Bodegas and psychic readings on Christopher Street finally make it into the mix as Fran wanders into Kathy’s Tarot Card Business looking for a job after shopping at a bodega with 2022 prices. (Apples $2.29 a lb in 1981?) Sam/Hannah and then Gino both drop by and get read. Literally. ($10 in 1981!?) And all the cards turning into Death cards did bring in a more supernatural elements into a very non-magical season. (but at this point why?) “Bad Fortune” also missed a a great opportunity for Frances Conroy’s Angel of Death to make a quick cameo return and connect all the seasons properly, but alas, it’s not in the cards. Just some computer generated death. Nothing to see here move on.
However, on the topic of supernatural disturbances, the origins of Big Daddy take a paranormal turn after Gino engages in a dark psychic night of the soul. Meanwhile Patrick and Gino have done on their Mai Tai Killer investigation has been completely off the books and they’re liable to implicate themselves (again). Oh and it turns out that Whitely has been taking his victims, cutting them up, and splicing them into a replica of Jesus Christ to martyrize them. AT PRIDE NO LESS. Oh and Barbara was murdered. Big Daddy? Patrick? Who the fuck cares a great ending for an annoying throw away character! BOOM!
Gird your loins ladies, gentlemen and everything in-between.Week two of CRUSINGAmerican Horror Story: NYC dropped Wednesday with a pair of new episodes . This season only has 8 episodes supposedly. Murphy is dropping the episodes fast and hard (content?) and it seems that it’s going to be a very short season.
The 11th. season of American Horror Story has arrived. In AHS-NYC’s two-part opener, fans have learned that the season will cover a mysterious serial killer targeting gay men in Lower Manhattan circa 1978-1981, as well as an unknown illness infecting Fire Island deer, and eventually the gay community. But in doing so Murphy once again “steals” and “twists” historical events, changes them ever so slightly, and and presents it to the audience as his own. But in this case they are very dark events that were never investigated, and justice was never sought for the victims The events are now mostly forgotten by time but they did happen. Just not the way Murphy presents them.
The main storyline of AHS – NYC‘s two-part opener focuses on the threat of a leather-clad serial killer(?) known as “Big Daddy,” (borrowed from: *Cruising, Hellbent) and another killer who drugs his victims, torture’s and them kills after finding his victims at cruising spots including leather bars. This season also includes: An unknown illness infecting Fire Island deer (guess what this leads too?), avenging intersectional lesbians (Yea, Sandra Bernhardt!), and the very many thinly veiled references to the gay personalities and gay spaces of NYC of that era.
Here is the problem though. Taking historical facts, twisting them and presenting them to the public when the public never knew the true horrors that gay men faced of that era is problematic at best. We were literally hunted. The Freeway Killer, Dean Corell, John Wayne Gacy, The Doodler, The Fag in the Bag Murders. It was open season on gay men and no one cared.
DEERS ON FIRE ISLAND:
One of the subplots of the season involves Dr. Hannah Wells (Billie Lourd), who’s researching a mysterious disease that has infected deer on Fire Island and is killing the. Dr Wells orders the deaths of the deer population on the island before the disease can spread to humans, but she soon finds that some of her patients are experiencing lesions and symptoms similar to the deer. THIS IS A FICTIONAL EVENT AND BAD SCIENCE: HIV originated in chimpanzees before jumping to humans, There’s no indication or proof that the disease was found in New York deer and this event never happened. At the end of Episode 2, Fran (Sandra Bernhard) hints that the U.S. government may be behind it all. (Who knows she may still be right.)
BIG DADDY/THE LAST CALL KILLER
The main storyline of NYC‘ focuses on a leather clad serial killer known as “Big Daddy,” who we see finding his victims at cruising spots . While Episode 1 follows Adam (Charlie Carver) as he investigates the killer after his friend is taken. Episode 2 sees reporter Gino (Joe Mantello) kidnapped and tortured by a mild-mannered man named Mr. Whitely (Jeff Hiller). So these are two very different predators. Also Mr. Whitely’s MO seems very similar to a real-life case in ’90s New York.
