How Do You Write a Sitcom About a Gay Bashing?
Gayest Episode Ever
Gayest Episode Ever
4.8 • 568 Ratings
🗓️ 29 August 2024
⏱️ 82 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Yep, we are still in summer reruns — but to return with new episodes in September! This one is out second look at the Showtime sitcom Brothers, which I feel too few listeners know about. Let this episode be your primer, however! And your jumping off point to watching the entire series on YouTube!
"It Only Hurts When I'm Gay" (October 25, 1985)
On paper, the idea of a sitcom taking on the subject of gay bashing seems like the worst idea, but somehow Brothers — TV's first gay sitcom — manages to tell a real story about violence against gay people while avoiding the hokey "very special episode" tropes. We're as shocked as anyone how good this turned out, and what's more, it's genuinely funny without underselling the gravity of the attack.
You can now watch Glen's movie, Being Frank, on Freevee via Amazon Prime. WATCH IT NOW!
Please, watch this episode (and other Brothers episodes!) on YouTube. The posting we used to do this episode only had 36 views as of the time this GEE first went live!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Drew, and we're still in summer reruns, but based on the listening numbers, |
| 0:04.4 | the episode you're about to hear is one you probably haven't heard before. |
| 0:07.9 | And I think I know why. |
| 0:09.1 | It's because it is an episode about the Showtime sitcom Brothers, which by most accounts was the first gay sitcom, |
| 0:16.7 | and is something that is very dear to my heart and Glenn's heart, because it is an 80s-style |
| 0:23.0 | sitcom where they're dealing directly with gay characters. |
| 0:26.7 | There are two gay characters on the show. |
| 0:28.6 | And as clunky as you think that might be, this show somehow gets to handle touchy topics |
| 0:36.4 | that other sitcoms can't handle. |
| 0:38.3 | And that's why I was really stoked to do this episode I'm about to introduce right now, |
| 0:43.6 | to do this episode I'm introducing right now, which is about gay bashing. |
| 0:47.5 | And I'm sure it sounds like a terrible idea to task a jokey sitcom with describing violence against gay men. But this is actually |
| 0:58.3 | to handle pretty well, I got to say, in a way that seems unreal and impossible and is just another |
| 1:04.7 | reason why I think Brothers is a sitcom that more people should know about. Brothers is not streaming |
| 1:09.8 | anywhere, sadly. I don't really |
| 1:10.9 | know why, but it is almost entirely up on YouTube. And since we've done this episode, I've |
| 1:16.6 | continued to watch Brothers. I really enjoy it. And I'd like to cover it again in the near future. |
| 1:21.6 | But I'm hoping that the next time we cover it, I can put the title Brothers in sitcom and it won't |
| 1:27.3 | be an instant |
| 1:27.8 | turnoff for most of you because it happens to be a show that you don't know. Sometimes you learn |
| 1:33.5 | about a show that you didn't know before and we help you like it and get interested in it. Maybe |
| 1:37.5 | you watch it too. Maybe you suggest episodes for us to cover. I think that'd be a lot of fun. There |
... |
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