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Stephen TropianoColumnsInto the MainstreamI am optimistic about what lies ahead as the prime time closet door continues to open. [19 November 2003] (more The Prime Time Closet) Making Prime Time Perfectly QueerThe charm and fashion sense of the Fab Five also eludes some members and/or advocates of the gay community. [27 August 2003] (more The Prime Time Closet) When a kiss is not just a kiss.What's different from the kisses that take place between these three couples versus the highly publicized same-sex kisses in the 1990s . . . is the two people kissing now are very much in love. [28 May 2003] (more The Prime Time Closet) Outing TV’s Heterosexual HomosexualsSoap used Jodie's sexual liaison with Carol as an opportunity to have his character function as a heterosexual on the level of plot, yet simultaneously maintain his position as the show's sexual other. [19 March 2003] (more The Prime Time Closet) Living Out Loud(T)he legacy of 'An American Family' serves as an important reminder of television's untapped potential to move us, to open our eyes, and to see the world beyond our backyard. [23 January 2003] (more The Prime Time Closet) Post-Ellen Blues: (Or Lack of?)From a creative, social, and political standpoint, are there any major differences between dramas on commercial/pay cable channels and the networks? [16 October 2002] (more The Prime Time Closet) The 2002-2003 Season Part 1: Same Old, Same OldReliving the '80s is perhaps the perfect metaphor for what the networks have in store for us this season. [11 September 2002] (more The Prime Time Closet) Sunday’s Not-So-Guilty-Pleasure. . . I think the series fills a void that is left by the other networks, which lately have limited gay characters to sitcoms. [19 June 2002] (more The Prime Time Closet) Open Letter to Showtime and MTVI am pleased MTV and Showtime are joining forces to create a gay television network. [17 April 2002] (more The Prime Time Closet) Awash in the SoapsWhile some might object to killing off the lover of the soap world's youngest lesbian, I see it as a sign of progress. [20 February 2002] (more The Prime Time Closet) I Want My Gay TVMuch like Justice Potter Stewart's definition of pornography, '. . . I know it when I see it', I know the 'gay sensibility' when I see it. [7 November 2001] (more The Prime Time Closet) Reviews
Barney Miller: The First SeasonBarney Miller offered a unique blend of comedy and social commentary by making the detectives just as quirky as the colorful criminals coming through the squad room. [19 April 2004] 
Straight Plan for the Gay ManJonathan wonders what it would be like to spend one day working in the blue-collar world and be as 'unfabulous' as possible (Why? I have no idea.) [2 March 2004] 
Brooklyn South: The Complete SeriesThe first episode features the sort of graphic violence one would expect to see in an R-rated film. [23 February 2004] 
The Honeymooners: Classic 39 EpisodesWatch an episode of The Honeymooners and you will understand why the 1950s is remembered as the 'Golden Age of Television.' [1 December 2003] 
It’s All RelativeIt was only a matter of time before gay men on television were 'promoted' to parenthood. [13 October 2003] 
WhoopiWhoopi is intelligent and topical, infused with politically oriented humor reminiscent of such 1970s Norman Lear sitcoms as All in the Family and Maude. [16 September 2003] 
Targets (1968)Draws parallels between Bobby and Charles Whitman, though there's a much larger issue at stake: the availability of guns, at the root of the rise of violence in America. [15 September 2003] 
Lost in La Mancha (2002)What will most surely whet fans' appetites are the DVD's two 50-minute interviews with Terry Gilliam. [9 September 2003] 
The Best of Designing WomenThe situation introduced at the start of each episode served as a catalyst for the women's discussions about issues that mattered to them, namely, their bodies, sex, and men. [2 September 2003] 
Frasier: The First SeasonIn Frasier's freshman season, those episodes pitting father against son are by far the most entertaining and touching. [4 August 2003] 
Kiss Me KateCulminates with 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare,' a musical tribute to the Bard sung by the two thugs, looking comically uncomfortable in their 16th garb. [28 July 2003] 
Beautiful Thing (1996)A sweet, subtle slice-of-life drama about the sexual awakening of two gay teenagers whose home lives are less than perfect. 
