A Dumb Podcast Idea?

A few weeks (months now?) ago chaos happened on Twitter. Kumar over at The Kumar Expirience took up the challenge to watch Star Trek: The Original Series and many of us followed suit by saying we would watch something that we had been avoiding. I chose the Exorcist, because I'm not a fan of horror, thrillers yes, horrors no. But really I could have chosen from a huge list of films that people consider classics. Films that I honestly have very little desire to watch.

There are many reasons for that. One big one is that my Mom is a huge film buff and would often quote and reference films that I have never seen and when I was little my parents would watch a lot of the classics like Gone with the Wind or The Godfather when I was about 7 and I remember either being bored out of my mind and annoyed that they were taking up the TV for what felt like days and just not being interested in any of them. Then there is the fact that I've grown up in a culture where a lot of those classics, and even recent things are parodied rather quickly and more often than not the parodies make me not want to watch the film even more. And finally there is that when I was a teenager if it wasn't an anime I didn't really want to watch it and as a result I missed out on a lot of movies that kids growing up in the 90s would see. I've gone back and watched a few, but my list of films that shock people I haven't seen is still long and impressive.

So, this is my idea: I want you to challenge me to watch some of these movies that I've avoided. Tell me about some film that I probably missed (I'll try to work on a list to help people out) give me a reason why I should watch it and then I want to see if I can turn this into a podcast. The goal is to have many many guests as they challenge me to something and then we go back and review whatever it is I saw. And you know what? I'm not going to limit this to movies; tv, books, music, and since I've mostly stopped watching anime you can challenge me to that too (I've never seen Evangelion people, still plenty to challenge me to there), whatever you want to challenge me to, go ahead.

Now, this may turn into an epic fail idea. I have no idea how to record or edit a podcast, especially to record phone conversations that would be required for this. I don't have a mixer and am a little reluctant to get one knowing that I'm going to be travelling a lot...if there is a good travel one that'd be great? This was mostly an idea that I had for something to do during my free time that I feel like I'm wasting. I want to do something productive and this is the best idea I've had so far.

So let me know what you think. If you want to help out in anyway, be on or have any tips. I could definitely use it. Or if this is a bad idea...like I said I can see this ending in Epic Fail, but might give it a try...

or maybe a better idea would be to just make this into a blog since I know I will be traveling more, back to home and then to somewhere else after that?

But That's Why I Watched the Show!!!

Well nothing motivates me better than anger to write a blog post...Congrats ABC you have just made me angry.

I adore and check AfterEllen.com everyday for new blog posts and reviews of wonderful lesbian media entertainment to read (for the other end, AfterElton.com exists too). Today after work I decide I want to read the latest review of Grey's Anatomy, the hit prime time medical drama soap opera did something that did something groundbreaking and made me want to watch it again. They wrote in not only a lesbian kiss, but a full on couple featuring two of the main characters that would have been explored fully in this season. Even better, one part of this couple is Sara Ramirez who I've had a crush on since I heard her voice on my CD of Spamalot. Now, did I like how little we got to see of them or how Callie decided to not only get advice from Sloan on dating women, but had sex with him? No, but I was dealing with that.

Well wasn't I shocked to see next to the article on the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy there is an article about how apparently ABC has just fired Brooke Smith, the other half of my newly beloved couple and thus killing the entire relationship. You can read the full article here : http://www.afterellen.com/TV/2008/10/greys-fires-brooke-smith .

This was shocking news to clearly everyone, the writer/creator, the actress, media, and those of us who were watching for that very reason. They are not even going to give her a good send off, this Thursday will be Smith's final episode and all she's going to get is to drive off in her car. I'm sorry, what???? That's it?! No reason at all, not that she got so pissed off with Callie going back to sleep with Sloan for one reason after another each week, just driving off?? Fuck you ABC.

To add to my anger, ABC has also announced that

Melissa George's character is no longer bisexual. "Melissa came on as a lesbian character," a Grey's source tells Kristin, "but they changed the script and now she isn't. She starts off flirting with Callie but it never goes anywhere." From AfterEllen.com

Something that AfterEllen announced yesterday and had me all excited for controversy in our happy lesbian land. Now, this isn't controversy, this is a fucking dead duck.

Now why am I blaming ABC and not the writer/creator of the show? Well that would be because the rest of the article focuses on her and how shocked she was this was happening.

This is 2008 and people!!! Get your heads out of your asses and not only give us our gay/lesbian characters, but give us the same story lines you give the straight couples!!! I'm fucking tired of seeing either no one gay at all, or if they are gay they have to go with the safe story line showing as little as possible and heaven forbid that when we do get the gay characters they act the same way the straight ones do. And while it is nice and kinda morally uplifting to point at the daytime and nighttime soaps and go, "well clearly we are better than you because we don't sleep around on TV." I'm tired of this PC world where we can't risk offending anyone. I know there are too many people out in the world that would take what I want and use it against us, that is fine. But if execs are too afraid of even the safe story lines, how the hell are we going to get anywhere?

This also has me fearing for the future of another beloved lesbian character on a daytime ABC soap, All My Children. I love Bianca, I've loved her character even before she came out and now that she is out, I love her even more. Add to the fact that she is now back and in a committed relationship with another character Reese (another actress I had the hots for when she was on General Hospital) I'm loving that story line, even if we rarely get to see them kiss, let alone have sex. However, ABC pulled the plug on one groundbreaking lesbian relationship this week, what is going to happen to the other one?

I'm not going to boycott ABC, nothing will come of only me doing it, plus I still like Lost and Boston Legal a lot. However, I am not watching Grey's Anatomy after this week, I have no reason to, and if they do the same with All My Children, I'll have no reason to watch that either.

ABC you were doing great, breaking new ground on the gay character on the networks front!! Please don't stop now!!! Cause if you go the way I fear, I won't have a reason to watch at all...