| WE WANT OUR GAY TV - AND WE’VE GOT IT! With little fanfare, an officially out LGBT network has slipped into the mainstream national market and into our central Florida TV guides. What do you know—it only took about sixty years of television for the rainbow tribe to stake out its own network turf. That’s sixty years to affirmation in an industry that runneth over with LGBTs, which kind of puts into perspective the social evolution of gay culture. Of course many courageous writers, producers and actors have applied their talents over the years to bring LGBT perspectives to the small screen. The closet door cracked open with 1972’s made-for- TV movie That Certain Summer, starring Hal Holbrook and Martin Sheen, of all people, and in 1977 Billy Crystal’s gay Jodie sashayed onto Soap. In the ‘80s, Roseanne exposed straight America to several gay characters including Sandra Bernhardt’s Nancy, Martin Mull’s Leon, and Roseanne’s own fictional mom, Bev. By the nineties, the lesbian-chic thing was in vogue to the point of creepiness, and every self-respecting sitcom and drama had a gay flirtation here, a lesbian kiss there—most often between characters who were known to be otherwise straight, apparently a more palatable titillation to the hetero audience at large. The journey from invisibility to a network of our own has not been without bumps in the road. Despite those early baby-steps, advertisers fled from the hit show LA Law in the mid-nineties when it dared portray a gay kiss, and the highly-successful Ellen lasted barely a year after its star came out off- and onscreen. Many PBS affiliates refused to air Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City in 1998, and the network was censured by several state legislatures. Still we didn’t go away. As the twentieth century faded, gay characters and issues were regularly seen on mainstream networks, and gay-specific programs began to appear on premier channels like Showtime and Bravo, where Queer As Folk, Queer Eye, and The L Word built incredibly loyal followings. Upstart LGBT-run production companies also began purchasing blocks of airtime in smaller markets, another innovative way to create a venue for gay entertainment. All of this seems like a lot of progress to those who remember when all “gay films” were hard-to-find underground cult flicks, or porn. But LOGO breaks new ground, offering a dedicated platform from which to deliver art, humor, politics, philosophy, and news with a by-for-and-about-LGBTs sensibility. And LOGO is brought to the airwaves by deep-pocketed MTV, a company that knows a thing or two about targeting a specific demographic. (Who would’ve thunk back in 1983 that you could build an empire by catering to 15- to 25-year-old couch potatoes?) This means the network has the financial backing to commit to a serious outreach, which is what it will take to capture the loyalty of the LGBT community. Hopefully it won’t mean we’ll be subjected to The Real World—The Queer Edition. So far, the network boasts over 200 classic films, original series and documentaries, news shows, and other LGBT-themed diversions. LOGO is available to any cable or service provider who requests it, so essentially it’s up to the LGBT community to pester their local providers to get it. It’s currently available in central Florida through Bright House Networks. Notably absent from LOGO’s present structure is a space for viewer-created content, an innovative and important development pioneered by Al Gore’s brainchild network, Current TV. We should hope that LOGO catches that bug. Yes, audience participation can lead to some painfully bad film. But it’s often inspiring and occasionally results in stunning displays of talented, powerful filmmaking. Most importantly, such accessibility and participation keeps the medium honest—and this will be key to LOGO’s longterm success. This network is completely dependent upon a niche market which is exceptionally loyal, but exceptionally sensitive about the truth of our lives. If we sense the network failing to accurately reflect that truth, the famed LGBT brand loyalty will rapidly evaporate. Most of us spend too much time in front of the TV, it’s true. But LOGO deserves your attention—and input. LGBTs have a chance to help shape this infant network into something truthful and relevant to our lives—and a responsibility to communicate to the network execs what we expect that to be. So check out this new gay space on the small screen and drop LOGO an email to let them know what you think. While you’re at it, let Bright House know you’re happy they’re carrying the network. They need to know we’re paying attention. ### |