Taken mostly from the movies CRUISING and HELLBENT. BIG DADDY at this point is a just a man in a mask. It’s Mr. Whitely “The Last Call Killer” who is the monster behind the murders we have seen. But this is where Murphy goes off historically off the rails using events that happened decades after AHS NYC timeline is set and happened between 1991 and 1994 as if there wasn’t enough violence from the era to flesh it out. So to speak.
In 2001, Richard Rogers, a gay man and surgical nurse at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, was finally arrested for the murders of Thomas Mulcahy and Anthony Marrero in 1992 and 1993, respectively. Both men’s bodies were found in New Jersey dismembered and placed into several bags. authorities suspected that Rogers murdered more men in the same fashion, including victims he picked up in piano bars. However, he was only tried for the two murders. This case is especially personal for me since I knew one of the victims who left Marie’s Crisis one night with Rogers never to be seen again.
Murphy also seems to be borrowing heavily from the Paul Bateson/Addison Verrill murder of 1977. Though he was tried only for Verrill’s murder (and sentenced to 20 years to life), Bateson was also suspected for a series and a New York series of killings of gay men known as the “Bag Murders” (also known as the “CUPPI Murders” or the “Fag in a Bag Murders”). A least 6 bodies of unidentified men had been discovered, dismembered and placed in bags that were tossed into the Hudson River. These murders were never solved.
As far as the production values itself. AHS NYC does get props for re-creating as accurately as it could the NYC of 1978 – 82 since most of it is gone. The nods to the Mineshaft and Hellfire Club, Marsha Johnson, the Mayor being a closet case, and other hidden “Easter Eggs” make it an interesting watch for men who lived through that era in NYC but is it something we really want to? This is our history at its absolute worst and most painful mashed together with no respect for it’s lost victims. Just ratings.
American Horror Story season 11 character Gino works as a reporter for the Native, a prominent gay publication in New York City. The New York Native is a real-life publication that has conflicting impacts on the AIDS epidemic. the Native became notable for being the first paper to publish a story on the illness that would later be known as AIDS. The paper’s medical writer Lawrence Mass had called the CDC about the spread of the illness, with the organization telling him the rumors of the “gay cancer” were unfounded. Mass then headlined his story with “Disease Rumors Largely Unfounded,” which was published ahead of the CDC’s first clinical AIDS diagnosis.
Patti LuPone playing a Bette Midler character at a faux and rather badly recreated Continental Baths. Not even close. Also the song Patti was singing “Calling You” in 1981 was recorded in 1987 and released in 1988.
“The Brickhouse” is thought to be a NYC bar called The Townhouse where older men meet younger merchandise on the UES but it opened two decades later in 1998.
Doe a deer has nothing to do with AIDS on Fire Island and HIV was not created by the U.S. government. It’s thought to have originated from chimpanzees, with the disease having mutated and turned into HIV when transmitted to humans.
Yesterday legendary Hollywood star and two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland announced she is suing FX and producer Ryan Murphy over the unauthorized use of her identity in “Feud: Bette and Joan,”
De Havilland, who resides in France filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against FX Networks, LLC and Ryan Murphy Productions “based on the unauthorized commercial use of Dame Olivia’s name and identity in the FX hit series,” according to her attorneys, Suzelle M. Smith and Don Howarth of Howarth & Smith, noting that all the other real-life major players who are featured in the series are dead.
“Miss de Havilland was not asked by FX for permission to use her name and identity and was not compensated for such use,” her attorneys said in a statement to The Times. “Further, the FX series puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built over an 80-year professional life, specifically refusing to engage in gossip mongering about other actors in order to generate media attention for herself.”
The suit accuses FX and its partners of appropriating de Havilland’s name and identity and placing her in “a false light to sensationalize the series and to promote their own businesses” while ignoring her interests entirely.
“A living celebrity has the right to protect her name and identity from unauthorized, false, commercial exploitation under both common law and the specific ‘right to publicity’ statute in California,” Smith said, asserting that, “FX was wrong to ignore Miss de Havilland and proceed without her permission for its own profit.”
