Boy Meets Boy

When I first started watching this series I was afraid it was going to be stupid. Not unlike the millions of straight versions on Fox, etc. However, I got hooked after the second installment.

I think the twist makes it very entertaining for us(the audience). It allows us the extra added bonus of guessing who is.... who isn't.

However, I don't think it is very fair to James or the other contestants.

P.S

On watching the tapes of the show. Andra is not going to be very happy when she sees what she looks like when she cries. - Not pretty!

The recent boom of dating show on U. S. television screens has reached a fevered pitch since the first episode of "The Bachelor." Unsuspecting audiences have since been subjected to countless clones and variations, including "The Bachelorette", "Joe Millionaire", "For Love Or Money", and the execrable "Married By America." Hoping to cash in on this trend, and simultaneously tap and exploit a new demographic, Bravo has unleashed the disastrous "Boy Meets Boy" upon the world. And may they have mercy on us all.

The premise is simple and is designed to be light-hearted: an eligible gay man is courted by a number of suitors, eliminated show by show until one is left, but there's a twist. Half of the men are actually straight. This is not much of a big deal, but the inherent viciousness of the scenario kicks in after hearing the pay-off: if, at the end of the show, the gay man picks a straight man in disguise, the straight man wins a cash prize. The gay man gets nothing, or at least nothing more than a few parting gifts, a pat on the back, and a hearty round of "Aren't you embarrassed? Well, thanks for playing!"

Just the like the equally painful "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" (another Bravo program), this show is another example of stereotypes run amok. What makes it even worse, though, is the fact that straight men are playing UP these stereotypes for cash. The producers of this show believe that all you have to do is put enough hair gel in a man's hair, dress up in Abercrombie & Fitch with a pair of designer sandals, strip him of all body hair and fat and voila! It's the gay equivalent to putting a white performer in blackface, and just as offensive to those of us -- like myself -- who are genuinely gay and don't dress/act like that. It implies that gays have no variance or chance for individuality, that they can't behave like real people, only like stereotypes. Never mind the fact that the bank of suitors is sorely lacking in any kind of diversity. All are gym-toned, most are white, and all look far too scrubbed and cleaned.

This is another example of how, instead of fostering acceptance of gays as dynamic individuals capable of variance and change, Hollywood has again taken a stereotype and run with it all the way to the bank. I feel genuinely dirty watching this show, as show any gay man who sees this unabashed parade of soft-core pornography masquerading as legitimate television. 1 out of 10.

I find that nowadays the bravo network are only getting hits with the homosexuals. they are wanted now for queer eye and this show, and the other shows are getting nothing, not even a decent hit. boy meets boy is like the bachelor, only the bachelor wants other bachelors. i found the man looking for love to be rather attractive, and doubted him to be homosexual. bringing on the emotional best friend was a huge mistake for james, since she only cried and whined about all the men trying to compete for his love. but, of course, reality tv had to throw in a curveball, and had some straight men posing to be gay, and some gay men also on really trying to date james. i found that to be hurtful, since he could be falling for a straight man and get his heart broken. that is where they should have drawn the line, but that probably boosted everyone's attention, since the first 2 episodes, they all start to get to know each other and that can be pretty boring when the title guy is a shy one. one word of advice, james, dont go on a tv show when you are shy at the dating game. the show was a great view, after you know all the contestants and the main man, and i hope they will do another one, using a new, attractive man and have a star cast competing for his love. (B B-)

My husband and I loved this show. I was not crazy about adding the straight men, but I felt that they learned something along the way and the audience learned with them. I liked the fact that straight men had to try to fit into our world without being detected for a change. The editing made this show, it was very well done and I could not find anything gay-negative about it. Instead of the stereotypical gay-backbiting that we worried might happen, we saw a bunch of guys becoming increasingly closer to each other. That was the reality I'd hoped for. Although, the female best friend was a bit over dramatic, she was real, too. James was a bit quiet and we needed someone else's eyes to really see him. The ending surprised me, but I was glad I was wrong. I hope some straight people watched.

The Bravo Channel has followed up its groundbreaking "Gay Weddings" series with "Boy Meets Boy."

The latter, which premiered a few weeks ago (in July, 2003) is a kind of transitional hybrid of "Weddings" and the recent "reality"-style format of "The Real World." All this after the British and Canadian "Queer as Folk" seasons not only smashed but shattered former media stereotypical images.

Focusing on the now-novelty of preference lifestyles, the "Boy Meets Boy's" "kicker" includes "incognito straights" mixed in with "outed non-straights" to see where the fun may lead.

The assembled package is light, slick, and with an attractive cast, wardrobe and setting. As in "The Real World," members may sometimes address the camera or have their audio narrator share revelational insights about budding relationships as matters progress.

The "Boy Meets Boy" series premiered closely after "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," another reality-type confection, also unveiled this month on Bravo" This channel now joins FSTV and the Independent Film Channel as one of the current major networks in innovative programming.

All these entries seem "transitional" and eventually leading to something quite significant. Just what the outcome is remains to be seen, but a guess is toward an era of full cultural inclusiveness, regardless of lifestyle preference (a time which may be much closer than many people realize).

A refreshing new day is certainly posed in the horizon as the millennium moves rapidly forward. And the independent movie industry appears at the forefront, offering some intriguing and exciting entrees along the way.