Gayest Episode Ever

“Switching Places” (October 4, 1993) If you're reading this and deciding that Power Rangers is not a sitcom, you're correct! We're doing it anyway, and as elder millennials who were just a little too old for MMPR when it originally aired, we're bringing in a ringer in the form of Sina Grace — artist, writer and bonvivant. whose work in the comics world has included writing for these very teenagers with attitude. In this episode, Billy and Kimberley swap bodies and so David Yost and Amy Jo Johnson have fun imitating each other while also commenting on gender norms… inasmuch as that's possible in a 20-minute-long TV episode about superheroes who fight giant monsters. Buy Sina's latest comic, West Hollywood Monster Squad. Support Sina's Kickstarter for his book about dog grief, Life on Paws. For more on the story of Saban, listen to our Cartoons That Made Us Gay episode about Samurai Pizza Cats. And here is the This American Life episode that Drew refers to We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Mama Mork, Papa Mindy” (November 5, 1981) Thus far, we have not attempted the Happy Days universe of TV shows, and we're starting with this season four Mork & Mindy that has our interspecies marrieds creating a baby that redefine their gender roles. Essentially, Mork hatches an egg from which comes a child that puts a shocked Mindy in the role of father. It's silly, but as returning guest Diamond Feit helps us explain, it's also modelling parenthood outside typical gender conventions. Listen to Diamond's previous episode with us about Ranma 1/2! Listen to our previous adult baby episode (a Patreon exclusive!) with guest Nina Matsumoto! We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

This week, in a first-ever solo episode, Drew talks you through not just one episode of the cult series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman instead the whole of the show's art for its two gay characters, Ed and Howard. What's remarkable about this nuanced portrayal of a same-sex couple is that by virtue of airing before the AIDS crisis, the showrunners didn't need to make these two characters angel gays. They're as neurotic and complex as any of the straight characters on the show, which means it's an example of a progressive representation back in 1976. If you want to see Ed and Howard (and everyone else) in action, check out the supercut of their whole story on Patreon. It's free for everyone, so even people who aren't pledging can watch it. There is not another place online where you can easily watch Ed and Howard's whole story. But also check out Matt Baume's 2020 video on why this show's gay storyline still matters. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Bear of Beeftown Adventure” (April 7, 2024) About a hundred episodes later, this podcast is pleased to report that The Great North got even gayer with the season four addition of Aunt Dirt, voiced by Jane Lynch. She's been living in a bunker for sixty years and in this episode she learns about what it means to be a lesbian in the 2020s. Listen to our previous episode about The Great North and our interview with Charlie Kelly, who wrote both the episodes we've covered. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Wesley's Friend” (January 31, 1986) Yes, it's this episode. If you've seen any bit of it, it's probably the one line delivered by the focus character, and while we will admit it's a major groaner, it's not representative of this whole episode. No, this is a Mr. Belvedere “very special episode” that has its heart in the right place and which mostly lands well all these years later. This is our second Mr. Belvedere outing, and yes, the first one really is about Mr. Belvedere discouraging a teenager from being gay. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Kimmy Goes to Her Happy Place!” (April 15, 2016) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a funny show. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a flawed show. These two things can both be true simultaneously, and you can not like the plotline given to Jane Krakowski's character, where it turns out she's actually Lakota posing as white, and still enjoy other elements of the show. Case in point: Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess) is exactly the kind of messy, selfish, desperate gay character people want to see realized onscreen. What's more? He's very, very funny — and so it this episode, which features a puppet cameo you won't see coming. We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

If you grew up watching TV in the 80s, you may have noticed that there was a preponderance of… if not shows about orphans specifically then similar shows where the care of children was entrusted to people who weren't their parents and maybe didn't know how to raise kids. We're talking Diff'rent Strokes, Rags to Riches, Punky Brewster, Webster and Gimme a Break, but also The Facts of Life, Charles in Charge, My Two Dads, Full House, My Sister Sam, Silver Spoons, The Hogan Family and more. Sure, a lot of factors could explain these absent parents, but what if we told you there was a single patient zero for this whole trend? Because Drew thinks there is one, and its history stretches back to the 19th century. Links to previous episodes mentioned in this one: Gimme a Break Meets Yet Another 80s Orphan Gimme a Break Transformed Into a Lesbian Perfect Strangers Backdoor Pilots: Diff'rent Strokes Spins Mrs. Garrett into Facts of Life Weirdest Episode Ever: Day by Day Has a Very Brady Nightmare Superstore Is Queerer Than You Think And if you want to watch the video version of the Seinfeld addiction/cashmere examination at the end of this episode, click here.

“The Family in Question” (May 9, 1988) It might seem like a joke today, that a show called My Two Dads is about two very hetero bachelors. But don't let that stop you from appreciating My Two Dads for being a smarter, funnier version of Full House. They debuted the same week, and unlike Full House, My Two Dads actually acknowledges that gay people exist. In this episode, the judge who awarded them custody of their daughter is persecuted in the press as being an activist judicial who is changing the definition of a family. Read the New York Times piece from 2022 that finally outed Ed Koch. Listen to the Bad Gays episode about Larry Kramer, which also discusses Ed Koch.

