Forgive us! We didn’t finish the premiere of NBC’s Kings last night and didn’t want to spoil to show for ourselves, so we steered clear of all the recaps. But yes, the two-hour debut that we just managed to get through showed us King Silas’ true colors — and introduced us to hottie actor Chris Egan. (Possible spoilers ahead.)
He’s a homophobic dad! Or rather, he’s a homophobic king! Or maybe he’s just a regular ‘ole king who knows his throne’s subjects will never accept his oldest son as a successor because he’s a big ‘mo.
Silas’ son Prince Jack (played by Sebastian Stan) only stays up to the wee hours with club girls to pretend he’s a lady-loving hetero, when in reality he ditches the female hangers-on for boys-only nights. And unless he’s willing to deprive himself of, well, his urges, Silas could never trust him to take over.
Which is why we’re left, at the end of the two-hour premiere, learning Jack will play the villain, conspiring against his own father for the throne. Some are quick to criticize Kings for making another gay the bad guy — and for making the show’s main black character the religious type, as all people of color must play mystics or sons of God in some way! — but we often find the characters on the wrong side of right to be the most complex. So we’re willing to give Kings some leeway here. Just don’t go turning Jack into some slutty, coked up club kid living off his father’s wealth. We’ve got Chuck Bass for that. (Or maybe it’s too late.)
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Just joining us? Then here’s a profile of Jack:
Jere
Actually, as close as they’re paralleling the David and King Saul story, Jack (aka Jonathon of scripture) might just be getting the setup for a complex and interesting redemption arc.
Spherical Time
@Jere: Or not. Bets on whether or not that tests well.
KRob
I love this show and the scene on the steps was extremely powerful when Jack is outed. Sometimes I found the episode was a bit heavy-handed and the symbolism was sometimes a little too obvious but all in all I applaud the ambition and final product…so far. Hopefully the characters which are pretty close to cliches already, surprise us in the future.
IDoWhatICan
I don’t think the episode worked towards to leading the audience to view Jack as a villain, but rather as a character whose struggle we’d come to find sympathy for.
I think they’ll stick with the blatant allegory to the biblical narrative, and Jack will come out loving David. Which is tragic… because Jonathan was killed in battle.
Overall, i enjoyed the pilot and plan on following the series.
Devlin Bach
If they don’t off ‘Jonathan'(Jack) with a king Saul sequel, then a rewrite of history with the gay guy living would be quite suitable. God knows Jack and David would have gorgeous children.
The premier was riviting, testostrone filled with eye candy packaged in the most masculine military shake down one could want for.
Color me in on this unfolding mystery.
A note to NBC . . . Just don’t bail on the good hot bad boy’s ‘kiss’ this show is sure to warrant. That would be a full throttle tragedy.
lessthan
I really liked the line ‘You can’t be what God made you…’ Rather that than saying something along the lines of abomination.
Ed
I loved the show, and think it’s got quite a story to tell. And I think every character on it has an opportunity to be both a villain and a hero at different times in the show. I spent a lot of time defending the show on AfterElton yesterday against people who think Jack is a stereotypical “bad” gay foil to the noble David. I think it’s going to be more complicated than that if we give it a chance. Sadly, it had crappy ratings and it’s a pricey show to make, so I doubt we’ll see enough to know.
Matt
I really enjoyed this show but it did horrible in ratings. I hope it makes it but it seems it already has one nail in the coffin. The King’s gay son also play’s Chuck’s nemesis on Gossip Girl but I can’t remember what his name is.
The Gay Numbers
The show came on at the wrong time. It should been on a different day.
Rick Heintz
@The Gay Numbers:
I completely agree… It needs to be during the week.
Scout
I was intrigued by this show, I’ll keep watching as long as my DVR keeps recording it.
I was initially annoyed by their choice to make Jack seem like a villain, but upon tossing aside my knee-jerk reaction and going back to my education (who ever thought all those Literature classes would come in handy?)I realized that Jack is not necessarily a villain, but more like a sympathetic opposing force. At this point in time at least. In fact, half of me is actually rooting for him.
Though I can’t help hoping that there will be a little Jack & david action… and if there isn’t, who cares, that’s what imaginations (& fanfiction) are for.
