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By now everybody knows that Madonna and Britney Spears kissed open-mouthed on the latest music awards show. There's a contingent that thinks this was exploitative and shameless, a ploy to make Madonna look hip and to sell albums, versus the folk who think that any public image of same-sex kissing that's celebratory, non-judgmental and cheered by an audience inherently works in favor of the acceptance of homosexuality in the U.S. and elsewhere.

There's a similar debate raging about Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a show which, some feel, perpetuates stereotypes of gay men as fashion-obsessed and straight men as clueless and socially-impaired. So on the one hand, there are a lot more diverse images of relationships on television now than the mostly monogamous heterosexual couples of my youth. But on the other hand, shows like Will and Grace and the American version of Queer as Folk are still playing safe for the suburbs.

Then there's the show set in the 22nd century. Apparently Enterprise, like all the Treks that have gone before it, intends to deal with sexuality in metaphors like "Cogenitor" (except during sweeps month, of course, when we get babes in heat). I don't expect one of the MACOs to announce his bisexuality any more than I expected Garak to announce his bisexuality, but would it really hurt the Trek franchise to have two unnamed crewmen holding hands in the background during a movie night scene? Or have gay people been eradicated in Archer's era, even though jingoism apparently has not?

I've been having this discussion with Trekkers for over 20 years. The fact that nothing has changed is all the more reason for me to write about it once more.

Trek BBS Today

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-Would a Trek mini-series be more successful than another feature film or television series?

-Anyone tired yet of landing parties that put the senior crew at risk?

-So, do you approve or disapprove of the new peppier, upbeat version of the Enterprise theme song?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Trek Two Years Ago

These were some of the major news items just after September 11, 2001:

• Siddig Sends Letter On Attacks To Fan Club
  In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir) sent a letter to his fans:

  I have been glued to the television these past two days, punching redial on my telephone every ten minutes or so for six hours yesterday until the international phone lines cleared up, just waiting to hear news of my little boy and his mother and his brother, all of whom I was worried about. During these past two days I have heard and seen gestures and moments of such courage and selflessness that I simply had to write to you, the only group of Americans I know (personally in many cases) if for no other reason than to remind you all that you are in sympathetic company all over the world.

• Beltran Appeals For Cool Heads After U.S. Tragedy
  Robert Beltran (Chakotay) also sent a message to viewers via his official web site:

  I ask all of you to please take the lead and remind those who are quick to judge that this is much too serious a crisis to act before we know all of the facts. Please try to sift through all of the inevitable 'spinning' by politicians with their own self-interested agenda. Now more than ever we must prevail upon our leaders to put aside any party agenda and to seek the truth and to act truthfully. In a crisis such as this, the true leaders must come to the fore.

• Jeffrey Combs Reassures Fans
  And Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun) reassured audience members that he was not the Jeffrey Coombs who tragically lost his life in the attacks:

  Thank you all so much for your heartfelt concern for my well-being. I am, thank God, safe and sound. Sadly, one of those who lost their life on that hideous day had a name very similar to mine. It was chilling and yet touching to receive so many contacts via e-mail, phone and personally in the immediate days after the disasters. Your love and concern is deeply appreciated by me and my family.

More news can be found in the archives.

Poll Results

Below are the results of the most recent TrekToday poll:

How Would You Rate 'The Xindi'? 7-8 29.7% - (480 Votes) 9-10 29.5% - (476 Votes) 5-6 13.6% - (220 Votes) Wasn't able to see it 12% - (194 Votes) 3-4 5.5% - (89 Votes) Didn't want to see it 5.3% - (86 Votes) 1-2 4.1% - (67 Votes) Total Votes: 1612

Please vote in our new poll about which Enterprise crewmember you'd most like to be!

This Week's Television Listings

Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, UPN will show Enterprise's second episode of the third season, entitled "Anomaly". Here's the official synopsis of the episode:

Enterprise starts experiencing the effects of spatial distortions pervading the Delphic Expanse, and falls victim to predatory aliens taking advantage of the crippling conditions.

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