The BLOT Thickens: GLAAD Weighs In

For months, our viewers have noted -- most with admiration, some with outrage -- the honesty with which "Brothers & Sisters" portrays its gay characters. The character of Kevin Walker has struck viewers in a number of different ways. He's been at times sincere, sarcastic, gossipy, sweet, a lech, a doormat and a sleaze. In relationships he's been both the repressed partner and the victim of a partner's repression. In his family, he's been a brother and a son, no more, no less. What he hasn't been is a symbol or a stereotype. All of this amounts to one of the most complexly written and performed representations of a gay man on TV. And that complexity enables the show to tell stories with real depth.

Matthew Rhys

It's precisely that complexity and depth that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) recognized yesterday when it nominated "Brothers & Sisters" in the Outstanding Drama Series category. We'll be going up against "The L Word," "Hex," "The Sopranos," and "South of Nowhere." For a complete list of nominations, click here.

The GLAAD Awards will be televised on MTV's Logo Network on April 21, 2007.

Comments

[MP]

Congratulations! The nomination is well-deserved. Kevin is a wonderful character. The B&S writers and Matthew Rhys all deserve awards.

[will]

No matter what the homophobes on this blog say, I get the almost para-natural sense the B&S team are with us 100% (ONE HUNDRED PERCENT you homophobes!)in giving us a human Kevin. Bitchy, philosophical, romantic, self-centered, good-natured, irreverant, kinda wild & completely HUMAN Kevin. This is a revolutionary thing. He has a major, ongoing storyline in a top-20 program (ratings are great homophobes, not that you really care). I'm no dreamy pie-in-the-sky personality, but I get kinda misty-eyed thinking about it. This is such a beautiful TV crossroads we're at. I have this wealth of positive goodwill. And I'm going to savor this feeling - we'll only live through this crossroads once.

[TStorr]

Congrats to the "BROTHERS & SISTERS" family for the GLAAD nomination in the Outstanding Drama Series category.

It's a well deserved honor.

Your writing and the development of not only your characters who happen to be gay, but all of your characters that make up the cast of "BROTHERS & SISTERS" is why I continue to tune in.

Keep up the good work - TStorr

[CeCe]

That is incredible news! Great job, everyone!!!!

[Scott]

Congrats on the GLAAD nomination! Your show has many strengths, but certainly its realistic and complex treatment of a gay character--who is a full member of this family--deserves special praise.

[Jim]

So richly deserved-I hope you win. Your depiction of Kevin is changing people's lives in a very positive way. Always remember that when the anti-gay complaints come in.

[will]

I think this blog is therapeutic in its way. Haters show up, we learn to deal with it. They come & vent, we can vent, & everybody goes home happy. Here are a few new RAVES (ravings) of the more threatened, mystified bloggers who are perplexed with the onslaught of primetime gays (this is how I deal with what might normally get ya down) :

"...do not like to see them in bed kissing....just an attempt to create controversy."......CLAUDIA
"Hate the gay scenes....choose not to watch....pushing it down our throats....Sick, Sick, Sick"......CHARLEY
"A great show has now turned to junk to please the gay people....don't need to watch them kissing or who knows what next....Let's leave some things to the imagination."......BONK
"I can handle talking about being gay, but I cannot handle the scenes of the gay scripts. Take these out & I will be a fan again."......FAN
"...am sorry Disney is trying to make it seem normal..."......JILL
"You are HETEROSEXUAL bashers!....All of the immorality shown on television is offensive, up to & including the gay agenda....Leviticus 20..." (which is quoted)......SUE

This Sunday (the 28th) is a new episode, right? Somebody mentioned a "break" on the last thread. But B&S home page says a new one("Northern Exposure"). I don't even want to think about the following 2-week "hiatus"....I'm grooving on this show. Seems like we're on the verge of something transformational, & it feels good (even if it's a mirage).

Congratulations! This is wonderful news. I am so enjoying the portrayal of Kevin and his relationships. It's so refreshing.

