When I was a child, I think the only gay people I saw were on game shows, such as Hollywood Squares and Match Game. They were super gay, but not sexual, at least to me, but they were the smartest, the sharpest, and the funniest.
To think that in these last 40 years we have groups on both sides saying there are either too many or too few lgbtq people represented on TV is kind of amazing. Do I enjoy every gay character that is on TV? I do not. I feel that some of them are still too stereotypical, but then I have to remind myself that without those stereotypical gays we wouldn't have ever been on TV in the first place.
I miss Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly every time I watch a game show, wishing they were still around, or there were new men to take their place that are as wonderful as they were, without trying.
Talking about Hollywood squares makes me think of the TV I watched as a wee one in the 70s - talk shows! (sometimes the same guests as Match Game and Hollywood Squares.) My particular favorites were Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin - they always had Hollywood oldsters on who were willing to spill the dirt.
ReplyDeleteBut wandering back to your point - what about John Waters? He seems smart, sharp and funny in that effortless way. (not that thinking of one man who doesn't appear on tv that much is very helpful...)
Have you seen the Jane Espenson (Buffy!)/Brad Bell web series Husbands? It just finished it's second "season", but each season is only about 22 minutes long. It's fun! they're taking an old Hollywood sitcom staple (the newlywed marriage comedy) and updating it to a newlywed marriage equality comedy. It's very earnest, but also funny.
season one
season two
That's right! How could I forget those talk shows? They were so entertaining, and guests weren't just polite, they were also honest. I have enjoyed watching Dick Cavett episodes as I have gotten older, but I think if I watched those as a kid they would have gone right over my head.
ReplyDeleteI do love John Waters, and he is smart, sharp and funny in a natural way, but he seems to hide out more than participate, which is too bad. The world could definitely use more humor like his.
I have not seen Husbands, but I think I will check it out. If each season is about 22 minutes I really have no excuse.
Did you hear about John Waters hitchhiking across america? He's writing a book! But I know what you mean - he's not as ubiquitous as Charles Nelson Reilly or someone who's on television five nights a week.
ReplyDeleteAgree about Dick Cavett!
I didn't know about the book! Crackpot and Shock Value are two of my favorite books that he has written. The idea of seeing him five nights a week sounds like it could be fun. For one week. He IS funny, but I don't see him playing to the audience as much as the others did.
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