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In this Very Special Edition of She Made Me Watch This!, Lori and I discuss some of our favorite lesbian episodes and moments on American television in the last 20 years. Relive the glory days when there were actually lesbians on prime-time network TV, as we discuss (and show clips!) from lesser-known shows like Dark Angel, Once and Again and Wonderfalls, and more popular ones like Buffy, Xena, ER and The L Word.
Let us know your favorites in the comments — and look for a countdown of our least favorite lesbian TV moments in Monday's episode of Who Thought THAT Was a Good Idea? She Made Me Watch This! Favorite Lesbian
Moments
(Oh, and for those of you wondering: Lori's Yoda t-shirt reads "Make fun of me you should not" — which begs to be made fun of!) Submitted by on November 9, 2007 - 6:00pm. |
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I agree and might add...
Make fun of a yoda shirt?!
Never! Yoda rockz!
Fab vlog as per usual :)
Relativity
"I'd be doing exactly what Original Cindy is doing."
"You'd be calling me 'Boo'?"
I laughed so loud at that that my mom heard me all the way across my house, through her bedroom door! I was not expecting that :P
I've never watched Relativity, and quite frankly, this might be only the second time I've heard of it. And it's very likely that the first time was some AfterEllen article. But I remembered what show it was because of the seismologist reference. It's probably one of the funniest lesbian scenes I've ever seen, just because of the whole earthquake machine thing. So I found this clip on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZgNu9a6AGw
I hope it's the right one :P
I don't know if you couldn't edit this clip into the vlog because of copyright issues, but I hope it's ok to post it here. If it isn't, I'll edit the post :)
I'm looking forward to Who Thought THAT Was a Good Idea on Monday. God knows there have been countless stupid lesbian moments on TV... it's time someone ranted about them, and who's better at that then you guys, right? ;)
1 connects to 2
(Oh, and for those of you wondering: Lori's Yoda t-shirt reads "Make fun of me you should not" — which begs to be made fun of!)
How does it beg to be made fun off?
That scene in the pilot of Dark Angel will always make me laugh. Lauren Lee Smith then went off to play a genetically engineered superhero in Mutant X then, left that show and played a certain soup chef who made lunch for her girl. (It is funnier in my head I swear.)
Sarah, you didn't like the muses? You had to like the the one in "Lying Pig", the angel in the cab Jaye through out the window as it screamed, "I didn't say anything!"
And just to be annoying- The founder of AfterEllen has a girlfriend named Lori? Why didn't that that occur to me earlier? I feel like a idiot. I like making connections, it amuses me.
"Bad jokes are us, ur me."
Awesome...love having clips!
You can see Once & Again
The first two seasons are available on DVD, and it's so worth it. Now if they would just give us season three.
~ Angie
http://www.watchersgames.net
Once and Again
There has been a bit of progress on the season 3 release, not much, but if we keep pushing we could get it. Here's the link to the info, spread the word and make lots of noise!!
Love the clips when you're
Love the clips when you're mentioning tv shows. I loved "Picket fences" and I also remember where I was when that kiss happened! I remember feeling such joy because I was finally realizing who I was. Good times...
I agree with thoughts about Exes&Ohs! Love the show, they have to give it a second season. How hot IS SAM/MARNIE ALTON?! I have a huge crush on her, it's insane.
Love you guys so much!
Other favorite moments
It would be hard to pick a favorite moment between Kim & Kerry on ER:
-Kim kisses Kerry followed by, "That's why I can't be your friend, Kerry."
-Kerry blocks Kim's exit with, "I'd like you to stay."
-The scene with Kerry in the shower touching her finger to her mouth and then the awkward scene in the kitchen, the morning after her first time with Kim.
All 3 scenes can be found in this compilation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO-iieX3RIA
My favorite Sandy & Kerry lesbian moment is when Sandy outs her in the middle of the ER by kissing her (not that I would approve of such behavior in real life), and then when Kerry later tells Sandy that she did do her a favor.
