TV'S GREATEST QUEER-THEMED EPISODES (1970s-2000)

It’s been a historic and particularly celebratory Gay Pride Month this year, given the recent historic Supreme Court ruling. Last year, in honor of Gay Pride Month, I made a list of the Greatest Queer TV Characters of All Time.  This year I decided to compile a list of the greatest queer-themed TV episodes.  Rather than rank them I’m going in chronological order to better show the evolution of queer representation on TV.  This list covers the 1970s through the year 2000, and one of these days I'll write Part 2, which will encompass the modern era. 

Please note that this list is NOT comprehensive—a lot of great queer characters, stories, and shows are not represented here.  These are just my personal favorites, and all are well-worth watching.

“My Brother’s Keeper”

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Season 3, 1973)

Amazingly progressive for it’s time (and even by today’s standards), this episode of my beloved Mary Tyler Moore Show keeps its big gay twist for the very end.  Throughout the episode Phyllis is increasingly upset over the closeness of her visiting brother Ben and her archenemy Rhoda.  But just as Phyllis’ histrionics reach their peak (at one of Mary’s infamously disastrous parties, naturally), Rhoda reveals that Ben is gay and therefore they are simply good friends.  It’s the refreshingly casual way Rhoda reveals the info and Phyllis’ relieved reaction that make this episode a standout.  If only Ben hadn’t been limited to just a one-episode guest spot… Rhoda and Ben could have become the Jack and Karen of the 1970s!

“The Gay Bar”

Maude (Season 6, 1977)

I finally watched Maude from start to finish for the first time last year and I reveled in the show’s many progressive topics, but most of all Bea Arthur’s flawless, complicated portrayal of Maude herself.  True, this gay-themed episode is heavy-handed (as many of the show’s topical episodes were), but it’s also earnest in its intentions.  And Bea Arthur brings the funny, as always.  This episode concerns Maude’s efforts to combat homophobic neighbor Arthur’s campaign to close down a new gay bar in Tuckahoe.  Both Arthur and Maude end up at the bar, where, overzealous as always, Maude goes out of her way to bond with the gay patrons.

“Isn’t It Romantic?”

Golden Girls (Season 2, 1986)

Golden Girls is one of the most iconic gay shows of all time for many, many reasons (the women are all basically drag queens, for starters).  But aside from its camp sensibility the show tackled gay issues head-on multiple times (there was even a gay housekeeper named CoCo in the pilot episode, but he was—perhaps thankfully—dropped).  Aside from the episodes dealing with Blanche’s gay brother (who eventually got married on the show), we have this Season 2 episode dealing with Dorothy’s friend Jean.  On the heels of a breakup, Jean stays with the girls for a bit and finds herself falling in love with Rose—who is utterly clueless about Jean’s affections.  The scene in which Dorothy and Sophia explain that Jean is a lesbian to both Rose and Blanche is a highpoint:

But it’s the sweet acceptance and understanding that Rose ultimately displays that makes this episode something special.

“Killing All the Right People”

Designing Women (Season 2, 1987)

Oh boy, this episode deals with some heavy stuff and it does not have a typically happy sitcom ending.  But it does mark an extremely important moment in TV history, as the women of Sugarbakers Design Firm deal with the AIDS crisis.  Kendall, a friend and fellow decorator, comes to Sugarbakers’ and asks them to plan his funeral, as he is dying of AIDS.  Julia’s subsequent epic takedown of a homophobic client is the stuff of legend:

You’ll be sobbing by the end, though, as the last scene depicts Kendall’s funeral, a grimly realistic ending during the height of the AIDS crisis.  The episode is made all the more poignant with the knowledge that creator-writer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason’s own mother died of AIDS after being infected via a blood transfusion.

