The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV (28 page)

Buchanan’s moving story, which is eloquently delivered by Pringle, effectively makes an analogy between homophobia and racism. As I said in my introduction, the episode also delivers a more universal message about how we must not allow hatred and intolerance to control our lives.

In the 1980s, made-for-TV movies and dramatic series continued to focus on teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality. While some teens, mostly females, are left feeling confused after engaging in a little same-sex foreplay (like kissing and hugging), others realize their attraction to members of the same sex is not simply a phase they’ll outgrow.

Male teenagers were the first to take that giant step out of the closet in a series of made-for-TV movies. The genre, which had been tackling serious social issues since the early 1970s, provided the ideal forum for exploring a teenager’s coming out ordeal. TV movies also paved the way for the inclusion of recurring and regular young gay and lesbian characters on teen-oriented dramas and drama hybrids like
Beverly Hills, 90210, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
and
Popular.

A previously discussed episode of
Medical Center
(“Impasse”) portrays a hysterical young patient who almost jumps off the hospital roof because she thinks she’s a lesbian. Fortunately, her lesbian psychiatrist stops her in time and explains that having a single sexual experience with a woman does not mean she is a lesbian. Sexual experimentation is a healthy, normal part of an adolescent or young girl’s sexual development, but can also be a source of anxiety.

In a controversial episode of the offbeat drama
Picket Fences
(1992-1996), two curious teenage girls decide to see what it would be like to kiss each other (“Sugar and Spice”). But when Sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt) and his doctor-wife Jill (Kathy Baker) learn Jimmy’s daughter Kimberly (Holly Marie Combs) kissed her best friend Lisa (Alexondra Lee), they find it difficult to remain calm. Jimmy and Jill consider themselves liberal-minded people who support gay rights. (They refused to vacation in Colorado during the boycott.) However, they both admit it’s different when it’s your own daughter you want to protect from a cruel, homophobic world. Kimberly admits she’s scared because she was aroused by the kiss. She’s also afraid she is gay because her free-spirited biological mother, Lydia (Cristina Rose), had a lesbian affair.

Kimberly receives the guidance she needs from Lydia, who explains that her lesbian relationship in college was during the women’s movement. At the time, she had a stronger emotional connection with her female friends than with men. She became involved with a woman, but realized she was confusing intimacy with sexuality. She advises Kimberly to explore where her feelings for Lisa are coming from. Lisa admits she’s in love with Kimberly, who finally understands her feelings toward Lisa are not sexual. In a final point of irony, Kimberly thanks her three parents for not freaking out, which makes them even more ashamed about their initial homophobic reaction.

Series creator David E. Kelley’s terrific script treats a sensitive subject with honesty and intelligence. Jimmy, Jill, and Lydia are well aware their emotional response to Kimberly’s confusion is rooted in fear and contradicts their liberal ideals. Even Lydia, who has the most insight into the situation, admits she is relieved Kimberly isn’t gay. More importantly, Kelley keeps it “real” by not resorting to the usual eleventh-hour theatrics. No one delivers the standard “it’s O.K. to be gay” speech to Kimberly, who admits to Lisa she is relieved to know she’s not gay.

Kimberly and Lisa’s parents weren’t the only ones upset over the kiss. CBS was afraid if the kiss aired as it was originally shot, the network might forfeit advertising revenue. So Kelley and the network compromised and re-shot the scene in the dark — a decision executive producer Michael Pressman told CNN he didn’t feel “watered down the power of the episode.” One affiliate, KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, didn’t air the episode (as well as a previous episode about polygamy). Viewers did actually get a chance to see the “undarkened” kiss on an
Entertainment Tonight
news report, in which anchor Mary Hart invited viewers to judge the scene for themselves.

