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Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (January 18, 2007)

THREE TIMES A FUNNY LADY (OK, FOUR)

With the debut of the new web comedy series 3Way only two weeks away, the official website 3WayTV.tv has finally been launched.

Among the “extras” on the site are posters for each character with funny quotes. Here are two of my favorites, featuring the characters played by Jill Bennett (Dante’s Cove, We’re Getting Nowhere) and Cathy Shim (Reno 911!, The Gymnast), who play a couple in the series:

If you read AfterEllen.com regularly, you probably already know Jill and the show’s star, Maeve Quinlan (whose poster has the hilarious quote “I’m straight but I’ll admit I like a little lesbo attention once in awhile”). I think you’re also going to love Cathy and Maile Flanagan (who has been in every movie ever made, I think).

Now here’s the best part: 3Way‘s executive producer Nancylee Myatt (South of Nowhere) graciously allowed me to spend a few days on the set filming a behind-the-scenes video, AfterEllen.com-style – i.e., snarky, irreverent and all about the lesbian relationship. (She also roped me into being an extra in a party scene when someone didn’t show up, but I didn’t have to act, thank God, I just had to stand in the background and talk to Lori – which I definitely know how to do!)

Fortunately, I got more funny moments on tape than I could use – I hope you have half as much fun watching this as I did editing it!

After two days on the set, I have to agree with Jill: It’s very hard to be funny with Maile around!

The 3Way producers are only rolling out a handful of episodes initially, and using those to try and get funding from advertisers to make more, or for a network or website to pick up and develop it into a full series to run online or on the air. I haven’t seen any episodes yet, but here’s what they told me: Each episode is 5—7 minutes long and will be posted every Monday with one or two “confessionals” (which are about the same length, but shot more in a talking-to-the-camera style).

The series debuts on Feb. 4th, and we’ll bring you the episodes and confessionals on AfterEllen.com, just like we do with Time Traveling Lesbian and Girltrash.

I suspect we’ll start to see more of this kind of web series-as-pilot trend happening, and I’m all for it! Because that means more lesbian-themed content for those of us who are tired of rarely seeing ourselves on television, and it gives viewers more power to influence which shows get developed.

In the network television process, shows with prominent lesbian content almost never make it past the pilot stage, so we never get a voice in the process. But by taking a series straight to the audience, the creators of web series such as Girltrash, Time Traveling Lesbian and 3Way can use the numbers of video streams (from us watching the webisodes) to convince advertisers, networks or private investors to invest in their project.

As Angela Robinson said in her column “Why We Don’t Need the Man,” “The gatekeepers are dying, slowly but surely, and now is the time for the artist to talk directly to the audience, without the middleman.”

So you know what to do: Go forth and press “play” on those web series videos, and strike a blow for lesbians everywhere!

PARADISE BY THE DVD PLAYER LIGHT

Great news for Exes & Ohs fans! Although it hasn’t been officially announced yet, a little lesbian bird told me that Logo (AfterEllen.com’s parent company) is going to release the first season on DVD around May-ish.

I think Logo was persuaded to put the show on DVD by all the emails they received from fans and by all the interest AfterEllen.com readers have shown in both Exes & Ohs and Michelle Paradise’s video blog (although sadly, Michelle’s vlog episodes won’t be included on the DVD simply for space reasons). So thanks to all of you who emailed and commented – your input really made a difference!

(And before you ask, no, I haven’t heard yet whether there will be a second season of Exes & Ohs, but I think the DVD release is a good sign, no?)

On a related note, we’re currently shaping up plans for an AfterEllen.com Afternoon at Dinah Shore, and while I can’t give you details yet, I will give you this teaser: Michelle, Marnie, the Terrible Three and Worst Dinah Shore Stories – live. ‘Nuff said.

LESBIAN WHISPERER

AfterEllen.com reader NorthernStar tipped me off to an extremely lesbian-friendly episode of the CBS drama Ghost Whisperer that was aired last Friday (“Slam”). I’ve never watched the show before, but I must say, I was impressed with the remarkably positive attitude toward lesbianism in this episode.

Here’s the gist of the plot: A teenage boy is accidentally killed during a shoving match with the boyfriend of the popular girl in school, whom his sister has a crush on, because he was trying to prevent his sister from being outed, and now he’s running around trying to get revenge. Confused yet? Yeah, it was a little convoluted.

But the important points are these: (a) the parents didn’t care that their daughter was a lesbian; (b) the brother initially didn’t want his sister to be a lesbian, but only because he was afraid of how other people would treat her; and (c) the popular girl in school was happy when she found out her secret admirer was the sister. It’s a happy ending all around! Well, for everyone except the dead kid.

