Way back in the distant past of early July, when I was just getting this blog off the ground, I wrote my first long (1,600-word) essay on gay marriage, and, surprise, Chip and Reichen. I called it "Not Yet! We just met Chip & Reichen" because I think that's the heart of the issue: People won't accept gay marriages in real life until they're used to living with it on TV.

Chip & Reichen were the first husband and husband millions of Americans ever met. And we only met them two months ago. And most of the country has still not met them, because they've been watching Friends or had their TVs off. It's going to take a whole lot more Chip & Reichens before America is ready to swallow the reality already going on around them. What are you waiting for Hollywood? Hopefully the popularity of our gay heroes will speed the growth of those gooey backbones of yours.

I'm happy to report they are popular. And their steady rise in acceptance presents a nice little illustration of  how an endearing gay married couple can win America over gradually.

Back in that July 3rd post, I commented on the popularity tracking on CBS' Amazing Race site: "In spite of their looks, which count for a great deal in these polls--particularly when paired with an agreeable personality, and these guys couldn't be more charming--our little homo couple came in 8th of 12 teams after the first episode. Five weeks later, they've worked their way all the way up to second."

Barely second. It was actually week 5 on the chart, and it shows five teams bunched in the lower 60s, with Chip & Reichen just barely ahead of the pack. Much better than behind the pack, and they had leapt well past two other teams, but they still had a ways to go. Since then they have risen from a 65% rating to 83%, still in second, but way ahead of most of the pack, and first among the teams remaining.

(The chart seems to indicate two other teams ahead of them, but it stops graphing everyone the week after they are eliminated--and many teams get a big sympathy boost that week. Run your cursor over each team and it will give you a numerical readout of their current score.)

Gradually, presumably, viewers got over the jarring "married" tag CBS so aggressively flaunted, and eventually just started admiring Chip & Reichen as people. Sixty years of television, one pair of husbands, gradually winning America over. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to meet a few dozen more.

That's my ten-minute assessment. Just watched last night's Queer Eye for the third time. I don't do that. Twice is rare. Why watch something that has already had its affect on you, when you can experience something new?

John is why. And the fab five, and the editing. The editing on this show is amazing. But John really trumps everything. (He's the jack-of-all-trades with the goatee that proposes in the Moroccan tent thingie.) He's more adorable than Jon on Chip & Reichen: just as expressive, but he hits a lot more notes. He ran the whole emotional gamut in a single hour of my viewing.

Proof, once again, that it takes a lot of elements working in synch to pull off the rare great reality show, but casting is the key.

Those goats. Perhaps some day they will say something interesting. (If you don't know I'm talking about The Chip & Reichen show, you probably have no interest in reading this. Either stop reading or start watching fast. If you never heard of the goats, you're missing out on one of the few fine reality shows on TV. Climax next Thursday. )

The goats have been the blandest group since the start. Halfway through the season, a friend pointed out how rarely they were used for voiceovers or (what do you call those post-leg interview inserts?)--presumably because they had so little to say. They were always eyerollers when they did. Very reminiscent of those axiomatic pregame/postgame football interviews: "We need to hold them defense, and score a lot of touchdowns." Oh. Good strategy! Hard to believe they're will to let those plans slip like that on national television.

Now the goats are down to the finals and the producers are forced to show us the dearth of material they have been working with. Actual goat quotes, from the interviews, where they had time to think about it, and presumably we're hearing the highlights:

"Our goal for this leg was to increase our lead. . . Well the presure's constantly on. We've got to get to the finish line first in the last leg. . . We've come into the homestretch. We're confident in that we think we're going to win the race."

Captivating!

But as Meatloaf taught us, two out of three (teams) ain't bad. Every week that passes, I fall deeper into my swoon for Kelly and Jon. Jon is fucking adorable. More on them later today.

And if you're looking for more sites on Chip & Reichen or The Amazing Race, lots of great links here.

If your power went out last night, very sorry to hear that. You missed both The Race and Queer Eye, and you probably have a few bigger problems on your hands right now.

I can't do anything about the bigger problems, but I can let you know CBS is reshowing The Race Saturday (Aug 16), at 9p.m. ET/PT (central and especially mountain are now expected to figure that our for ourselves).

And don't forget, this is the night the Fab Five makes over Leno.