“Ladies’ Choice”

Roseanne (Season 5, 1992)

Roseanne Barr deserves a lot of credit for dragging gay rights issues out of the closet and on to our TV screens in the early 90s.  The fact that she has two gay siblings helped prompt her to introduce some of TV’s best and most long-running gay characters to Middle America at a time when it was still considered a big deal.  In this episode the character of Nancy comes out, much to Roseanne and Jackie’s disbelief (up to this point Nancy had been something of a man-eater).  Nancy is played by queer icon Sandra Bernhard and I love that she never sacrifices Nancy’s primary characteristic (her shallowness) in favor of her sexuality.  The show may be better known for the episode in which Roseanne shares a kiss with guest star Mariel Hemingway, but Nancy’s coming out in this episode remains my favorite of Roseanne’s many queer landmarks:

“Resolutions”

My So-Called Life (Season 1, 1995)

Last year I declared My So-Called Life’s Rickie Vasquez as my pick for the Greatest Queer TV Character of all time.  The show’s entire (and only) season is a wonderfully realistic portrayal of a gay teen’s struggle to accept his own sexuality and be accepted by those around him.  This New Year’s Eve episode (double points for being holiday themed!) is the pinnacle of that portrayal.  Rickie has been struggling mightily with both his sexuality and related domestic abuse up to this point, but it’s in this episode where he hits rock bottom—and finds help in the form of a sympathetic gay teacher.  Rickie’s story is heartbreakingly true to life.

“Woman to Woman”

Living Single (Season 3, 1997)

I will never stop proclaiming that Living Single is   one of the most underrated sitcoms of the 90s until we get all five seasons released on DVD!  This Season 3 episode involves my favorite character, Max.  Max’s college friend Shayla comes to New York for her wedding—but when she reveals she’s marrying a woman, Max reacts badly.  But the progressive twist is that Max isn’t upset that Shayla is a lesbian, but rather that she kept it a secret from her for so long when everyone else knew the truth.

“Homer’s Phobia”

The Simpsons (Season 8, 1997)

If I was ranking episodes based on merit, this one just might be my #1.  The Golden Age of The Simpsons brings us this gem of an episode, which never sacrifices the laughs while still managing some razor-sharp social commentary.  John Waters guest stars as a campy shopkeeper who charms the entire Simpson clan, but when Homer learns John is gay and fears his effect on Bart, hilarity ensues.  Homer’s attempts to set Bart on a straight and narrow path are particularly funny.  The gay steel mill scene is one of the series’ highlights

By the episode’s end Homer has a change of heart and mind after being rescued from some rabid reindeer by John.   The Simpsons would go on to have several gay-themed episode in its later years, but never any as funny or insightful as “Homer’s Phobia.”

“Gay Yellow Pages”

Ellen (Season 5, 1997)

Yes, the quality of Ellen dipped after her the character and the real-life Ellen came out, but there were still some great episodes in the show’s fifth and final season.  Take for example “Gay Yellow Pages,” in which a newly out Ellen Morgan tries to connect with the gay community by hosting a prideful party.  However she feels the pressure to be politically correct and only frequent gay-friendly companies, resulting in her hiring a completely incompetent (and scantily clad) gay plumber.  Ellen’s efforts to later hide the fact that she hired a (seemingly) straight plumber to undo the damage while in the midst of hosting her party makes for some great, frenetic comedy.

We’ve now covered TV’s early and awesome efforts to portray queer characters and storylines.  We've come a long way baby, and we owe a lot to these shows for breaking new ground and paving the way for even better, funnier and more poignant portrayals of queer life to come.  

BLAME IT ON NEW ORLEANS

Designing Women
Season 5 (1991)

Travel-themed episodes of Designing Women were always among the show’s best (we’ll be getting to some more of them once when we hit “Summer Vacation” month on the blog), and this New Orleans-set episode is no exception.  True, it’s not technically set during Mardi Gras, but it might as well be considering the debauchery that the women of Sugarbakers Design Firm engage in while in the Big Easy.

The gang heads to New Orleans for a design conference, but the four women are all forced to room together after realizing that they never booked Anthony his own room. Julia is all business, Mary Jo contemplates having a fling with a business associate, and Suzanne and Charlene are just running around doing every New Orleans-related activity they can think of.  I always liked the various pairings that the show presented, with Suzanne and Charlene’s friendship a particular highlight.  And drunken Suzanne and Charlene is that much better!

