You Say It's Your Birthday! I Couldn't Care Less!

Michael (Hal Sparks) decides to throw Ben (Robert Gant) a surprise birthday party, and steals his Palm Pilot so he can get phone numbers for all of Ben's friends. Despite Ben's expressed desire to celebrate quietly, Michael enlists Emmett (Peter Paige) to design a big Far East-themed soiree. Michael isn't sure whether or not to invite Debbie (Sharon Gless), who still doesn't seem to accept his relationship. Things go badly when Ben delivers an unhappy surprise of his own. Justin (Randy Harrison) is also having a birthday, but Brian (Gale Harold) lets everyone know that he doesn't believe that the mere act of being born is worthy of celebration. So Melanie (Michelle Clunie) and Lindsay (Thea Gill) cheer Justin up by taking him to a concert, where he's attracted to Ethan (Fabrizio Filippo), a hot young violin prodigy. Justin approaches Ethan after the concert, and sparks fly, but Justin breaks things off to go back to Brian, who, shamed by Debbie, has arranged a Brian-style birthday surprise for Justin. Ted (Scott Lowell), meanwhile, tries to raise Emmett's spirits by taking him to a festive gay church service. There, Ted meets Luke (Jason Knight), and they hit it off. Their relationship develops quickly, but Ted has trouble telling the saintly Luke that he runs a porn site for a living.