“The Friendly Physician” (April 7, 1966) Sure, Gilligan's Island may have skewed family-friendly, but its love of genre parody meant that it did a body swap episode in which all of its female characters end up in male bodies. Horny! That's enough to get our attention, even without the mad scientist bad guy with perversely vampiric sexual energy. Follow: GEE on Bluesky • Drew on Bluesky • Glen on Bluesky Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Larry vs. Michael J. Fox” (September 11, 2011) For better or worse, Larry David is a truth-teller, and the fictional version of him can help but to poke at social taboos. In this Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, Larry suspects that Michael J. Fox may be using Parkinson's to get away with bad behavior while also insisting that his latest love interest's seven-year-old child is gay. It's a lot, but here's the thing: Larry is often not wrong. Read “The Great and Wonderful Wizard of Odds,” the 2000 New York Times piece on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

We are keeping our tradition of making our first post of the new year about Sailor Moon. That ep, about the debatably trans Sailor Starlights, is now live on Patreon — at $1 for subscribers but it can also be purchased for $3 for non-subscribers. But we're putting last year's Sailor Moon ep, about the villain Fisheye, on the main feed. Important note: Due to recent political events, we're giving all of our Patreon proceeds for this month to the Transgender Law Center.  “Shadow of Evil: The Trio's Last Chance” (September 23, 1995)  It's a new year, and you're getting a new Sailor Moon. This time, we are focusing on Fisheye, a henchman villain from the fourth season who defies categorization both in terms of his gender performance and his status as a bad guy. This one is all over the place in the best possible way, and might be the closest to a true anti-Sailor Moon the series ever gets. Seriously, we love this goofy weirdo and who he gets more of an arc than anyone else does this season. We gave Fisheye the Leon Carp treatment, and this episode also examines the following other episodes: Meeting of Destiny: The Night Pegasus Dances (s4e1), Forest of Illusion: A Beautiful Fairy's Invitation (s4e10), We Love Fashion: The Stylish Guardians (s4e13), Become a Prima: Usagi's Ballet (s4e18) and Mirrors of Dreams: The Amazon's Last Stage (s4e22). Also listen to our previous Sailor Moon episodes: The Cartoons That Made Us Gay: Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Meets a Lesbian Couple.

“The Matchmaker” (October 4, 1994) Whelp, it's our 250th episode (sort of), and we're celebrating by going back and reexamining our first-ever episode and, really, the reason this podcast exists in the first place: “The Matchmaker” from Frasier's second season, which the show used to tell viewers definitively that no, despite all appearances otherwise, Frasier Crane is not gay. We're joined again by Anthony Oliveira, who also helps us recount Frasier's entire history of seeming kinda gay, from being metaphorically born from Diane Chambers all the way until the reboot. Buy Anthony's new book, Dayspring. Read the New York Times article Drew mentions, “The Boys in the Writers' Room.” Read GEE's write-up in Emmy magazine, which is basically the same thing as actually winning an Emmy.

“Pilot” (October 1, 2003) Even NBC tried to replicate the success of America's first popular gay sitcom, and this week we're joined once again by Steven Capsuto to discuss an attempt to bring same-sex parents to prime time. It's All Relative only lasted a season, but that's actually longer than most LGBTQ-inclusive sitcoms that followed in Will & Grace's wake, and for what it's worth, its pilot shows a lot of promise. Read GEE's write-up in Emmy magazine, which is basically the same thing as actually winning an Emmy. Buy the revised edition of Steven's book, Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV. Listen to Steven's previous episode, about Tony Randall's Love, Sidney. Drew is pulling quotes from the following articles: “The gaying of TV / Advertisers step up as more shows step out”  (SFGate, Aug. 24, 2003) “Review: It's All Relative” (Variety, Sep. 28, 2003) “It's profitable to be a little bit gay” (LA TImes, Aug. 27, 2003) “Gays on TV: Hardly a Trend” (Chicago Tribune, Aug. 12, 2003)

“Hope 'n' Mic Night” (November 10, 2024) Long-running animated sitcoms face a unique challenge in having to account for an episode that aired more than a decade previously, and this recent Bob's Burgers proves that this can be accomplished thoughtfully and deliberately. “Hope 'n' Mic Night” repeatedly references the season one episode “Sheesh! Cab, Bob?” which introduced Marshmallow to the show but also did a few things that cast trans characters in a less than flattering light. Fifteen years later, the show gives Marshmallow 2.0 the spotlight she's deserved for while, and frankly it's heartening to see a show make all the right moves. Watch the homemade Archer/Bob's Burgers crossover that got Simon Chong, the director of this episode, a real Hollywood job. What the video for Paula Abdul's “Opposites Attract.” Read the Deadline interview with Jari Jones, the new voice of Marshmallow.