I would also have to add Bianca & Maggie from All My Children to the favorite moments list, but I would put Bianca & Zarf/Zoe on the worst lesbian moments list.
There is a great site for seeing the Bianca and Maggie storyline in its entirety. BAM for Beginners has a timeline that includes links to online clips of almost all of Bianca's scenes since coming out involving Frankie or Maggie, so you can watch them in order. Here's the link:
http://www.bamforbeginners.com/timeline/
~ Angie
http://www.watchersgames.net
thanks for the link to Kim and Kerry
Angie 5x5, thanks for these links. I'm a bit slow on the youtube uptake so I always love these links form Afterellen comments.
I saw snippets of this when it was on, but I think I must have been working and studying part time and not in possession of a TV or a TV licence which I couldn't afford at the time (we have to pay a tax to watch TV in the UK).
I was alerted to ER from somewhere and watched the subsequent Sandy series and was aware of the Kim storyline so I have spent a most enjoyable couple of hours filling myself in from your link. So good. How well written and acted a character is Kerry's role as an older women who's buried her emotions and tried to order her life around her? Brilliant.
It's been great to remember
It's been great to remember all these shows. I have seen Once and Again once and again.
Thanks, JuliaG, for the link. Relativity was a great show.
I loved Xena and Buffy I
I loved Xena and Buffy
I wasn't actually allowed to watch Buffy as a kid - I used to tape it and then get up an 3am and watch it then... very very sneaky. I was so upset when the tape didn't work for the last episode of season 3 I was so upset... then my aunt kept calling it "fluffy"
The "Secret Life of Us" an Australian drama, also had a lesbian couple, that was my favorite because it was just shown as being normal and there was no stunt factor involved.
Does the Secret life of Us show in other countries?
I loved The Secret Life of
Yep
Secret Life of Us
This was a great, well-scripted, well-executed Aussie show shown 7 years ago in the UK on Channel 4. Series 2 was shown on the same channel but the day and time of the scheduling changed with almost every episode and then I think the subsequent series were not shown in the UK at all.
Claudia Karvan's character, the self-contained, career=going well, love life=not going so well, Dr Alex Christiensen, became all the more attractive when she considered the possibility of being sexually attracted to another woman; the well travelled, comfortably bisexual Pandora, a friend of Miranda, a neighbour, in episode 13 "Secrets and Lies" in series 1.
It's one of my favourite TV moments I must confess. Well done for bringing it up!
Attachments, anyone?
I watched "The secret life of us" when it aired in my country; Claudia Karvan is eye candy. (She played gay in a short film called "Two girls and a baby" - 1998.)
I religiously watched "Playing the field" when it aired (notice Debra Stephenson aka Bad Girls "Shell Dockley" in pink):
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=TBxoWOhGjSI
And more recently, Bad Girls, who can forget this little scene:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=n46mnELrVdU
Now, I also watched a BBC series called Attachments which starred Amanda Ryan as out lesbian Sophie Moore. Does anyone remember this series?
_ _ _ _ _
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)
I'd forgotten Playing the Field!
Hey Mara!
I recall Two Girls and a Baby although I've not seen it. But Claudia Karvan seems to be a true advocate of ours, so I salute her and it's everyone's loss that she married and became a mum to a pre-formed family, which she appears to sight as a major reason for not leaving Oz to spread her talent and liberal views to wider audiences. Thanks Claudia for what you have achieved, though. She should be in the next Hot 100, actually.
How could I have forgotten about Playing the Field? Thanks for the links. Surely a main stream one-off for showing that gay relatonships happen in almost all womens sports teams? I recall this being on a main stream channel in a popular Sunday evening slot? So this reached a lot of people? And I seem to remember the glorious Anne Reid as Ange's Mum, portraying a northern small-town woman loving her daughter and caring for her happiness more than what anyone might say. And Kerry being intimidated at work for her burgeoning sexuality and being prepared to go public and face down any workplace bullying than compromising her blossoming relationship with Ange...ground-breaking indeed. But almost off the radar. I'd forgotten all about it until you prompted me!
