Gayest Episode Ever

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The Sarah Silverman Program Has Gigantic, Orange Gays Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

"Muffin' Man" (March 1, 2007)

You know what's super complicated? The Sarah Silverman Program. It's funny, but just talking about why it's funny in 2023 necessitates a lot of discussion of controversial topics including but not limited to ironic racism, straight dudes playing gay characters, January 6 and several people who are now canceled. Nonetheless, Drew (and not Glen, because Glen is not in this episode) is joined by Henry Gilbert to discuss why this show's queer representation was novel and still should be important all these years later.

And yes, if you're like "I could swear that Drew said this week would be Seinfeld," you are correct; that episode will now be coming next week. Stay tuned!

Did you know that Henry also has a podcast? It's called Talking Simpsons, and it's a lot like GEE just specifically about The Simpsons.

Watch Glen's episode of Ninjago: Dragons Rising, now streaming on Netflix! And if you're not sure what a Ninjago is, watch Ninjago Decoded, Glen's video series that explains the history of the Ninjago TV show.

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 • 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.

Benson Literally Plays a Game With Death Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

Happy Halloween! You're getting this week's episode one day early because it is, in fact, a Halloween episode.

"The Stranger" (October 25, 1985)

Benson may have been a more conventional sitcom than Soap, the show it spun off, but that doesn't mean it didn't have its exceedingly weird moments — including this final season Halloween special in which Benson must play a trivia game with death personified in order to save the lives of 41 hapless schoolchildren. It's basically the last moment in time an otherwise grounded sitcom could get away with this, and we're lucky to have James Eldred on hand to discuss it. Also he suggested it!

Please don't spoil Poker Face for him.

Also give a listen to his Cinema Oblivia podcast — and check out the episodes Drew guested on, about Switchblade Sisters and Troll.

The supercut of Kraus yelling "I can hear you" (or some variation thereof) was excerpted from this video on YouTube, posted by Undercover Budget Director. The full version is much longer.

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 • 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.

Two Guys, a Girl and a Post-Scream Slasher Halloween Oct 28, 2023

Show notes

Want to watch this episode, which is not streaming and is hard to find online? You can do that right now on the GEE Patreon!

"Two Guys, a Girl and a Psycho Halloween" (October 28, 1998)

It didn't want to be Friends. It really tried to give the cast real jobs, at the very least. But in the end, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place lost the workplace setting and added three more characters, essentially becoming another Friends wannabe. Along the way, however, it had some genuinely funny episodes and even did a non-canonical Halloween special that killed off the entire cast in the style of Scream-inspired 90s slasher flicks. If nothing else, give them credit for not couching their weird episode in the context of a dream.

The logo for Weirdest Episode Ever was designed by Ian O'Phelan. The theme music was composed by Nick Loiacano.

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 • 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.

Family Matters Does Dracula Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

"Dark and Stormy Night" (October 28, 1994)

We've talked before how Family Matters has a more liberal take on typical hijinx than most sitcoms, but the show's sixth season Halloween episode went full on Dracula — by which we mean Francis Ford Coppola. It's really ambitious! And Hariette has never looked sexier! And we're very stoked to have Michael Varrati on hand to discuss it because not everyone would be able to spot this darkling little gem hidden in the 1994 TGIF lineup.

Listen to Michael's podcast Midnight Mass — and in particular listen to the episode all about Prom Night 2. It's a hoot.

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 • 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.

Ghosts Has a Gay Revolutionary War Ghost Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

"D&D" (November 18, 2021)

Beware the gay ghost!

What are the odds that when your friend writes a book about Baron von Steuben, allegedly gay Revolutionary War hero, there would also be a current sitcom that features a gay Revolutionary War character? Pretty slim, we'd say! But this happy coincidence allowed us to not only promote Josh Trujillo's new book, Washington's Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron Von Steuben, but also to dive into Ghosts, the CBS sitcom that is one of the more popular sitcoms on TV today. We're happy to report that being a CBS sitcom means something quite different today than it did just a few years ago.

You should probably want a copy of Josh's book. Buy a copy here!

Watch Ninjago Decoded, Glen's series that explains the history of the Ninjago series and will help you understand his episode of Ninjago: Dragons Rising.

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.

Fine, We Will Cover Ellen's Big Coming Out Episode Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

"The Puppy Episode" (April 30, 1997) After a great deal of self-reflection, we decided that maybe it was worth discussing the most famous episode of Ellen Degeneres' 90s sitcom, even if it is the most analyzed piece of LGBTQ-centric television ever. Whether we were correct in thinking this remains up to you, but we nonetheless have offerings of talking points about this hourlong coming out extravaganza, including but not limited to how much of this show's latter existence was dedicated to meta commentary. If nothing else, Ellen — the person *and* the show — understood how people were interpreting all this. Watch: the supercut of all the foreshadowing leading up to Ellen's coming out, compiled by Becky Burning so I didn't have to. Read: the 1994 L.A. Times piece about the drama going on backstage during Ellen's first season. Watch Ninjago Decoded, Glen's series that explains the history of the Ninjago series and will help you understand his episode of Ninjago: Dragons Rising. 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.