Cheers: The Complete First SeasonLike Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in 'It Happened One Night', Sam and Diane's sexual tension is channeled through their verbal sparring. [23 June 2003] 
The Jeffersons: The Complete Second SeasonOn occasion, The Jeffersons made some attempt to offer social commentary, but it was difficult for a show so laden with crude humor to suddenly get serious. [2 June 2003] 
The White Sheik (1952)The fusion of the real and the imaginary is at the center of Fellini's first and one of his most underrated films, The White Sheik. [28 May 2003] 
Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy (2002)'They see a schlub like me get lucky,' Ron Jeremy explains. 'There's hope for everyone else.'" [28 April 2003] 
The Cook and Other Treasures (2003)Both films showcase Fatty Arbuckle's talents for physical comedy. [14 April 2003] 
All in the Family: Second SeasonIn the case of All in the Family and Sanford and Son, 'groundbreaking' is not an overstatement. [25 March 2003] 
Good Times: First SeasonIn effect, J.J. became the comic relief from which there was no relief. [28 February 2003] 
Shoeshine (Sciuscià) (1946)Focuses on the disintegration of a friendship between two Italian youths who fall victim to the state's juvenile detention system. [23 January 2003] 
The Big Picture (1989)'I don't know you, I don't know your work, but I think you're very talented.'" [18 October 2002] 
Hidden HillsEven more problematic is the moment when it's time for the episode's moral message, delivered with the subtlety of a bumper sticker. [7 October 2002] 
The JeffersonsThe first 13 episodes of 'The Jeffersons', collected on Columbia's new DVD, reveal why the show was not, after all, another 'All in the Family': its comedy was too broad to be taken seriously. [12 September 2002] 
1776 (1972)Fortunately, the film doesn't take itself or the three leaders of the independence movement too seriously. [12 July 2002] 
Welcome to New YorkChristine Baranski delivers one-liners so fast the audience barely knows what hit them. More importantly, she adds shading to what could potentially be a one-dimensional character. [1 January 1995] 
The Laramie Project'The Laramie Project' gives the townspeople a voice, an opportunity to respond to the murder and the trials that put them in the national spotlight. 
The Geena Davis ShowWhat's puzzling is why Davis would return to television in this paint-by-numbers sitcom in which she plays a nearly brain-dead career woman-slash-stepmother. 
The Ellen ShowCBS probably wanted it clear from the start that The Ellen Show, unlike Degeneres' previous series, is not a 'lesbian show,' but a show in which the main character just happens to be a lesbian -- an uneasy and unclear difference to be sure. 
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)As both a parody and a 'straight' summer camp comedy, 'Wet Hot American Summer' has little to offer even the most die-hard crude comedy fans. Tre Fratelli (Three Brothers) (1981/2001)Tre Fratelli serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of cherishing every moment we have on this earth. 
Paragraph 175 (2000)There is no doubt that future generations will benefit from Epstein and Friedman's efforts to preserve on film, in one survivor's words, 'uncomfortable memories' that history has almost completely erased. 
Just One Time (1999)Janger and co-writer Jennifer Vandever's screenplay ultimately compromises its sexual politics in order to make the film both gay- and straight-friendly. And yet, 'Just One Time' still has an underlying appeal due to its terrific ensemble cast and Janger's talent as a director, able to handle the film's occasional shifts in tone, between the more serious moments shared by Amy and Anthony, and the lighter touches of comedy, such as the guys' excursion to the gay bar. 
I’m the One That I Want (2000)In the film's most heart-wrenching moment, Cho describes how she lost all sense of her own identity in being so transformed into a commodity for public consumption. 
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (1999)When I was watching her host the PTL Club in the early 1980's, I always thought of her more as an entertaining oddity -- a bizarre cross between a country singer, a drag queen, and Elmer Gantry. 
The Broken Hearts Club (2000)In comparison to this club's bunch of self-involved twentysomethings [in 'The Broken Hearts Club'], Dawson and his pals on the 'Creek' are living on the edge. 
But I’m a Cheerleader (2000)Though behaving like proper girls and boys has little effect on Megan and the other patients, they still pretend that they are actually heading down the path to heterosexuality. 
All Over the Guy (2001)If 'All Over the Guy' is any indication of what Hollywood has in store for gay relationships, it looks like gay men and lesbians will be receiving the same shallow treatment as their heterosexual counterparts. |
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