Fans of Science Fiction TV often bemoan how the most major awards overlook their shows as a niche unworthy of comparisons to the likes of The West Wing or The Practice. Even the more forward-thinking Television Critics Association snubbed Battlestar Galactica for their awards this year, despite its earning mountains of praise from its members. Thankfully, we have the SyFy Genre Awards.

The nominees were announced last week and gay fave series Battlestar Galactica gained the most nominations, with eleven honors directed its way. But the Russell T. Davies-led Doctor Who and Torchwood managed to tie that number together with Who winning six nominations and Torchwood picking up five, including a Best Actor nomination for out actor John Barrowman.

Davies wasn't the only gay producer to do well in the nominations: Bryan Fuller's Pushing Daisies picked up a nomination in both the Best Actor (Lee Pace) and Best Actress (Anna Friel) categories. Out actor George Takei is also nominated for Best Special Guest for his role in Heroes.

I have to admit, it's nice to have a list of awards nominees that doesn't have my muttering to my computer monitor, "Okay fine, overlook Tricia Helfer's multiple roles but ignoring Mary McDonnell?" It's even nicer to see the likes of Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who's Martha Jones) and David Tennant (Doctor Who) getting some due credit Stateside. It's tempting to get into "Who was snubbed" talk but the idea of some of these performers getting some due credit make me happy enough.

You'll be able to vote on the winners at SyFyPortal.com starting June 25. Check out the full list of TV nominees after the break:

All good things must come to an end, as the cliche goes, and yesterday gay writer Russell T. Davies announced that he would soon be stepping down as Executive Producer of Doctor Who. Davies will step down after the series of specials that will air next year and another acclaimed writer, Steven Moffat, will take charge of the show for its fifth season.

Under Davies, the long-running series managed to reach new viewers, as well as reconnect with those who had been Who fans throughout the decades. Davies added some gay inclusiveness to the franchise, most notably by introducing the first bisexual companion for The Doctor (Captain Jack Harkness) and making the character (played by the openly gay John Barrowman) the lead in his own spin-off series. Davies' run has also seen gay characters pop up every so often and has given roles to openly gay actors like Andrew Hayden-Smith and Russell Tovey as well as actors best known for playing gay like Coronation Street's Bruno Langley and Ryan Carnes of Desperate Housewives and Eating Out.

Hayden-Smith, Tovey, Langley and Carnes in their Doctor Who roles

Davies also gave Who a gay sensibility. Under Davies, The Doctor's companions have included gay icons such as British pop diva Billie Piper, comedienne Catherine Tate and pop legend Kylie Minogue. Davies' Who run also saw parodies of British reality TV (including gay fave Big Brother), sonic weaponry disguised as lipstick and last Christmas' special, "Voyage of the Damned", which was heavily influenced by The Poseidon Adventure.

What's next for Davies isn't clear yet. He will be working on the second season of Doctor Who's kid-oriented spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, but fans of Davies' other Who spin-off, Torchwood, are still waiting to hear the details of the third season (though there will be one). Last October, Davies announced plans to develop a series about the experiences of fourtysomething gay men, but Davies warned that show was "years away," citing his busy schedule. Will quitting Who give Davies time to focus on this new project?

Let's hope that doesn't mean what we think it means...
(Cheyenne Jackson in Paper magazine's "Beautiful People" issue)

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.

• Paper magazine has released their annual "Beautiful People" issue, and out Broadway wonderhunk Cheyenne Jackson is among those honored. Everyone cool with that? Yeah, I thought so.

• The Queerty boys chatted up gay author Scott Heim (Mysterious Skin), whose new novel, We Disappear, is a return to dark, quasi-autobiographical territory.

• Lifetime is going Project Runway crazy, with a makeover series called Project Pygmalion and another as-yet-unnamed series about the Runway models (America's Next Top Coathanger?) in the works for November.

• Decorating duo Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan (we profiled them back yonder) have gotten hitched in their native UK after 22 years of being together. Congrats, fellas! I guess our invite got lost somewhere in the Atlantic ... :(

• Gay Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Queer as Folk mastermind Russell T Davies laughed off being named the "most influential" gay person in the UK, and then called the designation "slightly demeaning". (He'd been hoping for "Best Dressed", maybe?)

