When I read that HBO was running a Monday night documentary series this summer (beginning June 9), my first thought was that they'd be having a slate of earnest, humorless programming — which I suppose I should like, being a lesbian and all. Then I wondered why I had that stupid knee-jerk reaction. I mean, whether or not you like Michael Moore's self-importance and self-indulgence, there's no denying that he's made documentaries a commercially viable form of entertainment.

And documentaries are not inherently about dry, boring topics. In fact, they're as likely to be about sex, drugs, violence or McDonald's as any other type of programming. And even when they are about drier, sciency subjects, they get popular artists to record Academy Award–winning soundtracks and thank their lesbian spouses at the Oscars.

Photo credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

If you take a look at the HBO slate, the movies hit a wide range of subjects. (You can find the list and a short description of each one here.) A little depressingly, I suspect the big hit is going to be Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal. … continue reading

This week brings several new shows to the small screen for your viewing pleasure. Most heralded is the Ashton Kutcher comedy Miss Guided, starring Judy Greer.

Greer plays ex-nerd Becky Freeley, a guidance counselor at the high school she attended. Although I expected to see something fresh with Kutcher at the helm, Miss Guided looks like just one more show about how a former high school misfit overcomes the past to find success. The show even has Becky's one-time nemesis, former homecoming queen Lisa Germain (Brooke Burns) who now teaches English, to complicate life just like the old days. And, guess what? Becky and Lisa both have the hots for the Spanish teacher! Comedy gold.

Reviews of the premier episode have been mixed (the Boston Herald review bears the headline, "Flunk'd," while courant.com calls the show "delightful"), but the cast gets good marks for making the most of a mediocre pilot, so we have reason to hope the show will improve. Miss Guided premieres Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET on ABC, then will move into its regular time slot of 8 p.m. Thursday.

Thursday at 8:30 p.m., a new reality show comes to HGTV, starring the winner of the network's Design Star, Kim Myles.

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I used to be in a lesbian chorus that had a gay male director. One evening before rehearsal, this incredibly talented Doctor of Music excitedly reported that he'd discovered a female singer that he thought we'd love: Patti Smith. I hope our collective inner "duhs" didn't register on our faces. How could a person whose life work is music not know one of its pioneers?

Granted, Smith took a hiatus through most of the '80s to be a mom. But a new documentary, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, that premiered at Sundance earlier this year, at least will give people who don't know her a chance to catch up. The intimate, 16mm documentary, shot mostly in black and white, was made over the past 12 years. Even the trailer reflects Smith's intense and personal approach to her music.

In the film, Smith pays tribute to the artists who influenced her life and work over the years, from William Burroughs to Bob Dylan to Jim Morrison. She had a close friendship — maybe more — with Robert Mapplethorpe and credits him with encouraging her at the beginning of her career. … continue reading

When I was a kid, my grandmother was involved in a senior center choral and dance group. Every year there was a recital, and we had to go. Think 20–30 old women and three old men singing and dancing. The highlight was the restaurant we went to afterward — an Italian restaurant that served individual pizzas and was located in a strip mall with Old West décor. (Because Passaic, N.J. had a big frontier history.) However, if my grandmother's group had been anything like Young@Heart, I suspect I would have enjoyed the recitals a little more.

Young@Heart is a Northampton-based chorus composed of senior citizens, currently ranging in age from 72 to 88. (They've had members as old as 100!) They've been around since 1982, and have been on a dozen international tours. What distinguishes them from the traditional old-lady chorus is that rather than sing the standards, they sing current and classic rock, pop and punk songs. And I'm not just talking about gentle Beatles songs. I'm talking about the Ramones' “I Wanna Be Sedated” and Sonic Youth's “Schizophrenia."
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In 1996, when British girl group the Spice Girls released their debut single, “Wannabe,” in the U.K., I was 15 years old — and consequently just the wrong age to get the most out of them. I was too old to look up to them adoringly as my very own set of bright, color-coded, life-size dolls (which I think is how a lot of their youngest female fans viewed them). And I was too young to just enjoy their music for the cheesy pop that it was, without caring about the fact that they were never, ever going to be cool.

I was also just a bit too young, and a bit too closeted, to enjoy the lesbianish potential of five feisty women jumping around in their music videos and holding each other’s hands. Thankfully, with the passage of time, I’ve become totally unashamed about the fact that I like their music. Here's one of my favorites of theirs, "Who Do You Think You Are":

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The Internet is a double-edged sword. For every wonderful bit of information you discover, you find something else you wish you didn't know. "Reborns" fall squarely in the latter category. Frankly, I'm a bit freaked out by the whole concept. And what better reason to share it with you?

Meet Noel.

Noel was born on November 21, 2007, 20 inches long and weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Adorable? All babies are adorable. Only Noel isn't a baby. Noel is a "reborn," a doll painstakingly created to look and feel like a real baby. Some have heartbeats and warm skin and appear to breathe. Some burp and cry and wiggle. They can be customized with birthmarks, milk spots and even scratches. And women are buying them like crazy on eBay or through professional reborners and then spending thousands of dollars on baby clothes and accessories. Including strollers to take their babies around town.

Several such women are featured in My Fake Baby, a documentary that recently aired on British Channel 4. You can watch the whole thing in 10-minute segments here and, theoretically, on Channel 4's website. (I couldn't get it to play, so it may be restricted to the U.K.) If you can't watch video, Midnight Celebrity has a summary. … continue reading