Here’s a clip of the last few scenes in which the ghost brother reconciles with his sister, and the popular girl reveals her interest in the sister:

Now these are the kinds of “special lesbian episodes” we need to see more of on network TV!

MAKEUP: NOT JUST FOR STRAIGHT WOMEN ANYMORE

The third episode of Cashmere Mafia had some great gay moments this week when Caitlin was outed in a blind item on a blog and subsequently developed a pimple on her forehead (which apparently only happens when she is really stressed out). After a few days of no communication, Caitlin finally called Alicia and they met up, at which point Alicia told Caitlin, “I won’t be your lesbian test drive.”

But Caitlin assured her that she was stressed out not because she might be gay, but because she’s a control freak. “I don’t even care if I’m gay or I’m straight, I just need to be in control of my life,” she said.

Amen, sister! We control freaks need to stick together. As long as I get to be the leader – which, come to think of it, might pose a problem in a group of control freaks …

Back to the show – check out these scenes of Caitlin and Alicia from the third episode:

The best line? Caitlin’s boss suggesting Portia de Rossi as the spokesperson for a makeup campaign targeted at gay women. Not sure lesbians actually need their own makeup line, but hey, anything that gets Portia away from Nip/Tuck is more than fine with me!

I know some of you are worried the relationship between Caitlin and Alicia is doomed – especially in light of the promo for next week’s episode that shows Caitlin flirting with a guy – but without giving away too many spoilers here, I’ll just say that this guy is merely a temporary roadblock in Caitlin and Alicia’s relationship.

And just for fun, here’s a nice still shot of the two women together in next week’s episode, courtesy of CashmereMafia.net (where you’ll find lots of spoilers, if you’re interested):

And look: no pimple!

SAME SEX, DIFFERENT CITY – MAKE THAT DIFFERENT COUNTRY

Nina’s Heavenly Delights star Shelley Conn is one of the four leads in a new British television series called Mistresses, a drama airing Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on BBC One about four 30-something working women friends and their experiences with love (all of which involve infidelity in one way or another). Our U.K.-based blogger browne describes it as “a low-rent version of Cashmere Mafia,” and she filled me in on some of the details.

Conn plays a character called Jessica who is sleeping with her male boss but gets involved in planning a wedding for two lesbian characters, Lisa and Alex, that looks like it may lead Jessica to revisit her Heavenly Delights days. There is an obvious attraction between Jessica and Alex, and in the second episode they kissed while Jessica was helping Alex to try on wedding dresses.

The trailer for next week indicates that this story will be continued, as do the spoilers for the next episode (spoiler alert!): “After a steamy night of passion, Alex suggests to Jessica that perhaps she [Alex] shouldn’t get married. But Jessica’s look of shock quickly changes her mind. Alex’s show of love for Lisa at their wedding, however, fills Jessica with jealousy. She gets drunk and ends up sleeping with another wedding guest, Stella.”

Sounds like an episode of The L Word, British-style!

The only slightly annoying part so far? Alex told Jessica she started dating women because “men are so tedious. Women are so beautiful.” Hmm. Not the most enlightened explanation, but I can’t disagree with the “women are so beautiful” part. Case in point: Shelley Conn.

Look for a full review of Mistresses on AfterEllen.com soon.

GAY FROM NEW YORK, IT’S TUESDAY NIGHT!

The second season of The Big Gay Sketch Show is debuting on Feb. 5, 2008, at 10:00 p.m. ET on Logo, and a photo of the second-season cast has been released:

No, this doesn’t mean that co-producer Rosie O’Donnell is now a cast member, but she and Chastity Bono do appear briefly in each episode as balcony hecklers à la Statler and Waldorf (loved those guys!).

I’ve only seen the first episode of the new season, and while the gay male-focused sketches didn’t seem very funny (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a lesbian), I loved Kate McKinnon’s spoof of the Sally Field Boniva commercial, Kate and Julie Goldman’s lesbian bar sketch, and the Alexis-Krystle Dynasty smackdown re-enactment.

(Ah, the good ol’ days of Dynasty – when gays were closeted, women weren’t allowed in the boardroom, and shoulder pads and big belts were the height of fashion. Good times, good times.)

Before the new season starts, you must watch Julie getting lessons in how to act “straight” (fifth episode). When she tries to pick up the acting coach? Genius.

I KEEP WAITING FOR JUSTINE BATEMAN TO APPEAR WITH A COWBELL

Our blogger Jamie Lynn gave us an update on the latest episode of Satisfaction, the Australian drama about sex workers that includes a lesbian character.