Despite CBS’s interference,
Picket Fences
paved the way for other dramatic series to examine the confusion that teenagers often experience when they find themselves drawn to the same sex. On
Party of Five
(1994-2000), Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell) develops a strong bond with a visiting writing professor, Perry (Olivia D’Abo), who happens to be a lesbian. In appreciation for helping her revise her short story, Perry submits Julia’s essay to her publisher. An excited Julia surprises Perry with a kiss on the lips (“I’ll Show You Mine”), followed by a slower, more romantic kiss (one we can actually see).

The kiss leaves Julia very confused because she is heterosexual, yet being around Perry makes her feel good about herself. Perry believes Julia’s feelings for her have more to do with her bad relationships with men, especially with her last, abusive boyfriend. In “Haunted,” the three-episode story arc concludes with Julia understanding, with Perry’s help, that her feelings for her have less to do with sexual orientation and more to do with her fear of being alone.

“When does friendship become something more?” The question was posed by the promo for “I’ll Show You Mine,” which teased the audience with a shot of Julia and Perry about to kiss. The sensationalistic ad (airing during May 1999 sweeps) cheapened a moment that is actually well-integrated into the storyline. More importantly, despite what the promo suggests, homosexuality is ultimately not the issue.

Fans of the show may have been surprised by just how comfortable Julia was around Perry. Three seasons earlier, she was taken off-guard when Allison (Poppy Montgomery), Justin’s (Michael Goorjian) friend from England, made a pass at her (“Poor Substitutes”). Julia flips out and makes a clueless Justin sit between them at the movies. But the situation also freaks out Allison, who tries to prove she is heterosexual by picking up a guy in a club. Julia comes to the rescue and offers Allison some good advice about not moving away from home to escape her problems — something Julia herself can relate to.

Julia isn’t the only Salinger with a same-sex admirer. Bailey (Scott Wolf) finds himself in a difficult situation when his ex-girlfriend, Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) has a new boyfriend, Elliot (Christopher Gorham), who’d rather spend time with him. Elliot and Sarah are both virgins, but she decides she’s ready to take their relationship to the next level.

In a humorous scene, Bailey tries to find out in a not very subtle way if Elliot’s gay or not (“Here and Now”). Did Elliot watch last night’s hockey game? Answer: No, he was listening to opera for his music class, but would have preferred to watch the game. Has he seen
Cats?
Answer: No, he hates musicals. The conversation gives Elliot the wrong idea, so when he finally comes out to Bailey, who tells him he’s straight, Elliot becomes upset and confused. Bailey doesn’t have the heart to tell Sarah the truth, but when Elliot breaks up with her without giving a reason, poor Bailey has no choice to explain that Elliot is gay and there’s nothing wrong with her.

Several teen-oriented series, like
Popular
(1999-2001) and the short-lived
Opposite Sex
and
Young Americans
(both 2000), have touched on the issue of sexual confusion. Directed at a younger audience than
Picket Fences
and
Party of Five,
the tone of these and other series is lighter, the characters less complex, and, a sign of the changing times, the gay or lesbian teenager is accepted by his or her peers.

The most original of the teen series,
Popular,
takes a satirical look at life in a Los Angeles high school, where the student population is divided into two distinct groups: the popular crowd and the wannabees. But when the father of the most popular girl in school, Brooke McQueen (Leslie Bibb) marries the mother of the popular crowd’s harshest critic, Samantha McPherson (Carly Pope), the rivalry between the two groups heats up.

The popular vs. the unpopular conflict provided series creators Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews a forum to deal with issues like self-esteem, sexual harassment, and political correctness in a hip, fresh, and honest manner. On the outside, the characters are pure stereotypes (the handsome jock, the attractive homecoming queen, the overweight girl), but through a blend of melodrama and self-referential humor (particularly in terms of popular culture), we get to see the real person hiding underneath the label.

