As a situation comedy works to dispel any or all of the above social myths, it must also keep its audience entertained. Sitcom writers are continually faced with the challenge of creating comical situations around the most serious subjects. In terms of homosexuality, the task is a difficult one because, as in both “Judging Books” and “The Gay Bar,” the writers utilize the very same social myths they’re trying to expose as false as the source of their humor. Whether a character’s views on homosexuality are ignorant (like Archie’s) or illogical (like Arthur’s), the danger lies in perpetuating the very same misconceptions simply by acknowledging them. In other words, is it possible for sitcoms to have it both ways — be gay friendly but at the same time deliver laughs at the expense of a homosexual character?
The issue is complicated further by the tradition in American film and television of representing gay men as comical stereotypes. As Vito Russo demonstrates in
The Celluloid Closet,
one faction of gay male stereotyping involved the depiction of homosexuals and transgender characters as overtly effeminate men. Lesbians weren’t treated in the same manner because they weren’t perceived as a threat to the heterosexual male audience. Knowing their audience is familiar with the sissy character, TV comedy writers have to choose between creating gay male characters with stereotypical characteristics or going against type (like Archie’s friend Steve).
With the increased visibility of gay men and lesbians in the post-Stonewall era, TV comedy writers have addressed the social myths surrounding homosexuality by concentrating on gay identity. Gay-themed episodes, some with recurring or regular gay and lesbian characters, challenged these preconceived ideas about homosexuality by putting a comical spin on the questions “Who is gay?” and “Who isn’t gay?” The answers are intended to surprise the audience. Consequently, the issue of identity plays a central role in the majority of gay-themed sitcom plots, which typically involve someone coming out of the closet (“the coming out episode”), someone being mistaken as gay or straight (“the mistaken identity episode”), or a heterosexual pretending to be gay for fun or profit (“the pretend episode”).
The difference between “tolerance” and “acceptance” is particularly evident in 1970s sitcoms, when homosexuality was still relatively uncharted territory for television and the issue of gay rights was emerging as a national political movement. When challenging Archie’s anti-gay slurs, the closest his liberal son-in-law Mike comes to making a gay-positive statement is pointing out how in countries such as England homosexuality is legal. Yet, Mike never comes “straight” out and states there’s nothing wrong with being gay. When he “outs” Archie’s friend Steve, he even resorts to using the same type of anti-gay slurs as Archie by suggesting Steve could “prance down the street...”
Two decades and many gay-themed episodes later, sitcoms continue to rehash these same plots and characters. Homophobia certainly still exists, yet television sitcom characters also seem more aware of it. If anything, the social and political changes since the early 1970s have increased the visibility of gay men and lesbians in not only American society, but on American television. In a memorable episode of
Seinfeld
entitled “The Outing,” Jerry Seinfeld and his best friend George Constanza (Jason Alexander) are mistakenly outed as a gay couple by Sharon (Paula Marshall), a student reporter for a New York University newspaper. Throughout the episode, Jerry’s forced to explain to his friends and family that he’s not gay. George does the same, but then cagily decides to convince his current girlfriend, Allison (Kari Coleman), that he and Jerry are lovers as an excuse to break up with her.
The episode, in a way, becomes a wry, self-reflexive commentary on television’s uncertain treatment of homosexuality. Yet, the same question raised by the 1970s sitcoms remains — even with the disclaimer, is it okay to derive humor by having characters mistaken for, or pretending to be, gay? The majority of sitcoms, as we see, do try to have it both ways. Through gay plots and gay characters — real, mistaken, and only pretending — homosexuality is treated comically, yet, at the same time, the audience is constantly being assured “there’s nothing
wrong
with it.”
PLOTLINE #1: THE “COMING OUT” EPISODE
The most common gay-themed sitcom plot is the “coming out” episode, typically concerning a series regular who learns someone in his or her life — best friend, family member, current or ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, co-worker, or roommate — is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Although hard to accept at first, the character eventually offers his/her support.
The primary purpose of the coming out episode is to educate the audience, to let them know there’s nothing
wrong
with it. Once the message is delivered, the gay character, like Archie’s good friend Steve, typically disappears and, in most cases, is never seen, heard, or mentioned again.
