10 Nov 05 Most of you have been asking when the Patrik Ian-Polk series, Noah's Arc, will be showing.  Well, we are pleased to let you know that the series premiered in the states on the new LOGO channel on October 20.  I know that this is not much consolation for us here in the UK, but for our friends in the states, it's a breath of fresh air.

Noah’s Arc follows the intertwining lives of a group of four black gay friends in L.A. At the center of the show is Noah (Darryl Stephens), a young pretty-boy who dreams of making it big as a screenwriter. Noah becomes interested in Wade (Jensen Atwood), a man who has already found success in the same field. The two hang out together at a coffee house to write, and the supposedly-straight Wade flirts with Noah mercilessly.

Wade goes so far as telling Noah that he finds him “sexually enticing,” but adds that for anything to happen between them there would have to be a woman involved. Consequently, Noah and Wade’s first sexual encounter begins as a threeway with a model Wade knows, but they’ve already kicked the girl out by the time they hop into bed together.

As the series progresses, Wade proves to be the perfect boyfriend—sensitive, successful, attentive and sexy—as well as a monumental risk, someone who dips his foot in the pool but may never dive in.

In the first episode, Noah is reluctant to introduce Wade to his friends when they run into each other on the beach, because he still thinks Wade is 100% straight and Noah is somewhat ashamed of his pals’ flamboyance. Likewise, in a future episode Wade tries to get Noah to turn his flame down to a simmer when he’s about to meet Wade’s straight friends.

In the second episode, Noah brings Wade to brunch with the gang and Wade’s ignorance about gay culture makes for some awkward moments.

Future episodes promise a continued focus on the relationship evolving between Noah and Wade, as they work to negotiate its shifting terrain. Tension develops as they try emerge from their cocooning and integrate into each other's lives.

Wade is probably the best example of the show’s ability to draw complex characters. He’s butch and insists he isn’t gay, yet he is drawn to Noah and is clearly attracted to him. After they have sex he shyly admits that he liked it, but is scared. Atwood pulls off a realistic portrayal of someone who exudes confidence even as he ventures into unfamiliar territory—someone who is strong enough to make himself vulnerable.

Noah’s character is equally complex from the start.

The other main characters appear more like types than real people, but they need more than a single episode to develop.

Chance (Douglas Spearman), the uptight academic who teaches economics at UCLA, has just moved in with his new boyfriend, Eddie (Jonathan Julian) and Eddie’s young daughter (Jurnee Johnson). As the series progresses Chance discovers that Eddie is hiding something that might threaten the happy little home they’ve made together.

Alex (Rodney Chester) is an HIV treatment/prevention counselor and the show's resident diva. He functions as the group’s matriarch, always ready with a cheeky admonition but ultimately doting and protective of his friends.


Noah confides in Alex about his predicament with Wade, and Alex promises to keep quiet. Then as soon as they hang up, Alex promptly calls the others to fill them in. But he is so sweet, and so predictable, that even Noah can’t be mad at him when he learns that Alex spilled the beans.

While the other characters deal variously with new relationships, dating and playing the field, Alex is invested in everyone knowing that he and Trey still have passionate sex. He has been in a committed, monogamous relationship with his muscle man boyfriend Trey (Gregory Keith), a nurse, for seven years. In the first episode, Alex learns that Trey has been involved in some extra-curricular cyber activities, but rather than remain jealous he ventures into new sexual territory.

Finally there’s Ricky (Christian Vincent), the always-on-the-prowl owner of a clothing shop on funky Melrose Avenue. He gets around his own rule against having sex with employees by firing and rehiring a particularly attractive one within a single day, so they can get into each other’s pants on a lunch break. Vincent is a dancer whose many credits include performing with Madonna for her Drowned World Tour (2001), and viewers get many a glimpse at his fine physique.

Ricky uses terms like “monogocide” and bristles at his friends’ pressure to get into a steady relationship. It’s the perfect setup for a character to eat his own words and be swept off his feet, and that is precisely what happens later in the season when Wilson Cruz joins the cast as Junito, a medical resident who begins working at Alex’s clinic.

Junito throws the usually free-wheeling Ricky off his game by refusing to take part in the games Ricky plays. It remains to be seen whether the two actors share genuine chemistry, but viewers can at least look forward to more scenes of Ricky hooking up with yet another hottie. 32-year-old actor Cruz was a regular on My So-Called Life, a guest star on Party of Five, and had roles in several movies, including Party Monster, and All Over Me.

Noah’s Arc is at times downright goofy. At one point three of the characters share a split-screen conference call with Noah, who is in the bathroom bracing for his threesome with Brandy and Wade. He consults with Chance (who is in a hot tub with Eddie), Ricky (who is in the midst of hooking up with his latest trick) and Alex (who is in the midst of a cybersex encounter with Trey, who’s in another room in their house).

But the show manages to infuse the drama with comedic situations without descending into farce.

And despite the frequent silliness, the show is also consistently sexy. Perhaps the best reason to stay tuned in to the show is the chemistry that Noah and Wade share. There’s a lot of sex in Noah’s Arc, but these two are particularly screen-sizzling.

Topping off the good writing, characters, and chemistry is the fact that the show provides a rare focus on black gay men (director Patrik-Ian Polk has a good track record here: prior to creating Noah's Arc, he made the well-received indie film Punks, which also focused on the lives and loves of black gay men). Given the general scarcity of well-developed black gay characters in most films and television shows, it's no small thing to have an entire show built around them.

Just one more reason you should tune in to Noah's Arc.

For more information and showtimes, visit logoonline.com