Last night, we got to see the first lesbian president of the United Stated on 24: Redemption, the two-hour prequel to the return of the series 24 in January.

OK, so the character wasn't a lesbian, but she was played by Cherry Jones, so that kinda counts. (I haven't watched the movie yet — it's saved on my DVR for the Thanksgiving break.)

New York magazine recently interviewed Cherry about her role on 24, and asked her about Prop. 8:

You’ve been out of the closet as a lesbian for a very long time and have a partner. Thoughts on Proposition 8?
In another four or five years, the people who voted for it will be really ashamed of themselves. I remember for the first time Bob Dole said “gay marriage” on the Senate floor. Obviously he was against it, but the fact that he said it in my lifetime, I couldn’t believe. I think we’re hurtling toward tremendous change.

Have you and your partner had a commitment ceremony?
No, we have not had a commitment ceremony. I’ve never needed to get married. Marriage, to me, is a religious ceremony between people and their individual faiths. As far as my nation and my sexuality are concerned, I just want the rights of every civil marriage in this country. I have tremendous appreciation for the leaders of this movement.

When The Advocate interviewed Jones just before the election, she elaborated more on her relationship with actor Sarah Paulson: … continue reading

On Jan. 8, 2009, a female president will take her place in the White House.

Hey, you live your reality; I’ll live mine. Out actress Cherry Jones, as President Allison Taylor, leads the country through its latest national crisis when 24 returns for “Day 7.” The new season, which was delayed for a year thanks to the writers’ strike, promises to bring plenty of challenges for the show’s first female chief executive.

Here’s a preview:

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Back off terrorists — this time its personal! As you may know, Elisha Cuthbert will be reprising the role of Kim Bauer, the frequently imperiled daughter of Jack, on the upcoming seventh season of 24. And [minor spoilers — watch out] she will apparently have a baby with her this time around. Just think of the grandkid-snatching potential! All the offensive excuses for Kim to behave inexplicably incompetently; the election-year-friendly focus on the (straight, white, very patriotic) family.

This earthshaking news has divided 24 fans, the line forming between those who found Cuthbert's character an insufferable brat and those who think she is smokin' hot. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a hardcore 24 junkie, and I'm not ragging on the girl, but she doesn't really do anything for me. Thus, I have little stake in the debate beyond where to best view the scuffle while eating my popcorn.) … continue reading

It recently occurred to me that summer is almost over and I haven't once watched Wet Hot American Summer. Once I gave myself the official summer's end deadline of September to rent and watch the comedy gem, I started wondering what Janeane Garofalo is up to these days.

She's definitely keeping busy. Last week, she participated in a staged reading of The Hills alongside Rachael Harris in Los Angeles. Garofalo played Lauren, and apparently did a flawless interpretation. (Harris played the evil Heidi.) The Los Angeles Times article about the show mentioned the actors might perform the reading once more in October, so if you're in Hollywood, it sounds like a must-see.

Besides moonlighting as a reality star, she's returning to her stand-up roots to perform all three nights of Seattle's famous Bumbershoot this weekend. (What did you West Coasters do to deserve all this good fortune?) … continue reading

If you're outside the United States — or living in a news vacuum — you might have missed that today is Iowa caucus day. That means that Iowa Republicans will be casting ballots, Iowa Democrats will be standing in different parts of a room and, by the end of the day, we'll be that much closer to knowing who the next woman in the White House will be. This year is exciting because we usually don't get to vote for the woman in the White House.

The closest we've gotten so far is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who's two heartbeats away from the Presidency. Of course, as Sarah pointed out last summer, we do have celluloid depictions of women who rule. And we all know that fictional leaders are often more appealing than the real deal. (President Bartlett, anyone?) So, let's see how the real prospects stand up against the fictional. In true Iowa-caucus fashion, pick a candidate, stand in her corner and see if you can convince others to join you.

Madame President

1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Why you should stand in her corner: She's the first female Presidential candidate to have an actual chance of winning. At the Visible Vote forum, she told us, “I'm your girl.” She supports the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” and is in favor of civil unions. She is a real-life person.

Why you should stand elsewhere: She doesn't support same-sex marriage “yet.” Lots of people hate her, and some believe that makes her unelectable. … continue reading

I'm a geek worshipper. It's really a form of positive self-esteem, since I am kind of a geek myself. I always love to find women in entertainment who seem to be geeks, not only in the characters they play, but also in real life. GeekSugar.com shares that sentiment and has kicked off a poll of the most popular female geeks of 2007.

First candidate: Mary Lynn Rajskub, Chloe O'Brian on 24.

The pictures are from her spread in Geek Monthly earlier this year. Although Chloe is an übergeek on 24, always able to hack into secret data just in time to save Jack's life, Rajskub herself is not too technically savvy. But in my opinion, she has geek cred because she does things like appear as a troubadour on Gilmore Girls and volunteer for the Young Storytellers Program. I do have one geekish issue with Chloe & company, though. Are we really supposed to believe that a government agency is smart enough to use Macs? … continue reading

This week we count down the worst effects of the writers' strike — from Cashmere Mafia's delayed debut, to no female president until '08, to having to get our news from actual news sources (instead of The Colbert Report).

And then there's the spate of new reality TV shows in the works, like American Gladiators and A Shot at Love 2 ... yes, it's getting downright ugly, people! … continue reading

I’ve never watched 24. Not ever. Not even one clock tick. It’s just not my thing. And after six years of hearing our president mispronounce “terrorists,” I’ve pretty much lost all interest in the topic — real or pretend. So I had no intentions of watching the upcoming seventh season. Then, they started to announce the cast. And, well, things got interesting. The latest new installment, as mentioned in last week’s Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever., is Carly Pope.

You know Carly most recently as the lesbian drug dealer to the stars in Dirt; a CIA agent (the good kind, not the ones in black coats) in The Itty Bitty Titty Committee; and, of course, Sam from Popular. Well, now she will play Samantha Roth, the girlfriend of the president’s son who might be connected to his disappearance. I only watched Dirt on and off — it was a little too bleak and joyless for my taste — but I did catch Carly in a few choice scenes. Very choice. … continue reading

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Don't worry; Cherry Jones hasn't lost her mind and left Sarah Paulson for a man. I'm talking about Jones' character on 24. We learned a few weeks ago that Jones will play President Allison Taylor on the seventh season of the show. Now, meet First Man Henry Taylor:

They say politics makes strange bedfellows. But the better question is, does it make good TV? Famously left-leaning comic Janeane Garofalo will join the cast of the unabashedly right-leaning counterterrorism drama 24 next season. Janeane will play Janis Gold, an FBI systems analyst assigned to the team investigating the crisis befalling Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and company in the upcoming season.

As a regular cast member the outspoken liberal (heck, she's even had it tattooed on her arm) will work for a man (series co-creator/executive producer Joel Surnow) who is a big Rush Limbaugh fan and happily calls himself a “right-wing nut job.” Wow, that should make for some interesting water cooler conversations. Even Janeane was surprised by her casting, which she told the Ottawa Sun happened "much to my chagrin. That's why I feel like I'm being punked. I feel like the creators are going to make me say things that cause my sphincter to tighten."

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