Her legal team plans to file a motion seeking an expedited trial date because of Ms. de Havilland’s age.
The cast and creators of FX channels American Horror Story appeared PaleyFest on Friday and talked about Season 4’s entry AHS: Freakshow, its casting, and its basic storyline.
Season four of the FX anthology will be set in Jupiter, Fla., in 1950 and will again star Jessica Lange. This time, the Emmy winner will portray a German ex-Pat managing one of the last remaining freak shows in the country.
Returning cast members include Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy and Kathy Bates — who also made a surprise appearance on Friday’s panel. They’ll play performers that Lange’s character has rescued. Denis O’Hare and Emma Roberts are also in talks to return for season four of the series, which reboots itself every season with a completely new story and often features largely the same cast of repertory players. Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Fantastic Four) will be making his AHS debut
Chiklis will be playing the father to Peters’ character and ex-husband to Bates’ character. Showrunner Ryan Murphy also revealed that everyone on the PaleyFest stage would be returning in season four in “some capacity” including Gabourey Sidibe and Jamie Brewer. Other panelists Friday included Paulson, Roberts, Peters, Bassett, Conroy, O’Hare and Bates as well as producers Murphy,Brad Falchuk, Tim Minear and Dante DiLoreto. Star Lange — and fan favorite Lily Rabe
You know by now that I will try to find a way to talk about Matt Bomer as often as possible and it you’ve been missing seeing this immaculate human on your tv screen then we’re all in luck. Bomer will be introduced into tonight’s newest episode of NBC’s The New Normal. You can also tell creator Ryan Murphy wanted to have Bomer sh0w as much skin as possible and who can blame him.
I can stare at this picture all day. But he’s probably going to be doing more than this during the episode right? Who cares, I’m still watching. Here’s more about Bomer’s new role from HuffPost:
In “The Goldie Rush,” Bomer plays Monty, one of Bryan’s (Andrew Rannells’) former exes. “He used to be a party guy, very much didn’t want to settle down, didn’t want to have kids, and now he’s starting a new chapter in his life where he does want to settle down,” Bomer previewed. “He runs back into Bryan and David [Justin Bartha] and they have the life that he wants, so he sort of latches on to them and tries to enlist their help to try and find someone to be with and investigate the whole surrogacy process. Then he meets Goldie (Georgia King) and is really besotted with her and tries to infiltrate that ground and tries to enlist her to be his surrogate, and the guys aren’t really having that.”
I mean what else do you need to know? Tune in tonight at 9:30/8:30 central. Also, look at how damn smooth he looks in this pic..
The witty new comedy, The New Normal, has been the center of attention lately, determined to tell an authentic story of two men who love each other on their often comedic journey to start a family. The NBC sitcom is such a hit, as of today a full season has been ordered for the series. One of the show’s stars, Andrew Rannells, in a recent interview discusses gay stereotypes, the comparisons to Modern Family, and how/if sexuality is involved in acting roles.
When asked about if he felt is character, Bryan, was a well developed character that defies gay stereotypes in comparison to past gay characters, Rannells feels that there’s more to a gay person than being “fabulous”:
America is warming up to the idea of gay characters — and not just as a sassy gay person, but being a person. A real character. And that’s just what’s so fun about this show. Certainly we are a gay couple, but we get to do a lot more than just that.
I obviously get to be quote-unquote “fabulous” in terms of my outfits, but Bryan has a lot of heart and a lot of strength. It’s nice to get to play that; it’s nice to get to play someone with sass but also a lot of smarts and sincerity. To have the opportunity to show all of that is really fantastic. To completely strip all the sass away would be equally untrue; there’s a certain amount of sass and glamour that goes along with being gay. There’s a certain amount of fabulousness that is needed or wanted. But running around being fabulous day-to-day isn’t every moment of your life.
