Back to the future.

Thanks, fellow film lover, for clicking on the "me" link and not just hurrying along, as so many do, to my David Duchovny Gallery. If you're a regular visitor to this page, you'll be saddened to hear that Kevin's and my Christmas visit to his family in Lubbock was even more dismal than I predicted in my last column. Not only were the sleeping arrangements highly unsatisfactory (I could have frozen to death on that porch!) but the autographed Rosalind Russell photo we brought as a gift received painfully blank stares. Philistines! Click here to see a photo of Kevin's folks standing in front of the tree. (You won't see much of the tree!)

This month I'd like to forgo my usual mix of gossip and the authentic star chat I overhear catering actual Hollywood parties and instead take a proud look back on this watershed year for gay and lesbian visibility. Some of you may recall my December 1997 column, in which I predicted that, coming after the year that brought us Ellen and Tom Selleck smooching Kevin Kline (thank God for rewind buttons!), 1998 was bound to be a letdown. Is my face red! This was Hollywood's gay-friendliest year ever. And a big raspberry to you nitpickers who've sent E-mail to "educate" me about "copycat studios" and "Oscar-hungry" stars climbing on the "trendy gay bandwagan" (yes, I mean you, FierceChik and Deth2Twinkies). I say, what's a bandwagon for if not climbing aboard? And if the results can't always please eggheads like Gene Shalit, who cares? The arts are no place for elitists!

The year got off to a classy start with Oliver Stone's Proust, a ravishing epic about the little-known French author. Kevin Costner, gay, buff, and bedridden, brought the tormented genius to memorable life, especially in some spicy scenes involving his boyfriend/rival, Andre Gide (Antonio Banderas). Talk about belles lettres! There were the usual quibbles about "authenticity," but when you've got two literary hunks like these steaming up the screen, I say accents, schmaccents! Most touching scene: the deathbed visit of grieving chums Gertrude Stein (Sharon Stone) and Alice B. Toklas (Courteney Cox).

Arnold Schwarzenegger moved us as a World War II spy who infiltrated Eva Braun's inner circle by leading a daring double life in Codename: Helga. Val Kilmer and Brad Pitt were astronauts who found love while preventing an asteroid from striking Tibet in Weightless Hearts. For sheer inspiration, though, there was no beating actor-director Barbra Streisand's performance as embattled, passionately articulate lesbian Supreme Court justice Hattie Minkowitz in the aptly titled Pride, Honor, Courage, Wisdom, and Justice. (I still can't get that title song out of my head!)

As usual, some of the most sensitive gay-themed films were to be found on the small screen, from Hallmark Hall of Fame's empathic look at teenage street hustlers (Angels With Sticky Wings) to ABC's The Loneliest Square: The Paul Lynde Story. Tim Allen's risk-taking performance showed us the pathos behind the quips, especially in the scene in which Paul, heartsick over his departed gigolo (Dharma & Greg's Thomas Gibson), courageously came out to fellow squares George Gobel (Drew Carey) and Rose Marie (Ellen DeGeneres).

On the series front UPN showed us that gay needn't mean highbrow with its raucous fraternity sitcom Lambda House. The producers of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman gave us The Wilde West, a warmhearted dramedy that imagined Oscar Wilde (Frasier's Edward Hibbert) relocating to Denver to give the feisty O'Flaherty clan lessons in tolerance and table manners. The best scenes involved Oscar's hilarious romance with gruff Uncle Ned (Gerald McRaney), whose oft-chortled signature line, "Oh, Oscar! You and yer eppy-grams!" became national catchphrase! Kudos to McRaney, whose transition from Major Dad to major daddy was the season's happiest surprise!

I could go on, but it's time to suit up and pass the shrimp at Michael Eisner's New Year's Rumor has it he'll be screening Disney's first gay smash of 1999 -- an all-queer animated musical! Winnie the Poof? The Lion Queen? No one knows yet -- but you will the next time you log on to Todd's Hollywood Home Page!