😉
moshe rabeynu
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, from your friendly retired exotic dancer, Moshe Rabeynu. I did not realize when I generated my inquiry concerning the start-up of a male exotic dance facility in Israel that it would be that amusing to so many people. It’s not easy having to retire from all the glamour and the excitement. I yearn to shave my legs and pubic area, don my good old G-string once again and to get back into the limelight as the leader of a first rate male exotic dance review. I have put on a little weight over the course of my retirement years but I have started an exercise regimen to tighten my pecs, glutes and abs which the ladies like so much. I am going to undergo penile enlargement surgery while I’m still living in the U.S. to compensate for the “shrinkage” of old age (as George Constanza would describe it). I would have had it done in Israel after aliyah, however, the Jewish Agency Representative told me I would have to pay an import duty on the implant device in Israel because it was over nine inches. The Israeli Government limit’s the size of a penile implant to 4 ¾ inches to qualify for the oleh chadash tax and import duty exemption. I explained that this was a work related expense and an integral part of the Male Exotic Dance business but he told me that Israel as a socialist society and they didn’t see why anyone should require an implant in order to have such exceptionally large genitalia. I asked him, “what about each according to his ability, each according to his needs”. I explained that if I were going to be a success in my chosen line of endeavor, I would “need” to pack the gear. The whole matter is still up in the air and I have come to the conclusion that he is angling for a bribe or payoff either for himself or a cohort. He told me on the QT that it might be possible to fudge the official import manifest paperwork to look like the importation of two 4 ¾ inch implants instead of one 9 ½ inch implant. I could certify that I was orthodox and one implant was “milchadikeh” and one was “flayshekikeh”. This whole rigmarole will have to be steered through the immigration bureaucratic process by unseen hands so I assume someone, somewhere, will require a payoff. Additionally, I have been advised that there might be a problem with the Rabbinate. They feel that it is unseemly for a woman to place her tip in the male dancer’s G-string. They said that they will require that all the dancers carry “pishkahs”
(containers with slots on top) like I had to carry around, when I was in Hebrew school, for the Keren Kayemet. I asserted that if the ladies want to put their sheckels by the shmeckles and get a little peek and a little poke in the process, this is their right as “am chofshi”! The male dancers will be instructed to carry the “pishkahs” but the ladies can place their tips wherever they please, be it in the dancer’s pouch or his “pishkah” slot. I’ll have to sign off for now. I’m getting some new G-strings made up and I have an appointment for a fitting.
iBelieve
@lessthan: That’s the line that stood out to me too.
It’s free for download on iTunes if anyone wants to take a 2nd look.
edge
@iBelieve: Thanks for pointing that out! Downloading now! Really got a good impression from this show!
moshe rabeynu
A TREATISE ON THE NEED FOR A SEMITIC MODERN MASTURBATION MENTALITY
By Moshe “hung so lo“ Rabeynu, March 23, 2009
comments
CHILDREN MUST BE INCULCATED AS TO THE BENEFITS OF MASTURBATION IN THE ATTAINMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A HEALTHY MIND AND A HEALTHY BODY! PENT UP SEXUAL FRUSTRATION IN CHILDREN HAS NEVER BEEN HONESTLY AND ADEQUATELY DISCUSSED AND DEALT WITH IN JEWISH DISCOURSE AND DOCTRINE. MODERN LIFESTYLES AFFORD INDIVIDUALS THE PRIVACY AND HYGIENIC FACILITIES NECESSARY TO MASTURBATE IN A PRIVATE, DIGNIFIED AND SANITARY MANNER. ONE CAN WELL UNDERSTAND THE IRE THAT WAS AROUSED BY MASTURBATING INDIVIDUALS FOUR THOUSAND YEARS AGO WHEN AN ENTIRE LARGE FAMILY LIVED TOGETHER IN A TENT IN AN ARID LOCATION. NOBODY WANTED TO HAVE A WAD OF FLYING JISSUM HIT HIM IN THE EYE OR LAND IN HIS HUMUS. WATER WAS SCARCE AND ONE HAD TO WALK , SOMETIMES LONG DISTANCES, TO THE WELL TO GET IT, IF IT WAS AVAILABLE AT ALL. UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES IT WAS A CHOICE OF WATER FOR DRINKING OR WATER FOR WASHING EJACULATE OFF OF ONE’S HANDS. THIS IS WHY THE EARLY SAGES WERE SO VOCIFEROUS IN THEIR CONDEMNATION OF MASTURBATION. WE JEWISH PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A HORNY BUNCH AND, IF THERE WEREN’T THESE SEVERE STRICTURES AGAINST MASTURBATION AT THAT TIME, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ERRANT CUMSTAINS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND THE SMELL OF FRESHLY RELEASED JISSUM WOULD HAVE WAFTED FAR AND WIDE, EVEN WITHIN THE HALLOWED HALLWAYS OF THE SACRED TEMPLE ITSELF. TIMES HAVE CHANGED. IF PARENTS TODAY STRESS THE BENEFITS OF MASTURBATION TO THEIR CHILDREN, THEY WILL HELP LESSEN THE OCCURRENCE OF STDs, AND UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES. SCHOLARSHIP LEVELS WOULD INCREASE DRAMATICALLY WITH THE RELEASE OF PENT UP ADOLESCENT EJACULATORY TENSION.. IF NECESSARY, PARENTS SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN AS TO THE PROPER METHODOLOGY FOR THIS ACTIVITY AND FOLLOW UP AND MAKE SURE THAT THEIR CHILDREN ARE MASTURBATING REGULARLY AT AN OPTIMUM FREQUENCY. KEEPING A MASTURBATION DIARY COULD BE A VERY USEFUL TOOL IN MAINTAINING THE PROPER SCHEDULE. EVERY PARENT SHOULD ASK HIS CHILDREN ON A DAILY BASIS, “DID YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND MASTURBATE TODAY?” OH, OF COURSE, THE CHABADNIKS AND THE FRUMNIKS WILL YELL OUT, “BUT RAMBAM SAID THIS, AND RASHI SAID THAT AND RABBI AKIVA SAID THIS, AND THAT, ABOUT THE EVILS OF MASTURBATION.” PROBABLY ALL THREE OF THEM WERE MASTURBATING WHILE THEY WERE WRITING THESE STRICTURES, ANOTHER CASE OF “DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO”. WE MUST NOT CONTINUE TO LET OTHERS DO OUR THINKING FOR US UNDER THE GUISE OF RELIGIOUS EXPERTISE. SHALOM AND ZEI GEZUNT!