Rannells also observes that they are telling a different than the multifaceted ABC hit sitcom Modern Family:
We’re telling a different story. This show has a different tone, and I’m happy to say that we’re showing a very romantic side to this couple, which is great. It’s really thrilling to get to do. Justin and I have filmed some really great scenes together that are real, honest, flirtatious and sexy — Yes, we’re going to be more affectionate, but it takes nothing away from what they’re doing.
As the subject about a gay actor in a straight role vs a straight actor in a gay role, Rannells feels that it’s about doing the job, not so much sexuality:
Which is very strange to me. I mean, it’s like any acting job. I’ve played a lot of straight characters, too, and if I had been denied those because I was gay, I would’ve been pissed. It comes down to who’s best for the part, so I get that. But it is refreshing for me, as a homosexual, to play these gay characters. It’s nice to get to play somebody who’s a little bit closer to who you are.
Check out the full insightful interview here. And don’t forget to check out The New Normal tonight at 9:30/8:30 central.
The anti-gay conservative group One Million Moms which who in reality is nothing more than umbrella group of the Southern Law Poverty Center sanctioned hate group the American Family Association, latest boycotts has gone down in flames.
The New Normal, the NBC sitcom about a gay couple Bryan Collins & David Murray (Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha) and single mother Goldie (Georgia King) who dreams of being a lawyer and who after running away to L.A with her daughter and followed by her uber-conservative “Nana” (played by the marvelous Ellen Barkin) agrees to become Bryan and David’s baby surrogate has been lambasted by the One Million Moms and other conservative and anti-gay hate groups who very vocally called for nationwide boycott against the show.
But I’m glad to say that despite all their bitching, moaning, and gnashing of teeth The New Normal debuted with a very solid 2.5 share which equals over 7 million viewers, beating its competition on ABC by almost a full share point despite the fact that the pilot was already shown once during the Olympics and has been available to view online for several weeks.
Congratulations NBC and The New Normal looks like you might have delivered a hit!
As for the One Million Moms. “EAT THE COOKIE MOTHERS!” – (10 Gay Points if you name the Book or Movie that line is from)
A Mormon owned television station, KSL, Utah Affiliate of NBC has announced they refuse to air the show ‘The New Normal.’ The show due next month, centers around a gay couple and their surrgate’s journey to have a child and expand their family. Jeff Simpson, CEO of ,Bonneville, parent company to the KSL station, felt the show would be too much for the audience to handle.
“The dialogue might be excessively rude and crude. The scenes may be too explicit or the characterizations might seem offensive. After viewing the pilot episode of The New Normal, we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule. For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time…. NBC is a valued partner — and as the Summer Olympic Games prove, they are committed to great news, sports and entertainment programming. KSL is confident that with the proliferation of digital media, those who wish to view the program can easily do so.”
Last month of course the 12 angry hateful bitter women One Million Moms called for the boycott of the show shortly after the premise of the show was announced saying the show is “not normal’ :
“NBC is using public airwaves to continue to subject families to the decay of morals and values, and the sanctity of marriage in attempting to redefine marriage. These things are harmful to our society, and this program is damaging to our culture.”
Creator of the show, Ryan Murphy commented about the boycott saying, “It’s 2012. I don’t think this [show] is anything so outrageous,”
Co-star of the show Ellen Barkin took to twitter to express her frustration with the tv station’s position of not airing the show:
“Shame on u @kslcom not airing@NBCTheNewNormal So L&O SVU (rape & child murder) is ok? But loving gay couple having a baby is inappropriate?”
This isn’t the first time the tv station has refused to air a show because they thought it was too controversial. Last year they refused to air The Playboy Club because they felt the plot was inconsistent.
GLAAD president Herndon Graddick released a statement reaching out to KSL so that an understanding could be met about the premise of the show and LGBT families:
“We invite Jeff Simpson to sit down with GLAAD and local LGBT families. We know that if he would, he would see that not only are our families normal, but by citing ‘crude and rude’ content and refusing to affirm LGBT families, KSL and Mr. Simpson are sending a dangerous message to Utah. They should make that right.”
I hope the show does well despite the station’s close-minded thinking.
