Apr 28, 2023

This is a preview for the Weirdest Episode Ever about the time Darkwing Duck did a parody of Twin Peaks. The full episode is an exclusive for patrons pledging $5 or more a month, but this preview is going on the free feed both as an enticement and also because I share some quotes from Tad Stones, creator of...

Apr 26, 2023

“Sonny Boy” (February 12, 1981)

Is it surprising that TV’s most famous drag sitcom never dared to do anything actually gay? It shouldn’t be! And for all that could end up going wrong with this premise, this episode, concerning Peter Scolari’s character having to explain to his mother why he’s wearing a...

Apr 19, 2023

“Pawnee Zoo” (September 17, 2009)

Okay, fine, we did the Parks & Rec episode you asked for, but here’s the thing: The one were Leslie Knope marries gay penguins is not the pro-gay piece of TV history you think it is. Nowhere in this episode does Leslie ever say she gives a dirty squirt about gays or same-sex...

Apr 12, 2023

“Caught on Tape” (November 15, 2000)

John Goodman’s follow-up sitcom to Roseanne was Normal, Ohio, which only lasted seven episodes before Fox yanked it from its schedule in late 2000. Unfortunately, the take-away from its failure was that audiences wouldn’t buy a guy like Goodman playing gay, which is perhaps...

Apr 5, 2023

“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...