I moved in December. As a result, I had to change cable tv service providers, thereby losing the Oxygen Network. Oxygen is a network targeted to women in their twenties and thirties but actually watched by gay men of all stripes. Their primary sources of programming are a somewhat crappy hidden camera show, reruns of Roseanne and Ellen (the sitcom), same-day repeats of Ellen (the talk show) and a few valiant stabs at original programming.
My favorite selection on the network, however, was a remake of the vintage game show "I've Got a Secret," which aired at 7:30 a.m. every weekday. I watched it religiously as I prepared for work. The premise of the show was that there was a guest with a secret (maybe an odd talent or a deformity or something) and a panel of guessers had to come up with what it was based on a hint given by the host.
The show featured a panel of b-list and has-been celebrities that rotated every once in a while, but most regularly featured Teri Garr, Jason Kravitz (apparently, he was on The Practice), Jim J. Bullock (from the upper left square) and Amy Yasbeck (best known as the star of the Problem Child franchise and wife of the late John Ritter). The host was liberal radio host Stephanie Miller. No relation.
It was a fun crowd, despite the fact that Teri and Jim J. are lovable idiots. Amy Yasbeck was the brains of the outfit and was the one who guessed it correctly most of the time.
The show was dated, definitely Clinton-era (remember that time? when we weren't scared all the time?), so the show hasn't been resurrected. Until now.
The Game Show Network somewhat recently launched its own version of the show. The twist? This time it's chock full of homos.
Bigger, better, gayer. Jermaine, Bil, Frank, Suzanne, Billy.
Hosted by smiling straightie Bil Dwyer, the show's four panelists are all inexplicably gay. That is, there's no real reason for it. Except to appeal to the demographic.
The panelists are Frank DeCaro (he did movie reviews for The Daily Show a long time ago), comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer, former baseball player and resident beefcake Billy Bean and some guy named Jermaine (I have no idea who he is, but he has amazing teeth. And, frankly, that's good enough for me.)
This time, the panelists all seem fairly flighty and ask pretty stupid questions (with the exception of Billy, who seems to really grill them). But the mood is light and everybody is quite likable despite themselves.
Also, there are a lot of blind games where the panelists are blindfolded while someone performs a stunt and they have to guess what he/she is doing. So, they're all wearing lip-shaped blindfolds while some guy across the stage is trying to fit himself into a two-foot by two-foot box.
In any case, it's on every night after The Daily Show and is much more entertaining than Leno or Letterman.