Batman vs. Sitcom Nostalgia
Gayest Episode Ever
“Baby Doll” (October 1, 1994) If you’re new here, you might be thinking that this is an odd pick for the second-to-last episode. To this I say, “So what?” It’s a great episode about the toxic allure of nostalgia, which will swallow you whole if you don’t get out in time. And Alison La Placa’s performance as the title character is one of the best ever in a cartoon. “Hey, Drew, why did you become a sitcom guy?” I guess I didn’t mean to. And is the Blabbin' 'Bout Batman episode from which Drew stole the Baby Doll/Elmyra idea. We have courtesy of . Our logo...
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The Gay Origins of Mister Ed
Gayest Episode Ever
This is a rerun of an episode that originally aired in 2024. “Sorority House” (February 8, 1961) A few times on this podcast, we’ve bent over backwards to find a gay interpretation of a sitcom that never did anything gay, but this is not one of those. Mister Ed was developed by Arthur Lubin, a closeted gay director who was married to a woman but eventually ended up cohabitating with a male companion. It’s interesting, then, that he’d be into making a TV show out of a story about Wilbur Post, who’s married to a woman and who’s outwardly a traditional guy even if his most...
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Diane Returns for the Cheers Finale — And Brings a Gay Guy With Her
Gayest Episode Ever
“One for the Road” (May 20, 1993) Because this podcast is ending, we thought we should take on at least one notable sitcom series finale. And because Cheers happens to have a gay subplot in its last episode — and because Diane Chambers is always close to our heart — we’re going with that one. It’s a really important piece of TV history, and even if you haven’t watched the whole series, we think you’ll understand why this one still looms large. Of course, we’re joined by Massachusetts correspondent Jonathan Bradley Welch for one last explanation of northeastern accents. Yes,...
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Ferdinand the Bull Is Gay (and Other Observations About Disney Shorts)
Gayest Episode Ever
Tony Rodriguez joins us one last time for a sequel episode of sorts to our one about . This time, we’re focused on old-time Disney shorts that lend themselves to a queer reading. If you want to watch this cartoons before you listen, here’s a list of where you can find them online. In order of discussion: (1938) (1935) (1953) (1934) (1941) (1932) (1952)
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The Closest Full House Got to a Gay Episode
Gayest Episode Ever
This is a rerun of an episode that originally aired in 2021. “The Play’s the Thing” (November 17, 1992) The big joke with Full House never did a gay episode despite being a show about three men cohabitating and coparenting in San Francisco. However, the fifth season introduced Derek (Blake McIver Ewing), a new friend for Michelle who’s well-mannered, soft-spoken and really good at showtunes. We’d argue that Derek, while young, still comes off as a queer-coded character, and the fact the actor himself would later come out makes the performance all the more interesting.
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The Simpsons Meets Tennessee Williams
Gayest Episode Ever
“A Streetcar Named Marge” (October 1, 1992) Although it was not on our final season schedule, circumstances conspired to make us discuss The Simpsons one last time — and we’ve picked a classic-era episode that may not scream “gay” but it definitely mutters it under its breath. In addition to Jon Lovitz playing the abusive theater director Llewelyn Sinclair, this one also features a young gay man’s guide to culture. We have courtesy of . Our logo was designed by . This episode’s art was designed by . Sound cues for this podcast were composed by .
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Duckman Investigates Homosexuality (If Only Briefly)
Gayest Episode Ever
“Forbidden Fruit” (January 16, 1996) At long last, we are proud to announce the first episode of our podcast to feature both hosts of Talking Simpsons, Henry Gilbert and Bob Mackey. It’s also the last episode to feature them both, because we are kicking this podcast into its grave. But in the process we manage to have a nice conversation about adult animation and how Duckman compares to the Simpsons episode “Homer Badman.” Listen to that goes deeper on Duckman history. Listen to Talking Simpson’s special about — and support Minnesota immigrants in the process!
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Dungeons & Dragons Has the Queeniest Knight in Saturday Morning History
Gayest Episode Ever
This is a rerun of an episode that originally aired in 2019. “Odyssey of the Twelfth Talisman” (September 28, 1985) Once upon a time, there was a Saturday morning cartoon based on Dungeons & Dragons, and in its final few episodes it had one of its male characters hit it off with a one-off NPC who was witty and matched him, insult for insult. This one-off also happened to be male, and whether by accident or whatever, the resulting episode plays out kinda like a male-on-male romcom that just happens to be situated in medieval fantasy setting. Don’t worry if you’ve never experienced a...
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Oh Grow Up: Short-Lived, Underrated and Gay
Gayest Episode Ever
Whelp, here it is: the final time this podcast is ever going to teach you about a short-lived show that you maybe never heard of. In the grand scheme of 90s sitcoms about attractive people living in New York, ABC’s Oh Grow Up might seem like an also-ran. However, John Ducey’s Ford managed to be a more rounded gay character than most of its longer-lived contemporaries gave us in much longer runs. He comes out, he questions his place in the gay scene and he gets laid. What’s more, he very much seems like a prototype for the gay lead in Alan Ball’s follow-up TV project, Six Feet Under. We...
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Married… With Children Meets a Beach Gay
Gayest Episode Ever
“Life’s a Beach” (May 21, 1989) For our final season, we’re not hitting up that many of the GEE favorites. There’s no Seinfeld, no Friends, no Roseanne, no Golden Girls. Hell, there’s not a Simpsons on the schedule at the moment. But we will make time for Married… With Children, whose third season finale provides some nice moments to remind you all why the Bundys matter. There’s even a hot gay couple, however briefly. The Fox Files theme was composed and performed by . Listen to Talking Simpsons’ episode about . And yes, you can listen to all ten episodes of Fox Files right...
info_outline“A Toe in the Water” (September 23, 1991)
What is Designing Women minus Delta Burke and Jean Smart but plus Julia Duffy and Jan Hooks? An interesting beast that is different than the Suzanne/Charlene years, yeah, but still pretty damn interesting. This episode is a showcase for Duffy’s anti-Diane Chambers, Allison Sugarbaker, who only lasted a season but it wasn’t her fault? Jonathan Bradley Welch makes his second GEE turn to talk Sugarbakers and his new podcast with Stonewall Democrats.
Listen to our previous Designing Women episodes, Julia Sugarbaker Plans a Gay Funeral and Suzanne Sugarbaker Accidentally Dates a Lesbian, as well as Jonathan’s first GEE episode, Roy Biggins Has a Big Gay Son.
Check out Jonathan’s queer politics podcast, The Read Down: YouTube • Twitter • iTunes • Website
Listen to Drew’s new 80s music podcast, Deep Cuts and Superficial Wounds: Mixcloud • iTunes • Stitcher • Libsyn • more to come!
Read Rembert Browne’s Grantland article on Delta Burke’s exit from Designing Women. And read the L.A Times article on Jean Smart’s far-less dramatic exit.
Listen to Gayish’s episode on bisexuals.
The Slate article on the political affiliation of various TV characters.
Shop for Gayest Episode Ever shirts, totes and more on our TeePublic page.
Buy Glen’s movie, Being Frank. Support us on Patreon!
Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter
Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn • SoundCloud
And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast.
This episode’s outro song is “In the Evening” by Sheryl Lee Ralph: Apple Music • Amazon Music • Spotify