Monday, August 2, 2010

The Science Fiction Emmys: Best series at portraying LGBT characters

I thought, in addition to my series on post-colonialism in sci-fi, I'd conduct a sci-fi Emmy series. So, I decided to start with an easy Emmy: Best LGBT characterization. Does anyone really even need to guess here? It's Captain Jack, from Torchwood, of course! Captain Jack is one of my favorite characters in all of science fiction. I don't understand how anyone, even the most homophobic bigot, could hate old Jack. His one liners recall Kerr Avon, he has the charisma of Paul Darrow as well, and he is an LGBT-advocates dream for positive science fiction depictions. Indeed, my only problem with Captain Jack's characterization is that it is so well done that it's almost too easy to like him. He's in some sense, a safe LGBT character, not a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" drag queen with a heart of gold. But I think it's important to realize that until the new Doctor Who and Torchwood brought in LGBT characters into the realm of sci-fi, LGBT characters were still in the closet. I think, unfortunately, they still are to a large extent in American sci-fi. While homoerotic subtexts could be found in British sci-fi as far back as Blake and Avon, those same subtexts are fairly rare in American science fiction. If I could nominate an honorable mention, it would definitely be Babylon 5, which quietly promoted a very sincere pro-gay reading of modern science fiction. I've heard that Dark Angel, DS9, and perhaps Dollhouse have also attempted this, but the recent controversy over the American adaption of Torchwood (since fortuitously canceled) shows that we have a long way to go.

2 comments:

  1. SGU handles it well. They don't make a big deal out of it. It is just relationship that a character is in.

    I don't remember it in Dollhouse, but I am sure that there was some same sex renting of dolls going on.

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