Gayest Episode Ever

"The Shining Silver Crystal: The Moon Princess Appears" (November 28, 1992) It's the only Sailor Moon episode of a podcast you will hear this week featuring a surprise cameo by Mia Farrow. About a year ago, we covered Sailor Moon on our bonus podcast, The Cartoons That Made Us Gay. We kicked off 2023 by returning to Sailor Moon, and so we decided to pop the original one onto the main feed. This one is all about the first-season same-sex couple, Kunzite and Zoisite, but if you're into it, right now on Patreon there is a whole second episode about the other famous same-sex couple from this series, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Listen to that here. And GEE will be back with a brand-new Seinfeld outing in two weeks! But if that's too long for you, don't forget that new episodes premiere on the Patreon feed one week early! Miscellaneous notes: Yes, there is a substantial parallel between Sailor Moon and Buffy, though we'd hesitate to declare it more than a coincidence Kotaku's post on the abomination that is the American pilot for a live action Sailor Moon remake Hello Kitty is not a cat Read Drew's Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games post if you want to know how the connection to Rose of Versailles And check out the lengthy Twitter thread posted in response to the first Sailor Moon episode, about why it wasn't surprising to have a same-sex couple in the first season of the show Watch the clip comparing Molly's original DiC accent to Mia Farrow's Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

Greetings! We are combatting the dead zone that is the holidays with a bonus episode: the fourth of Weirdest Episode Ever, our new Patreon series looking at sitcoms that venture into sci-fi, horror and fantasy. If you like this, you can listen to three other episodes on Patreon, with another six to come in early 2023. They're available for people supporting us at the $5 level or higher. Here's the full list of episodes we have done/will be doing: The Cosby Show, "The Day the Spores Landed" (a.k.a. the male pregnancy episode) I Love Lucy, "Lucy Goes to Scotland" (a.k.a. Lucy gets fed to a dragon) Perfect Strangers, "Aliens" (a.k.a. Balki is an alien) The Facts of Life, "Seven Little Indians" (a.k.a. the Twilight Zone parody) A Family Matters, "Stevil" (a.k.a. Steve Urkel gets a murderous puppet doppelganger) Benson, "Death in a Funny Position" (a.k.a. serial killer cruise ship) Day By Day, "A Very Brady Episode" (a.k.a. a very strange venture into Brady Bunch land) Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place, "Two Guys a Girl and a Psycho Halloween" (a.k.a. Ryan Reynolds murders everyone) Punky Brewster, "The Perils of Punky" (a.k.a. the cave of horrors) The Cosby Show, "Cliff's Nightmare" (a.k.a. Cliff Huxtable vs. Muppets) Here are the details on this Facts of LIfe episode: "Seven Little Indians" (January 3, 1987) It would be ambitious for any sitcom, much less Facts of Life specifically, to attempt a weird episode that not only satirizes 1980s slasher movies but also murder mysteries and also The Twilight Zone. For all that being packed into one 22-minute format, this one actually works pretty well. Lisa Whelchel as Blair — big-haired, wild eyed and caked with makeup — makes for a striking visual that probably traumatized a few kids back in the day. The Facts of Life, previously: Blair Warner Is a Homophone Jo Polniaczek Is a Lesbian Hearththrob The logo for Weirdest Episode Ever + the rad art of psycho killer Blair Warner was designed by Ian O'Phelan. The theme music was composed by Nick Loiacano.

"Jingle Balls" (December 13, 2001) We are closing out the year by returning to the only sitcom whose every Christmas episode is also gay: Will & Grace. It's not great, people. And while this Laura Kightlinger-penned season for ep shows promise, it ultimately pulls back from exploring subjects that it could have done interesting work with: Will's apparent embarrassment at dating a more effeminate man and Jack's misguided belief that being gay means he can do design work. At least Parker Posey saves the day with unrestrained homophobia. Got a question you want to ask Drew? Ask anonymously here. Details for how to watch the answering session to follow. Will & Grace, previously: Will and Jack Kiss on Live TV Will and Jack Embrace Every Gay Stereotype It's a Will & Grace Christmas! BTW, the neurological condition Drew mentions in this episode is real and is called witzelsucht. Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. And yes, it's now available for Android! Go shop at our TeePublic store! Talk to other GEE listeners on the GEE Discord! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

"A Tale of Two Lesbians" (June 19, 2009) It's not exactly incorrect that you can summarize The Goode Family as "What if King of the Hill but liberal?" But that description makes it seem like Mike Judge's follow-up to KotH didn't have potential. It did, and just a few episodes in, it was world-building in a way few other series did, by giving viewers not just one lesbian couple but two — and they were nothing alike either! Imagine! Multiple representations of female queerness onscreen at the same time! We're joined by longtime friend of the pod Mir Knight to discuss why this series didn't succeed. Listen to the free preview of our first installment of Weirdest Episode Ever here. Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Talk to other GEE listeners on the GEE Discord! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

Content warning: In discussing plotlines on Soap, we do bring up suicide and, very briefly, sexual assault. "Episode 4.1" (November 12, 1980) * Finally! It's one of the biggest cult favorite sitcoms of all time *and* it's also a show famous for having a LGBT character in the main cast. The only reason it's taken us this many years to tackle Soap is that it's so much more serialized than mostly anything else we cover, so while we focus on one particular episode, we're also discussing the entirety of Billy Crystal's gay character, Jodie Dallas. Good thing we have longtime Soap fan and TableCakes' Katherine Helmond correspondent Gwynedd Stuart on hand to discuss the show in general and the awesomeness of Jessica Tate in particular. Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. Also check out Gwynedd's work on Sporked. Listen to Gwynedd's episode of Monday Afternoon Movie about The Legend of Lizzie Borden. See the full text of "the Soap memo." And then read the full piece on Newspapers.com (subscription required). The Susan Harris quotes in this piece come from this 2018 Yahoo interview. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast. * By some counts, this is actually episode 3.22.

