the linster's blog

How many of you are watching Parks and Recreation?

Wait, what? Who are you people whose hands aren’t raised?

I know that Thursday night is a DVR nightmare. I mean Bones, Flashforward, Vampire Diaries and Parks and Recreation are all on at the same time. Still, you really have no excuse, because Parks and Recreation is available online on nbc.com, Hulu and on many cable systems On Demand.

By now, you’ve probably heard the news: Oprah will end her celebrated show on September 9, 2011, at the close of her 25th season as host of The Oprah Winfrey Show. According to E! Online, Winfrey will announce her intentions on today’s live show.

One of the first to express her love and appreciation for the Queen of Talk is Ellen DeGeneres, who had this to say during Thursday’s taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show:

Thanks to Danish AfterEllen.com reader K.Moe, we learned about a new documentary from Denmark, Goddag mit navn er Lesbisk (Hello, my name is Lesbian) — the first film ever about the “modern lesbian lifestyle and culture in all its diversity as it is lived in one of the most sexually liberated countries in the world.”

And their journey seems not all that different than ours in the U.S.

The film, which has English subtitles, features lesbians ranging in age from 19 to 84 who share their life stories and views on sex, family, nightlife and careers.

Lizzi, 82, talks about being a lesbian in the Fifties, when gender roles were not discussed and lesbians were either butch or femme. Sapphic life was lived in secret, with clandestine gatherings in late-night clubs.

How much do you miss Lorelai Gilmore?

Not the Lorelai of the final seasons of Gilmore Girls. I’m talking about the original Amy Sherman-Palladino Lorelai who exchanged machine-gun-fast, pop-culture-packed dialogue with daughter Rory.

I’m talking about the Lorelai who was quirky and cute and awkward, not the Lorelai who was wishy-washy and selfish and more than a little irritating. (What exactly happened to Paul Anka, Lor, hmm?)

I admit that the standing-in-line-for-days furor around New Moon mystifies me. I mean please, this is not The Final Ever Until Lucas Gets Another Idea Star Wars movie.

I also admit that I am old and a bit of a snob.

But last week, a young bisexual friend of mine put it in perspective for me with two words: Kristen Stewart.

My friend explained to me that while she certainly is a huge fan of the Twilight franchise, she would go see Kristen Stewart in anything. She just can’t take her eyes off of her. And it dawned on me: Stewart is my friend’s Meryl Streep. And judging by the responses of AfterEllen.com readers at any mention of Stewart, not to mention Hot 100 status, she’s not alone.

HBO has never shied from the topic of gender transformation. In 2003, Normal told the story of Roy Applewood, a male character who wanted to become female. Tom Wilkinson, who played Roy, and Jessica Lange, who played his wife Irma, both received Emmy nods for their roles. (Yes, that’s little Hayden Panettiere.)

Now the cable network will explore FTM transition in a new drama series called T. T follows the journey of a female-bodied individual as he discovers how to live as a man.

Anya Epstein and Dan Futterman, the married couple who recently took over as showrunners for In Treatment, created the show and will write the pilot.

Sunday was the end to a sterling season of Mad Men. If you aren’t caught up, just move along. Nothing to see here but spoilers.

Wasn’t that finale grand? I mean, the whole Ocean’s Eleven feel of recruiting Sterling Cooper employees and then raiding the offices for client files was just plain fun. And it was definitely a nice way to cap a somewhat depressing season.

Oh, Echo, you tried to save the world but couldn’t save yourself.

The Hollywood Reporter just announced that Fox has canceled Dollhouse, which was miraculously renewed for a second season after poor ratings in Season 1. Even though the numbers have been up, especially in DVR and online viewings, Fox essentially hung the anvil over Dollhouse when it pulled the show from November sweeps.

For now, Fox promises to air the rest of the series, staring Dec. 4, making Jan. 22 the series finale. Let’s just hope that nobody wipes the network’s memory before they make good on that promise.

I remember a classmate in high school who had to go to “the home for unwed mothers.” I was a naïve Baptist kid and didn’t understand all of the implications of her departure — I only knew that she had sex and got pregnant, just like the adults told us would happen. She was not a “nice girl.”

