TV comedians "turn" gay men straight

Rueters ^ | Tue 11 November, 2003 07:43 | ??

[glorgau]

U.S. cable network Comedy Central is planning to turn the American make-over hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" upside down with a new show called "Straight Plan for the Gay Man."

Debuting in February, the new show will parody the Bravo channel's "Queer Eye" series and male stereotypes in general as a team of straight comedians -- the "Flab 4" -- teaches a succession of gay men how to pass as heterosexuals.

The make-overs include lessons in such areas as spartan home decorating, oafish manners, less-than-fashionable wardrobes, and an overdeveloped ego to mask all personal failings, production executive Lou Wallach told Reuters on Monday.

He said the network is currently producing three hour-long episodes centring on three gay men looking to go straight for a day to satisfy some personal curiosity about life on the "other team."

Jonathan, an upscale fashion salesman seeking greater insight into the lives of blue-collar workers, will try to get a job as a meatpacker. Roger, a yoga instructor who has always wanted to play a round of pickup basketball, will square off in a competitive game of street hoops. And Stephen, an entertainer with lots of female friends, will venture into the hetero club scene to try his luck as a smooth-talking babe magnet.

As the end of each episode, the Flab 4 will accompany their straight-A students to see if they "pass their tests."

The format is a role reversal of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," in which five gay men with expertise in good grooming, food, fashion, culture and interior design come to the aid of a hapless heterosexual slob. The show has drawn the highest audience numbers ever on Bravo, and a half-hour version proved popular on sister broadcast network NBC.

Comedy Central, a Viacom Inc.-owned network that reaches some 84 million homes, is best known for such offerings as the subversive animated comedy "South Park" and the newscast satire "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

A spokesman for NBC and Bravo, which are owned by General Electric Co., said the networks were aware of the plans for the parody show but had no comment.

[kidd]

The comic strip "Tank McNamara" already did this about three months ago. There was a short series entitled "Sports Eye for the Queer Guy" where a group of football fans tried to turn a faggot into a football fan. They made sure that the subject had the right TV, the right satelite package, etc.

[AD from SpringBay]

Just because we probably aren't interior decorators...

Know what? That's ok because most queers aren't neat and pretty like tha' teevee shows either. Might as well stereotype them as lazy, self-absorbed, perverted, and living in pig sty apartments that reek of chain smoking and overfilled trash cans - because that's what a lot of them are and that's where a lot of the queers live. Or better yet, why not take a tour of the AIDS wing of a large metropolitan hospital and set it to a laugh-track. I realize that that won't play to the positive, well-balanced and hilarious lifestyles portrayed to the general viewing audience - my bad...

[longtermmemmory]

Sadly, aids is a growth industry in the homosexual circles.

[Godfollow]

I laughed as I read this... this has got to be probably the funniest counter culture thing to be done in our modern world. I'll watch it... and piss on them if they get their feathers ruffled...

[Cronos]

It's pretty irritating that the media has dubbed straight guys as louts. This show is evidence of that. It deems a straight guy as being one who can't appreciate a fine home (spartan home decorating), is uncouth (oafish manners), can't disagree with the less-than-fashionable wardrobe, but then, blue jeans and a Tshirt is never outta style. And they think all straight guys must have an overdeveloped ego????

[unixfox]

There is no true man's show on television or cable.

I dunno, Monster Garage is pretty damn close.

[Robert A Cook PE]

That motorbike chopper-building show is close.

[Cronos]

pLUS, ALL OF THIS DEGENERATE BEHAVIOUS ONLY ADDS fuel to the Islamists fire. The islamics say the West is degenerate, perverted, godless. Looking around me at times, I have to agree with them. Sad ain't it?

[gcruse]

Satire: it's what closes on Saturday night. The show is a one-trick phony and will garner the ratings of Connie Chung.