OUT

April 18, 2003

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 11

Out ADVERTISE

Technical knockout

Boxed sets bring entire seasons of television back into the home

"I've gotta get home, Oz will be on in an hour!"

"The replay of the new episode of Queer as Folk is on tonight. Want to come over and watch it?"

"I can't believe I missed Further Tales of the City when it was on. I wonder if they're going to show it again?"

Television, in the immortal words of gayfriendly hip-hop band Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, is the drug of a nation. People need a fix of their favorite show, whether it's CNN, Jerry Springer or West Wing. As cable has become ever more popular, the number of series on the air keeps increasing, along with the limited-run shows, encompassing both miniseries and serials intended to run for a short season like much of British television.

Were an audience member to blink, he or she might miss their favorite show. Heaven forbid two good shows be put in the same time slot on competing networks. What is a viewer to do? CBS or NBC? HBO or Showtime? PBS or MTV?

Thankfully, with the burgeoning home video market doing brisker business than ever before, broadcast and cable networks have realized that it is highly lucrative to package up television shows in convenient, easy-to-carry boxes, and refer to them as "boxed sets," often including additional material that faithful viewers never had a chance to see on the air.

Take the most recent installment of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series, for instance.

Further Tales of the City not only includes 143 uncut minutes of the Showtime cable miniseries, but also has additional footage, alternate scenes, and special commentary tracks for those with DVD players.

The original PBS miniseries of Tales of the City is also being re-released on DVD, bringing that long-ago show to the entertainment center. More Tales is also out on DVD.

Queer as Folk: The Complete Second Season has both regular and collectors' editions. The collectors' edition contains a sixth DVD with over three hours of extra material, including a look at Rage: The Gay Crusader, the comic book created in the show, as well as a peek at the cast touring Pride events across the country to support the community that has embraced them. Season one is, of course, also still available at most retailers, along with the original British series.

Another cable series now available on video and DVD, the first two seasons at least, is Oz, HBO's prison drama.

Okay, it's not quite as gay as Folk or Tales of the City, but it's a hell of a lot gayer than the lesbian exploitation "women in prison" films ever really were, and Oz often explored the fluidity of sexual orientation as well as distinctly gay issues.

In the first season, for instance, Jefferson Keane converted to Islam, which often takes a hard-line stance against homosexuality. Jefferson's brother Billy, however, was very openly gay, and also in Oswald State Penitentiary. The elder Keane has a crisis of conscience because of it, until Minister Said comes to him and reminds him that, no matter how Allah might feel about his brother's sexual orientation, Allah still wants him to love his brother.

It was a relatively minor moment in the history of the series, but was a major portent of things to come. At the end of the season, facing execution, Jefferson forces his father to deal with Billy's sexual orientation, reminding him that Billy is still his son. It also showed a wiser, more compassionate side of the Muslim cleric than was being shown at that point in the series, one that emerged to a greater extent in later seasons.

Of course, there's also the evolution of Tobias Beecher, a lawyer sent to prison for killing a young girl while driving under the influence of alcohol. The soft white boy comes to prison, gets protected by the Aryan Brotherhood but turned into its leader's prag. You can guess what that means. Beecher rebels, but regular viewers know that, as the years went on, Beecher then had an actual romantic relationship with another inmate, showing that not all of the sex in the series was violent, hateful or commercial in nature.

A large number of series are getting the boxed-set treatments. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now up to season 3 in the boxed sets, meaning that there are still a few seasons to go before Willow the witch comes to terms with being lesbian. The first two seasons of sci-fi show Babylon 5 are also available, not quite up to the point yet where Commander Susan Ivanova and telepath Talia Winters have their relationship.

Mr. Show with Bob and David, a sketch comedy series from HBO starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, combines seasons one and two in a single set, with all their many gay skits leaving most audiences wondering what the heck was up with Cross.

If, as was said before, television is a drug, these boxed sets are a happy overdose. Instead of getting just a quick fix, it's the whole bag, and buying in bulk always makes sense.

We're slaves to our machines

Stand-up comic Ellen DeGeneres performed at the Palace Theatre in Columbus on April 10 as part of her national

tour.

Her overtly non-political comedy focused on the ways in which technology has given people supposed convenience but they still have less and less time to de the things they love.

After her performance she spoke with the audience. Many local lesbian groups presented her with T-shirts and hats.

DeGeneres will record a show for HBO later this summer, and next fall NBC will premiere her new daytime talk show. An audience member jokingly asked her if the talk show will be titled Gays of our Lives.

V

IN THE PRIDE GUIDE! ...it's like handing your business card to Ohio's LGBT community.

Advertising in the Pride Guide reminds the community that there are gay owned, gay friendly businesses that they should be contacting first to fulfil the needs they have."

-Thom Rankin, Real Estate Mortgage Corp.

*One of the best issues of the year!"

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-Edele Passalacqua, Attorney

Call Today to reserve YOUR space in the Chronicle

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