Piece of My Heart, a TV movie from New Zealand, tells the story of Flora and Kat, two women who experienced the disgrace of being young, unmarried and pregnant in the '60s. (Thanks to JetGrrl for the tip.) Despite their close friendship at the home, the two haven’t seen each other since they gave birth in 1968.

Flora (Annie Whittle) is now married with two grown sons — and has never told anyone about her pregnancy.

Finally, a TV producer remembered that Pam Grier deserves better than a variation on the line “Don’t mess with me, girl.”

According to EW’s Ausiello, the inimitable blaxploitation badass will join the cast of Smallville as Dr. Amanda Blake Waller (no relation to Miss Kitty), #60 on IGN’s list of Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time.

Amanda “The Wall” Waller has been part of the DC Universe since Legends #1 and rose to power as the head of Task Force X/Suicide Squad a covert team of former supervillains who do dirty work for the government in exchange for amnesty. She became Secretary of Metahuman Affairs during Lex Luthor’s presidential administration.

Despite Sarah Paulson’s recent lack of success on TV, she never stays idle for long.

She’s currently starring in the off-Broadway production of Alexander Dinelaris’ Still Life with Frederick Weller (Marshall on In Plain Sight) and her performance as the unlikable Carrie Ann has garnered praise despite mixed reviews for the play.

Broadway Buzz talked to Paulson about Still Life and what’s going on in her personal life. (Yes, she talked about The Breakup.)

Michael Ausiello broke the news today that 90210 plans to give lesbian character Gia (Rumer Willis) a (gasp!) relationship.

And apparently, it doesn’t involve murder, sperm stealing or terminal illness. Executive producer Rebecca Sinclair told Ausiello, “We’re coming at this [relationship] from a genuine place and not going, ‘Let’s do a titillating story that will grab some promotion.’ This is a real aspect of teenager life that’s interesting… And there’s been a real void in the 90210 universe in terms of gay and bisexual characters.”

You’re probably thinking, “Read your own site, Linster. Karman already told us that Mandy Musgrave is coming on the show as Alex, Gia’s ex.”

Well, guess what? Gia’s relationship isn’t with Alex.

(Spoiler alert!)

I love the tagline for Hannah Free: “A film about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home.”

How perfect is that? I don’t even have to see the movie to get teary-eyed.

In the film, Hannah (Sharon Gless) and Rachel (Maureen Gallagher) are two women who face the conflict between small-town values and their relationship.

According to the movie’s website:

Lisa Kudrow, whom I’ve crushed on since she kissed Rachel and said, “I’ve had better,” has always been a friend to the LGBT community. And her latest project is no exception.

Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky, who worked with her on The Comeback, are developing a comedy for Showtime based on the book Why the Long Face? by Craig Chester. The TV series, Rapture, is the story of Chester growing up as the gay son of born-again Christian parents.

If you don’t recognize Chester’s name, you may remember him from playing Nathan Leopold in Swoon or Adam in Adam & Steve, which he also directed.

I have to say that I didn’t think I could love Dollhouse more. But Friday’s episode left me speechless. “Belonging” was easily the most emotionally compelling episode of Dollhouse so far. And a big reason was its featured doll, Dichen Lachman’s Sierra.

Sierra’s back-story is one I’ve been anxious to learn and Joss Whedon certainly did the enigmatic character justice. He also gave Lachman a chance to show us her acting talent — which is substantial.

The LA Times talked to Lachman about her role on Dollhouse. Here are some highlights.

The Toy Story movies confirmed what many of us always suspected: Toys come to life when we aren’t watching.

But I knew more went on than Pixar let us see. And in a new graphic novel, Dolltopia, Abby Denson shows us the subversive side of Toyland.

Dolltopia focuses on Kitty, a ballerina doll who believes that she is destined for things other than dance. But her owner wants her to marry a Ken-ish dweeb, Soccer Steve, so Kitty runs away.

Soon she meets Army Jim, an AWOL soldier toy who is on his way to Dolltopia.

We’ve heard rumblings about trouble between Rosie O’Donnell and her partner Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell for months, but both have kept quiet about the rumors until Tuesday.

In an interview with USA Today, Rosie addressed the status of her relationship with Kelli, saying:

“We are a family. We will remain a family forever. And we are working on our issues.”