Seriously, there is so much New Orleans going on this episode (though most of it is talked about rather than seen).  Make a scorecard and check things off as you watch: beignets, Hurricanes (the cocktail), a jazz band funeral, a voodoo shop that doesn’t open until midnight, and a female impersonator named Lolita LuPage.   Watching this episode will expand your New Orleans IQ:  when Charlene and Suzanne drunkenly burst into the hotel room late one night Charlene brings “takeout étouffée” with her; a little googling revealed that it’s a type of seafood gumbo.  Who says sitcoms never teach you anything?

Betrayal: pairs well with coffee.

Mary Jo takes the plunge, sowing her “one wild oat,” and sleeps with the rather dweeby-looking guy.  All seems well until the next morning when he casually tells her not to answer his phone in case it’s his wife. A shell-shocked Mary Jo makes her way to the group’s presentation, where the microphone is malfunctioning and Charlene is totally hungover.  After Julia vainly attempts to deliver a speech to a room of carousing podiatrists (who stumbled in from the wrong convention), Mary Jo blurts out her secret—just as Charlene manages to get the microphone working again.

The episode ends with an appearance by Miss Lolita LuPage herself.  Charlene brings her to confront Suzanne, who suspects that Lolita is pulling a Victor/Victoria and is actually a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman.  After both Lolita and Suzanne tear off their wigs Suzanne drags her to the bathroom to end the debate once and for all, only to come running out moments later yelling at someone to call the police—there’s a man in the ladies’ restroom.

A good ole fashioned wig-off

There are no elaborate floats or costumes or cheap bead necklaces but I defy you to find another episode that is more New Orleansy than this!

Mardi Gras Quotient: As I wrote above, this isn’t technically a Mardi Gras episode, but it’s positively dripping in New Orleans ambience, so I’ll average it out to a 3.

See It, Skip It, Own It?
All of Designing Women is worth owning and watching—again and again and again.

NEW YEAR'S DAZE

Designing Women
Season 1 (1987)

To paraphrase Julia Sugarbaker in this episode, there are few tasks in life more unpleasant than taking down the Christmas tree.  Being the Christmas fanatic that I am, January is always a tough month for me.  Not only has the Big Event come and gone, but you actually have to physically disassemble the holiday, taking down the tree and putting away the decorations, knowing it will be a full year before you can do it all over again.  Plus you’ve got dreary weather, added poundage, and a fair stretch of time until the next major holiday.  It would be easy to fully wallow in the winter gloom, but luckily we’ve got this stellar New Year’s episode of Designing Women to help liven up January.

The episode begins with the ladies of Sugarbaker & Associates gathering to celebrate New Year’s Eve.  Anthony shows up, delivering the eggnog and pâté from a gourmet shop that Julia ordered. I always thought the idea of ordering designer eggnog from a gourmet shop is somehow so Julia and so 80s and so perfect.  

Sparkly gold top hat & giant pink feather headpiece = Approved.

Anthony stays behind with Julia after her boyfriend calls and cancels (I was never much of a Reese fan).  The rest of the women and their dates go to some restaurant to ring in the new year, but after watching Suzanne’s geriatric sugar daddy snooze at the table they head back to Julia’s just in time to usher in the new year.  The festivities are interrupted by a news report stating that Charlene’s no-show mystery date, Shadow, just broke out of prison and is on the lam (he had been pen pals with Charlene, saying he would be “getting out” for New Year’s).

Originally I was going to write that “New Year’s Daze” has one of the series’ goofier plots, but thinking back on how many times Anthony ended up in drag for various ridiculous reasons this actually doesn’t rate all that high on the goof-o-meter (must add goof-o-meter to sidebar of blog).

