Rick and Steve are a gay couple, and they're animated. I don't mean they're lively, I mean they're the stars of a new animated series for Logo called Rick and Steve. The series, which begins July 10 at 10:00 p.m., features voice work by Alan Cumming, Margaret Cho, Wilson Cruz and Peter Paige. The music for the series is composed by the same folks who wrote the music for Avenue Q.
The characters in Rick and Steve resemble tiny posable toys, which makes the show look like something created for the Nick Jr. set. Of course, the themes are just a tad more adult than that, or so I gathered by watching the trailer.
Perhaps, being straight, I'm not the best one to judge this new show (nor would I make a judgment based on the trailer alone), but I've often wondered if specialized channels like BET and Logo fail to achieve recognition because they spend too much time making sure their shows feature positive portrayals (which is good), but not enough time actually making those shows compelling and worth watching (which is not so good). And yes, I know BET often gets accused of perpetuating a stereotype of misogyny and greed by playing certain rap and hip hop videos, but I think the network's overall focus is positive, or at least tries to be.
I guess we'll have to wait and see how Rick and Steve turns out, but I have to say I wasn't exactly floored by the tiny snippet I just saw.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-14-2007 @ 6:05PM
David said...
They keep showing the commericals. I love it because I love shows that look childish and are really not. I love the part in the preview video where the three lesbians are eating a taco. Brings back memories of college.
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6-14-2007 @ 7:53PM
Anita said...
I love the idea and the animation, but I'm not certain about the execution. The previews make the jokes seem kind of old (excepting the claymation taco) and the deliberately squeaky voices kinda grate on me. Here's hoping it's what I hope it'll be and not what I think it'll be -
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6-14-2007 @ 8:02PM
Anita said...
Hey Adam, I just read the rest of your post b/c I have way 2 much time on my hands. I don't know if R&S is a positive Disney-land portrayal of homosexuality (despite the visual bob-the-builder theme). As for BET, while I haven't seen much original programming there, if it seems overtly positive, it's probably b/c that's the only place its viewers can go for positive programming for their ethnicity w/o negative stereotypes attached - which reflects poorly on contemporary TV on both counts -
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