Recently I had some friends over for a whole day.
One really, long day. In order to entertain them (and to keep them from hearing the screaming in the basement) I played a series of TV episodes.
Marathon style.
And every episode was as gay as could be.
I am not sure why we decided to watch all gay-themed TV shows, but we did.
The three friends I had over were all straight. Well, I was sure two of them were actually straight... and I am not totally sure any of them were actually my friends.
Before we get started with the actual shows, let me explain the title of this article. I had noticed that two different TV show episodes had the phrase "Is That You" in the title. I assumed this was a reference to some earlier piece of pop culture... but it was one I was not familiar with.
A Google search confirmed that there was a film made in the 1970's called
Norman... is that You?.
The film starred Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey and told the story of a shocked mother and father who find out they have a gay child.
It's not on DVD and I have never seen it.
So, really, it's a reference that I bet none of you got.
Here is what we watched:
1. Sanford and Son: This episode is titled
Lamont... is that you? and since
Sanford and Son also starred Redd Foxx this episode chose to parody the aforementioned gay themed film.
Look! I used the word aforementioned! Wow, my word of the day calendar is sure suprecious. I feel so fantarisical! I should go eat some huskiberry pie.
The plot if the episode is pretty simple: Rollo and Lamont accidentally enter a gay bar, Bubba sees them and tells Fred. So, Fred and Bubba go to the gay bar to spy on Lamont. Rollo sees Fred and Bubba and the show goes in a big gay circle for another 20 minutes.
2. Cheers: This episode was actually titled "Norman... is that you?" because it involves Norm. The plot of the episode is that Norm gets drunk and makes gay love to Cliff in the pool room. Carla secretly videotapes it and plays the tape for the whole bar.
Just kidding. Actually the plot involves Norm becoming an interior decorator for some of Frasier's friends. For some reason Frasier's pals only hire gay decorators so Norm pretends to be "festive" for them and tries to get Sam to play his lover.
3. Larry Sanders: This is one of my favorites. David Duchovny plays himself, but he is in love with Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling.) The only way this could have been funnier is if it was David Blaine and Gary Coleman. And if they projected the show on a banana peel and some British guy slipped on the banana peel and fell on a whoopee cushion. That would be funnier.
4. Three's Company: Here is the episode where Mr. Roper gets drunk and ends up in bed with Jack. Then Mr. Roper starts to wonder if he is gay. Limp wrist-ed laughs galore.
5. King of Queens: Spence just got a TiVo. He set it to tape his favorite shows and now it recommends other shows to Spence all of which are gay themed. This would have been funnier if Spence had a Replay TV but then when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2003 he was left with the difficult choice of either continuing to pay the subscription fee, knowing that new hardware would be impossible to obtain or to switch to another brand that didn't support the controversial "commercial skipping" feature that Replay TV had. Then Spence could do a funny dance.
By the way, this was only the subplot of the episode. I don't remember the main plot of the show but I do remember Kevin James wearing a Mets jersey. Oh that Kevin James. You never know what he'll wear next.
6. The Simpsons: The title of this episode was
Homer-phobia. Get it? Whooo hooo! Man, that is so fantastic wordplay.
In the show Bart befriends some dude played by John Waters. Homer worries that John Waters would either make him gay... or make him make highly unprofitable movies.
7. Mr. Belvedere: Remember this show? I recently watched the entire series, and yes, they had a gay episode.
In it Heather dates a guy who isn't interested in her sexually. So she asks him if he's "gay or something." Well, it turns out to just be "or something" but for the next 20 minutes he worries about his sexuality until Belvedere lays down some Union Jack style wisdom.
8. Andy Richter Controls The Universe: You may not have seen this show, but it was a great show that was on Fox a few years back. The gay episode is pretty much the same story as the
Three's Company episode. After getting drunk Andy and a co-worker wind up in the same bed.
9. Alice: The Mel's Diner show. Kiss my grits and all that stuff. Mel has a pal who (unbeknown -word of the day calendar rocks!- to him, is gay.) Alice first agrees to let her young son hang out with him until she finds out he is gay. The gay guy (sorry, I don't recall his name) tries to get Alice to reconsider by posing the dumbest analogy in sitcom history:
"If I was straight you would leave me alone with your 12 year old daughter wouldn't you?"
The creepiest gay character of the day, this dude then takes Alice's kid fishing and then does something with him and tells him not to tell his mom.
He does tell her (after much coaxing - I better slow down with this calandar... I am already up to May.) Anyway the gay guy gave him a beer. Alice is so relived that it was a beer rather than a juicy sausage that she hugs the kid and offers him another beer.
So the moral of the story is: Don't let your kids hang out with gays. Not that they will do anything gay with them, but they will turn 'em into alcoholics.
10. My Name is Earl: Earl is perhaps the straightest show to ever go gay on it's first episode. In the pilot, our mustachioed hero has to help out a gay guy who a young Earl used to torment.
This episode includes a generous sampling of Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock. I may use this when I do my Rob Base TV Sitcom marathon.
11. The Jeffersons: George's old army buddy had a sex change. The greatest sex change of all time. Seriously. Usually sex change recipients look like John Goodman in a wig at worst or RuPaul at best.
But for
The Jeffersons they hired a beautiful female actress to play George's old pal. Hilarity ensues.
12. Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law: This is also the first episode of the series, but this show isn't as straight as
My Name Is Earl so I stand by my earlier quote: "Earl is perhaps the straightest show to ever go gay on it's first episode."
I am so glad I threw a perhaps in there.
In this episode of the Adult Swim staple, Harvey is involved in a custody case involving
Johnny Quest. Yup, Cartoon Network made Johnny's dad gay. Way to go. I am pretty sure Bill Hanna and Joesph Barbara are spinning in their graves. That is if they are both dead.
13. WKRP in Cincinnati: Les Nesman is accused of being gay so he climbs out on a ledge and prepares to leap to his death. Meanwhile, Johnny Fever tells the guy who looks like Larry (from Three's Company) that the blonde chick (the one from that Burt Reynolds race film) is actually a dude. Boy, this whole thing would be better if I just spend five minutes on IMDB.
14. Cheers: Another gay
Cheers! This one features a gay friend of Sam's authoring a book about being a gay catcher. A BASEBALL CATCHER.
Anyway, the boys are all a bit anti-gay. The show ends with Norm getting kissed by two gay men. This episode won a GLAAD award.
That was it. Several hours of gay themed sitcoms. Perhaps we were more enlightened. Maybe not.
But, it was a gay old time.