“Homo for the Holidays” (November 25, 1999) What? An episode of Will & Grace that Drew actually likes? Kind of! This season two episode has Jack coming out to his mother over Thanksgiving dinner, and it's basically the gayest Thanksgiving episode of any sitcom ever. And it's a good piece of TV with some thoughtful dialogue, even if a lot of the jokes are very representative of that Will & Grace style, which you either like or you don't. Also: Is Jack McFarland responsible for popularizing the phrase “platinum gay”? Listen to previous Will & Grace episodes here.

“Bill, Bulk and the Body Buddies” (May 20, 2007) Can one illustration of a buff Bill Dauterive change your entire life in an instant? Well, for some people, yeah. This King of the Hill outing manages to stuff in a whole lot of imagery that will be familiar to a certain gay subculture. It's inadvertent — and specifically this episode also features explicitly gay characters as a counterpoint to the rude, crude muscle bros, but there's plenty to talk about nonetheless in Bill's adventures through body transformation. Listen to our previous King of the Hill episodes here.  Follow Drew, Glen and Tony on Bluesky!

"A Muggy Day in Central Park" (November 14, 1968) A contemporary of Bewitched, That Girl aimed for a more sophisticated audience than most sitcoms of its era. Not only does it look more cinematic, in a way that sitcoms generally wouldn't until the 2000s, but it's also more clearly a feminist show, where Marlo Thomas plays a woman braving big city life on her own. This episode does that tired thing where gay men, cross-dressers, trans woman and drag queens are conflated down to a single thing, but it's nonetheless interesting to see how a progressive show handles queer things fairly explicitly in the 1960s. Listen to the Monday Afternoon Movie episode about the Ted Bessell thriller Scream, Pretty Peggy.

“And Then There Was Shawn” (February 27, 1998) Somehow, Boy Meets World got ABC to say yes to a parody of Scream within the confines of the TGIF lineup. That's wild enough, but it's even more surprising what this “it was all a dream” episode lifts directly from the 1996 slasher. Joining us to discuss this unlikely intersection of franchises are the hosts of the Guide to the Unknown podcast, Kristen Anderson and her little brother, Will Rogers (not the gay beach). Happy Halloween! Listen to Guide to the Unknown groundbreaking analysis of the Scary Movie franchise, SCARMUTO. Listen to William's narrative horror podcast Blackwood. And if you want to read more about the Scream 3/Harvey Weinstein connection, read this Slate article. Watch the new season of Glen's show, Ninjago: Dragons Unleashed! Listen to Drew discussing 16-bit horror video games on Retronauts. Episodes what we mentioned: Guide to the Unknown, “Mommy Watched Scream” Guide to the Unknown, “Scream, Queen! / Freddy's Revenge” Gayest Episode Ever, “Boy Meets World Accidentally Does a Trans Episode” Gayest Episode Ever, “The Terror of Zombie Sandy Duncan” Gayest Episode Ever, “Two Guys, a Girl and a Post-Scream Slasher Halloween” Gayest Episode Ever, “The Facts of Life Goes to the Twilight Zone” Weirdest Episode Ever, “Family Matters Fights and Evil Murderous Puppet” Monday Afternoon Movie, “Summer of Fear with John Arthur Hill”

“The Joker Is a Card” (October 14, 1965) Nearly two hundred episodes later, we're finally returning to Bewitched to give Uncle Arthur a proper introduction. And while he's a big part of Bewitched's gay fandom, Paul Lynde brings a lot of baggage to the role that taught Americans to laugh at eccentric gay weirdos everywhere. This episode featured a lot of references to previous episodes, so here are all of those, for your listening pleasure: The previous GEE about Bewitched (but honestly this new episode is better) Our episode about I Dream of Jeannie Our episode about The Addams Family, which deals with similar themes of ethnicity/culture erasure The GEE/Monday Afternoon Movie crossover episode about the Paul Lynde Halloween Special The Monday Afternoon Movie episode about The Legend of Lizzie Borden, which starred Elizabeth Montgomery and Katherine Helmond And finally the Monday Afternoon Movie episode about the Star Wars Holiday Special, with special guest Bruce Villance Finally, the Hollywood Squares zingers all come from this YouTube compilation.

“Simpson and Delilah” (October 18, 1990) Not only the earliest gay-themed Simpsons episode we've ever done, this one is also the first gay-themed episode The Simpsons ever did. And while the enigmatic Karl doesn't get to be explicitly gay, we argue whether having a gay-coded character might have been the show's way to — in its second season and at the height of Simpsons mania — signal to grown-ups that no, despite the t-shirts, this was not a show for kids and it could operate at a higher level. But how many adults watching TV in 1990 knew who Harvey Fierstein was? Remember when I did a supercut of all the LGBTQ jokes on The Simpsons? It still lives, even if you have to go to YouTube to watch it now for stupid homophobic reasons. It has 3.7 million views so far! I just think that's neat! Also listen to the most recent Talking Simpsons take on this episode here.

