasionally tackling gay themes - The West Wing, Boston Legal, Mad About You and All in the Family - are also included.

The full list:

1. M*A*S*H
2. Cosmos with Carl Sagan
3. CSI
4. House
5. West Wing
6. Boston Legal
7. All in the Family
8. Frasier
9. Mad About You
10. Jeopardy

As always with a list like this, a number of omissions come to mind, ones that makes the inclusion of Boston Legal and Mad About You seem even odder. Seeing Mensa chairman Jim Wardell explain the choices doesn't help things, since there doesn't seem to be on over-arching rationale; CSI and House are considered smart for the way they use science in their stories while Frasier and M*A*S*H are praised for their characters and dialouge.

While a list of this always inspires people to think of their favorite deserving shows (I always go with Wonderfalls, myself) there are a couple general omissions that I find interesting. All of these ten shows originally aired on broadcast television, so critical darling cable networks like HBO and fx are not represented.

Animated and science fiction series don't make the cut, nor do any gritty, emotionally exhausting dramas like Homicide or Six Feet Under. One could almost say that Mensa picked shows that were intellectually challenging but not too intellectually challenging.

The most glaring omission is probably The Simpsons, a show that playfully challenged its audience's attention to detail almost constantly. Does the fact that Lisa Simpson is a high-ranking member of Mensa Springfield mean nothing?

But there are plenty of other gay-inclusive TV shows that could fit on the list. Earlier, I mentioned Homicide (which gave us an unflinchingly realistic look at police work and characters who developed over time, including Kyle Secor's Det. Bayliss becoming comfortable with his bisexuality), Six Feet Under and Wonderfalls, and would also think Oz and The Wire would be deserviing nominations.

What are your favorite examples of smart, gay television? Which shows do you think challenged audiences' brains the most? Let us know in the comments!

One of the challenges in holiday gift giving comes when you've got someone who's passion is one you don't share -- how do you avoid embarrassing yourself with the gift of a slickly-marketed and badly-reviewed new item that will get you that thank you that just tries too hard to sound sincere? If one of the people on your gift-shopping list is a gaymer, GayGamer.net has assembled a helpful list of gift ideas, with suggestions for the most popular gaming consoles. It's a solid list that increases your chances of finding the game that's on their wish list.

Some games, justifiably, get mentioned in several spots like Puzzle Quest, with its addictive combination of puzzle game and fantasy RPG (it's available for the PSP, Nintendo DS and Windows). The Simpsons Game (which also got a thumbs-up from our own Marc and Lee) also gets multiple mentions for its Wii, Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and XBox 360 editions.

Some of GayGamer's other interesting recommendations include Clive Barker's horror game for Windows, Jericho, on the Wii MySims (which avoids gender limitations) gets a nod, Janne D'Arc for the PSP (which I can't imagine being anywhere as cool as its TV ad) and the latest installment in the campy Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney series.

The instant-classic (among gaymers, at least) sandbox game Bully gets a recommendation for the Playstation 2. You might remember that Bully featured the possibility that your character may be gay. Even better, Bully's now priced as a "greatest hits" title, making it a bargain buy for the procrastinating gaymer on your list.

They also recommend the latest Neverwinter Nights expansion. So far, I don't think NWN2 has gay content, but the game allows you to create your own NWN2 adventures that can be shared with the NWN2 community. Here's your chance to share a little joy with your fellow gaymers ... or, at least, the ones who enjoy fantasy RPGs. While you're at it, you should sign up for Dwiz' LGBT friendly guild and help increase the visibility of the game's queer audience.

That's just a sample of what the GayGamer crew have to recommend: check out the list for the full selection. And for more general gay holiday gift ideas keep an eye out for AfterElton.com's holiday gift guide, coming soon.

The Geek Talk guys, Marc and Lee, are back ... and after - what, 6 weeks? - they've finally settled on a name for the vlog. And that name is ...

Angry Puppy!

As I do not speak geek myself, I have no idea what that means. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy this installment just as much as the fellas' previous outings. In this episode, the guys discuss the Futurama movie, Marc gives a tour of his gay action figure collection (Captain Jack Harkness would make a great stocking stuffer, no?) and they share their pick for Website of the Week.

Click on through to the other side for the full shizz!