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

• Does Sonic Lipstick go with my skin tone?:
  The LA Times chatted with Russel T. Davies about his role in bringing the Doctor Who to its current level of success. There's a little bit in the article for every fan of a Doctor Who franchise but I'm most excited about the news that The Sarah Jane Adventures will show up on The Sci-Fi Channel in April. I really liked what we saw of Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion" (the Doctor Who episode that also gave us a baddie played by Anthony Steward Head), so I've been hoping that SJC wouldn't be the only Who spin-off not to make it stateside. The article also confirms earlier reports that the fourth Doctor Who season will arrive on The Sci-Fi Channel in April.
  

• Then again, I could see Hollywood deciding to cover him up in a wetsuit:
  I remember back when I played the Hollywood Stock Exchange, that proposed Submariner movie seemed like an odd idea that wouldn't get past the concept stage. However, the film seems to be moving forward after all: late last week, comic blogs were buzzing over news taht Jason Statham discussed playing the Altantean Prince. I was never a big fan of the grumpy gus that Namor usually was, so the best part about this news? An excuse to post pictures of Statham!

  

  If Statham swims as gracefully as he delivers a flying kick, he'll make a great Namor ... and, if I remember right, this is a production of Lionsgate, who struck a deal with the Writers' Guild. If I'm right on that account, this production won't be affected by the writers' strike.
  

• Too bad you can't fly a rainbow flag over your ship:
  For those of you are playing the recently-launched Pirates of the Burning Sea, the crew at GayGamer have formed a gay pirate society. Go out there and plunder yourselves some booty together.
  

• A new Calibur of video game stud:
  Namco just released new screencaps from the fourth Soul Calibur game and ... well, I'll admit I haven't played Soul Cailbur since encountering the first installment was in arcades, but when did the game start having guys as hot as these new characters?

  

  Between this and guys found in the Virtua Fighter and Mortal Kombat (ah, original edition Johnny Cage) series, I'd say Capcom is falling behind ... Will Ryu and Guile ever look this good?
  

• The Middleman cometh:
  A while back, I mentioned that ABC Family was looking at adapting indie comic The Middleman as a series with gay-fave Matt Keeslar in the lead role. This week, ABC Family announced that they're going ahead with the series. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait for the writers (and for SAG, probably) to get a fair deal before any news on when the show will make its debut.
  

• Were you, like we were, "Gay for Jamie" from last week's 30 Rock? Here's more on Val Emmich, who played the adorable coffee-boy that set Frank's heart aflutter. (Thanks to Popcandy for the find!)

• Russell T Davies' upcoming 40-something gay life drama series won't be up or coming for at least a few years.

• Happy birthday, Margaret Cho!

• Dennis over at Bravo's OutZone blog confirms that Project Runway's Jack and Top Chef's Dale are officially an item. I totally called this when I met the two lovebirds at the Out 100 party, but now it's network-approved! (Registry at Sur La Table and BlueFly.com to follow.)

• BestWeekEver wonders why Vanessa Hudgens wonders why her boyfriend, Zac Efron, wonders if that shirt makes him look gay. 

A new project aimed to provide positive gay role models for British teens compiles tips from Sir Ian McKellen, Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies, former NBA'er John Amaechi, The Gossip's Beth Ditto and more on topics ranging from dealing with bullies to entrepreneurship.

The pocket-sized resource guide is meant to inspire gay youths to overcome stigma and achieve personal and financial success and to embrace their sexuality as a unique trait rather than view it as a barrier to their goals. Aptly titled LGF's Inspirational Guide for Young LGB People (LGF is Manchester-based charity the Lesbian and Gay Forum), the resource will no doubt become the Bartlett's Familiar Quotations of the gay gum-snapper set.

Considering how precocious I was as a teen already, I think with this guide's added power I would have morphed into a white-hot supernova of pure moxie. Count your blessings, Mom and Dad!