“Wild Child” (February 4, 1988) Officially, A Different World never did a gay episode and there were no queer students at Hillman. Nestled in the middle of the Bonet/Tomei season, however, is an interesting episode about a girl named Cougar, who happens to be easily read as a lesbian and interact in interesting ways with both Denise and Whitley. Entertainment journalist Stacey Yvonne joins us to discuss this episode and why A Different World still matters in 2024. You can watch this episode of A Different World on our Vimeo. Listen to Stacey's appearances on Sam Pancake Presents the Monday Afternoon Movie discussing the made-for-TV horror films The Possessed and The Strange and Deadly Occurence.

“Pranks for the Memories” (September 18, 1991) and “Beetlebones” (September 27, 1991) Sure, we've all thought more about Beetlejuice in the last few weeks than we have in the last few decades, but we come to you today not to discuss the sequel film but the animated spinoff. Henry Giardina returns to explain why this more kid-friendly version of the Tim Burton ghoul lends itself to trans and queer readings. Listen to Henry's movie podcast, I'll Watch Anything, and also subscribe to Totally Trans, which is currently on hiatus. Mentioned in this episode: The Lost Gals and specifically their episode about Drop Dead Fred The Best Movies Never Made and their episodes about all the Beetlejuice sequels that never were Guide to the Unknown and their episode about A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 What Went Wrong and their episode about the making of Beetlejuice Cracked's oral history of the Beetlejuice cartoon

“Mac Finds His Pride” (November 7, 2018) Twelve seasons in, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia stopped giving Mac the Smithers treatment and let him be gay, but it's the season thirteen finale we're talking about because it highlights Mac's sexuality without making jokes, at least for the third act. The episode received wide praise, but did it also jeopardize the show's comedic tone in order to make a statement? Thanks to Dr. Alfred Smith, David Russell and Ally J. Shivka for offering their interpretations of the narrative in the dance sequence! Watch the dance sequence in question here. Read Vulture's analysis of “Mac Finds His Pride.”

This is the second-to-last of our summer reruns; new episodes back Sept. 18 on the Patreon feed and Sept. 25 on the main feed! For this one, we're taking a break from looking at the ways that sitcoms advanced American discourse about LGBTQ people and instead gawking at campy 80s fluff — because that is also a thing that is important to gay people. “Jennifer: The Movie” (October 29, 1983) We're celebrating both Halloween and week two of our celebration of Ann Jillian with an episode about how the 1983 NBC series Jennifer Slept Here is both so very weird and also a little gay boy's fantasy — because it pairs an awkward boy with glamorous ghost, and that's secretly what every little gay boy wishes he had to guide him through his awkward years. This is peak 80s, but also it has one of the best sitcom themes ever, regardless of decade. Watch Drew's video of the 1982 Night of a Thousand Stars fashion show, which features Ann Jillian looking like her most Debbie Harry ever. Gawk in awe at: The opening to Mr. Smith The opening to Double Trouble The opening to Mr. Merlin The opening to Down to Earth The opening to Ann Jillian Ann as the Red Queen in the live action Alice in Wonderland + the very scary Jabberwocky scenes

Yep, we are still in summer reruns — but to return with new episodes in September! This one is out second look at the Showtime sitcom Brothers, which I feel too few listeners know about. Let this episode be your primer, however! And your jumping off point to watching the entire series on YouTube! “It Only Hurts When I'm Gay” (October 25, 1985) On paper, the idea of a sitcom taking on the subject of gay bashing seems like the worst idea, but somehow Brothers — TV's first gay sitcom — manages to tell a real story about violence against gay people while avoiding the hokey “very special episode” tropes. We're as shocked as anyone how good this turned out, and what's more, it's genuinely funny without underselling the gravity of the attack. You can now watch Glen's movie, Being Frank, on Freevee via Amazon Prime. WATCH IT NOW! Please, watch this episode (and other Brothers episodes!) on YouTube. The posting we used to do this episode only had 36 views as of the time this GEE first went live!

This is a summer rerun of an episode that originally went live in May 2023. We know that no one likes to reflect on how Roseanne used to be awesome, but we get through that emotional baggage as quickly as we can to discuss why Martin Mull's character is openly gay but also tweaks certain gay stereotypes.  “The Driver's Seat” (November 30, 1993) We're giving another shot to Roseanne, because perhaps it's been long enough that you all want to listen to stories about this iconic series. Perhaps not! Regardless, this show offered us Martin Mull's Leon, who goes unsung in the annals of gay supporting characters. He's a villain, though much of his evildoing has nothing to do with his sexuality, and in this particular episode, his gayness doesn't even come up — which is unusual, because usually gay supporting characters on sitcoms only show up to be gay and do nothing else.

This is a summer rerun of an episode that originally went life in May 2023. It's good even if you think you don't care about Green Acres, we swear! “What's in a Name?” (February 16, 1966) On a show all about the zany inhabitants of Hooterville, Ralph Monroe (Mary Grace Canfield) stands out because the most unusual thing about her is her name. She works as a carpenter and dresses for her work, but that name alone is enough that most Hootervillians don't know what pronoun to use for her. As we discuss with special guest Josh Trujillo, Ralph is not a trans character, but this episode about her seeking a new name so she can get married, offers enough to qualify her as interesting enough to merit her own episode of this podcast… darling. Since this episode originally went life, Josh's book, WASHINGTON'S GAY GENERAL, went on sale. GO BUY IT!

