This week, the guys of Angry Puppy throw a Rock Band 2 party with a John, a Paul and a couple of Lizes for good measure. Find out who made the cut for the Angry Puppy Rock-Adjacent Cameo Hall of Fame, or APRACHoF, for those in the know.

In TV this week, Marc and Lee review not just the good stuff (Heroes, Fringe, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, True Blood), but also the worst of the worst (ahem, Knight Rider). They watch, so you don't have to!

Also in this episode: the new Sci Fi Channel series Sanctuary and the long-awaited review of Cthulhu, now with a gay protagonist and 100% more Tori Spelling.

All this and more geeky goodness, right after the jump!

In this special closet-cleaning edition, Marc and Lee finally get rid of their old VHS tapes and find some Star Wars paraphernalia they forgot they had.

In between the riveting housecleaning scenes, find out what's going on in JJ Abrams' new series, Fringe, and get re-acquainted with your favorite cyborg in the new season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The guys also have a look at the soon-to-be-released Iron Man DVD, John Barrowman's navel-gazing documentary and the indie horror film Murder Party.

All this and more geeky goodness, right after the jump!

Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku on the set of Fox's Dollhouse

The last day of the Television Critics Association tour in Los Angeles included a set visit to one of next year's mosty hotly anticipated programs, Joss Whedon's Dollhouse starring Eliza Dushku. Joss, of course, gave us one of televisions best same-sex couples ever in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Tara and Willow. But us gay boys were less lucky with the rather amibguous Andrew (who nonetheless made our list of the Ten Best Gay and Bisexual Science Fiction characters).

So the pressing question has been whether Dollhouse would have any gay characters on the show. I got the chance to ask Joss that very question and to nutshell it for you the answer is ... sort of.

AfterElton.com: Joss, with Tara and Willow, you created probably the best same-sex relationship. Is there anything in Dollhouse that a gay man can look forward to?
Joss Whedon: The thing about Dollhouse by its nature is the relationships are rather ephemeral. Having said that, sexuality is part of what the actives were created for. So exploring different kinds of sexuality is going to be part of the show inevitably. We don’t have long-term relationships set up because they forget who they are at the end of every day, but same-sex encounters is part of the mythos. It comes with the territory. 

AE: You’ve been good about that. Is diversity something important to you as a writer in your shows?
JW: Well, Eliza and I are both interested in sexuality as a topic. When we were first talking about the show before I decided to do it, when she was just explaining the kind of show she wanted to do, she said political, feminist, liberal and she said I’d like to deal with sexuality and I don’t just mean ‘be a little hottie.’

I’m interested in it as part of our humanity and all of those things factored into the idea for Dollhouse. So we’re both fascinated by what it says about us and what we think is wrong with us. I think people’s sexuality is much more fluid and interesting than most of them admit. I also think that people’s perversions, like their obsessions, are usually the only true and fascinating thing about them. 

AE: Is there anything gay in the works fairly soon or is that likely to happen later in the season?
JW: There will be something within the order we have, for sure, the first 13. It’s not something anybody has asked us to shy away from. It’s not something that has made the network twitchy at all. They get it. And they’re not asking for it with a lascivious grin, either. They’re just like,This is just about what humans need from each other. And that’s not all sexual; most of it’s not. But when it deals with sexuality, they know that some time they’ll be from each other that is sometimes what humans need from each other they may not admit is in themselves.

As a pretty big science fiction fan, I was looking forward to Sunday afternoons panels for SCI FI's new shows Sanctuary and Caprica more than most of the other shows I've covered here at the Television Critics Association. (Coolio's Rules anyone?)

I was especially eager to find out if the success of Russel T. Davies gay/bisexual-inclusive show Torchwood would finally prompt American television to add a significant gay character to one of their shows. (Vincent on Eureka doesn't quite fit the bill being a secondary character that most people don't even seem to realize is gay in the first place.)

So will Sanctuary or Caprica have gay characters? Nope. But they will have episodes about exploring prejudice and will have creatures that are misunderstood, hunted, persecuted, and need protecting. Oh, my -- that doesn't sound promising. When does Torchwood come back again? (BTW, they trailer shown before the panel made this show look so much like Torchwood, I kept expecting John Barrowman to pop up and drop a couple of quick double entendres.)

Actually, my exchange with showrunner Sam Egan and executive producer/writer Damian Kindler was so interesting that I'll just let you folks read the transcript yourself and see what you think.

Sam Egan and Damian Kindler

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)

AfterElton.com: Scripted American sci-fi series haven't been terribly gay-inclusive, and I'm wondering if there's any chance Sanctuary will finally go where Star Trek hasn't dared to and actually include a gay character on the show?
Sam Egan: Sure. I would say we're definitely open to it.

