Shibden After Dark - A Gentleman Jack Podcast

We're queer, we're still here, we're just ready to be done with this year. Our break lasted a little longer than we planned, but nothing is going according to plan in 2020. Join us as we catch up on the good stuff, the bad stuff, the really bad stuff, and - as usual - the gay stuff. Stay safe out there, SAfD family!!

Marsha P. Johnson, Stormé DeLarverie. Sylvia Rivera. Just a few of the queer trailblazers that should be in every students' history books. This week as we weave through the lives of these incredible people and their long-lasting legacies, it's no surprise that we start off heartbroken and end up angry. JK Rowling ends up in the crossfire. Sorry not sorry, no TERFS allowed. Shibden After Dark also celebrates our one year anniversary!

It didn't feel right to not pause this week and seek out some media that intentionally featured black queer stories, and we couldn't help but land on a movie that broke so much ground: Moonlight. At this juncture in our history, it feels so important to us to elevate voices in black media, so join us as we talk about this movie that changed so much in a whitewashed Hollywood.

The Four-Faced Liar was supposed to be our focus this week, but it takes a back burner as we discuss the things we’re all experiencing this week. It may be Pride month, but it's time to take Pride in a different movement: that of our black brothers and sisters. We still manage to squeeze in some film chat, but our hearts and minds this week are with all those fighting to make black voices heard. Black Lives Matter.

We're back this week discussing Loving Annabelle in all its chain-smoking, prayer bead-wearing, hair-chopsticked glory. There's just one slight problem. Okay, one felony-sized problem. Join us as we break down boarding school, beach houses, boudoir photos, and touching your teacher's collarbones.

We're back mid-Quarantine to discuss the first movie in a long time that made us feel whole: The Half of It. Letters, love triangles, long underwear - we ate it all up like taco sausage. We had to suspend our disbelief just a bit but it was totally worth it to spend a few hours in Squahamish with Ellie Chu's crew.

We have a love/hate relationship with Carol. A high budget movie about lesbians with gorgeous actresses? Sign us up! A depressing story about the realities of the queer struggle? Ouch. Let’s navigate the struggles of Carol and Therese’s relationship, and by extension, the struggle a lot of us go through.

Do you Feel Good this week? Quarantine is still wreaking its havoc on everyone, but we take a break to find an oasis of feelings in Mae Martin's new Netflix show: Feel Good. Dating is hard, and finding true love can be even more difficult when you haven't really found yourself yet. Sometimes, though, you just need someone who will hold your hand.

This week we're going back to our roots with the women who started it all - Jill, Helena, Sally, & Suranne. We dissect some of the information we learned and fawn over some of the stories we heard at ALBW Live, and we take every opportunity to circle back to some of our own predictions now that Christmas 1834 is confirmed. We called it! Have we mentioned we called it?!

Throw caution to the wind and see what it's like to Kiss Jessica Stein this week as we explore a movie that's both heartwarming and problematic by turns. The most important lesson we learn here is that mom always knows what's going on, whether she really wants to know or not. As Jessica explores a different side of herself, we discuss what it's like to go on that journey ourselves and how to figure out what you want (what you really, really want) - spoiler alert: it isn't always just one perfect shade of lipstick.

We interrupt the podcast to bring you this breaking news. Much like everyone else on the planet, our lives have been materially interrupted and immeasurably impacted by the virus-which-shall-not-be-named. So whatever we had planned, we scrapped and went back to our roots: The media that continues to shape (save?) our lives and why movies, series, and games are good for our mental health. We will be back to regularly scheduled programming . . . whenever we can be.

If ever there were a time to curl up with a good old fashioned romantic comedy, surely now is the time. Saving Face is not only the nostalgic, feel-good flick we need these days, it's also a smart and cute AF film that brings up complicated issues about family relationships, expectations, and getting over those relationship humps. Bonus points for being totally, adorably gay.

What happens when you mix a notoriously mind-bending show with a lesbian VR plot twist, add in one part Gugu Mbatha-Raw and one part Mackenzie Davis, then a splash of 80's music and a dash of shoulder pads? IT'S A RECIPE FOR HEAVEN ON EARTH. This week we're fangirling over the Black Mirror episode, "San Junipero," so grab your Jack and Cokes, leave your side pieces at the Quagmire, and meet us at Tucker's.

The Favourite brings us Rachel Weisz in the hottest shooting outfit we've ever seen, and we're into it. This movie is showy, ridiculous, and out there, but it also brings us heavy themes of manipulation and using love to get ahead. What kind of manipulator are you?

The '90s were tough for everyone, only made tougher if your secret high school same-sex love affair was discovered and ended up with you getting sent to conversion camp. We've never really shied away from discussing our gay pain, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post brings up a lot for both of us. Let's get gritty with our stories and talk about the real fears associated with extremist religion, what it's like to hide as a gay person, to be betrayed by your lover, and of course...icebergs.