“The New Girl” (September 19, 1992) Tori Scott is more than just the mysterious seventh Bayside High student who exists in a fractured Saved by the Bell timeline in which Jessie and Kelly don't exist. She's also really gay in the tradition of Jo from The Facts of Life, and not only because Leanna Creel, the actress who played Tori, came out in real life. Erin Fletcher returns to explain why she's actually a better match for Zack than Kelly or AC Slater… because Zack Morris is the Blair Warner of Saved by the Bell. Listen to Erin's previous appearance, in which we also discussed a lesbian-tinged ep titled “The New Girl.” (And yes, there is a Tori Scott fanvid.) Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

Leading up to our return in September, we are doing summer reruns, which is our way of repurposing episodes that with a little configuring (and retitling) might get more listens than they got back in the day. First up: Mama's Family! And next week, you'll be getting a full-fledged new episode about Saved by the Bell! Enjoy! “There Is Nothing Like the Dames” (February 17, 1990) Believe it or not, Mama's Family has a deeply queer history. While the final result of — the syndicated revival that returned to TV after NBC canceled the it — bears little of that, this episode goes over all the ways a recurring sketch on The Carol Burnett Show originally told the story of a queer-coded artist who can't relate to his family back home. It's all the stranger to consider that Mama's Family never did an explicitly queer episode, even with all those Bob Mackie costumes. Read the article in which Bubba actor Allan Kayser talks about his famously tight jeans. Vicki Lawrence sings the original, non-instrumental version of the Mama's Family theme song. But also listen to her disco banger “Don't Stop the Music” and the no. 1 murder mystery pop hit “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” Watch the brilliant 1982 TV movie adaptation of the Harper family saga, Eunice. Also watch The Carol Burnett Show's famous “Went With the Wind” sketch. But most importantly watch the original sketch version that led to Mama's Family, when it was just called “The Family.” It made Drew way more sad than sketch comedy usually does.

“Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing” (March 31, 2015) In its sixth and final season, Community decided to explore the series-long running joke about Dean Pelton's mysterious, complex sexuality. Henry Gilbert once again joins us to discuss how the dean is not actually gay — he may be a pansexual imp, after all — but in forcing him to pick a tidy label, this show does a good job showing how many queer people end up pigeonholing themselves in a way that doesn't fully express who they are. Listen to Henry's podcast, Talking Simpsons. Listen to his episode about Pride Nite at Disneyland on Podcast: The Ride. The Community “this better not awaken anything in me” clip. The trailer for Portuguese Gremlins, which is not only the best thing Community ever did but also a justification for the medium of TV in general. Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

“Drew's Brother” (November 19, 1997)  We finally did it! We not only found the perfect guest for this episode — writer, performer and UCB alum Joan Ford — but we also got the chance to tell the world that The Drew Carey Show deserves to live it. It's not only the most successful Friends clone but also the only one that sustained a whole series about working class young people. And in its third season, it introduced Drew's brother Steve (John Caroll Lynch) who is a cross-dresser who might just be a transwoman. What's more, the show pairs Steve off with Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney), who is dragtastic and deserving of queer icon status in her own right. Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

“The Censors,” (April 10, 1980) James L. Brooks followed up the hit Taxi with another workplace ensemble that skewed decidedly fancier: The Associates featured a young and unknown Martin Short among a group of fresh hires at a Wall Street law firm. The show didn't work and is almost forgotten today. But its second-to-last episode did feature a trip to the Hollywood set of a sitcom where a producer battles an overzealous censor. There's a gay sublot, but the overall story is a cautionary tale that applies to people making TV today just as much as it did four decades ago Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

"Single Stamina" (November 27, 2006) Now that HIMYM has been off the air for a full decade, it's worth considering how this show holds up better than most from the early 2000s did. Not only did it give us Robin Sparkles, it just might be the only TV show to compare equally well to both Friends and Lost, as improbable as that sounds. This episode has Wayne Brady playing a gay character in a bit of stunt casting that worked a lot better before he came out, but it also just might be the thing that convinced Neil Patrick Harris to finally come out as well. Listen to the newest episode of Cartoons That Made Us Gay, all about Conan: The Adventurer and the inherent gayness of the “barbarian” genre in general. Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

What if we broke format to discuss America's favorite smartypants game show? Well, we did it. And special guest Emily Heller joins us to discuss Amy Schneider, who became Jeopardy's second-longest-running winner ever — and as a result became a household name and a trans icon.  Listen to Emily's Jeopardy podcast, What Is…? A Jeopardy! Podcast on Apple or Spotify! Listen to Peaches Christ and also Drew on Matt Baume's new My So-Called Life podcast! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