AE: But you don't have one now.
Damian Kindler: Not that we're saying. But truthfully I don't mean to pander to it, but this show is about prejudice to a large extent, that there are creatures who are misunderstood and hunted and persecuted and Magnus' initial mission, to a large extent, is to protect those that need protecting, and there's -- I don't think you need to be so, you know, kind of on the nose and, say, "Here's a gay character." You can actually explore a lot of those themes front and center. That's what sci-fi allows you to do, explore very relevant social issues without saying, "And here comes this socially relevant issue." So I mean --

AE: I'm not asking for a socially relevant character. I'm just asking for an actual gay character on a science-fiction show. There hasn't been a whole lot of them, and frequently when I bring the subject up, I get the ... what you just said, which is very true -- about exploring these issues, but you know, [as for the] the actual gay character? You wouldn't say to an African-American or an Asian person, "Well, we use our show to explore social issues without actually including [African-American or Asian] people."
DK: Well, it's a good point. I'm unprepared for your question but definitely noted. There's no agenda one way or another. So sure.
SE: And at the risk of having this be something you've heard before, I just want to speak to Damian's point because I think it's relevant because there's a universality of themes to the show, and when we talk about the abnormal world, we talk about the human experience -- everybody feels different. Everybody feels they're not a part of the mainstream in some way or another, and it's the metaphor of xenophobia and fear of the unknown, and our discomfort with what we don't know is so embedded in the themes of the show. And I make that point simply to make the point and not to necessarily satisfy your question because I think that may not be the answer you're looking for.

AE: I appreciate that. It's just unfortunate that whenever I bring up [the issue of including] a gay character, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness about this, but everybody's reaction is [discuss] exploring how everybody feels different and et cetera and so forth. Well, one of the things is that as a gay man, I don't feel all that different. You know, I love science fiction and I'd like to see that character [and] not as part of a social issue.

What made this exchange so frustrating and disappointing is that it's 2008 and I'd really like to think we're past thinking of presenting gay folks on television as metaphors to explore feeling different and to show how tolerant the main heterosexual character is, not to mention I really am not interested in seeing myself represented as a hunted creature. Oy.

I've heard the comment that shows are "open" to gay characters yet somehow don't have them so many times I could scream. This is Hollywood. Everyone is liberal and progressive. Yet somehow when it actually comes to getting interesting gay characters on television, it just doesn't seem to happen. Well, at least unless it's on Showtime.

As for Caprica, the same question was asked in their panel which followed Sanctuary's and that show's executive producer Ronald Moore said, "Yeah, sure. I don't see any reason why we wouldn't do that. I don't think there's anybody who's identified as such in the pilot, but I see no reason why we wouldn't. " When pressed whether Caprica actually included a GLBT character Moore said there wasn't in the pilot and gave no indication that one was in the works.

Open the pod bay door, HAL.

Arthur C. Clarke, one of the most prolific and respected science fiction writers, has died at the age of 90. Confined to a wheelchair from post-polio syndrome for the last two decades, he died after experiencing breathing problems at his home in Sri Lanka. He's most famous for writing the novel and co-writing the screenplay to the most famous sci-fi film of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Rumours about Clarke's sexuality followed him throughout his career, and unfortunately, he either refused to address them, or when he was asked directly if he was gay, he replied "No, merely cheerful". It may be a while before we find out the truth. His "Clarkives", a collection of manuscripts and personal memoirs will be released ... in fifty years. If he was gay, there are going to be debates for years to come about whether he should have come out, or whether it can be forgiven considering the time he grew up in. Thoughts?

Over yonder, you can see a clip from 2001, featuring that heavenly body known as Keir Dullea.

This week Marc and Lee are back to discuss just how much they loved the new movie 10,000 BC, as well as the first episode of Fox's new series New Amsterdam. As usual, there's a lot to say about the new episode of Torchwood (in which we meet Martha Jones and finally find out exactly what's going on with Jack and Ianto).

Also this week, Marc and Lee's favorite fictional food products and a brand new member of the Gallery of Gay Action Figures!

apuppy17

In this week's episode of Angry Puppy, Marc and Lee talk about a few of their favorite gay geek websites (and mangle some names in the process). Marc's secret crush is revealed, and Lee reviews the Pride of Baghdad. Of course, you'll also get the now obligatory Torchwood review and learn some new ways to be involved with Angry Puppy.

Marc and Lee are back to talk about Blu-ray's victory over HD DVD and using the AppleTV's new features to replace an accidentally erased Lost. They also clarify Neil Gaiman's comments regarding Torchwood and give their impressions of the new episode "Meat". Finally, they review the sci fi/parkour movie District 13 (or at least the actors) and recommend "10 Movies That Deserve a Second Chance".

Check it out after the break!

This week's Angry Puppy is full of shocking news about "full digital nudity", same-sex couplings in Mass Effect, Fox News' getting the story wrong, and the possible film adaptation of The Last Man on Earth. Oh my! Marc and Lee also review "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," the first episode of Torchwood's second season. And finally, they notice something odd about both the Sci Fi Channel and The History Channel doing a series about hunting UFO's. As they guys say, The History Channel?

Check it out after the break!