Darkside Rainbow

I admit, I haven’t watched Desperate Housewives since the first season. I’m not normally into prime time dramas, but there was little not to love about DH; it had dry humor, neurotic redheads, a dash of mystery, and the absolutely incandescent Eva Longoria. It was a guilty pleasure* that unfortunately had to fall by the wayside when conflicting work shifts overlapped its broadcast schedule, and I was far too absentminded to remember to tape it every week. By the time that I was able to watch it again, I was too far behind to really spend the time to get caught up, and I’d been distracted by my other guilty pleasure: House, Hugh Laurie, and those devastating eyes.

That may have to change, though, and I may find myself taking a crash-course in Wysteria 101 in order to get caught up in time for the new season and two promising new cast additions: a gay couple, and Nathan Fillion.

The only way that could make me happier is if Nathan played one half of the gay couple; I’ve loved him and his wry delivery of lines ever since Firefly, and I think I’d just about melt my jockeys if I saw the man who played the role of Malcom Reynolds in a liplock with another bloke. (I can think of a few million slashficcing fangirls who’d be reviving all their old Mal/Jayne fics, too, and pairing poor Nathan off with Adam Baldwin for the millionth time.) Fillion, however, will be playing Dr. Adam Luther (with wife played by Dana Delaney), while casting is still open for the two house-husbands desperate to make their debut among the desperate housewives.

I should probably be ashamed that I’m more excited about Nathan Fillion than I am about the bump to the gay quota on mainstream TV’s prime-time lineup, and I’m sure Auntie Noxie will be along presently to revoke a few of my princess points for that transgression - but I can’t help it. My geek-fu is strong, and tends to trump my pink pride nine times out of ten.

Fanboy crush on Fillion aside, though, I think I will try to make time for the upcoming season of DH, because I’m always curious to see how gay couples are portrayed on television. I can’t help but wonder if one of the men will be slated as the “wife” to keep with the theme of desperate housewives, and if they’ll be portrayed in stereotypical fashion. I hope not; there’s a bad habit of slotting the two halves of a same-sex couple into preset male/female roles, as if that’s the only dynamic that’s workable, acceptable, and understandable to mainstream viewers.

I’m going to hold out hope that the producers of Desperate Housewives won’t fall into that trap, and anticipate a fresh and innovative portrayal of gay life in suburbia. Will I be disappointed? Who knows. But I know that I will fairly soon be settling down with borrowed DVDs of the seasons I’ve missed, a tub of popcorn, and a weekend of completely wasted time indulging in my guilty pleasure.

…and I call my boyfriend a pop culture whore?

*Anything involving TV is a guilty pleasure for me. I don’t like broadcast TV. Give me a book or film any day.

desperate housewives, nathan fillion, gay tv, eva longoria