January 2010

SG:U's Ming-Na Makes History

As you may have heard, Asian-American actress Ming-Na (I guess she dropped the Wen at some point) is playing an openly out gay character on Syfy's latest attempt at a flagship science fiction show, Stargate Universe (better known as SG:U).  This is great news!  And I only wish it was happening on a less problematic show.

You can slice it down to the minutia, but suffice it to say that Ming-Na's Dr. Camille Wray is one of the most prominent lesbian characters in science fiction.  (Ming-Na is a sci fi fan herself, and I had to laugh when I saw her correcting her interviewer regarding the sexual orientation of the Kara Thrace Stabuck, who is in fact straight.)

Gender in Iain M. Banks' Culture Novels

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I had a really interesting conversation recently about the role of gender in Iain M. Banks' Culture novels.  (If you haven't read these novels, you really should.  Like, go read one right now.  They are that good.)  The Culture is a post-scarcity society, when you can be and do and have anything you want.  

One feature of the Culture is that you can remodel your body into anything you want.  Switching from male to female or from female to male is as you might imagine a rather pedestrian choice, given the options.  Wanna be a dolphin?  No problem.  Dolphin with gills?  Go for it.  Dolphin with gills and spikes and also feet for walking?  Okey dokey.

Fox To US-ify Torchwood?

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Rumor Has It that Fox is considering picking up and developing its own version of Torchwood for the US audience.  Why, that sounds like nearly as good an idea as a US version of Red Dwarf!  Wouldn't that be… oh wait, they did, and it was terrible TERRIBLE.

Torchwood fans are universally set against this move.  For one thing, we already have a perfectly good Torchwood, thank you very much.  For another thing, although Fox Network is only loosely tied to Fox News, a lot of people assume that a Fox created Torchwood would be a Torchwood without all the gay.  

#biggaybattle Mock-Tears Sci Fi Community Apart

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Among the many (MANY) retrospectives over the last month or so, one in particular has taken the geek world by storm.  AfterElton.com, a website dedicated to "news, reviews & commentary on gay and bisexual men in entertainment and media" offered up its selection of possible candidates for "Gay or Bisexual Male Celebrity of the 2000s."  Unlike many other retrospectives, AfterElton.com decided to have its readers vote for their choice.

Among the possible selections, two celebrities soon appeared to be in a neck and neck race for the first place: Neil Patrick Harris and John Barrowman.  At one point, AfterElton.com announced that they were only 20 votes apart.