There’s always an element of surprise in a coming out episode. The discovery that your older brother or 55-year-old father is gay, as opposed to your teenage son, has greater comic potential because it’s more unexpected. The individual who comes out is usually the least likely. The men are overtly masculine (i.e., the ex-football player), the women are intensely feminine, and neither displays any stereotypical traits. As for the character who is the recipient of the gay person’s “good news,” he or she is typically the most intolerant, closed-minded, and unprepared to handle the news, which, of course, makes the situation all the more comical.
On the premiere episode of
Alice
(“Alice Gets a Pass”), waitress Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin) falls for Mel’s (Vic Tayback) friend, a gay ex-pro football player, Jack, played by former UCLA basketball star Denny Miller. Once Jack comes out to Alice, she must decide whether to allow her son Tommy (Phillip McKeon) to go fishing with him. Jack is offended. “If I wasn’t gay, would you trust me with your daughter?” he asks. “Don’t label me...I respect other people’s rights to live their way. I want other people to respect my right to live my way.”
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Alice realizes her fears are unfounded and Tommy goes on the trip.
In its review of the episode,
Variety
noted how the “over-reaction of the ‘straights’ in the story were carefully limned as silly and short-sighted,” yet “the script treated its gay guest...as an exotic object — something rare and different than human.”
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An important aspect of the script
Variety
overlooked is how instead of a third character (i.e., a well-informed, liberal-minded, non-gay person) educating Alice, writer Martin Donovan allows Jack to confront her directly. As we shall see, this is not the usual protocol.
Ex-pro football players Steve and Jack aren’t the only professional athletes to emerge out of the sitcom closet. On
Cheers
(“Boys in the Bar”), ex-Red Sox pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson) allows his former teammate and drinking buddy Tom Kindeson (Alan Autry) to hold a press conference in the bar to promote his new autobiography,
Catcher’s Mask.
Sam doesn’t take the time to read Tom’s book (or, for that matter, any book), so he has no idea Tom has come out. Upon hearing the news, Sam has difficulty accepting it. “Guys should be guys!” he tells Diane (Shelly Long), who, fulfilling the role of the progressive straight friend, talks some sense into the bartender.
Like Alice, Sam is then faced with a second dilemma. His regular customers, including Cliff (John Ratzenberger) and Norm (George Wendt), threaten to boycott the bar because they believe the publicity from Tom’s book is attracting a gay clientele. When Diane confirms there are, in fact, gay men in the bar, the regulars ask Sam to kick them out. At the last second, Sam realizes it’s wrong and offers the table of attractive, well-dressed guys a round of drinks. The regulars go into action and trick everyone in the bar into believing it’s closing time. Once they’re gone, Diane informs them those guys weren’t gay (one even hit on her). The gay men are two regulars who’ve been there the entire time. The men both reveal themselves by giving Norm a kiss on the cheek. Once again, the message is clear: don’t judge a book by its cover, whether you read it or not.
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On an episode of
Coach
(“A Real Guy’s Guy”), Minnesota State University’s football coach Hayden Fox (Craig T. Nelson) discovers one of his players, Terry Wilcox (Rob Youngblood), is gay. Hayden finds out when he fixes Terry up with his daughter Kelly (Clare Carey), who picks up a definite “gay vibe” from him. When it becomes clear Hayden can’t deal with having a gay player, Terry quits the team.
The episode ends in a hilarious coach-to-player talk. What Hayden doesn’t know is they’re sitting in a gay bar. So while he’s explaining to Terry his discomfort with homosexuality, the male patrons (including two of his former players), unbeknownst to him, are slow dancing behind them. Compared to other episodes, the ending is more realistic because Hayden doesn’t undergo some radical eleventh-hour transformation. He simply acknowledges his hang-ups and vows to deal with them.
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While some characters, like Alice and Hayden, are forced to confront the issue when someone currently in their lives comes out, most coming out episodes portray a reunion between a series regular and someone from his/her past. The time and distance between the two characters makes it possible for one character to have no idea the other now plays on the other team. No one is prepared for the news, particularly when your friend, like Mel’s pal Jack and Sam’s buddy Tom, has a reputation as a ladies man.