[Candi]

KUDOS!!

[ilovemylife]

Oh, I am SO Happy for you! AND for Matthew Rhys who deserves SO Much praise for his all-THERE acting style. It’s the little things he does that I love noticing. I mean in SOMETHING IDA THIS WAY COMES the wave to Senator McCallister when the Senator was at-the-door-with-soup talking to Nora – that was so-Matthew, therefore so-Kevin. In the Security Sweep Detail scene: His tilting of his head when he says “Says who?” and the way he leans on one leg and eyes the Mountie when he delivers “Did my sister invite him?” – all just details, but they make his Kevin so, so special and endearing. Matthew Rhys should have accolades heaped upon him. The writing given to him has been outstanding and he always comes through with royal and flying colors. Every possible award that your show could fit the category of should include nominations for those at BROTHERS AND SISTERS. I hope the karma just starts to build for your wonderful show and results in MANY win-wins.

WAY TO GO !

[Kate]

This is GREAT! And so well deserved.

[Carrie]

Congrats on your GLAAD nomination. Very well deserved.

[Karen]

I have watched Brothers & Sisters from the beginning and love it. But, I am sick and tired of the gay kissing and bedroom scenes. Is it a prerequisite for new shows to have a gay character? In this day and age, I realize there is more emphasis on "gay" rights, but it doesn't have to be on a good TV show!

[Karrie]

Congrats on the well-deserved nomination!

[Linda Schuler]

I'm getting tired of the gay scenes. Knowing Kevin is gay is fine but showing him bedding any gay guy he meets is too much! Does every show have to have a token gay guy!

[will]

NEILSEN RATINGS (Kev-Chad in bed, grandma Ida episode):
I almost freaked when I didn't see "Brothers & Sisters" listed in the Top 20 this week. It is listed #22, & as Maxine said, there are extenuating circumstances. Here's the top 5 -
1. NFL Postgame
2. NFL Playoff
3. American Idol (Tues.) ("It's BAAAACK!)
4. American Idol (Wed.)
5. NFL Postgame 2

So, take away the football & B&S is fine. I'm sure the "homophobes" will take this small crumb as some sort of "proof" that audiences are turning away in droves (It is their DESPERATE wishful thinking. B&S is not in sync with their repressive agenda) Just remember, B&S is still 5th in the ABC line-up, behind the usual suspects: Grey's, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, & Extreme Makeover. What is truly astonishing is that the show held onto almost its complete audience after the "Chad & Kevin do Mulholland Drive" episode. #22 out of 130 primetime entries... Right on.

[CKA]

The gay storyline turned this viewer off this show...I can't believe that people are celebrating over a nomination for something that is so wrong...Remember God created Adam and Eve...not Adam and Steve!!

[stevenscollege]

Well done for the nomination, its richly deserved and your going to win I think we all that, but these relentless anti-gay comments are becoming a trial it was bad enough we had to subjected to "Leviticus 20" courtesy of "Sue" in the last post but someone has now posted "adam and steve" I think im going to vomit, speaking of which all the homophobic comments makes me remember that line from "Hannah & her sisters" "If jesus really did come back and see what was being done in his name he`d never stop throwing up" Amen to that.

[Kelley]

Congrats on your nom!!

B/S message board anytime soon???

[will]

Dear Linda Schuler,

I know you're tired of gays. Me too. I do feel you. Seems like these damn new shows are adding "token" homos in a vain attempt to jack up ratings - or something! EVERY time you turn around now! They love controversy! I thought once that dreadful "Will & Grace" went off the air.... You poor, poor thing! Having to WATCH such promiscuous, amoral conduct. REAL touching & kissing! And to think it's completely legal! We were born in the wrong century, that's all dear! Weren't these folks hunted down & burned at the stake once upon a time? If only we could turn back the clock!! I'm sure you agree with me that the blacks are still way too uppity & demanding & wanting all their "rights" too, but that's a different story! For another blog! We should crash the "Grey's Anatomy" site. WAY too much diversity....have you seen the program? Chinese & all the negros & whatnot. It's simply not the America I grew up in. Listen, you take care. I feel your pain. Well get our reward in the NEXT life! I'll say a prayer.

