Frasier Dates a Gay Guy
Gayest Episode Ever
“The Doctor Is Out” (September 30, 2003) Three episodes into its final season, the gay subtext of Frasier comes to a climax, so to speak, when a dashing opera director played by Patrick Stewart becomes infatuated with Dr. Crane — and Frasier goes along with it about as far as a confirmed hetero can. This is our final episode of the year! We did so many episodes! Isn’t it amazing what you can do when sex and socializing are completely off the table? AUGH! Listen to our previous Frasier episodes: (our first episode ever!) and . And special thanks to Matt Baume whose pointed out...
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Will & Jack Embrace Every Gay Stereotype
Gayest Episode Ever
“Fagmalion, Part Two: Attack of the Clones” (January 30, 2003) — We’re covering part two of a four-part Will & Grace arc, but it actually make sense in that this itself is part two of two-part crossover with Kyle Getz and Mike Johnson from the podcast Gayish, which is all about the stereotypes that surround gay identity. Is this Will & Grace a carnival of gay horrors? Yes, but that doesn’t mean this show isn’t worth examining.
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A.C. Slater Was Gay for Zack Morris… for Five Seconds
Gayest Episode Ever
“The Zack Tapes” (December 2, 1989) What’s gay about Saved By the Bell, aside from Slater’s singlets and Tori’s leather jacket? Well, there is one episode that very briefly demonstrated that same-sex attraction was a thing — on Saturday morning, no less. It’s all he more surprising because the new Saved By the Bell manages to make amends for all the things the original series did wrong except feature any kind of same-sex love. And yes, we’re doing this episode because we really dug the reboot anyway. Watch the little-seen original pilot for Good Morning, Miss Bliss , and watch...
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The Golden Girls Meet a Trans Man
Gayest Episode Ever
“Strange Bedfellows” (November 7, 1987) The Golden Girls is beloved by many in the queer community, and for good reason, but the series is not batting a thousand when it comes to LGBT representation. This third season episode features a character who may just be the first trans man character on American TV. It’s… not great, but not wholly a disaster, and writer is here to offer the perspective of a GG newbie. Listen to our previous Golden Girls episodes: Subscribe to Henry’s newsletter, . Read Henry’s NewNowNext . And is the Mary Ann Doane article Henry mentions. If you...
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ALF Never Did a Gay Episode
Gayest Episode Ever
“We Are Family” (May 2, 1988) Finally, at long last, ALF! This is the first in a new series where Drew and Glen discuss shows that never did a gay episode. “But wait, Drew and Glen! You have done episodes that weren’t explicitly gay before,” you may be saying. This is true, but at the very least we could pretend that the writer maybe-kinda-sorta had some gay metaphor in mind. This new series is for all the shows that never even treaded that far, but we think there’s something to talk about anyway. In this episode, ALF contemplates coming out as an alien, even if going public might...
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Spin City Stumps for Same-Sex Marriage
Gayest Episode Ever
“Grand Illusion” (October 29, 1996) — The first LGBT-themed episode from Spin City makes the odd decision to focus not on the out gay character, Michael Boatman’s Carter Heywood, but instead on Connie Britton’s Nikki. Drew thinks is lame.
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Jennifer Slept Here Is a Little Gay Boy’s Fantasy
Gayest Episode Ever
“Jennifer: The Movie” (October 29, 1983), Jennifer Slept Here — We’re celebrating both Halloween and week two of our celebration of Ann Jillian with an episode about how the 1983 NBC series Jennifer Slept Here is both so very weird and also a little gay boy’s fantasy.
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It’s a Living Waits on a Trans Woman
Gayest Episode Ever
“Gender Gap” (January 11, 1986), It’s a Living — Heads up: Initially, at least, Drew thought the episode being discussed was more transphobic that most, but special guest Ashley Lauren Rogers pointed out the ways the one trans episode of It’s a Living isn't a total wash — and since Ashley happens to be the host of the Is It Transphobic? podcast, that counts for something.
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Penelope Alvarez Is the Mother of a Queer Teenager
Gayest Episode Ever
One Day at a Time, “Pride and Prejudice” (January 6, 2017) — The new One Day at a Time gets major points for focusing on a Latin family, for successfully re-inventing a Norman Lear classic and for giving us another reason to love Rita Moreno. Most important for this podcast’s purposes, however, is its nuanced handling of teenage Elena’s coming out.
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Julia Sugarbaker Dates a Possible Homosexual
Gayest Episode Ever
Designing Women, “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 D
info_outline“The Doctor Is Out” (September 30, 2003)
Three episodes into its final season, the gay subtext of Frasier comes to a climax, so to speak, when a dashing opera director played by Patrick Stewart becomes infatuated with Dr. Crane — and Frasier goes along with it about as far as a confirmed hetero can. This is our final episode of the year! We did so many episodes! Isn’t it amazing what you can do when sex and socializing are completely off the table? AUGH!
Listen to our previous Frasier episodes: Frasier’s Boss Is Gay (our first episode ever!) and Frasier Has a Gay Dream.
And special thanks to Matt Baume whose Culture Cruise installment about this episode pointed out the relationship between it and the dawn of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the perception that gay men can be a heterosexual’s guide to the finer side of life.
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This episode’s outro track is “Take It as a Game” by Evelyn Barry: Apple Music • Amazon Music • Spotify