DVD Review: Noah's Arc

One of the sexiest scenes from the first season of Noah's Arc was in the very first episode, My One Temptation. Ricky (Christian Vincent) has just hired Dwayne (model-actor-choreographer Nate Adams) as his newest assistant at the boutique. Ricky brings his new employee to the soon-to-be-infamous storage room and the two perform inventory— on each other. The scene includes nudity, bare butt, simulated (?) sex and the first of many examples that Liza- sorry, we mean Ricky (not sure why we keep making that mistake)— is the biggest top in Los Angeles.

If you don't recall watching this, that's okay. This is one of the deleted "too-hot-for-television" scenes that is included in Noah's Arc: The Complete First Season, a newly released DVD collection. The three-disc set includes the nine episodes of the first season— the first episode was actually in two parts— as well as nine deleted scenes, the pilot episode, and, the actor's auditions. With so many extras, this is icing on the cake for those fans who watched the show during its broadcast. For those who are new to the series, it's like winning the trifecta at the OTB.

Obviously, we've seen the episodes many times, so it was the extras that caught our eye. Most are "director's cut" scenes that push the boundaries of accepted sexuality on basic cable television. Besides Ricky's sexcapades and the extended love scenes between Wade and Noah, there are some hilarious moments. Noah, Alex, Chance and Ricky in the men's room at the club is one example, where Ricky hypothesizes on the future of Noah and Wade's relationships. Won't give away what is being said, but, you can see that Chance tells Ricky to talk to the hand.

Another bonus: The actor's auditions. It was great to see Christian trying out for the part of Noah and Darryl Stephens reading for Ricky's part. For some reason, most of the auditions were shot against a white wall, resulting in overexposed video. You'll find it either endearing cinema verite or just plain ole ingratiating. Still, it's a clever bonus and the collection is more than a value for the money.

Television producer-writer-gym-rat-wannabe-novelist, Rod McCullom is the editor of Rod 2.0.