As we expected there's been some rumblings of backlash against the California Supreme Court's lifting of the ban against same-sex marriage. There's no fever pitch of outrage yet but there were some letters to the editor that threatened petitions down the line. It might become a campaign issue this fall but there's also a good possibility that the California electorate has moved forward from a few years ago. 

 It would be great if many couples took the plunge to show their solidarity and to put faces to the numbers. And yes, we will have to put forward so-called "normal-looking" couples in order to educate and calm the waters of the straight ocean we all dwell in. It's a somewhat necessary step. But we may also be getting a boost from Hollywood in this regard as several popular and beloved personalities have announced their marital intentions.

 Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi were very quick to announce their marriage plans which certainly puts a non-threatening face to the issue and made the news right away. Now, we've learned George Takei and Brad Altman (together over 20 years!) have announced their nuptials. You don't get more non-threatening than "Sulu"!
We wonder if we can expect other same-sex celebrities to get with the program. We do wonder whether the court's decision is going to have any impact on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. At one point in their celebrity relationship Pitt said he has "no plan to marry until everyone in the country who wants to be married is legally able". A good out for someone who would want to avoid getting married again. 

 Then again Hollywood isn't exactly known for lomgterm relationships of any variety so it may be that some same-sex celebrity couples might be gun shy and/or well-advised to wait before getting hitched. Look what's happened with Jodie Foster! Apparently she and her partner Cydney Bernard have split up, or so says the current buzz. Then there's Reichen Leimkuhl and Ryan Barry.  Apparently they are back together or at least on friendly terms right now. We really adore Reichen and hope things work out one way or the other---just like an old fashioned Hollywood romantic movie.

  We mentioned on a recent blog how the timing of the court's decision almost coincided with the wedding of Scotty & Kevin on TV's  Brothers and Sisters. The same thing happened last night on Desperate Housewives.
The token gay couple on Wisteria Lane (who have been horribly underused) Bob & Lee also got married in the season finale with a bit more of a dark farcical edge. Unfortunately these two professional gay men were portrayed as bitchy petty queens whose conflict had to be settled by the straights! Ironically the person giving the gay couple the most pointed advice was Tom, played by Doug Savant who also portrayed a gay man on Melrose Place.

   While we're on the subject, it will be interesting to see if last night's Desperate Housewives was a game-changing creative boost or another "jumping the shark" pivot point. We did get a resolution to the Katherine storyline although it did borrow too much from the show's original mystery. At least yummy Nathan Fillion survived and the housewives saved the day with their alibi for Katherine. At the same time the silly "I've got a drug dealer living upstairs" plotline was resolved in the same fell swoop. Poor Justine Bateman--she sure wasn't like Mallory from Family Ties! Thankfully we were also rid of the "bad seed" storyline now that the little wack-job Kayla was found out and sent to live with her grandparents (although we worry about THEIR safety!)

 Then came the much-rumored "five years later" ending with some very fascinating developments. The girls are playing poker again (sans Edie thank God!) and Katherine is among the group meaning that she'll be back. That we like. Dana Delany deserved to stay on. Gabrielle looks noticeably frumpier and we find out why after the poker game and we get a glimpse of what's going on in the lives of the housewives.

--Gabrielle slogs her way upstairs to find her chubby little girl playing with mommy's make-up! Meanwhile her OTHER daughter scampers away wearing a designer dress. Carlos? Nowhere to be seen.

--Katherine checks her phone messages and plays back one from her daughter (visiting Paris) announcing her engagement.

--Bree is greeted by her son Andrew (wearing a business suit) and we learn that she is a successful caterer and cookbook author and Andrew is her assistant. We had heard rumors he'd be hooked up with Bob (the very sexy Tuc Watkins!) next season.

--Lynette comes home to learn one of her twin sons was arrested for "joyriding" in a stolen car. It's double bad news because the son who did the deed isn't the one she thought it was --the one who has already spent time in juvenile hall. So it's slightly disturbing to find her precocious kids have turned into hoods. We're sure things are going to get worse if a teenage Kayla returns to get revenge.

--Susan returns to the loving arms of her man who ISN'T Mike! Instead it's a new guy played by Gale Harrold
(Brian on Queer As Folk)

 So now what? Is ABC going to have another head-scratching Lost type show? In the meantime we'll be tuning in to a show with more fun than both these two shows-- The Mole.