Is it just the time differences or have UK reminiscences taken over these comments? Afterellen.com, I've emailed to tell you this a few years ago, but you have brought us together! Well done Ladies!
The Atlantic seems to be a big barrier
... when it comes to tv programs, Sal. I think I'm fortunate to be able to watch a lot of US and UK series as they are in my country. Not all of the aforementioned in this thread, nor always the good ones (quality writing wise) but I get to see a lot.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see Sarah (and maybe Lori, too) tackle European tv series that has interesting lesbian storylines?
_ _ _ _ _
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)
1993 a good year for lesbians :)
I've never seen 4 of the tv progs guess I will have to get a copy of them all now. I loved Brookside (I'm a Brit) with Anna Friel playing Beth. I loved Beth-Margaret storyline and her dealing with coming out. They did so much processing! A character on Emmerdale Zoe Tate came out in the same year 1993, a good year for Brit Lesbians :)
I love Buffy, Picket Fences I remember that episode well, I also like L Word although flawed I feel I should watch it. As for ER I prefer the Kerry/Kim storyline which was more prominent. As I am writing this I am sadly remembering that the storylines start well then go off track.
Also liked Playing the field, Bad girls, Sugar rush and Meet the Braithwaites although a crazy series.
I watched all of these but it still took me years to realize why I liked them all so much. Doh!
We were talking about the
I too loved Sugar rush and
I too loved Sugar rush and meet the Braithwaites. Although both are now off air and sadly missed.
Thought this vlog was great and share a lot of the same views as everyone else posting. Keep up the good work.
Take care
?
I think you mean 'At home with the Braithwaites' Yeah we always used to watch that in our house. Every Thursday night or something. Wow that was back in 2000, i was about 13/14, around the time I realising things about myself :-P
I used to love Sarah Smart's character, she was a right scruff but it was amusing watching her so obsessed with her neighbour! LOL. That was ace. Didn't care much for the ginger uggo she ended up with though. Or Megan manipulating her for the money :-( Or that wedding! LMAO what a crock of sh1t :-P
I was 14 in 1993 and I was watching!
kazcymru- Of course the Beth and Zoe storylines!
We forget those pre-internet days of scratching around for any sign of visibility! I was growing up on a UK farm in the middle of nowhere and these soaps gave me the shred of hope I needed to see that I didn't have to move to London and shave my head in order to be gay (although I think that would have been great fun on both counts, I never did either!). Yes, I was that ignorant and that scared that I would have to leave the life I loved completely and ghettoise myself into a "gay existence". I hear that letters and phone calls to gay switchboards shot up around the time of Beth-Margaret storylines on Brookside. I've met lots of lesbian vets and veterinery nurses of a similar age too, so wonder if that's a symptom of vet Zoe Tate's storyline or just a caring profession / animal lover thing!
The other show for visibility I recall around this time was the three part adaptation of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. I recall watching it in the same room as my parents and being petrified of giving myself away! I just want to go back and tell myself not to worry - I'll turn out fine! Aww.
Russell T Davies of Queer as Folk and Dr Who fame (and another Welsh dweller, for those who are unfamiliar!) recently told a newspaper how much he hated the phrase "gay teenager". The reason he hated it? Because he was so jealous of people being comfortable with their sexuality at a younger age than he could ever have dreamt of. I know what he means, but I'm delighted it's happening.
Love this site
you let people know about lesbians that are on tv. I didn't know about some of these shows until i read some other articles mentioning them.
seriously if i hadn't discovered this site, i would probably be lost on the lesbian visibility on tv, and just be stuck watching tv shows with out any lesbians. which is alright sometimes, but nothing beats a good lesbian storyline. even if they are always the same.
Xena and Gabby....
Sarah and Lori----Loved your list---Xena & Gabby, ER's Laura Innes and Willow have my votes.
Ebay just got $133.56 from me as I finally bought the entire 6 seasons of Xena...I may not ever leave my house....
