Desperate Housewives Has Some Gay Work Done

[[SPOILER WARNING]]

Last night's episode of Desperate Housewives finished up with a big gay twist and a promise of more to come. Find out what's in the offing for Andrew van de Kamp, AFTER THE JUMP...

Andrew's apparently shacking up with a gay plastic surgeon (played by Todd Grinnell) who, according to the preview for next week, is potentially also a porn star.

(clip via afterelton)

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Gale Harold Caught by Cameraphone of Gazing Gays

Took me a while to dig up this clip, but last Sunday's Desperate Housewives premiere featured this brief, spot-on bit.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Incidentally, Shawn Pyfrom, who plays Bree van de Kamp's gay son Andrew, had this recently to say to People magazine about how he feels about playing gay in the show:

"I mean, I'm straight. If I say I'm uncomfortable with it, then I'm homophobic. If I say I'm okay with it, then I'm gay. It's an honor. I didn't know it would be so groundbreaking."

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Kenneth Cole's brief encounter.

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The "Gay Math" of Desperate Housewives [[SPOILERS]]

[[SPOILERS]]

According to Desperate Housewives' "gay math" the guy on the left above is a 3 out of 10. Harsh.

What does that make creator Marc Cherry?

The final episode filmed before the writer's strike aired last night. In it, Bree attempted to pimp out Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) by coercing him with a flat screen television to cock-tease her contractor so he would repair her home which was damaged by the recent tornado.

Said Tuc Watkins, who plays one half of Wisteria Lane's gay couple, when the series began: "Marc should be applauded for creating gay characters who aren't issue-oriented. A lot of the time, gay characters are known through issues — coming out or health problems. There are a few cliché gay jokes on Desperate Housewives. But Bob and Lee aren't stereotypical. They have horrible taste. They have a sense of humor. They're a little mean. They're certainly not PC."

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Actor Shawn Pyfrom on Playing Gay

Actor Shawn Pyfrom gives a lengthy interview to Starpulse in which he discusses playing Andrew van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives:

"I think the Van de Camps are loosely based on producer Marc Cherry's family life, although I don't know if his real mother was a strict as Bree. I can't imagine that there are too many people in the world like that. It is always interesting to watch Andrew and Bree go at each other's throats. She believes something so different and he does everything to make sure to cause her stress. It seems like they are already on [the path of acceptance]. Andrew and Bree have resolved their issues, as when he apologized for the way he used to act. He is beginning to mature now and has forgiven his mother for leaving him on the side of the road...[That was wicked] but it was so awesome to shoot. But I think he is now on a path towards becoming an adult. I think it's necessary because the character is 20 now. Andrew still has his manipulating ways, he just approaches it more maturely...The good thing about Andrew is that in Season 1 and 2 as a gay character, he was very strong and confident as to who he was. I think that could be encouraging for other young homosexuals to become more confident and comfortable with who they are. A lot of times gay characters can be portrayed as the flamboyant and weak stereotype. Andrew is sociopathic and narcissistic and doesn't get along with his mother, and he is also gay. Your sexual preferences doesn't define you as a person. I'm heterosexual but that doesn't define me as a person. No one would say, 'Oh, he likes to have sex with girls,' so why should it be the other way around?"

I'm not sure that being sociopathic and narcissistic are the attributes gay people want associated with them either, but I'll assume he was simply elaborating on the earlier "strong and confident" statement.

On being stereotyped by playing a gay character, Pyfrom says: "I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried, but honestly I think we are at a point now with television and movies where people can watch something and not stereotype the actor playing that character. I think if I had played a gay character 10 years ago then I would probably have something to worry about. I think people are a little bit more open-minded now. I think that the only time people stereotype is when the actor acts out in public. They go around parading things out to the media and then that is all people see when they are watching them on the screen. That's one reason that I don't do that. "

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Desperate Housewives Takes on Circumcision

Bite that egg roll, Bree.

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Marc Cherry on Desperate Housewives' New Gay Couple

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry talks to USA Today about Bob and Lee, the gay couple who recently moved on to Wisteria Lane. If you've missed the clips, I posted them here and here.

Cherry reveals a hint at what's coming up for the couple on the show, as well as who they're named after: "Cherry, who named the characters after ABC journalist Bob Woodruff and his wife, Lee, after meeting them at a dinner, says he and his writers are still developing Bob and Lee's story lines — which, in keeping with the neighborhood, include at least one secret between the couple and a story line involving their roles in helping rebuild the community after a tornado. That plotline may help them in a community that ostracized them in last Sunday's episode, after they placed a huge, hideous, metal-sculptured fountain in their front yard."

Said Cherry: "In capturing the gay suburban experience, the joke is they have the same issues as everyone else. The politically correct thing would have been to have everyone get along with them. But there's a lot of comedy to be played against type...We're having fun with them. I hope to keep them as long as I can."

Tuc Watkins and Kevin Rahm, who play the couple, chimed in as well.

Watkins: "Marc should be applauded for creating gay characters who aren't issue-oriented. A lot of the time, gay characters are known through issues — coming out or health problems. "There are a few cliché gay jokes on Desperate Housewives. But Bob and Lee aren't stereotypical. They have horrible taste. They have a sense of humor. They're a little mean. They're certainly not PC."

Rahm: "Tuc's character wants to be the good guy, to be part of the community. What's great about Lee is there's no filter on the stuff he says about the suburbs or what he says to other people. It's a great dynamic."

'Desperate' to prove a point about gay couples [usa today]

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Desperate Housewives' New Gay Couple Erects Fountain Art

Last week, the new gay couple (played by Tuc Watkins and Kevin Rahm) arrived on Wisteria Lane. This week they put up an expensive fountain in the yard and set off a debate about personal freedoms. Here are a couple of the clips.

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Desperate Housewives: Gay Couple Arrives on Wisteria Lane

[[SPOILERS]]

Wisteria Lane's gay neighbors Bob and Lee, played by Tuc Watkins and Kevin Rahm, moved in last night. Susan Meyer quickly tried to ingratiate herself, with a typically dimwitted series of endeavors.

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