WE’VE
ALL
BEEN
“the
gay
person”
at
a
dinner
party.
You
might
have
been
the
only
openly
gay
employee
at
the
company
picnic,
a
family
reunion
or
a
cocktail
party.
But
at
one
time
or
another,
you’ve
probably
been
in
the
awkward
position
of
having
to
speak
for
an
entire
population
of
people
with
whom
you
identify.
Invariably,
there
is
some
person
who
lacks
knowledge
of
our
existence
—
your
boss’s
brother,
your
best
friend’s
date
or
just
some
rube
who
is
crashing
the
latest
glam
event
you’ve
been
invited
to
—
and
he
wants
to
ask
all
sorts
of
questions
about
what
it’s
like
to
be
gay.
It’s
hard
to
be
the
first
gay
person
who
someone
has
met,
answering
questions
such
as,
“When
did
you
know?”
or
“What
do
you
do?”
When
placed
in
that
situation,
there
are
three
choices.
Be
nice
and
answer
all
the
questions
and
hope
that
it
will
foster
some
kernel
of
acceptance
for
gay
people
the
world
over.
Dismiss
the
questioner
and
be
the
snide,
catty
queen
that
the
media
so
love
to
portray
(see
Jack
from
“Will
&
Grace”
or
Carson
Kressley
of
Fab
5
fame),
and
leave
another
potential
bigot
in
the
wake.
Lastly,
you
can
just
vote
him
out
of
the
party
and
crush
his
hopes
to
win
$100,000.
Well,
the
last
one
is
only
a
choice
if
you’re
one
of
the
“Alts”
on
the
new
Sci-Fi
Channel
reality
show
“Mad,
Mad
World,”
which
debuts
Thursday,
March
4
at
9
p.m.
On
the
show,
five
people
with
“alternative”
lifestyles
—
hence
the
name
“Alts”
—
run
a
house
with
10
contestants
—
all
conservatives
and
mostly
staunch
Christians,
vying
to
win
a
$100,000
prize.
The
five
are
Art,
a
modern
primitive
covered
in
tribal
tattoos
and
body
piercings;
Avocado,
a
naturist;
Don,
a
vampire;
Fiona,
a
witch;
and
Ta’Shia,
a
lesbian
Voodoo
priestess.
These
“Alts”
teach
the
contestants
about
their
ways,
religions
and
rituals
and
make
them
play
little
games
based
on
their
respective
dogmas.
(Ironicially,
Ta’Shia’s
lesbianism
is
a
non-issue.)
In
classic
reality
show
style,
at
the
end
of
each
episode,
they
vote
off
the
one
person
who
is
least
accepting
of
their
way
of
life.
AS
A
GAY
MAN
watching
the
show,
I
definitely
empathized
more
with
the
“Alts”
than
with
the
contestants.
Embracing
something
about
myself
that
makes
me
different
from
the
majority
in
society
definitely
breeds
a
“live
and
let
live”
attitude.
If
someone
wants
to
pierce
and
tattoo
their
body,
drink
blood,
run
around
naked,
cast
spells
or
worship
African
ancestral
spirits,
that’s
fine
with
me
—
as
long
as
no
one
gets
hurt.
But
the
mainstream
contestants
have
much
more
difficulty
with
their
hosts,
and
were
probably
cast
as
such.
They
are,
essentially,
that
eagerly
inquisitive,
naïve
person
at
the
party,
and,
as
such,
annoyingly
persistent
in
their
ideals.
Having
been
so
comfortable
living
in
middle
America,
whether
that
be
in
New
York
City
or
Davenport,
Iowa,
they
aren’t
quick
to
accept
others’
differences.
There
should
be
enough
drama
between
the
“Alts”
and
the
contestants,
but,
instead,
“Mad,
Mad
House”
has
decided
to
go
the
reality
game
show
route,
where
contestants
engage
in
silly
games
to
stay
on
the
show.
In
the
first
episode,
they
have
to
dredge
around
looking
for
items
in
a
“blood
bath,”
inspired
by
Don
the
vampire.
It’s
these
hokey
games
and
focus
on
the
players’
“strategy”
that
hold
the
show
back.
More
interesting
was
everyone’s
reaction
to
Ta’Shia’s
Voodoo
ceremony.
Not
only
did
it
teach
the
audience
about
a
different
religion
(which
is
more
innocuous
than
it
is
usually
portrayed
in
popular
media)
but
showed
how
people
confront
situations
that
make
them
uncomfortable.
With
more
of
this
type
of
interaction,
“Mad,
Mad
House”
might
be
a
property
worth
looking
into,
but
by
focusing
instead
on
silly
games,
it
proves
it’s
a
show
that
can’t
pay
the
rent.