“The Courtship of Bess Richards” (October 4, 1986) The second episode of Amen concerns Sherman Hemsley's Ernie trying to land his choir a new singer in Nell Carter's Bess, and the result is a comedy of errors in which both he and she perform romantic interest that neither is capable of actually feeling. The result is a WWF-style wrestling match between these two iconic sitcom stars, and we're joined once again by Dr. Alfred L. Martin to discuss how this is rendered all the stranger because Hemsley and Carter both were closeted and therefore all too accustomed to acting out hetero identities different from how they lived privately.  This episode mentions a TV Guide article about Sherman Hemsley's private life that I now cannot find online. However, I bought the issue on eBay and will post as soon as it arrives. You can see Zach Wilson's posting of it on Twitter. Thanks, Zach! Buy Dr. Alfred's book, The Generic Closet: Black Gayness and the Black-Cast Sitcom. Listen to Hemsley in the performance of Purlie that Alfred mentions. Watch a clip of Hemsley's gay villain turn in 2000's Screwed.  Listen to Dr. Alfred's previous episodes: Roc Has a Gay Uncle Moesha Meets a Gay Guy Sanford Arms Meets a Gay — And He's Black!

“Menage a Phyllis” (November 2, 1974) In the third-season episode “My Brother's Keeper,” Rhoda famously said the word “gay,” turning a plot about her association with Phyllis' brother on its head. Two seasons later, Phyllis shows up in another episode that discusses gay issues but weirdly doesn't say that word. Regardless, there's perhaps more to be made of the newsroom's opinions about what codes as gay, and Dan Steadman returns to discuss this and what we'll call the “Murray Slaughter problem.” Read Dead Buckley's 2018 piece “Queer Coding on the Mary Tyler Moore Show” Episodes referenced: Dan's previous episode, “Mike Seaver Actually Said the Word ‘Gay'” Our previous Mary Tyler Moore episode, “Mary and Rhoda Meet a Homo” Our episode “Phyllis Dates a Homo” Our episode “The Dream On Guy Has a Gay Dad”

“Cousin Geri” (December 24, 1980) Fun game for listeners: Take a shot every time Drew mentions the phrase “gigantic bitch” in connection with Lisa Welchel's Blair, who is in rare form this episode as she shuns her disabled cousin Geri for reasons that aren't the ones you're probably assuming. In this discussion, we bring up why Geri Jewell is a trailblazer as far as being queer and also one other thing and also why “actress recurring on Deadwood” is lowkey code for lesbian. Erin Fletcher, we want you back for that Saved by the Bell episode. Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

“Gay Bash” (November 10, 2004) For better or worse, Drawn Together represents a very real trend in mid-2000s humor. It specifically sought out to tell the most offensive jokes it could get on air, but that's what makes it surprising that the episode where Xandir admits he's gay isn't the parade of easy jokes you might expect. The B plot sucks rancid balls, to the point that we don't even use clips from it in this discussion, but you might be surprised how this animated reality show makes its token gay a sympathetic guy. Check out Bradley Smith's YouTube interview with series creators Dave Jesser and Matt Silvertsein, from which we grabbed a few anecdotes about the development of Drawn Together. Listen to our Cartoons That Made Us Gay episode about the Legend of Zelda cartoon. Listen to the Best Movies Never Made podcast, hosted by Golan the Insatiable creator Josh Miller. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Dye! Dye! My Darling!” (August 2, 2000) Spend a little time in a Daria fan community and you'll find folks who ship the title character with her best friend, Jane. The show actually never does a gay episode and only gets the slightest bit queer in the first movie, Is It Fall Yet?, which has Jane affirming her heterosexuality despite how very queer she might seem. In this episode, we're discussing the nonetheless existent lesbian vibes between Daria and Jane — and who better to offer input on this than Talking Simpsons cohost Bob Mackey? Sure, he's straight, but it turns out that straight men can relate to female characters too. (We were shocked!) As it turns out, Bob and Henry's What a Cartoon podcast covers not only the Daria episode that immediately precedes this one, “Fire!” and also “The Misery Chick,” which as we discuss is a crucial turning point in the development of Daria Morgandorfer. This week, Glen and Drew are guests on Talking Simpsons, discussing "Three Gays of the Condo" and why it's not great! If you need more of our voices in your life, have a listen here. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Lucy and Jim Bailey” (November 6, 1972) Basically, Lucille Ball did a solid for one gay performer, but in doing this, she also helped make gays a little less scary for America. Jim Bailey was a female impersonator who who had already made appearances on late night TV for this uncanny ability to turn himself into female celebs. Lucy, however, gave him a showcase on her popular prime time sitcom, showing her viewers that not only were drag queens not scary, but in fact they can be a lot of fun. Watch the episode of The Lucy Show where Lucy almost drowned on Tubi. And read the book that details both versions of the story on Archive.org. What the episode of the Desilu-produced game show You Don't Say. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