The nervous group speaks with a special agent who shows up and then they remain trapped at Julia’s house, waiting for Shadow to show up.  On New Year’s Day they receive word that Shadow has been apprehended, so the men head out to pick up pizza while the women sit around and read their New Year’s resolutions aloud.  This is the episode’s funniest scene, as Suzanne shares her shallow resolutions, much to Julia’s consternation. Shadow suddenly shows up, only to reveal that he’s actually an undercover government agent.  After sharing a quick romantic moment with Charlene and restoring her faith in the goodness of all people he takes off and the women of Sugarbaker’s toast to 1987.

Julia gives Charlene deserved side-eye for being way too perky while defrocking the tree

Despite the stupid Shadow stuff this is a terrific, funny episode.  I love that it takes place both on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and has scenes of Julia and Charlene un-decorating the Christmas tree, one of life’s little realities that doesn’t often get portrayed on screen.  Holidays tend to just appear and suddenly be gone the next week on sitcoms, with no transitions.  I also like that this episode captures both Christmas and New Year’s in one, with lots of party hats and noisemakers but also Christmas decorations and eggnog.  

New Year’s Quotient: 5

See It, Skip It, Own It?
This is the perfect episode to help ease the post-Christmas blues and help usher in the new year—year after year after year!  Own it!

PERKY'S VISIT

Designing Women
Season 1 (1986)

Designing Women is in my Top Ten Shows of All Time list.  For fellow fans of the show this Season 1 episode is interesting because it lays the groundwork for a lot of future happenings over the course of the show’s seven seasons.  While I wish it was a little more Thanksgiving-centric all in all it’s a great episode of the show and a pretty good holiday episode as well.

 It ain't Thanksgiving until something or someone catches fire

The women of Sugarbakers Design Firm are celebrating Thanksgiving together and Suzanne, despite a complete lack of culinary skills, has taken it upon herself to cook the meal.  Their guests include Anthony, their recently hired ex-con handyman.  Of course Anthony would go on to become a central cast member but here Meshach Taylor (who plays Anthony) is still billed as a guest star.  When Julia reads in the paper that one of their clients, whom Anthony visted the day before, has been murdered the women all suspect him of the crime, making for a tense holiday.  They really do treat Anthony badly in this episode, indicative of the fact that the show was still in its nascent stages and the characters were still evolving.  Poor Anthony would never be a legitimate murder suspect in later seasons.

And now... here's Bernice!

The remaining two guests are Suzanne and Julia’s mother Perky and her friend Bernice.  Bernice, played by the always delightful Alice Ghostley, would return and also later become a fixture of the cast, adding a welcome zany element, as she does in this episode.  Her “arterial flow” problem results in a lot of non-sequiturs and blunt truth telling, such as asking Anthony not to kill her at the dinner table.  For real continuity hounds there is also a nice tidbit in this episode, as Charlene is saddened over her boyfriend’s relocation to Tokyo.  Both Perky (who's only appearance is in this episode, though she's referenced throughout the show's run) and then later Suzanne would also disappear to Tokyo in later seasons.  It’s the kind of lazy sitcom fix that I almost have to respect. How do we get rid of a character? Off to Tokyo with them!  I know that in real life I’ve lost many a friend and relative to the siren song of Japan.

Charlene's dress in this episode should be the legally mandated uniform of Thanksgiving

While almost the whole episode takes place on Thanksgiving it’s not exactly dripping in holiday cheer.  The show would go a lot wackier in later seasons but everything here is a bit too restrained.  We do get a nice running joke about Suzanne’s terrible cooking (she burns the pie and Bernice chokes, off-camera, on the turkey).  And Mary Jo walks in at one point with a flower centerpiece.  Don’t ask me why but I get a thrill every time someone shows up with a centerpiece in a show or movie, I guess because it just makes it seem so holiday-esque.  Plus centerpieces are just awesome.

The Menu: Turkey, Homemade Rolls, Canned Beets, Red & White Wine, Sweet Tea & Burnt Pie

Thanksgiving Quotient: 3

See It, Skip It, Own It?
You should already own all seven seasons of Designing Women, including this episode.  If not, why are you wasting time reading this?  Go buy it!