"Jonathan the Gymnast" (November 18, 1986) Technically, Who's the Boss? never did a gay episode, but because Danny Pintauro's sexuality looms large over this sitcom, many episodes seem a little gayer as a result — and this episode especially so. In it, Tony and Angela step into the kitchen to have a frank discussion of why Jonathan is not like other boys, and it really comes off like Who's the Boss? is asking viewers to overlook this aspect of the character. It's fucked up that this happened, and it's one of several occurrences that make Drew utter the phrase "Poor Jonathan." Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. Listen to the episode of Monday Afternoon Movie about The Legend of Lizzie Borden — starring Katherine Helmond but also featuring as a guest Gwynedd Stuart, who will be our guest next week to discuss Soap. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

"Sons and Lovers" (January 16, 1996) This is an honest-to-God follow-up to our previous Wings episode, which was all about the series antagonist, Roy Biggins, finding out his son was gay. Five seasons later, someone at Wings thought to ask "Hey, what if that gay character didn't cease to exist the moment that first episode ended?" This episode marks one of the few times that a one-off gay character actually got to return. And yeah, we're re-joined by Massachusetts correspondent Jonathan Bradley Welch. It's a real journey for us all. Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. Watch what remains of the attempted British remake of Wings.Buy the new issue of Beyond Sunset here. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

"The Man We Love" (June 30, 1996) Last week, we looked at Married… With Children's take on an anti-Friends. This week, we decided to look at the last episode of a show that aired the previous season on Fox. While it was not designed as a response to Friends, it nonetheless managed to solve some of that show's major problems. Namely, it's racially diverse, there's a queer character in the opening credits, and the characters actually work. It's also funny, and having been co-created by writers who cut their teeth on The Golden Girls, that's no surprise. What's more, this show features an explicitly bi character — and this is something sitcoms almost never did and still don't. Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. Watch episodes of The Crew on archive.org. And while you're at it, watch The Five Mrs. Buchanans too. Read Drew's interview with Golden Girls writers, including Jamie Wooten and more. Check out Katherine's new food venture, How to Eat L.A. Support Glen's LEGO DnD build by leaving a comment on the LEGO website. Listen to Drew's episode of Queer Quadrant, all about The Brady Bunch Movie — on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify. Buy the new issue of Beyond Sunset here. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

"Enemies" (April 14, 1996) You may recall a late-series installment of Married… With Children that shifted focus away from the Bundys and onto an apartment of young sexy people who apparently despised each other. This was "Enemies," a kinda-sorta send-up of Friends that never saw the light of day beyond this one episode. Our theory is that it was a reformatted spinoff that at one point was going to star Christina Applegate and that also features a guy who's totally a stand-in for Matt Le Blanc. All of this is our take on what would be the Backdoor Pilots Patreon-only bonus podcast that we're starting this month. Should we do this one? Or should we do Weirdest Episode Ever? Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. According to Pop Culture References, it looks like The Bob Cummings Show was the first TV show to do a backdoor pilot. And here's that 1996 Levi's commercial that Drew thinks this episode is reacting to. Buy the new issue of Beyond Sunset here. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.

"It May Look Like a Walnut" (February 6, 1963) It's not the first "weird" episode that a sitcom ever did, but it's probably the most famous: the second-season installment of The Dick Van Dyke Show where it departed from the usual formula and became a sci-fi B-movie. It turns out to be a dream, of course, but you actually aren't sure until the final moments, and it's still one of the stranger sequences you'll ever see on a mainstream sitcom. This episode is not all that gay but it is the first of two pitches for our next Patreon-exclusive show. Should we do a whole ten-episode season of the weirdest episodes ever? We will be putting it up to vote after next week's episode, the other choice, is live. Listen to the mini-episode about the Dick Van Dyke Show's debatable semen joke — and watch the scene here. Check out our sponsor, Spaces! And join our spaces for Gayest Episode Ever and Cartoons That Made Us Gay. Stuff to listen to: Our previous Dick Van Dyke episode about the "seaman" joke The new Halloween episode of Singing Mountain We Love Trash The Square Roots podcast Stuff to watch: Head of the Family, the failed Dick Van Dyke pilot The Tiny Toons parody of Dick Van Dyke (with Elmyra Tyler Moore) Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited My Sister Eileen Stuff to read: Robert David Sullivan's essay on this Dick Van Dyke Show episode Buy the new issue of Beyond Sunset here. Go shop at our TeePublic store! Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE's Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. This is a TableCakes podcast.