Extreme Makeover too extreme?

News that the notoriously antigay Christian group Focus on the Family was sponsoring an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on October 2 may have shown just how vigilant members of the gay community have become in fighting the far right. But in the end it was somewhat of a false alarm.

When Focus on the Family announced on its Web site that it was sponsoring the Barrett family and hosting them at its Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters, a flurry of e-marls to gay rights groups and numerous blogs accused ABC of advancing an antigay conservative agenda. Indeed, Focus on the Family was one of many sponsors, but they were not mentioned on the show, said Tina Hoover, manager of production for Endemol USA, which creates the show. "They made a big deal about it on their Web site, but that had nothing to do with what we had ever planned on doing."

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation entertainment media director Damon Romine said that while it's nice to know the gays are watching for impropriety, none was present in this case. "I was getting the e-mails, 'What are you doing about this?'" he said. "But do we do something about something that didn't air?" ABC denied any bias and said it would "absolutely" consider featuring a gay family on the show. 'We consider anyone who's deserving," said Alison Rou, a spokeswoman for the network.