This week we're serving up Fried Green Tomatoes, and as you may have guessed, we count this film among our all-time faves. We know we're not the only ones out there with a longstanding soft spot in our hearts for Idgie and Ruth; we're not the only ones who wish we could sit with Ninny and listen to her stories; not the only ones who'd watch Evelyn Couch destroy that car in the parking lot while shouting "Towanda" over and over. So grab your plate of BBQ, your honey, your plastic wrap dress - whatever! - and join us as we break down our favorite tale of two friendships. Well, one friendship and one . . . nevermind, just join us!

How hot is Kate Mara? It turns out that she's extra hot when she's dancing to Mercy and involved in a complicated, modern-day Romeo and Juliet romance with Ellen Page. This week we're diving into My Days of Mercy, a gorgeous and complicated love story that almost dishes more than we can take, but not quite.

We're dishing 'Disobedience' this week and discussing why this film packs a gut punch almost as hard as Sally Wainwright. We'll chat about the chemistry between the two Rachels, the weirdness of having former friends feel like strangers. And the spit-sex, well, because it's us.

This week we're veering back into our list of favorite lesbian/queer films and television series with a discussion of the 2006 romcom (aka romantic comedy) "Imagine Me and You." This movie was the first hopeful film either of us saw way back when we were babygays, so it'll always have a special place in our hearts. Plus it gifted us with Lena Heady, long before her turn as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones. The lily means: I dare you to watch this movie and not love it.

We're starting the new year with the topic that's on everyone's minds - SEX! Whether you're TeamAnn or TeamMariana, we can all agree that Gentleman Jack has caused a lot of thirst. So this week we jump back in and explore what representations of lesbian sex these days are getting right and wrong, what positions lead to the least amount of injuries, and what it is about Anne Lister that's igniting a spark in so many of our bedrooms.

We’re wrapping up the year and closing out the decade with a look back at where we were then, how far we’ve come now, and what’s on the horizon. We recap our favorite non-GJ tv shows, films, and pop culture moments from the last ten years, and we even touch on our secret ambitions, the lessons we wished we’d learned earlier, and what we love about fanfic. So join us as we enter a new year and a new decade . . . . because yes, we’re still talking.

In part deux of our exploration of representation, we get to explore the first episode of The L Word: Generation Q as well as Work In Progress and their contrast to Gentleman Jack. We're gonna wrap up what this kind of representation means to us (and what it could've done for us), where we think it's going to take us, and why it's so important for kids these days to see themselves on screen.

In advance of The L Word: Generation Q premiere tonight, we're breaking down what it is exactly about Gentleman Jack that makes it stand out to us in terms of queer representation - and what in turn we hope to see from new shows now that the bar has been set so high. But since it's us, we couldn't do it all in one sitting. So hey ho, we'll leave you on a cliffhanger. And by "cliff" we mean "hilltop" obviously.

This week we take our time machine back to 2004 - to a time when same-sex couples could only pick up a marriage license in two states, when it took 8 hours to torrent a one-hour episode of television, and when Mary and Leanne were trying to navigate life as two “straight” teenagers. 2004 also birthed the Showtime series “The L Word” - and whether you love to hate it or hate to love it, it’s undeniably one of the grand junctions on our roadmap toward the best queer representation in media (GJ, obvs.). Join us for laughing, living, loving, breathing, crying, kissing, fighting, cheating(?), whining(?), dying(?), losing(?), shopping(?), singing(?), drinking(?) sleeping(?) . . . seriously though, no one knows all the words . . .

This week the podcast goes AMA (ask me anything) style as we answer questions posed by our listeners. We tackle all the hard hitting issues such as: What kinds of cars would the Ann(e)s be driving these days? Does everyone else imagine Rachel Weisz when they think of Tib? What are we most looking forward to about Halifax? And the question on everyone’s mind: what do your beloved co-hosts order at Chipotle? Only one way to find out.

We managed to get through our top five scenes of the series, but not without skirting the rules here and there. After a week off, welcome to episode 21: your regularly scheduled gay screaming about kissing, hands, and Gentleman Jack.

Grab your lesbian grief shawls and a handkerchief because this week's episode focuses on Ann Walker, and it ain't all pocketholes and proposals. The other half of our gay great-great-great grandma duo had a difficult life (to put it mildly), but the more we learn about Little Ann, the more evident her strength and fearlessness become. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE BUILD HER A GIANT AND PERMANENT COMMEMORATIVE SCULPTURE ALREADY?!?!?!

Welp, some weeks you just pull whatever you can together. And by "whatever" we mean "whatever whatever."

This week we take a stroll down memory lane to discuss Anne's exes, starting at the very beginning: Eliza Raine. From the inception of Anne's crypt-hand to all her adventures in tuft-hunting and knee sitting, meet the infamous women who made it into Anne's journals. And of course, there's a smattering of Seven Minutes in Heaven with Mariana. Bonus points if you know how many women named Ann/Anne are on this list.