A Queer History of SNL, Part Two Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

And here is the second half of our two-part opener for this new season. In this episode, we look at LGBTQ-themed recurring Saturday Night Live sketches airing in the year 2000 and beyond. Basically, this one gets us from The Girl With No Gaydar to Bowen Yang, and that's actually a pretty good synopsis for the evolution of queer-inclusive humor of on this show. Our next installment will be the first deep dive into a specific era of SNL, starting with the "Not Ready for Prime Time" era, and that will be coming in November. So look forward to that — and meanwhile prepare for a little bit of cultural whiplash. Listen to part one here. Here are the sketches, in order:

Girl With No Gaydar (S27E17: The Rock, 4/13/2000)
Donatella Versace (S30E18: Johnny Knoxville 5/7/2005)
Two Gay Guys (S32E4: Hugh Laurie 10/28/2006)
Deep House Dish (S32E7: Matthew Fox 12/1/2006)
Vincent Price Holiday Special (S34E16: Alec Baldwin 2/14/2009)
Stefon (S36E15: Russell Brand 2/12/2011)
Right Side of the Bed (S40E19: Scarlett Johansson 5/2/2015)
Dyke & Fats (S39E16: Louis C.K. 3/29/2014)
Whiskers R We (S41E13: Melissa McCarthy 2/13/2016)
Bowen Yang Surprisingly Gay (S46E17: Carey Mulligan 4/10/2021)

If you want to watch these, they're all posted on Patreon here. You can see Drew's master list of LGBTQ-focused SNL sketches 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

A Queer History of SNL, Part One Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to a new season of Gayest Episode Ever. It will be a Saturday Night Live-centric season. Among the regular, sitcom-focused episodes, we will be doing periodic deep dives into the LGBTQ-focused sketches that ran on the show during its various eras.

To kick it off (and to kick off the new season), we are starting with a two-part look at the various queer-adjacent recurring sketches from SNL. This first episode covers the launch of the show until the mid-90s, and next week's episode will get us through the current era. Enjoy? Maybe? It's a lot to take in, honestly, but we swear it's worth discussion.

Here are this episode's sketches:

Anita Bryant (s5e16 — Burt Reynolds, April 12, 1980)
Dion (s9e8 — Flip Wilson, December 10, 1983)
Nancy Reagan (s11e2 — John Lithgow, November 16, 1985)
Coffee Talk (s16e13 — Roseanne Barr & Tom Arnold, February 2, 1989)
It's Pat (s17e3 — Kirstie Alley, October 12, 1991)
Lyle the Effeminate Heterosexual (s17e16 — Mary Stuart Masterson, March 21, 1992)
Mickey the Dyke (s22e8 — Martin Short, December 7, 1996)
Ambiguously Gay Duo (s23e20 — David Duchovny, May 9, 1998)
Jeffrey's (s26e12 — Sean Hayes, February 2, 2001)
Mango (s27e9 — Ellen DeGeneres, December 15, 2001)

You can watch the sketches on Patreon. You can see Drew's master list of LGBTQ-focused SNL sketches 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.

Barry's NoHo Hank Is a Great Gay Villain Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

"it takes a psycho" (April 30, 2023)

Barry is not a sitcom, though it was frequently one of the funnier shows on TV. We're doing a bonus summer episode about it anyway because its gay character, NoHo Hank, is a rarity on TV because he's both a villain and a person who doesn't let his sexuality define him. That's not necessarily a good thing, but we're all about complex, messy queer characters, and this is one people should be talking about. Special thanks to Emily Heller for sharing her recollections of working on the show.

SPOILER WARNING: We will talk about major plot points from Barry through season three, episode four.

Read the New York Times piece on gay villains on TV.

Listen to Drew and Glen discuss the Lookwell pilot on Talking Simpsons.

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.

Punky Brewster and Cave of Horrors Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

"The Perils of Punky" (October 20, 1985)

This might be the most famous weird episode of any TV show ever, and with good reason: it is utterly inexplicable how this parade of horrors came to be. It would be weird for any sitcom to deliberately scare its viewers, much less a show that catered specifically to kids. Wait, is the shared trauma of this Punky Brewster the reason why millennials can't stop talking about old TV? No, really — is this why???

This is an episode of our Patreon bonus podcast Weirdest Episode Ever. Listen to the rest of those episodes on Patreon or now also on Apple Podcasts!

Check out Drew's video of all the times Brandon the dog was clearly not acting and was, in fact, actually scared of what was happening during this episode.

Most of the quotes used in this piece come from this Yahoo TV retrospective on this episode.

Watch Drew's supercut of the Soleil Moon Frye's pre-Punky made-for-TV horror movie, Invitation to Hell — and listen to the Monday Afternoon Movie about it!

The logo for Weirdest Episode Ever was designed by Ian O'Phelan. The theme music was composed by Nick Loiacano.

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.

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