JACKIE COLLINS' HOLLYWOOD WIVES: THE NEW GENERATION Sunday, Oct. 19 CBS, 8 p.m.
Remember the days of the week-long, 15-hour mini-series???? Sigh, no such beast exists anymore. In perhaps the shortest mini-series of all time, HOLLYWOOD WIVES: THE NEW GENERATION will premiere this fall ... as a two-hour mini-series. For the first time, though, one of the four 'wives' is a gay man.
The new generation of Hollywood wives are: a Madonna-like music video superstar Lissa Roman (Farrah Fawcett); a Kate-Capshaw-like famous producer's wife Taylor Singer (Melissa Gilbert); soul diva Kyndra (Robin Givens) ... and gay James (Peter Cockett), whose lover is older Black music industry mogul Claude St. Claire (Dorian Harewood).
Best Supporting Character Name in HOLLYWOOD WIVES goes to Oliver Rock, the promising young (and usually bare-chested) screenwriter/director with whom Taylor Singer has an affair. (He is played by newcomer Dallas La Porta, The Must See Hunk of the movie).
There are lots of subplots in HOLLYWOOD WIVES—and it really would have worked better as an extended mini-series.
While Lissa tries to leave the clutches of her abusive failure of a husband, her daughter Nicci is kidnapped for ransom. Taylor's affair with Oliver Rock becomes awkward when her husband hires him.
Taylor also comes into conflict with her Spielberg-like husband because she wants to return to acting ... in a lesbian movie on cable!!!! 'For your information, it's not A GAY MOVIE,' she tells him defiantly. 'It's a touching story of love between two women.'
The gay Hollywood wife James is mostly part of the girls' support-over-cocktails group, while his lover Claude St. Claire is seen working in the studio on the soundtrack of Lissa's new movie.
PETER ALLEN: THE BOY FROM OZ Wednesday, Oct. 15 TRIO, 8 p.m., 9 p.m.
One day before actor Hugh Jackman (THE X-MEN) steps on the Broadway stage to star as songwriter/performer Peter Allen in the much anticipated musical THE BOY FROM OZ, digital cable / satellite channel TRIO airs this 1995 documentary, which profiles Allen, a small-town Australian boy who overcame a tragic childhood to become an internationally acclaimed songwriter and performing star.
Interviews include Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Bernadette Peters, Harry Connick, Jr., and Ann-Margret.
The best moments involve Liza and Judy. Liza was 18 when she married Allen.
Black and white TV clips of Liza and Judy singing TOGETHER are cleverly intercut with b/w TV clips of Allen and his early singing partner singing the same song.
DAILY NEWS front-page coverage of Garland's death and funeral are also shown (Headlines: 'JUDY GARLAND DIES IN LONDON' and 'JUDY WAS THE STAR IN FINAL ROLE').
Former A&M Records publicist Bob Garcia talks about Allen's reception as a gay recording artist. 'There were an awful lot of fag jokes (at the marketing meeting), and we knew what those were about. They were about Peter. (A&M head) Jerry Moss kind of got wind of some of this paranoia and just said, 'Peter Allen is an artist. He is a great singer/songwriter, and he is going to be on A&M for a long time, and everything else is incidental. His lifestyle is his own. It's not yours, it's his.' And that was it. I'm not saying it stopped, but I'm saying it wasn't as manifest, as publicly stated.'
'He was the first gay artist on A&M that proclaimed himself as gay,' Garcia said. Among his songs hinting or dealing with his sexuality were 'Bi-Coastal' and 'I'm Not the Boy Next Door.'
As a songwriter, Allen was best known for 'Arthur's Theme, 'I Go to Rio,' and 'I Honestly Love You.' The doc follows Allen's career until his death from AIDS in 1992.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 15
ELLEN DEGENERES (NBC, 10 a .m) Daily. Wed: Martin Short, Joely Fisher. Thurs: Rachel Weisz Fri: Dylan McDermott, Teri Polo. Mon: The new JOE MILLIONAIRE.
ALL MY CHILDREN (ABC, noon) Daily. Last week, at Maggie's prodding, Bianca invited a pleased Lena to join her for coffee. Lena reminded Bianca that she still loves her as much as ever. Startled to discover that Lena knew about her pregnancy, Bianca started to explain her decision to keep the baby, but clammed up when Lena declares that termination was absolutely the right thing to do.
RICKI LAKE (Ch 8, 1 p.m.) Dan Savage gives advice.
IT'S ALL RELATIVE (ABC, 7:30 p.m.) Bobby moves into Liz's gay Dads' guesthouse. When his attempt to make coffee with Philip's fancy cappuccino machine leads to a burst pipe in the kitchen, and he calls his homophobic father to come help.
BROTHERHOOD OF POLAND, NEW HAMPSHIRE (CBS, 8 p.m.) Hank, Garrett and Waylon are shocked when their minister (William Russ), who is also a lifelong friend, tells them that he is gay.
HIGH PRICE OF FAME: OUT (E! TV, 9 p.m.) Repeat: Recent look at being gay in Hollywood and gay programming. Features Ellen, k.d. lang, Ian McKellen, Will & Grace, etc.
THURSDAY, OCT. 16
E! TRUE CHER (E! TV, 7 p.m.)
WILL & GRACE (NBC, 8 p.m.) Jack lands a brief speaking role in an off-Broadway play—and shares the stage with James Earl Jones. When the director rejects James' performance in favor of Jack's one-line triumph, Jones decides to enroll in Jack's McFarland Acting School.
ANATOMY OF A SCENE: DIE! MOMMIE! DIE! (Sundance, 9 p.m.) About the new John Waters film.
40 GREATEST CELEBRITY FEUDS (VH-1, midnight) Includes Madonna and David Letterman, RuPaul and Milton Berle, Rosie O'Donnell and the NRA (via Tom Selleck).
SATURDAY, OCT. 18
DOING TIME ON MAPLE DRIVE (Lifetime, noon) GTV Movie Classic: William McNamara as a gay son who comes out to his parents. A young Jim Carrey plays his older brother.
DINNER FOR FIVE (IFC, 6:30 p.m.) The cast of PIECES OF APRIL, including Sean Hayes and Katie Holmes, have dinner with Jon Favreau,
HALLE BERRY AND BRITNEY ON SNL (NBC, 10:35)
SUNDAY, OCT. 19
JACKIE COLLINS' HOLLYWOOD WIVES: THE NEW GENERATION (CBS, 9 p.m)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20
TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS, 8:30 p.m.) Marin Hinkle appears occasionally as Judith, the lesbian ex-wife of Jake (Jon Cryer).
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14
WHOOPI (NBC, 7 p.m.)
QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY (Bravo, 7, 9 and 11:30 p.m.) Repeats.
Gay Boy Ric is a comedian and pop singer based in L.A. To receive free GTV E-Mail Alerts: gayboyric@yahoo.com