We've got a little baby mini-episode for you this week, and our wives are telling all our secrets, Gentleman Jack related and not. What's Leanne's favorite movie? Mary's favorite video game? What moment did we know Gentleman Jack would be a game changer in our lives? In this episode, the wives tell all, and you get to hear it.

This week we're taking a deep dive into fandom with a special guest who is the lesbian fandom mom we've always wanted. What does fandom mean to all of us, and how has Gentleman Jack impacted us and the way we interact with fandom? PLUS: a surprise reveal we've been waiting to tell you all for weeks.

We're visiting our gay heritage and going back to what made us the gays we are today: a couple of movies. But I'm a Cheerleader and D.E.B.S. shaped us, and now we're going to reflect and gush. These movies laid the groundwork for series like Gentleman Jack, and it's time to pay them some homage. Be sure to do your homework before listening.

We're going back to where it all started: Tumblr. Today we tackle our anons and non-anons in an attempt to answer all those burning Gentleman Jack questions that have been lingering in our inboxes. What's up with that hole in the sleeve of Anne's shift? When do the Ann(e)s get naked together for the first time? Tune in for our thoughts on these burning questions and many, many more.

How do we choose between Ship Captain Anne, Field Fantasy Anne, Studious Anne, and orange-flavored sticky kisses? It's a tough decision, but we soldier through in an effort to bring you the best analysis of all those missing scenes from the scripts and our hot takes of BBC's extra scenes. Get ready for this analysis-palooza.

We're gonna do something radical this week: we're going to get to know each other better. What is our favorite line from Gentleman Jack? What is like to be gay on the day to day? Our questions range from silly to serious, Gentleman Jack to real life. Tune in and join us as we share a bit of ourselves with you.

Amanda Walgrove joins us this week and dishes on Gentleman Jack, love, tumblr, and how she gets those swiss cake rolls. Another song by Good Morning Hellen is getting dropped, and we're also gonna dip our toes into the first script. Come on in with us, the water's fine.

Season Two is only a year away, right? Two, max. Totally. So we're going to take the information we have and formulate a prediction about what we'll see for season two (and what we want to see) along with a couple of other things. You can just call us the lesbian Nostradamus. Find out how we met, hear the poem "If You Build a Lesbian a Chaumiere" (OK, that's not quite it, but it's close), and get some insight into next week's special guest... We maybe forgot to talk more about the coal.

In a feat that can only be described as legendary, this week we've managed to outdo ourselves by talking for almost exactly two hours, NOT just about one hour of television, but about ONE HALF OF ONE HOUR of television. But when that half hour includes the life-altering and awe-inspiring Hilltop Scene, those two hours don't even come close to doing it justice. Join us as we continue to try to wrap our little gay heads around the most powerful episode of TV we've ever seen. And don't worry, there's plenty of gushing, lusting, and obviously, [gay screaming].

We made it to Episode 8, and we almost made it halfway through the season finale before we turned back into the blubbering idiots that we actually are. Little Ann finally taking a stand?! Big Anne in her military jacket with a low pony and her boots on the bed?! What did you expect?! There's gay stomping in a dress, angry jump-dancing, flirty sips of red wine, and Big Anne's thermometer. Also an original song and MERCH at long last.

We're all over here draped in shawls and texting exes to cope with this episode. We get it, characters have to love themselves to be able to love one another, but we just want more Anne and Ann. If they can't text, at least they can use the Mirror of Erised to mind-meld through the pain.

The angst train has pulled into the station and both Ann(e)s have climbed on board. In episode 6, we see all the quintessential elements of a lesbian relationship: terribly-timed proposals, letters to exes, crying during sex, plaid shawls, and of course, spooning (and then trying to pretend to your houseguests that you weren't totally just spooning).

We all know that person who gets panicked at the mere mention of the gays - in episode five, Harriet Parkhill takes up the mantle and shifts the way Little Ann sees the world, traumatizing not only her but us in the process. Let the downward spiral begin.

This is two hours of angst, comedy, storytelling, and reliving episode 4 of Gentleman Jack: our first true taste of Gay Pain as we hit the halfway point of the season. In this episode, Anne gets an edible arrangement instead of an answer to her proposal, BUT there are also thighs. You win some, you lose some.

We go hard in the paint on episode 3 about everything from how collarbones indicate consent to all the feelings of gay pain that episode 3 dug up for both of us. It's gonna be a long one, but a good one, so grab your favorite snack and join us as we dig in to the stuff that matters like Anne Lister's low pony.

During episode 2 we're going to evaluate pocket size Sophie Rundle, Anne Lister's first cross about Ann Walker, taking your lesbian flirting to the next level, and how subtitles are totally spoilers. Join us for these titillating facts and many more.

During our first chat we revisit episode 1 of Gentleman Jack, we discuss what it's like to try and wife straight ladies, the infamous finger wiping scene, finding true (gay) love, and so much more.

Welcome to Shibden After Dark, a podcast about Gentleman Jack! Every week we're going to discuss an episode, our thoughts for the future, lesbian culture, and thermometers. Join us for jokes and amateur philosophy as we dig into this gem of a show.