People use the term “the lost years” differently when speaking of Saturday Night Live, but this podcast is using it specifically from the time Lorne Michaels left the show after season five up until season eleven. Aside from Eddie Murphy's presence on the show, these are the sketches that are less remembered today because they weren't rerun on Comedy Central in the 2000s as much and they're largely absent from the cache of episodes preserved online today. And that's too bad, because this is when the show boasted some legends in the cast — Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Martin Short and Damon Wayans among them, as well as queer cast members Terry Sweeney, Denny Dillon and Danitra Vance. The sketches (and click here if you want to watch them): “SoHo Lesbians” (S6E10: Debbie Harry) “Little Richard Simmons” (S7E1: No host) “James Coburn Is a Homosexual” (S7E11: James Coburn) “Focus on Film: Making Love” (S7E12: Bruce Dern) “Penny Lane” (S10E11: Roy Scheider) “Pinklisting” (S11E1: Madonna) “Mr. Monopoly” (S11E12: Griffin Dunne) Monologue (S11E16: Catherine Oxenberg) “Lesbian Pick-Ups” (S11E18: Anjelica Huston) Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Evolution” (August 19, 1999) If you came of age in the late 90s or early 2000s, you live in a world informed by Sex and the City — whether you realize it or not. It's probably one of the most influential TV shows to air during our lifetimes, and so it's more than time that we look at one of its many LGBTQ-themed episodes. Joining us to discuss Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte is returning guest Gwynedd Stuart, who has big feelings about why this show matters. Listen to Gwynedd's previous episode about Soap. Most of Drew's background on how SATC ended up at HBO comes from this Vulture article. And here is the 1991 New York Times article about Woody Allen and Mia Farrow waving at each other from across Central Park. Listen to Drew discussing Bowser, King of the Koopa, on the Retronauts podcast. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

"Homes and Jojo" (May 1, 1989) Newhart is a show about white people who live in the snow, and while 70s-era Bob Newhart sitcom is the one pop culture remembers better, this is the longer-lived, more-Emmy-nominated of the two. What the 80s-era Bob New1hart sitcom has working in its favor are future Simpsons showrunner David Mirkin, who gives a host of wacky townspeople not unlike what you'd find in Springfield, and the duo of Julia Duffy and Peter Scolari, who male a perfect yuppie couple worthy of mockery. It's great. Here, learn about it. Listen to Smart Mouth, GEE”s sister show, and in particular check out the episode “Queer Food” with John Birdsall, because if you're listening to this podcast you're probably queer and probably also you eat food. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Blank Relay” (August 13, 2000) Honestly, we could have picked just about any episode of Strangers With Candy to focus on for this podcast about queer themes, but we ended up deciding on the one where we see Jerri Blank at her most girl hungry. It's light on Mr. Noblet and Mr. Jellineck, but we can always circle back to this one in another two hundred episodes, right? Watch the Exit 57 “Down in the Basement” sketch, which does not translate especially well to an audio-only format. Watch The Trip Back, the 1970 PSA featuring Florrie Fisher, the real-life inspiration for Jerri Blank. Listen to the two-part Rasputin episode of the Unexplained podcast. And we dropped a whole hell of a lot of Sam Pancake Presents the Monday Afternoon Movie episodes. Here are all of them: Angel Dusted with Gedde Watanabe (the one where Helen Hunt doesn't jump through a window) Desperate Lives with Arden Myrin (the one where she *does* jump through a window) It Happened One Christmas with Sarah Thyre The Cat Creature with Becky Thyre And finally Crowhaven Farm and A Vacation in Hell, both with Rose Abdoo

“Joey's First Crush” (January 28, 1987) Few other shows changed as much as Gimme a Break, which began as a fish-out-of-water sitcom that had Nell Carter playing mom to three white girls in California but ended up with Nell and her best friend, Telma Hopkins' Addy, co-parenting two white boys in New York. Minus the kids, it's basically a female-female twist on Perfect Strangers, only they don't get steady boyfriends. Perhaps in an effort to make the show seem less gay, they tossed in a happily married character… who was played by newcomer Rosie O'Donnell. This episode, which is the second of Gimme a Break's outings to feature actual gay characters, showcases a lot of how this show ended up pretty damn gay. … Now that I think about it, maybe the only sitcom that changed as much over its run was Ellen — and that's pretty notable, right? Listen to our previous Gimme a Break episodes. Learn all about Betty and Barney Hill in the Monday Afternoon Movie episode about 1975's The UFO Incident. Watch: Andy Gibb dueting with Nell Carter on Gimme a Break Gimme a Break's famous Motown medley Rosie O'Donnell on Star Search