The two have been together for more than 12 years and were married in San Francisco in 2004. They have four children: Parker, 14, Chelsea, 12, Blake, 9 and Vivi, 6.

If AfterEllen.com knows anything, it’s actresses. So when erstwhile AfterEllen.com blogger carolinagrrrl, who now collects embarrassing stories for dude TMI! (and occasionally attends class at law school), tipped us off to EW’s latest list, “16 Wildly Underrated Actresses,” I wasn’t surprised that they’re all quite highly rated by us.

As usual, the list could use more diversity (the selections were EW readers, not the editors), but all of the choices are good ones. Here are some highlights:

Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother

Yes, she’s underrated. And yes, we know it’s ridiculous. Alyson was a revelation as Willow, but when I watch HIMYM, all I see is Lily. It’s an acting miracle.

Remember a few months ago when we told you about the new Argentine Web series, Plan V?

Of course you do. The V-for-vagina series is smart, funny and hot.

The only problem for many of us was that Plan V is in Spanish, until now. Thanks to the series’ generous fans and volunteers, the first season now has English subtitles. I’ve watched the first few episodes and forgot I was reading subtitles — the sign of good translation and an irresistible story.

Imagine Mandy Lane and Blair Waldorf as Thelma and Louise.

It’s not an easy leap, is it? But ComingSoon.net tells us that Amber Heard (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) are on board for a new movie, Cowgirl Bandits, described as “a young Thelma & Louise.”

Pshaw.

I have mixed feelings about this week’s news about Radha Mitchell’s upcoming TV show.

On the one hand, I have wanted to see Mitchell featured ever since I saw her in High Art.

Sure, the movie was depressing, but the relationship between Syd (Mitchell) and Lucy (Ally Sheedy) was, well, hot.

As happy as I am that Lauren Graham is coming back to series television, I can’t help wishing she’d waited just a bit longer to sign the Parenthood contract.

Why? Because HBO announced Tuesday that Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino will write and executive produce a new dramedy for the cable network.

The series is about three adult sisters, all writers, sharing an apartment in the upper east side of NYC. Their domineering mother is a “literary lioness” who dotes on their ne’er-do-well brother. According to Sherman-Palladino, “It’s the story of love, hate, family — and finding the perfect opening line.”

Forbes’ lists of powerful women usually are fairly predictable, topped (in every sense) by Angelina Jolie.

But last week, Forbes published its annual list that reveals another side to power: ROI. And the top 10 actresses who provide the best return on a film company’s investment may surprise you.

At No. 1 is Australian actress Naomi Watts.

Watts’ most recent movie, The International, was a suspenseful thriller, to be sure, but it was only a modest box office success. Watts, however, gets less than $5 million a film — and earned the studio about $44 for every $1 she was paid on her last three major movies.

Coming out is different for everyone, but lesbian and bi women seem to share one common experience: that funny feeling in unmentionable places when certain actresses appear on screen. So, in honor of National Coming Out Day, we decided to take a walk down mammary, er, memory lane with AfterEllen.com bloggers who revealed which actresses sent Sapphic shivers down their spines.

Editor in Chief Sarah Warn confesses that seeing Mary-Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson in Fried Green Tomatoes when she was 18 (and on a date with her boyfriend) “stunned” her.

She went home immediately and told her supportive mom she was gay. “Of course, then I took it back after convincing myself I was wrong and just hadn't met the right guy yet, because who realizes they're gay from watching a movie? :) A year later, I came out for real.”

If you are a Potter Head, you doubtless raised a butterbeer in celebration of Professor Minerva McGonagall’s 84th birthday last Sunday.

You may not know, however, that the actress who plays the Headmistress of Hogwarts, Dame Maggie Smith, has been involved in a personal battle that makes her performance in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince more remarkable than McGonagall’s wizardry.

Right before filming of Half-Blood Prince, Smith found a lump in her breast. In an interview with The Times, she talked about how she dealt with her diagnosis and its aftermath.

“I didn’t think it was anything serious because years ago I felt one before and had been hurled into hospital. It was benign and assumed this one would be too. It was a bit unnerving when it wasn’t.”