You know how when you watch TV, there’s always lesbian subtext in your head? But nobody would ever write an episode for TV in which two regular characters actually hook up, unless it’s a one-off for sweeps week? Well, this week on Satisfaction, lesbian subtext actually became text, and I had to rewind just to be sure I wasn’t just seeing the queer version in my head again. We have Heather (Peta Sergeant), who is also pregnant through an icky story line.

And then we have Lauren (Alison Whyte). At the beginning of the series, her husband left her for a younger woman, and her kids are running off to the U.S. to go to university. When Heather’s suddenly psychotic partner Ally broke up with her and insisted on selling their house, Lauren invited Heather to stay in her empty nest. In this week’s episode, Lauren realizes she wanted to DO a little nesting. One minute she’s rubbing a client’s rather hairy back, and the next she’s fantasizing about massaging her new roomie. That’s right: One regular cast member is falling for another in a story that will take more than one episode to resolve.

No hint yet whether the interest is mutual, but I’m hoping the story will be explored. And I’m a little nervous. The writers haven’t earned my trust yet, and I can think of at least 15 ways this story line could result in clichéd disaster. I mean, so far the lesbian character isn’t even murderous or suicidal. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed for next week.

I love that the bar is so low that it’s considered a positive sign simply when “the lesbian character isn’t even murderous or suicidal.” Forget love, it’s the universal language of lesbian clichés that unites us!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Ellen has finally beaten out Oprah as the country’s favorite TV personality for the first time, according to the annual Harris poll released this week. In more depressing news, Bill O’Reilly was No. 7 on the list. (Really, America? Really?)

The Queer Women of Color Film Festival is now accepting submissions of films completed between 2005 and 2008. For more information people can email [email protected].

Rent is finally ending its run.

Singer Shelby Lynn sort of outs herself. Again.

Turns out three of the four new Seattle Storm owners we mentioned in last week’s column play for our team (sorry, couldn’t resist!). In addition to Lisa Brummel, Anne Levinson and Ginny Gilder are also openly gay. (Thanks to AE reader Schoom for the tip!)

Adrianne Curry, My Fair Brady co-star and and wife of Christopher Knight, tells Playboy she enjoyed dating women before she was married because “I have a lot of testosterone in me; I like to be in control. That’s why I dated women for so long. I was the guy; they were the girls. I was allotted powers you normally don’t get with men.”

Drama Desk winner Kathleen Chalfant and Tony winner Patricia Elliot will co-star in Eileen Atkins‘ play Vita and Virginia, adapted from correspondence between Virginia Woolf and her sometime lover Vita Sackville-West. The play opens Feb. 4th at the Zipper Factory in New York.

Gay and live in Scotland? Check out the new Scottish lesbian forum SocialSisters!

AfterEllen.com is seeking a writer who is well-versed in Chinese pop music. You need to be able to understand Cantonese and Mandarin and write fluently in English, so this may be a pipe dream, but we like to make dreams come true here. If you fit the bill, please email malindalo at afterellen.com and include a resume/CV and a couple of clips of your writing. If you haven’t been published yet, just tell us why you’re the right person for the job. We look forward to hearing from you!

There won’t be any new She Made Me Watch This or Who Thought That Was a Good Idea? episodes for a few weeks (probably not until the beginning of February), because Lori was unexpectedly called back to her hometown in Alaska due to a death in the family. (She’s doing fine, just busy dealing with family issues.)

For those of you wondering: I disabled the “user points” last week because so many of you were complaining about it, and because they did seem kind of redundant, since you can already see the number of posts a user has made. There was no conspiracy to track your behavior with this feature, I promise, we’re just always looking for ways to improve the site for our readers/members, and some things work, and some things don’t. We’re just figuring it out as we go along, so please be patient with us as we implant GPS tracking devices in your brains experiment with new features on the site, and thanks for continuing to give us feedback!

Coming next week: a new round of Julie Goldman’s Celesbian Interview specials, with Kate McKinnon as her sidekick this time and guests such as Jamie Babbit, Cathy DeBuono, Alix Olson, Josie Smith-Malave, Rachel Feinstein, Jill Bennett, and Maeve Quinlan. We’ll be posting a new episode every weekday from Jan. 22 or 23rd through Feb. 14.

And on Monday on AfterEllen.com: our long-overdue interview with Laurel Holloman (The L Word‘s Tina), in which she reveals something she’s never revealed before – you don’t want to miss this!

That’s it for this week! Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

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