Club Jade

Addressing the latest round of the ‘gays in Star Wars‘ controversy last night, Conan O’Brien found some other characters that might benefit.

I’d like to take this opportunity to link (again) Todd Alcott’s post on Darth Vader and Boba Fett in ESB. OTP!

Remember the message board kerfuffle in ’09 about gay and lesbian relationships in The Old Republic MMO? Well, it looks like they will be an option – eventually – in The Old Republic after all. Here’s the official statement:

Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature. Because The Old Republic is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options.

Given Bioware’s track record, this isn’t a huge surprise, but it’s good to know it is a consideration.

He has one of the most mesmerizing voices in show business.  (Next to James Earl Jones, that is.)

Star Trek and Heroes actor George Takei will be going on The Newlywed Game with his husband,  Brad Altman.

I’ve heard George’s sense of humor.  Is this a late night show?

Steve Sansweet in the news. Forbes sits down with the ultimate Star Wars collector – with a bonus peek at 12 items in his collection.

Consequences. The Bioware censorship firestorm prompts Kotaku to take a look at past issues with homosexuality in gaming.

Well… I guess… There’s a touch of Star Wars in these new British fire helmets. But my first impression is some other movie… That I can’t quite identify…

People. Matt Lanter on The Clone Wars and 90210.

UPDATE: Bioware has lifted the topic ban and Dahlberg has apologized. And Penny Arcade weighs in.

So, the latest kerfuffle in the saga of gays in Star Wars comes out of Bioware’s forums, where community manager Sean Dahlberg shut down a discussion of possible gay and lesbian relationships in The Old Republic with the phrase:

As I have stated before, these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars.

Thread closed.

Well, as any crazy obsessed EU fan will tell you… He’s half right. In recent years, Star Wars has played host to a single gay couple – Goran Beviin and Medrit Vasur in Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice – but they’re fairly easy to overlook if your eyes glaze over at the very mention of Mandalorians. And the terminology ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ is never used: One point for Dahlberg. They’re just there, without comment, just like any other couple. (Which is as it should be, IMO.) Though as subtle as it was, the inclusion still proved controversial in the fandom.

Of course, the real issue here: Will this message board mishap continue to get play in the blogs? Will that prompt Lucasfilm to finally up and address the issue of homosexuality in the GFFA? It’s not going to be a fun time for the message board moderators either way.

Gate fans are a notoriously picky bunch with (let’s face it) a lot of drahmah and gnashing of teeth about where they want to see the story go and what they want for “their” characters.

Now that Atlantis is coming to a close, the writers appear to be speaking out a bit about the fan complaints; explaining the twists and turns that plot lines and characters can take in a show’s development.  And, basically, telling people to get over it.

Martin Gero (who seems to get the most love-it-or-hate-it reactions to his episodes) talks to GateWorld about the reactions people have to his stories.  (You need to get past the discussion of YPF, first, though.)  And takes the fans to task for their treatment of Keller.

And Joe Mallozzi talks about everyone’s ships, the gay storyline that would have happened if only the episode hadn’t run long, and why things have gone the way they have.

This is usually Yav’s beat, but she’s all busy doing something silly, like actual work. ::snort:: At any rate, the insanity of the Dumbledore outing continues.

- Giving validation to all the slash-fic’ers out there, David Thewlis (aka Remus Lupin) reports that he and director Alfonso Cuaron missed the mark a bit where his own character’s sexuality was concerned. (Plus, a nice story about David’s new book.)

- Jo, herself, got grilled a bit in Toronto, afterwards. And gives hope that a bit more of the Harry Potter universe might appear after a bit of a break.

- And GLAAD reminds us to play nice.

On the BBC news website anyway. That honour goes to “Monkeys kill Delhi deputy mayor.”

Still, it’s a hot topic around the rest of teh internets. From cat macros to After Elton to the Times of London to the Christian Broadcast Network, this is bigger news than homicidal primates.

J.K. Rowling revealed that Neville Longbottom marries Hannah Abbott and that Albus Dumbledore was gay during tonight’s reading and book signing at NYC’s Carnegie Hall.

Let the wank begin!

George Takei, Mr. Hikaru Sulu of Star Trek, came out in Frontiers, a L.A. magazine that covers the gay and lesbian community:

“The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay,” he said. “The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young.”

The 68-year-old actor said he considers himself as “having been out for quite some time.” Takei and his partner, Brad Altman, have been together for 18 years.

(Via Fanthropology.)