“Lisa the Drama Queen” (January 25, 2009) So here's an interesting one. In its twentieth season, The Simpson did an episode inspired by Heavenly Creatures, the 1994 Peter Jackson movie that has Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey playing schoolgirls who flee into a fantasy world and also each other. More than a decade later, this story would play out again, only with Lisa Simpson and a new character voiced by Emily Blunt, and that might seem like a strange combo, especially because the Simpson version nixes the sex and violence of the original, but it nonetheless works. Special thanks to the writer of this episode, Brian Kelley, for sharing his memories of how this episode came to be. For a limited time, you can still screen Heavenly Creatures via the GEE Patreon, but that window is closing. Info here. Listen to Drew on the In Retrospect podcast's episodes about the “lesbian/Lebanese” joke (part one & part two) Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Guess Who's Coming to Dinner” (November 29, 2011)   Yes, Tim Allen's follow-up to Home Improvement got branded as the most conservative sitcom on network TV, but is that fair? We're honestly not sure, because the ninth episode of Last Man Standing's first season features a gay couple. We're mostly good with how this plays out, but we also think this show changed in its second season. We're also skimming over the second-season episode “Bullying,” which ended up arguing that it's okay to say “gay.” Key takeaway: Tim Allen may be less conservative than Kelsey Grammer.   Listen to our Home Improvement episode.   Remember a short-lived sitcom from Fox's early days? Tell us about it (there's a thread on Patreon that's open to even non-members), and we may cover it for our upcoming bonus miniseries, The Fox Files!   Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Sorority House” (February 8, 1961) A few times on this podcast, we've bent over backwards to find a gay interpretation of a sitcom that never did anything gay, but this is not one of those. Mister Ed was developed by Arthur Lubin, a closeted gay director who was married to a woman but eventually ended up cohabitating with a male companion. It's interesting, then, that he'd be into making a TV show out of a story about Wilbur Post, who's married to a woman and who's outwardly a traditional guy even if his most significant relationship is with a male — a horse, but a male nonetheless — that he has to keep secret. Primitive though it might be, Mister Ed is actually the blueprint for more traditional magic sitcoms like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. You can watch this episode of Mister Ed for free on archive.org. Want to hear your words on an upcoming GEE? We're covering the Simpsons episode “Lisa the Drama Queen” and therefore we're offering patrons a chance to watch the movie that inspired it: 1994's Heavenly Creatures, which is not easy to watch online nowadays. Details at the GEE Patreon. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.

“Fathers and Sons” (May 3, 2003) And we're back! Our first regular episode of the new year returns to the first-ever show we discussed: Frasier. It's the episode where David Ogden Stiers plays an old colleague of Frasier's late mother who acts more like Frasier and Niles than Martin does. This is the final time the series put a spotlight on the series innate queerness, and in selecting Stiers, it also tacitly endorses the notion that his M*A*S*H character helped inspire Frasier Crane. Listen to Unsafe Spaces, Josh Hallmark's new true crime podcast about serial murders in Tampa's gay community — and while you're at it, also give a listen to his other podcast, True Crime Bullshit, about serial killer Israel Keyes. Want to hear your words on an upcoming GEE? We're covering the Simpsons episode “Lisa the Drama Queen” and therefore we're offering patrons a chance to watch the movie that inspired it: 1994's Heavenly Creatures, which is not easy to watch online nowadays. Details at the GEE Patreon. Listen to our previous Frasier episodes. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan.  

WHOOPS! That's the trouble wit posting two episodes the same day: I accidentaly posted the 2024 audio on here instead of the 2023 audio. Now fixed!   “Coldhearted Uranus: Makoto in Danger” (May 14, 1994) It's a new year, and we're giving you a new episode of Sailor Moon — now with 200 percent more lesbian content! This third-season episode not only showcases Haruka/Sailor Uranus and Michiru/Sailor Neptune, but also uses them as a way to explore how Makoto/Sailor Jupiter is the most queer-coded of the core five Sailor Guardians. What's most notable about this episode, however, is the fact that the Viz dub of it actually re-writes the original Japanese dialogue to seem less homophobic than the original version was. Read Drew's Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games post if you want to know how the connection to Rose of Versailles. And check out the lengthy Twitter thread posted in response to the first Sailor Moon episode, about why it wasn't surprising to have a same-sex couple in the first season of the show. Watch the clip comparing Molly's original DiC accent to Mia Farrow's. And here's the Reddit thread looking into how the Viz dub played down the homophobia of the original version of this episode. Listen to the first Sailor Moon episode, about Zoisite, on the main feed *or* if you're fancy listen to the new Sailor Moon episode, about Fisheye, on the Patreon feed.

“Coldhearted Uranus: Makoto in Danger” (May 14, 1994) It's a new year, and we're giving you a new episode of Sailor Moon — now with 200 percent more lesbian content! This third-season episode not only showcases Haruka/Sailor Uranus and Michiru/Sailor Neptune, but also uses them as a way to explore how Makoto/Sailor Jupiter is the most queer-coded of the core five Sailor Guardians. What's most notable about this episode, however, is the fact that the Viz dub of it actually re-writes the original Japanese dialogue to seem less homophobic than the original version was. Read Drew's Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games post if you want to know how the connection to Rose of Versailles. And check out the lengthy Twitter thread posted in response to the first Sailor Moon episode, about why it wasn't surprising to have a same-sex couple in the first season of the show. Watch the clip comparing Molly's original DiC accent to Mia Farrow's. And here's the Reddit thread looking into how the Viz dub played down the homophobia of the original version of this episode. Listen to the first Sailor Moon episode, about Zoisite, on the main feed *or* if you're fancy listen to the new Sailor Moon episode, about Fisheye, on the Patreon feed.