TV's Gay "Bachelor"
 

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The whole premise is all nice and mean, just like Joe Millionaire and For Love or Money. Pretty soon we'll have it just like those SNL skits....25 attractive people, and one of them has AIDS, or is a serial killer. Yay!

I'm not sure what they (Bravo) mean to imply with this, though:

Hmmm. Huh. Interesting.

Why can bravo say no to man on man when there was a video on mtv ("Beautiful") which had man on man kissing but mtv is one of those ultra strict networks?

The key word to the second quote is "beyond"... they can kiss on screen, but nothing more.

As long as one of the contestants is James Lipton, I'll watch!

Joe Heterosexual?

Another article:Bravo Channel Launches Gay Dating Show
May 27, 4:04 PM EST

The Bravo cable network is going where no television dating show has gone before: matchmaking gay men.

"Boy Meets Boy," a six-episode series that will premiere in July, also twists reality show conventions by secretly including straight men among the pool of dating prospects.

No dating show, from "Blind Date" to "The Bachelor," has promoted same-sex unions, said Scott Seomin, entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It appears "Boy Meets Boy" will handle it in a lighthearted, non-exploitive way, he said.

The show is being made by a gay producer, reality veteran Douglas Ross of Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. "I wanted to be involved with a series I could be proud of," Ross said.

Already, the Traditional Values Coalition plans to alert its 43,000 member churches to protest the series, said Andrea Lafferty, the Washington-based group's executive director.

"Clearly, they've hit a new low," Lafferty said. "What's next after `Boy Meets Boy'? `Boy Meets Sheep'?"

Bravo has scheduled gay-themed programming in the past, airing the "Out of the Closet" film festival for several years, Seomin said. Last summer, Bravo ran a documentary series on same-sex weddings, also produced by Ross.

That series triggered many protests to Bravo about taking a stance on a controversial social issue, Ross said. But it also did well enough in the ratings to be repeated several times, including in a marathon opposite the Super Bowl.

Bravo came back to Ross even though the network underwent an ownership change last summer. NBC bought Bravo this spring from Cablevision Systems Corp.

The series, with Dani Behr of "Extra" as host, will feature a gay leading man choosing from 15 potential suitors. Midway, he will be told that some of his potential dates are actually heterosexual. He won't be told which ones, of course, and Ross is still debating at which point viewers will be let in on the secret.

"We have created a gay world where the straight guys are in the closet," he said.

If one of the straight men is chosen at the end, he wins a cash prize. If the leading man chooses another gay man, the lead character wins the prize and an expense-paid vacation, he said.

"We really wanted to attract the straight population," Ross said. "By adding in this twist, we thought it would bring in a larger audience and would challenge the notions of all of our viewers — both gay and straight."

Bravo President Jeff Gaspin said he wouldn't have been interested in the show without the straight element — not because it was more palatable politically, but because it made the series more unique.

He knew the series would attract attention, something vital when competing with dozens of cable networks. "Honestly, that's the bottom line," Gaspin said.

The Traditional Values Coalition's Lafferty said she will point out to her group's members the connection between Bravo and NBC.

"Just when you think programming can't get any worse, it seems like it drops another 100 feet to an even darker place," she said.

Katie Wright, a spokeswoman for the conservative media watchdog Parents Television Council, noted the show is on a cable channel known for airing edgy material, making it less of a concern than if it were on a major broadcast network. She's interested in what time of day Bravo will air the program, though.

"We will be monitoring it," Wright said.

Gaspin said he realizes that any time a network schedules gay-themed programming, some people won't like it. Bravo is also scheduling a series this summer, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," where five gay designers make over the wardrobe of a heterosexual man.

Gaspin noted that "Will & Grace," the comedy with a gay man as a lead character, is one of NBC's most popular shows.

"It's certainly not something we're afraid of," he said. "If done right, it has every right to be on the air."


FS

I wonder what will happen if the "Bachelor" guy tries to kiss one of the straight men? If they are like 99% of the straight men I know they'll start flipping out.

<BLOCKQUOTE> • Quoth Groucho •<HR SIZE=1>I wonder what will happen if the "Bachelor" guy tries to kiss one of the straight men? If they are like 99% of the straight men I know they'll start flipping out. <HR SIZE=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

It'll be their own damn fault. I wouldn't want some man randomly kissing me, but if I go on a show and try to deceive him, I deserve what I get.

Anyway, it reads like they haven't started filming yet. If that's true, it's not going to be much of a surprise to the main contestant after this story gets some press.

das

I don't like the idea of having a few straight guys in the mix "pretending to be gay". What if shows like Joe Millionaire and The Bachelor had a few lipstick lesbians in the mix pretending to be straight? I think the main contestant should start off by giving each one of the guys a nice, deep soul kiss. That will weed out the straight guys :)

I wonder where this so-called Traditional Values Coalition is during "Blind Date" with all the straight hot tub romps? Perhaps Andrea Lafferty and Katie Wright will someday be raped by a sheep in a hot tub :)

:( Guess I'll cancel my plans to fly out to the next Georgia meet.

<BLOCKQUOTE> • Quoth Groucho •<HR SIZE=1>:( Guess I'll cancel my plans to fly out to the next Georgia meet. <HR SIZE=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

I said "randomly" ...

das

I'll be patiently waiting for the Gay Bachelorette show, thankyouverymuch!

Yeah, and they'll be the stereotypical Mullet-wearing, heavyset, manly gay bachelorette to! :yack:

Remember though, if the straight guys fool the gay guy and he picks a straight guy in the end (tee-hee) he gets a cash prize. So the real question is, how much $$ would it take? Be realistic!

FS

I misread the pronouns in the article. So, in essence it's a game of finding a gay man in a mixed crowd, i.e. if the contestant can't pick a gay man, he won't win anything?

das

Will GLADD be all over this or embrace it?

From the article I posted:

"No dating show, from "Blind Date" to "The Bachelor," has promoted same-sex unions, said Scott Seomin, entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It appears "Boy Meets Boy" will handle it in a lighthearted, non-exploitive way, he said."

FS

Okay, maybe I worded my suggestion hastily:

I'll be patiently waiting for the Lipstick Lesbian Bachelorette show, thankyouverymuch!

I'm upset that I don't get BRAVO, as this is sure to be hilarious.

Nope... wrong... MTV's Taildaters has had a few same-sex couples on the show. Albeit they didn't promote the show as a "same-sex" only show, but they have had a few.

These ultra-religious groups... like they even watch Bravo in first place. What a bunch of attention whores. Anyway, the show might be interesting, if only to see what the straight guys do to fool the gaydar. :)

Someone should tell the Fox Network that they should try a midget bachelor show when they are done with the lipstick lesbian bachelorette show.

So, how far would you go to fool the gay guy if it was you and the prize was a million bucks? Remember, you can't just do the deed, you've got to be convincing. I don't think I could even hold hands convincingly.

Well, they are 'actors', but this is a whole new ballgame. I don't think I'd be too convincing either.

I think they must have sex with the bachelor.

I also think that's a stupid gimmick which is bound to bring up an aura of homophobia when they film the straight guys away from the bachelor. (Provided the audience is in on the knowledge of who is straight. ) I NEVER watched "The Bachelor" or any of that crap, but I'd watch this.