On
The Love Boat
(“Frat Brothers Forever”), another former stud is reunited with his fraternity brother, the ship’s doctor (Bernie Kopell). Doc is happy to see his old college chum Buzz (Roy Thinnes), and introduces him to the ship’s crew as “the second biggest ladies man on campus.” What Doc doesn’t know is Buzz’s traveling companion Jim (Michael McGrady) isn’t his cousin, but his lover. When Buzz admits the truth, Doc seems completely accepting: “Of course I understand. You found yourself and you’re happy.” However, as their conversation continues, it seems Doc is not completely content:
BUZZ: Doesn’t it make any difference to our friendship?
DOC: Not in the slightest.
BUZZ: Really?
DOC: What am I saying? It does make a difference. But we all have to do what’s right for us. So long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Even though it might make a difference to some people.
BUZZ: How much of a difference does it make to you?
DOC: Well, it changes some things. But most important, we’re still friends.
BUZZ: Well, that’s what’s important to me. Frat brothers forever, huh?
DOC: Frat brothers forever.
[They exchange their secret fraternity handshake.]
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Why
it makes a difference, and what exactly it
does
change are questions that go unanswered. Doc assures Buzz that despite their differences, they will remain friends. Their bond as fraternity brothers serves as a context, albeit a safe one, to continue their friendship. Doc never actually says he disapproves (and it’s never exactly clear if he does). There is, however, a slight hint of discomfort not entirely out-of-character for a square like Doc.
Doc is at least more understanding than most straight male characters when a close friend comes out. In
Hearts Afire
(“Birth of a Donation”), everyone keeps telling Billy Bob (Billy Bob Thornton) his long-time friend Jeff Hastings (Charles Frank) is gay, but he won’t believe it. Billy is uncomfortable with the subject, so when he finally asks Jeff the big question, he doesn’t like the answer and gets angry. When Jeff leaves, Billy admits to his friends he acted like an idiot. In the show’s final tag, he phones Jeff and fumbles through an apology by making a peace offering — a cappuccino machine — and then admits he himself “doesn’t go in much for those sissy drinks.”
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Another reunion occurs on the short-lived series
The Fanelli Boys.
In “Pursued,” Dominic Fanelli (Joe Pantoliano) is looking forward to seeing his childhood friend, Tommy Esposito (Chazz Palminteri). At first, Dominic is jealous when Tommy, who’s a real heartbreaker with the ladies, chooses to spend more time with his other friends than with him. That is, until Tommy drops the pink bombshell. When Dominic’s younger brother, Frankie (Chris Meloni), decides to go away for the weekend with Tommy, Dominic panics and heads up to the cabin. Frankie talks some sense into Dominic, who then has the tables turned on him when Tommy misinterprets his hero-worshipping as something more than friendship and forces him to sleep on the other side of the room.
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Although the situations, characters, and jokes are broad, the episode makes an important point about male relationships: there is a clear dividing line in our society separating homosocial (platonic) bonding and male homosexual relationships. All his life, Dominic has sought Tommy’s approval. But when he finds out his hero is gay, Dominic’s homophobia goes into overdrive because he doesn’t believe a gay and straight man can be true friends. Interestingly, macho Dominic doesn’t share his brother’s attitude. He is completely cool about Tommy being gay and has no problem sharing a cabin alone with him.
Sometimes a reunion isn’t only unexpected, but unwelcome. On
Too Close for Comfort
(“Shipmates”), cartoonist Henry Rush (Ted Knight) is reunited with the chief petty officer he served under in the navy, Frank Rutger (Gerald S. O’Loughlin). The two men can’t stand each other, but somehow Muriel (Nancy Dussault) convinces her husband to invite him over for dinner. Frank accepts Henry’s invitation and agrees to bring Carol, who he’s been living with for 25 years. Carol turns out to be Carroll (William Prince) — a man — which makes Henry extremely uncomfortable. After they leave, Henry reveals that Frank told him Carroll is dying. When Muriel compares Frank and Carroll’s relationship to their marriage, Henry gets annoyed and dismisses the pair as “just a couple of gays living together.”