In “Caged,” the ongoing feud between the blondes (popular) and brunettes (unpopular) gets out of control, prompting the guys to lock the girls together in the bathroom to iron out their differences. To pass time, Nicole (Tammy Lynn Michaels), the most vicious of the populars, decides they should play a little game. Earlier that day, in their feminist studies class, the women were discussing Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
The Scarlet Letter,
a novel their teacher Mr. Bennett (Mitchell Anderson) explains “is his life” because like Hawthorne’s protagonist, Hester Pryne, he once had a secret — he’s gay. In order to empathize with Hester, he asks them to write down a big secret about themselves, but not sign their name. Nicole swipes the confessions after class, and suggests trying to match each confession to its author. One of the secrets — “I’ve questioned my sexuality” — belongs to Lily Esposito (Tamara Mello), the group’s resident political activist. When she tries but fails to lose her virginity to her pal and fellow virgin Harrison (Christopher Gorham), she begins to wonder what’s wrong with her. Her best friend Carmen (Sara Rue) suggests maybe she’s not into guys. Their conversation ends with an innocent kiss, though once again we cut away before their lips meet.

The reaction she receives from the other girls are varied: Brooke admits she’s thought about it; Carmen gets angry at Lily for sharing what happened and insists she knows what she wants (“and it ain’t women”); and Samantha’s angry she was never told what happened. Lily admits meeting a guy ended her confusion. What is refreshing is the fact that no one is horrified over the idea of the two women kissing or that Lily might be a lesbian. The show’s real message is: don’t let shame or secrets control you.

Popular
also addressed the issue of homophobia in two episodes. In “Booty Camp,” Nicole is accused of mentally torturing a fellow student, Freddy Gong (Kelvin Yu), by making anti-gay slurs, even though he insists he’s not gay. She’s sentenced to a consciousness raising camp for the weekend, along with her male and female classmates on both sides of the popularity line who are guilty of making sexist remarks. The camp is run by a drill sergeant named Rock Glass, a relative of the group’s science-teacher-from-hell, the mannish Bobbie Glass (Diane Delano, playing both roles), who makes Nicole run laps and watch
Philadelphia
on an endless loop. Although she pretends the weekend had no effect on her, Nicole later apologizes to Freddy.

The high point of this inventive series was an episode about homophobia and intolerance (“Fag”). Lily overhears her male friends making “fag” jokes in front of a new student, Bryan Rose (Joel Michaely), who she assumes by his appearance is gay. She decides to form a chapter of G.L.A.S.S. (Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Supportive Students). When the idea of the group starts to cause problems around school, no one, including her friends, will join. Even Bryan, who gets the word “FAG” painted on his locker, stays away.

But Lily’s friends start to see the light when they each become the target of discrimination. While Sam and her boyfriend George (A.T. Montgomery) are out shopping, some girls make disparaging comments about them because they are an interracial couple. Sugar D. (Ron Lester) is turned down for a job at a hotel because he’s overweight. Brooke’s friend, Jamie (Nick Stabile), reveals he’s faced anti-Semitism, while Carmen (Sara Rue) discovers the manager of the clothing store where she works is a bigot.

Consequently, Lily’s G.L.A.S.S. meeting turns into a rap group for her friends to talk about prejudice and discrimination. But the group needs a faculty advisor, so it tries to recruit Ms. Glass, who refuses, but later admits she has questions about her sexuality. Lily takes Ms. Glass to the Gay and Lesbian Center to get some pamphlets. While walking back to the car, they’re gay-bashed. Lily lands in the hospital and in a touching moment, Miss Glass thanks her for taking her there, but admits she’s just not ready to deal with her issues. Lily’s friends are all ready now to join the group, but it’s disbanded because they don’t have a faculty advisor. To show she has made a difference, Bryan, who admits to writing “FAG” on his own locker to get Lily to stop her crusade, comes out to her.

This well-executed episode demonstrates how prejudice comes in all forms, none of which, including homophobia, should be tolerated. Lily’s friends learn the necessity of speaking out and of taking action against bigotry. In an amusing montage, each student returns to the place where he or she experienced discrimination to confront the guilty party. “Fag” is a rare example of a teen drama that teaches a valuable lesson without preaching to its young audience.