Mari SanGiovanni
Author of: Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer...
www.GreetingsFromJamaica.com
Does this mean. . .?
Buffy & Xena
Excellent
Can I just say...I love you guys!! That was such a good vlog. Thank you so much for compiling the clips, and for your insights. It was fab to see all those scenes again..particularly Once and Again, that was such an excellent show - like Sarah, I watched it long before the lesbian storyline. The Herskovitz/Zwick shows were always excellent and also always quite gay-friendly/inclusive.
THANK you! Looking forward to Monday's vlog, I can only imagine the horror LOL
Shooting scripts
In the script, there is an additional line after Jessie kisses Katie on Once & Again:
Jessie: Oh my God.
Katie: What?
Jessie: I just never... understood kissing. Until just now.
(from Once and Again "THE GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE" DRAFT/REVISION 12/13/01)
I think it was better without that line (because their expressions speak volumes), but it is an interesting addition - that "oh, now I get what all the fuss is about" moment.
Another great shooting script to read is the original script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Conversations with Dead People" with Tara appearing to Willow instead of Cassie. It was so much more heart-wrenching. I understand Amber Benson's reasons for not doing it, but I wish she had.
~ Angie
http://www.watchersgames.net
So I am NOT the only one
the one with the moose ...
... was actually Northern Exposure, another show people for some odd reason kept confusing with Twin Peaks (they even did one episode that was kind of a Twin Peaks parody in response to that).
Picket Fences had many wonderful things like a singig, politically incorrect attorney, mayors that kept dying bizare deaths and a cross-over-that-never-was with the X Files.
The Least Among Us
Great job with the vlog, as usual. The clips give me a whole new set of shows to check out--though, I wonder, is it bad form to check out these shows on DVD during the writers' strike? Is that akin to crossing a picket line?
All my recommendations for shows to add to my Favorite Lesbian TV Moments have already been mentioned...either in the vlog or the comments...but I do want to highlight Fastlane's kiss between Billie and Sara. I think that one resonated with me because, quite honestly, my expectations were so abysmally low. I'd seen other episodes of the show and when I first read about the storyline, I thought: there's no way they get this right. And yet, much to my surprise, they did.
As for shows for inclusion in your Least Favorite Lesbian TV Moments, I've got a few recommendations. Both Friends and Ally McBeal using the ol' lesbian-until-the-end-of-sweeps-week trick with Jennifer Aniston and Winona Ryder and Calista Flockhart and Lucy Liu, respectively.
Bianca Montgomery's storyline on All My Children was historic, but in ABC's overzealous attempt to push the envelope, the Bianca/Zoe/Zarf pairing killed the magic. Paige and Alex were groundbreaking on Degrassi until...um...I'm still not sure what happened there.
You mentioned this in a recent vlog, so I doubt you'll rehash it, but Serena Southerlyn's coming out confession just as she was being fired on Law & Order certainly belongs on any least favorite lesbian moments list. And, of course, there are the portrayal of lesbian psycho killer on _________ (fill in crime drama here).
Amazing how much easier my least favorite lesbian TV moments came to me than my favorite ones...go figure.
ditto!
I loved that Ally Mcbeal episode, I've watched it several times, it's deff one of my favorites too :)
"i don't suffer from insanity...i enjoy every minute of it"
correction...
my bad, a user let me know I missread ur comment, I did like the Ally Mcbeal episode, it was just a situation that could be expected considering the nature of the show.
I do agree on the Friends episode. As much as I love Winona Ryder, I could not see her attraction towards Jennifer Aniston, so that would be indeed one of the worst lesbian moments on TV.
"i don't suffer from insanity...i enjoy every minute of it"
Phoebe
The Jennifer Aniston/Winona Ryder thing was lame, but it was worth putting up with for the Phoebe/Rachel kiss afterwards. I wasn't expecting it, and it was so Phoebe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ6Do50Eel0
Phoebe: Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Rachel: And?
Phoebe: I've had better.
~ Angie
http://www.watchersgames.net
i love
question about the comics
DITTO!!!