Love, Wilma

[Sue]

I agree with CKA and Linda, why are the writers of this show and others risking their ratings for a minority of the population? I watched another show this week, because Kevin had to be shown with his gay lover in bed as soon as the show started! Why did you ruin such a nice family show? Who cares about a GLAAD nomination? This is not an accomplishment, a bunch of freaks that need a shrink love your show, big deal.

[RK]

I am greatly saddened to see Sally Fields has chosen to add her great talent to a show that seems bent on Gay sensationalism. Everyone knows Gays exist and have families. Most heterosexuals (majority of the species and viewers) do not enjoy witnessing homosexual practices. The male kissing and bed scenes destroy the enjoyment of an otherwise fine and entertaining storyline. What’s wrong with insinuation and leaving details to the imagination? I love the basic show, but if the Gay scenes continue in the same graphic vein, I’ll go elsewhere for entertainment.

[EB]

Congrats on the nomination!

As for all the haters, I if you believe God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, would you also like to admit he created Girls Gone Wild?

I feel that Kevin's so-called bedroom scenes have been tastefully done, considering the way the other brothers' and sisters' bedrooms scenes have been portrayed on the show.

[will]

As you've all read on the last blog, David Marshall Grant was the co-writer in the "Something Ida This Way Comes" episode. (Clunky title by the way! But beautifully written dialogue, especially the incidental throwaway stuff.) I don't know the whole family tree of how this show is connected to "thirty-something" but producer Ken Olin was a "thirty-something" cast lead, & David Marshall Grant showed up on Season 3 in the role of Russell Weller.

Can't remember which website I found this on, but it reads:...."David Marshall Grant is probably best remembered for his role in "thirty-something" in which he played a gay man shown in bed with another gay man 'the morning after'. Though the 2 men were simply lying in bed talking, the scene was suggestive enough to make major advertisers pull out. That was November 7, 1989." (I believe this was written BEFORE DMG did "Angels in America")

From Wikipedia (& this is fairly amazing that Wikipedia could SINGLE OUT one episode in a 4-season show):....."The show made headlines in a 1989 episode in which 2 men, Melissa's gay friend Russell (David Marshall Grant) & his partner Peter (Peter Frechette) were shown in bed together in a post-coital scene discussing their romantic pasts & their developing feelings about each other." ......I remember this "post-coital scene" - I was 17 in high school & still in the closet & I remember these guys specifically bringing up the musical "Sweeny Todd" & I remember being scared watching it & lowering the sound, just in case anybody could hear. I remember both the guys were cute, but more importantly, sweet & human (TRUST me, there was practically nothing on TV that portrayed gays positively before this.... A Martin Sheen-Hal Holbrook made-for-TV movie in the 1970's - they were lovers, Hal had a young teenaged kid -... & possibly "An Early Frost"). So this one scene was revolutionary in its way. And look how far we've come! Kevin is openly gay. He has "bedroom scenes" with kisses & according to Dan, no advertiser trouble or network interference. "Brothers & Sisters" has roots in "thirty-something" (it takes that show's aesthetic & dialogue TONE in part, right?) Just wanted to share this bit of TV history with you fans that's directly related to what I hope is a life-changing, groundbreaking series. (Just as ONE SCENE in "thirty-something" changed my life.) And I tried to queue up "thirty-something" on Netflix & look for Season 3....no luck!....Netflix doesn't list it. David Marshall Grant...this whole comment is a Valentine to you....that one scene was worth more than 50 academy award performances as far as I'm concerned. It really changed lives....& wiped away the remarks of 100s of bigots. Thanks.

[Matt]

A message for Will regarding this Sunday's episode. Unfortunately, "Northern Exposure" is not a new episode...it is the one where the family all ends up at the ranch house before they sell it. I share in your disappointment about the two-week hiatus.