Now that the first season of “Boy Meets Boy” is over, I’m hoping Bravo will one day make a gay reality dating show. Until then, it’s back to watching Will pretend Grace is the love of his life. Which frankly, feels a lot more real than that gay minstrel show Bravo put on.

A lot of activists were incensed that the producers sprinkled some hets in the homo dating pool. Would the reverse ever happen, they argue? Would ABC’s “The Bachelorette” float a bunch of gay guys in a woman’s dating pool? By doing to a gay show what they’d never do to a straight show aren’t the producers asserting that gay love is inconsequential? Worthy of ridicule?

And on top of that, these critics argue, the producers ruined (or at least lowered) James’ chances for finding true love.

I don’t know what planet these critics live in, but in the one rotating around the sun with satellite dishes, television is considered entertainment for the audience, not a matchmaking service for the actors. James was on TV for our entertainment, not his love life.

The only thing that made “Boy Meets Boy” interesting is the very thing critics complain about. Why? Because the dialogue and the plot devices were nearly as lame as that other gay yawner, “Queer As Folk.” The actors on QAF and the contestants on BMB both reminded me why I took my car to the shop last week — even after I shut off the engine the whining went on.

My biggest problem with BMB was the lack of anything sexual. I know they couldn’t show the contestants bumping uglies, but for Pete’s sake, how about a little flirting, a little cruising, a little innuendo? Everybody was too busy copping an attitude to cop a feel. It’s as if contestants were bathed in Clorox and got the sexuality bleached out of them. I mean, come on — 16 hot guys under the same roof and all we see is an occasional high five and a peck on the cheek? I’ve gotten more action from my dogs.

The best part of the show was the very thing activists complained about: Its invitation to switch your gaydar on and watch the needle move. Interestingly, almost everybody’s gaydar failed about half the time. Why? Because even gay men buy into the fallacy that the marker for homosexuality is effeminacy.

Almost everyone I know “guessed” the sexuality of the contestants on the basis of how effeminate they were. Gay? Thumbs down if they could pitch a ball, thumbs up if they could pitch a fit.

The straight twist in the show challenged our conception of how gay men act. Once you got away from the typical “gay = girl” mindset, your powers of deduction were really put to the test. And that posed an interesting question: In the absence of effeminacy how do you tell if a guy is gay? One way is to see how comfortable they are in touching other guys. I nailed Franklin, one of the finalists, right away with that one. He always did the “Straight Guy” hug. You know, where the belt buckles never touch.

From an ethical standpoint the producers lied to James, but sometimes lying is a good thing. By lying about some things, the producers revealed the truth about others: That straight men won’t lose their heterosexuality if they hang out with gay men, that being physically affectionate with gay men can actually be a pleasant experience.

The straight men who got booted off the show always had the most compelling things to say. They got to experience what it’s like to pretend to be something they’re not. They showed America that no matter who you love, a closet is a terrible to place to express it.

Watching “Boy Meets Boy” reminded me of what a friend said when “Queer as Folk” first appeared on the scene: “Are we watching this because it’s good or because it’s gay?”

I can forgive a lot of things when it comes to gay shows but boredom is not one of them. “Boy Meets Boy” was so boring I fell asleep halfway through the opening credits. Let’s hope Bravo sics the Fab Five on the Boys and gives them a reality makeover.