MURIEL: Henry, we are not talking about sexes, we are talking about people. I mean, what makes you think they’re incapable of feeling the same love and compassion as we do? That they can’t experience the same loneliness, the same emptiness.
HENRY: It’s not the same thing, Muriel...I can be just as liberal, just as progressive as you are. But we have a son we’re bringing up. And I don’t want some day for Andrew to walk in that door and say, “Dad, I want you to meet the person I am going to marry,” and for that person to have a mustache.
[Laughter and scattered applause from the audience.]
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Henry doesn’t recognize Frank and Carroll’s long-term relationship as a marriage because, by doing so, it would send the wrong message to his son Andrew. Henry believes Andrew needs to know homosexuality is unacceptable to prevent him from becoming one (if that’s the case, he may want to consider moving his family out of San Francisco). Ironically, while the Rushes are entertaining their guests, Andrew is in the care of their gay-straight tenant, Monroe (played by openly gay actor, JM J. Bullock).
Henry undergoes a rapid change of heart when he finds Carroll’s watch in his house and reads the inscription: “To Carroll, ’Til the End of Time, Frank.” Like a magic spell, Henry’s homophobia disappears. Two weeks later, he finds Frank, who tells him Carroll has died. Henry comforts his friend and invites him out for a cup of coffee. Although Henry’s change in attitude is quick, at least he recognizes his error. But what’s truly disturbing is the sound of offstage applause at the end of Henry’s speech to Muriel about protecting their son. It signals that some people (in the audience or on the laugh track?) didn’t anticipate that Henry’s reaction to Frank’s homosexuality was the product of ignorance and fear.
Finding out an old navy buddy is gay is nothing compared to the shock of a close friend making some alterations in the gender department. On In the House (“Boys II Men II Women”), ex-NFL star Mario Hill (L.L. Cool J.) discovers his old pal (played by RuPaul) works as a drag queen, but is still straight (yeah, right).
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In an episode of
The John Laroquette Show
(“Dirty Deeds”), John is caught off guard when he runs into his college roommate, now a professional Marlena Dietrich imitator. John doesn’t even recognize Artie Fogel (Lane Davies) during the performance. They used to chase women together, so it’s an even bigger surprise for John when he learns Artie considered having a sex change operation, but decided against it because “vaginas are very expensive.”
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Laroquette finds himself in a similar situation on a previous series,
Night Court.
In “Best of Friends,” homophobic Dan (Laroquette) discovers his old college friend Chip Collins, who he describes as “old beer blasting, panty-raiding, full-mooning Chiperoo” has had a sex change and is now Charlene (female impersonator Jim Bailey). Dan is shocked to learn the guy he considered his “spiritual twin” is now a woman — and about to get married! “I was just one of the guys on the outside,” Charlene explains. “On the inside I was desperately yearning to be one of the girls.” But when Dan gets hostile, Charlene socks him in public (“He got bitchy, so I decked him!”), leaving Dan feeling even more emasculated. Dan comes around, but only after hurling more insults and disparaging remarks at Charlene. Although she stands up for herself, it doesn’t change the overall tone of the episode. She is still treated like a freak by Dan and his co-workers, except for Bull (Richard Moll), who has trouble grasping the concept of a transsexual.
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In “Brandy, You’re a Fine Girl,”
Just Shoot Me’s
Finch (David Spade) has the opposite reaction when he is reunited with his boyhood pal Burt, now a beautiful blonde named Brandy (Jenny McCarthy). Finch is stunned to find out he is now a she, but once he gets over the initial shock, he has a great time reliving his childhood with her by playing arcade games and having water pistol fights. Finch then becomes distressed when he realizes he has the hots for Brandy. After first peeling him off her, she tells him they’re too much like “brother and sister” to be lovers, which Finch can accept (much more easily than we can believe Jenny McCarthy was once named Burt).
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But it’s not only men who are surprised to discover an old friend is donning a dress and high heels. On Sex and the City (“Old Dogs, New Dicks”), Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is not exactly flattered to learn her old boyfriend has modeled his drag persona after her.
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