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Entertainment Notes for March 2004

by Deb Spilko

Television

Comedy Central's Straight Plan for the Gay Man is a hilarious and well-crafted parody of Queer Eye. In each of the series' three episodes four straight male comedians ("the Flab 4") work with a gay man to help him pass as straight for a day. In the wrong hands this could have been pretty offensive, but it's all pretty good-natured, and the straight guys actually poke a lot of fun at themselves. Mondays at 10 PM, starts February 23, for more info, videos of the show, and repeat schedule, visit www.comedycentral.com

It's not exactly a parody, but FOX is sort of turning Bravo's Boy Meets Boy upside down with their new reality/dating series Playing it Straight. 14 bachelors will compete for the affections of one single woman, but some of the bachelors are just—you guessed it—playing it straight. The series airs Fridays at 8 PM, starting March 14.

PlanetOut and Gay.com now carry an extensive GLBT "TV Guide" on their sites, with a unique feature: Some of the listings are linked to articles about the show or about a particular person or celebrity. To get to the listings, click on Entertainment.

Just 11 days after its debut, Showtime announced it would renew The L Word, making it the quickest renewal Showtime has ever made. Ratings for the first two episodes were four times Showtime's average rating. The new season will begin in June 2004.

Here's a first—Erie's FOX affiliate, WFXP, has been running an ad for Interactive Male phone dating service since last September. The ad usually airs weeknights a little after midnight.

Meeting people

Unfortunately, when I listed dating/introduction services in the "Love stuff!" article last month, I wasn't aware of TG Personals. This service provides a lot more choices for Transgender and Intersex people and others who are interested in meeting them. TG Personals helps people meet for love, friendship, penpals, roommates, or advice. Check them out at www.tgpersonals.com

Festivals

WimFest 2004 (Women's International Music Festival) will be held in August 6, 7, and 8 in North Canton, Ohio. The festival includes workshops, fishing, hiking, vendors, dances, car & bike show, workshops, performances by Vickie Shaw (comedian), Leah Zicari, 2 Girls Alone, Alexis Antes, Robin Stone, Christine Martucci, Claudia, Troubadours of Divine Bliss, Kindred, Emily Zuzik, Lucie Blue Tremblay, Halcyon, Wishing Chair, CommonbonD, Mother Jane, Kim Tuvim, Christine Havrilla, Lori Wyatt, Lojo Russo, Red Letter Day, Frozen Feet, Natalie Darkes, IBA Champion Vonda Ward, Fire & Desire...and more. More details soon. Info: www.wimfest.com or (330) 219-0409.

Vacations for families & kids

GLBT parents have increasingly more vacation choices.

Family Pride Coalition offers a number of events for GLBT parents and their kids. The events allow the kids to be around families like theirs, and they provide a safe and supportive environment for the parents. Some events this year include their Family Pride Camp Weekend in New Jersey (March 28-30), Weekend at Walt Disney World (June 17-20), Family Week 2004 (Saugatuck, MI from July 17 to 24 and Provincetown, MA from July 31 to Aug 6). www.familypride.org or (202)331-5015.

Rosie and Kelly O'Donnell have started R Family vacations which offers "Family friendly vacations designed especially for the gay and lesbian community." Their first-ever gay and lesbian family cruise happens July 11-18. In the future, they plan to offer a variety of family activities, like small tours, ski trips, resort programs, fishing trips and safaris. Browse to www.rfamilyvacations.com or call 1-866-R-FAM-VAC.

Mountain Meadow's Summer Camp is a two-week overnight camping experience (not a family vacation thing, in other words) for kids 9-17 from GLBT and other nontraditional families. It's located in southern New Jersey and runs from August 15-28. Visit www.mountainmeadow.org

© Erie Gay News