Simpsons voice actor and former Helen Hunt captive Hank Azaria recently appeared on an Internet chat show called LateNet with Ray Ellin (I know, me neither) in which he spoke candidly about all things Simpsons, including why out actor (and former Mr. Sulu) George Takei hasn't been back lately:

Azaria: <George Takei voice> George Takei came and did the first show, and then he didn't want to do anymore. So afterwards I did George Takei. So whenever you hear (the waiter), that is me. </George Takei voice>

He was ... he creeped out a lot of the staff. He did. There was a young intern named CJ, a young man who would hand out the new rewrites and he handed George his rewrites and George said to him, <George Takei>" Ooh, thank you. I am going to call you 'Angel'."</George Takei> So we all called CJ Angel.

Ellin: That is really creepy.

Azaria: Isn't it?

Ellin: Great. Have you run into him at all since then?

Azaria: <George Takei> Not since, nooo.</George Takei>

Azaria also discusses the trajectory of several smaller, recurring characters, which basically goes like this: funny ... then kind of annoying ... then gay.

You can check out the video yourself if you'd like to hear more. It's taught me one thing, for sure: doing a spot-on imitation of someone apparently makes talking trash about them on a talk show infinitely more palatable to a live studio audience.

• Spiking the Dragon Ball punch:
  I'm no fan of Dragon Ball Z. I love the concept but the actual story has just a few too many of the quirks that annoy me about shounen manga. However, the live-action Dragon Ball movie certainly has my attention now that they've cast James Marsters as Piccolo. Hm, if they put Marsters in green make-up, what do you think the chances are that he'll become the male equivalent of the Orion Green Girl?
  
• VVolverine, W01ver1ne and Logan Bub still stuck with Paragon City:
  Marvel may have gotten a lot of press for their newly-debuted online comics but the silence on the Marvel MMORPG has industry observers wondering if the game is still coming. There's a whole lot of superhero games that were announced but quietly disappeared: Bullfrog's "My Incredible Super Team" and that other game which was going to use the X-Com engine come to mind. I wonder what is it about the genre that's so challenging.
  
• Springfield, yeah! Can you dig it?:
  DVR alert for this week's Simpsons! This weeks episode features the guest voice of Alan Moore. That's right, the one who knows the score. Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes also appear as themselves, along with some guy named Jack Black. But Alan Moore ... doesn't that feel like the comics equivalent of Beverlee McKinsey recording a performance? Oops, wrong geekdom ... doesn't that feel like the comics equivalent of Greta Garbo recording a performance?
  
• Link of the week:
  This whole Alan Moore on The Simpsons thing has me flashing back to Gail Simone's old column and her parody of romance comics, where she threw Moore into a teen romance story. "Terminator, hit the north..."
  
  Hey when else will I get to make that reference? Besides, if I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for the next week, I'm not going to suffer alone.
  

It's not to hard to find gay characters who work in the arts or as teachers, doctors, bartenders and as assistants, but blue collar gay characters don't come up nearly as often. In honor of the upcoming Labor Day holiday in the U.S., let's take a look at some of those blue collar gay characters that have graced the big and small screen.

Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist
From: Brokeback Mountain

A look at gay characters who put in a day's hard work could never overlook the sheep herders who spurred the discussion of gay relationships like never before in 2005. Working outdoors for a summer under the endless Wyoming sky, the two forged a bond that couldn't be severed by time or distance.

Ivan Jones
From: Emmerdale

Having just learned about him, I can't ignore the hunky bisexual garbage man from Brit soap Emmerdale. Ivan struggled with his feelings for Paul, only to have the relationship thwarted by Paul's step-sister. Did you know that they're called "binmen" there? I wonder if "binman" has less unpleasant connotation than "garbage man" does.

Jeff Mitchelland Greg
From: The Sum of Us

This 1994 comedy gave us Russel Crowe as a gay plumber who lived with a father that couldn't be shocked by his son's sex life. Crowe's character, Jeff, makes a connection with one of his dates, Greg, a gardener, though Jeff requires pressure from his father before finally pursuing the relationship.

• Out musician Michael Stipe models for out designer Marc Jacobs.
• Test your gay Simpsons trivia knowledge!
• FIRE!, a series of play readings by five emerging black LGBT writers, kicks off in NYC. FIRE! is better experienced in a crowded theater, so check it out. It's free!
• Are straight people overidentifying with the gays? Is that even possible? If so, I bet a lot of beer is involved. And tulle ... lots and lots of tulle ...
• Nerd is the new gay: Will & Grace alum Sean Hayes plays Bill Gates in the musical Nerds://A Musical Software Satire
• Singapore sling: government censors ban photo exhibit of gays and lesbians kissing.