Announcing the 2008 AfterElton.com Visibility Awards

It probably won’t come as a shock to many that ABC’s Brothers & Sisters snagged the best episode nod for “Prior Commitments”. After all, it isn’t every day gay characters – much less major ones – actually get married on network television. But last May, that is exactly what happened when Kevin took Scotty to be his husband. (Okay, technically they became domestic partners, but only because California hadn’t yet legalized gay marriage when the episode was filmed.)

The excellent episode not only included a very sweet Scotty and Nora bonding moment, but saw Kevin set off cross country to try and knock some sense into Scotty’s homophobic parents. Alas, that didn’t happen, but the wedding did go off without a hitch, including the requisite “You may now kiss the groom” moment followed by Scotty carrying Kevin across the threshold. You don’t get much more romantic than that!

If there was an upset in these awards, it had to be this category. First, despite dominating so many other categories, no kiss from Torchwood got nominated, then AfterElton.com faves such as Brothers & Sisters, Hollyoaks, As the World Turns and Forbidden Love all lost to the not usually gay Grey’s Anatomy. It would be tempting to say that all of the other shows split the vote, allowing Grey’s to sneak in like Marisa Tomei, but those smooching soldiers snagged a healthy 31.5% of the vote, beating their closest competitor by more than ten points. Not exactly a squeaker!

It should be noted that the soldier-on-soldier action in this episode — which aired on gay-supportive ABC – was both hot and romantic, and no doubt that helped the show score the best kiss nod. The episode actually features two kisses: the passionate one when the two men are discovered to be boyfriends, but also a later kiss when the surviving man tenderly kisses his dead partner goodbye. It was truly a heartbreaking moment.