Oh, books! Plus...a story!
It must be a coincidence that the same day you put up See Jane Lead in the center of your vlog, it was the bane of my existence when I tried, unsuccessfully, to add it to a display I was working on at the bookstore I work at, right?
...right?
Also, speaking of books, and speaking of Yoda, might I recommend the following book to Lori: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780756632021&itm=1
P.S. I remember when they were running promos for that Once and Again episode, I specifically stayed up (it was a school night!) to watch that one scene. Except, this was when I was living at home with my parents, and seeing as they don't take kindly to my lesbianism, I had to turn off the lights and basically keep the sound to just above a whisper. But, still, when I saw the two girls kiss, I felt a sort of vindication in seeing myself--the young, searching, uncertain lesbian--represented on a national stage.
"Out of the box is where I live." -Starbuck
Good Job!
I think I should thank you guys for reminding me of childhood/adolescent moments in my life like Silk Stalking, ER and Buffy, I didn't remember Georgia Fox on ER, but I actually watched that episode, thanks for bringing it back ;)
Ellen: I used to watch it, but I think it got cancelled in Mexico just after she came out, and just recently their airing it again but the don't rerun the episodes with her and Laurie too much, I've only watched the episode where Ellen's parents get married again and Ellen asks Laurie to marry her and she says no, I was a little dissapointed there...
Buffy: My bff and I were obsessed with Buffy in Junior High, we even picked it as a topic for our website creation assignment, my bff was in love with Angel, I was in love with Faith, Cordelia and Drucila (if that's how u spell it)
Once & Again: it was also one of my favorite shows, I think Sela Ward is amazing, and Sarah, Evan Rachel Wood also gets around playing bisexual/lesbian wannabe characters, let's not forget Thirteen and Pretty Persuasion.
The L Word: the scene where Marina makes her move on Jenny is one of my fav lesbian scenes of all times, I was just amazed by Marina's character during the 1st season, she seemed so sofisticated, of course she was also sexy, foreign and spoke like 4 languages, I find that HOT.
Exes & Ohs: The show has made it to my favorites list. Michelle Paradise is my new heroine, I love her writing, the characters are amazing, I really enjoy the show, and I agree the chemestry between Sam and Jen is just GREAT!
great vlog as usual, love y'all!
"i don't suffer from insanity...i enjoy every minute of it"
Where do I begin?
Excellent list you ladies have there. I've actually seen most of those.
Buffy, although I hadn't watched the show (I know, it's blasphemy!), I really liked the Willow/Tara / Willow/Kennedy pairings. One of my favs.
Xena/Gabby is my favorite of all time. I loved that final scene. I was so impressed with how they made that scene; the whole idea of "giving water" to save Xena made me laugh. We all know there was no water there. 0_0
I was one of the few that watched Wonderfalls. Saw it when it aired was on LOGO a while back. I appreciated it. Not the best show but the main character Jay? was fun to watch. Secretly though, I think I was waiting to see if the writers would dig a little deeper with the lesbian storyline [or rather, create one].
Thanks to Youtube, I managed to see the earthquake simulator scene from Relativity. Wished I had seen the show.
Some of my favorites that you missed were:
That episode of Fastlane where a Jamie presley's character was seduced by Tiffani Theissen (better known as Kelly from Saved by the Bell). Didn't see the show, but this epi was entertaining. It were a few moments in there.
Any scene with Bianca and Maggie AKA BAM from ALL my children. Reminds me of those days before I had Softball practice and a social life. Ahh, soaps were fun to watch. *le sigh*
Nina's heavenly Delights. I liked everything about it, the music, he accents. It was all good.
Oh yea, and btw, in the last episode of Exes & Ohs I felt like they were hinting at Sam and Jen getting together in the future... maybe? [or maybe that's in the Wishful thinking edition?] LoL. Either way, I like their chemistry.
And clips were a great addition to the Blog.
