No Gays of Our Lives

[SFK]

I love Bogle's books. And black sitcoms of the '70s like The Jeffersons and Good Times with their incredibly witty, hilarious political bite sadly lost all of their teeth and became silly, hackneyed, typical sitcom fare by their final seasons. Bogle even points out that "Television's first black bitch" ( ) has a line about feeling like she's finally at home and with family upon being welcomed into the Carrington fold. So much for the black family that raised her tail.

[SFK]

And then you have a predominantly black critical darling like The Wire that is VERY popular with white people (it's even on a funny online list of "Things White People Like" ) that gets about zero mainstream media coverage and isn't even propped by its edgy network of origin.

[DRW50]

The same happened with Oz. That was like HBO's forgotten child, especially after the Sopranos took off. I think that there was probably some hesitation about praising the show's diversity since it was set in a prison, but I think that show had far riches roles for minorities than anything else on TV in that era, especially Adebisi.

[SFK]

I guess the world needs more Aunt Idas (The following clip contains language that may be offensive to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.):

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[SFK]

I LOVED Oz and I need to catch up on all that I missed. I want the actors on my soap opera to look and be written like that, not the prison angle, but that kind of grit, that depth.

[EricMontreal22]

Actually, I'm gonna disagree here (though I get your point). If anything ABC has been GAYER since Disney bought them--Disney has also been far better than a lot of companies and not backing down under Religious Right and Family Values boycotts for doing things likeoffereing same sex benefits totheir workers (years before many other companies) or "unoficially" (granted) hosting GayDays at their theme parks. On the soaps alone we had Bianca, Kevin Sheffield, Kish (well and Daniel Coulson and random GH gays, but...). Disney buyin gABC has done a lot of bad, just as Capitol City did before, for soaps, mainly cuz it puts ABC daytime into an even tinier bubble, but...

And don't get me wrong--Disney has certainly done their share of crap, and when it comes to the gay thing their shareof double standards, but in that case I think they're one of the lesser evil companies.

[EricMontreal22]

I agree, but I think it was more complex, as you imply. The show always divided critics (unlike the overpraised Soprano's or my beloved, and amittedly not very diverse, Six Feet Under) and, even though Soprano's is quite rough it's not as rough as Oz--it always was going to get more mainstream success. HBO were just backing the pony they thought would win (Oz though, like The Wire--which of course was endlessly praised by critics--did get long runs...)

Oz also I think sorta was thoughtof as old school HBO even though it was still running when Soprano's started and they really pushed theri new mantra (at least I believe it still was).

[JackPeyton]

Disney sure doesnt care how gay ABC Family is.

Greek has done a great job with gay characters and romances. Even the uver religious Secret Life recently brought on a gay guy.

[Saving ATWT]

Agreed, Nuke on World Turns might be a conservative take on the gay relationship; however, Luke, Noah and now Reid seem to blend into the fabric of Oakdale. The fact that TPTB have been restrained doesn't shock me because, in general, the PGP soaps are conservative even when it comes to str8 people. I actually think the Brian marrying Lucinda story was a little bit risky. ATWT can get away with restraint because the majority of characters are Splenda-sweet.

I remember the homophobic attitudes some characters had on AMc during the Trangender storyline. The guy was called a freak and other neg names. While I think this may have been a realistic take on common attitudes, the entire thing smelled like a PSA or After School Special. All gay characters on the ABC soaps are 'special guests' used for the purpose of shock and buzz. I do think ABC was worried about OLTL becoming the 'gay' show. Why else would they fire Kish right before the Spirit awards? Also, with the end of ATWT, ABC probably sees room for OLTL to grow and did not want the show to be too edgy in a manner that might turn off viewers.

I never expected so much interest when I posted this topic last night.

[EricMontreal22]

Besides Nuke though, what are these other P&G characters who are treated more as a part of a family than, say, Bianca was her first two years, etc? Olivia/etc were always sketchily drawn IMHO and are a very recent thing. But I do see that point and somewhat agree with it.

I also can'thelp wondering if putting the gay wedding/Dorian story on the air in the Fall combined with Kish was a mistake (well, I think ti was cuz I thougth it sucked, but...)

[DeeeDee]

Exactly.

Compare The Wire & Mad Man.

Two great shows yet only one gets the awards.

[EricMontreal22]

I'm still shocked the Wire never won any of its three (2?) writing Emmys--but the Emmys are kinda a joke anyway. (It has won however about a gazillion NAACP awards )

[Vanguardian]

Well, Carl, unless you're a writer of the soaps or work for the network, I don't know if NO is the right word to use. Furthermore, I'll be 100% convinced that Y&R has abandoned the gay thing when or if they get rid of the Rafe character (just like they got rid of Phillip) altogether and convince me that the Chance character really does have a thing for Chloe! So far, Chance's behavior convinces me of no such thing!

[Vanguardian]

Yep, the decision to throw away Kish is perplexing. Just as they were about to embark on the next phase of their lives, becoming same-sex parents, TPTB get rid of them. Seeing Kish being played out as same-sex parents would've been a great and very timely story.

[All My Shadows]

See, though, I always considered the fact that these shows could be about things other than political issues to be a good thing. Good Times might have lost a little something because it specifically took place in the projects and dealt not with just racial issues but also socioeconomic issues, too, but The Jeffersons, IMO, was at its best when it wasn't just the reverse of AITF.

That's why I think What's Happening!! is so damn underrated. Here was a sitcom about black teenagers who had adventures that all other TV teens had at the time. All of the characters could have been white, and the stories would have still been the same.

It ticks me off that there have only been two somewhat successful black family dramas in all of US TV, and one of them is cable and the other was premium. Like...god damn, man. What is wrong with these people? I want to see a TV version of Crooklyn.

Aunt Ida! Aunt Ida! Don'chew look hawt, todaiiii, Aunt Ida.