The nominees for the 34th Annual People's Choice Awards were announced last night, and among them is out actor Neil Patrick Harris, in the "Favorite Scene Stealing Star" category. He's up against Chandra Wilson of Grey's Anatomy and Richard Belzer of Law & Order: SVU. Needless to say, it would be awesome to have an out, proud actor win a popular vote like this one, so be sure to click the link at the bottom and cast your ballot! Here's a rundown of the other gay-significant noms...

Celebrities:
Gay-faves Sally Field and Katherine Heigl nabbed noms for "Favorite Female TV Star", Jodie Foster is nominated for "Favorite Female Action Star" and Queen Latifah and Drew Barrymore are nominated for "Favorite Leading Lady". Ellen, Whoopi, and Wanda Sykes make "Favorite Funny Female Star" the best category of the bunch, by far.

Television:
Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies, which both have gay creators, are up for "Favorite New Drama Series", and out producer Russell T Davies' Doctor Who is up for "Favorite Sci-Fi Series".

Movies:
Recently outed wizard Albus Dumbledore appears in "Favorite Movie Drama" nominee Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and homophobic pigfest Wild Hogs somehow made it into the "Favorite Movie Comedy" category. Likewise, homophobic yet sure-to-win 300 pops up in the "Favorite Action Movie" noms.

Afterthought: I find it interesting that 2 out of 3 "Favorite On-Screen Duo" noms are bromances (Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker and George Clooney/Brad Pitt) and the third, Tobey Maguire/Kirsten Dunst, acted more like they were going through a messy divorce than like lovers in Spiderman 3. Where's the romance?

For all the nominees - and more importantly, to vote yourself (go, NPH!) - head on over to the official website. The winners will be announced on January 8th in a broadcast hosted by Queen Latifah.

Stonewall’s second annual awards ceremony takes place at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum on November 1, 2007.

The awards, to be hosted by television presenter Anthony Crank (pictured at left), are designed to celebrate the positive contributions being made by individuals and organisations to the lives of gay people in Britain.

Nominees include actor and TV presenter Antony Cotton, Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and lesbian rapper Mz Fontaine for Entertainer of the Year; Hollyoaks and Doctor Who for Broadcast/Broadcaster of the Year; and Russell T Davies and Scottish author Val McDermid for Writer of the Year. Former premiership footballer Graeme Le Saux, an activist for gay rights in football, is nominated in the Sportsperson of the Year category.

Winners from six categories will be chosen by a panel of judges, which includes Matt Lucas, Clare Balding, Nicky Campbell and Paul Gambaccini.

Former professional NBA basketball star John Amaechi and Beth Ditto, lead singer of rock band The Gossip and an advocate of gay equality, are both up for the accolade of Hero of the Year. While Top Gear presenter and journalist, Jeremy Clarkson, who refused to apologize after being reprimanded by BBC bosses for his derogatory gay jibes on prime time television, is one of several nominees up for Bigot of the Year. Both of these accolades are chosen by a vote cast by Stonewall supporters from across Britain.

Stonewall, which was founded in 1989, is renowned for its campaigning and lobbying. Last year’s awards ceremony was hosted by one of the organization's most high-profile founders, stage and screen actor Sir Ian McKellen.

Russell T Davies, who has brought us such hits as Queer as Folk, the new Doctor Who, and Torchwood, is developing a new series for the BBC that deals with gay men in their forties. The show will be called Old as Folk.

Okay, not really. The show is as yet unnamed and it's not been decided how it will be produced or on which BBC channel it will appear. All that's clear now is that Davies wants to focus on the age rift in gay men and the tendency gay men have to revel in the romantic misfortune of others. He noted in a recent interview with The Guardian that the inspiration came from a former Mr. Gay UK, who found that when he broke up with his boyfriend it was a cause celebre for other fellas:

"He asked me: 'Why are so many gay men so glad we split up?' That remark's stayed with me for six years. I think there's a self-punishing streak in that gladness and I want to explore it."

Can't say he's not on to something, but will a show about forty-something gay men play? Let's say I'm not holding my breath for an American remake, unless they pack in the sexy teens and relegate the older guys to the kitchen with a cheesecake.