Don't be a slave to the unavailable!
my bad...again
I totally misspelled Jorja Fox's name, I am so not paying attention today, stupid school papers taking my attention away from the blogs *smh*
"i don't suffer from insanity...i enjoy every minute of it"
One More
Okay...I'm slightly embarrassed that I thought of one more...but the lesbian storyline on Girlfriends definitely deserves to be on your least favorite list.
Thanks...
Always will be Xena
Ofcourse I've seen and loved all the moments of: Ellen, Buffy, Once and Again, O.C., S.O.N. and The L-Word (but didn't like the character Jenny from the start, so I didn't go wild for the Marina story, although love Alice,Dana (loved and still do),Shane and Tibette(since the 4th season because they both have grown)).
But my all-time favorite stays XENA. From beginning to the end there was subtext. Plus the actresses are amazing. There are to many moments to talk about. Just to name a few: Is there a doctor in the house, The Quest, Ides of March, The Abyss, When Fates Collide. I loved it so much because it was develloped over six seasons, first it was subtext, in the 6th season it became maintext. But I'm gonna shut up about it because we've talked a million times about it (so good is the story,lol).
Loved this episode!
Good TV
Hmmm, What a range of shows this list has grown. I didn't really get into the Buffy's and the Zenas BUT
-I still remember watching Ellen the first time round and thinking this chick is cool and she has good taste in shoes. Little did i know that it was the stirrings of a crush.
- The BROOKSIDE story line was also amazing - i couldn't believe that they actually had to girls kissing on a soap. Sigh. It was very delicious back in the day.
-The L word - OBVIOUSLY, how could a show with so many gorgeous ladies NOT make the list, By now I was already out and fine with telling people I wouldn't go out - the sexy hotties were on TV.....hmmm... shane....yum.
All I can now say is BRING IT ON - we need more and more story lines with depth and content and not just thrown in there for the boys to drool over!
Wasabi
Best.Moments.Ever.
I must say you perfectly nailed it, as always... All my favorites moments were there and the clips you showed were the same ones I have seen dozens of time (especially the once&again and OC ones!).
So I know this is no news but you rock ladies!
On a sidenote, you should definitely read the Physics of the Buffyverse, of course only if you are HUGE geeks, which is my case.
And when you are missing a clip with lesbian content it is almost always to be found on the forum of xenababe
http://z9.invisionfree.com/Xenababe/index.php?showtopic=103
whose lesbian moments collection is impressive. But maybe there is some problems there with copyright for you, even if there are only clips??? I don't know so if there is, my apologies.
Can't wait to see the monday edition!!
"I'm gonna give you all a nice, fun, normal evening even if I have to kill every person on the face of the Earth to do it"
excellent presentation
I would definately add Talia and Ivanova on Babylon 5 (esp the episode "divided loyalties") and Melanie and Lindsay in Queer as Folk. Also, I wouldn't have reduced the Xena and Gabrielle relationship to only the finale. There are better moments on the show - the dance (heart of darkness) the kiss (return of the valkyrie), the other kiss (the quest), many many I love you's and special moments (one against an army comes to mind), lesbian love triangles (with the two Najara episodes).
You also left out "best friends" on Cold Case, which I find amazing and so well done.
And as for Buffy, I would add that love scene in "touched", as it really was groundbreaking by showing two women having sex just as they show heterosexual couples.
Best kiss on television was actually between Lucy Liu and Calista Flockhart, and I think it is worth mentioning.
THANK YOU!
I just saw (literally, episode just went off) the "Best Friends" episode of Cold Case Files and was so impressed with the episode that I had to google it. I didn't know the name of the episode so I just had to put in "cold case tv lesbian" and the first thing that popped up was your response to She Made Me Watch This . Thank you for mentioning this episode, it was really beautiful, even though it was tragic. Usually I would say it was the "typical" handling of lesbian storylines, but on Cold Case everything is tragic so the drama fit right in.
I am really impressed that they even let this episode air, seeing how CBS can be really conservative. Rose& Billie were too cute together. This is definetely going in my list of "fav lesbian moments on tv" . :o)