Thanks for another great vlog, ladies!  Always enjoyable.  Lots of insight.  I agree with everything you said, I only wish I had watched Buffy back in the day.  I don't know what I could have been watching instead.  No priorities, obviously.  It was great to recall some fun and happy lesbian TV moments, since we're in for a very dry Winter.  Thanks again for the smiles!

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.  Winston Churchill

What I love most about the kiss scene with Kerry and Kim is that after Kim leaves they stay on Kerry. It sounds cliche but you cant literaly see that the kiss left her breathless. Your first kiss with a girl will do that to you.

I am one of the few who really liked Kennedy. I thought she was gorgeous and I was glad that Willow got another chance at love. I remember watching the love scene and thinking "I can't believe they're actually showing this on network televsion".

 

I loved "Out of Practice". I wish I knew why it was not picked up for a second season. It had a great cast.

I was a little uncomfortable how quick Willow had another lover but I later found out that Joss wanted Willow to be with someone by the shows end. After that I realized how cool Kennedy was. Wow I was blown away when they aired that sex scene.

I don't remember Heartbeat but if they had given it a chance I'm sure I would of watched.

My favorite moment has to be Friends with Pheobe and Rachel (classic)now that was funny.

keep up the great work I LLLLLLOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEEEE the vblogs

My favorite parts:

when Lori said "...out of practice, I get it." LOL! Lori, better late than never, huh?

when Sarah said about the love scene between Willow & Kennedy "...we'll show it to you for educational purposes." LMAO! Thanks for the knowledge Sarah. You'd be a great professor.

Does the sex scene in ‘Once More With Feeling’ not count as the first on Network TV?  I know it was not quite like the one in ‘Touched’, but it was fairly explicit, what with Tara being ‘spread beneath her Willow tree.’  Hehehe!  The line following the Will/Kennedy scene is ‘it’s a total loss of control, and not in a nice, wholesome, my girlfriend has a pierced tongue kinda way’.  Awesome!  One of my favourite lines ever!!

I'm not finished watching (Monday Night Football is on), I just wanted to say I love your jacket Lori.

How did I miss this show? I don't even remember any controversy around it. Did these episodes actually air?

Hello Sarah and Lori,

It’s wonderful to have you back in full force, I was seriously missing the 2 regular vlogs! (I honestly think I was starting to hit the deep waters of heavy withdrawal!)  

I have not seen most of the moments you talked about here as it was not as easy to have access to American TV a few years ago but I absolutely enjoyed this and I had no idea of these storylines in Friends and ER for instance.

 One of the things I like the most about your comments is that you always talk about the importance of HOW the lesbian characters are presented and the type of storylines they have. This is majorly important because for instance I find myself often not having the same standards for lesbian plot lines and characters that I would have for other characters just because I am always so STARVED for lesbian characters on TV and film. However I do believe that it has come a time where we have the right to be much more demanding.

Another reason I love to watch the vlogs has to do with the fact that you both show an extensive encyclopedic knowledge of lesbians in TV and film which, believe it or not, always makes me feel less of a freak. I say this because I am one of those lesbians that tries to watch absolutely EVERY lesbian movie out there that I can get my hands on. It’s good to know I am not alone in my obsession. Lol

This however leads me to be sometimes trapped in what I like to call “the differentiated lezzie scale system”, i.e. I am often much more condescending with lesbian-themed movies. I would love to know what you guys think about this in a future vlog and I would certainly love to see you rate some of the now more frequent “lesbian B movies” out there that are able to challenge even the most dedicated lesbian-themed movie fan. Lol Because some of these movies are arguably bad and some even absolutely unwatchable, however I am always looking for a pearl somewhere during the plot. So here is a challenge for you, I hope you take it!

All the best from your Portuguese fan!

I might not have spelled her name right but she kept me watching ER! I had a huge crush on Julianna Margiles (sorry cant spell) and after she left I was so done with ER. Loved Gia!!! They couldn't have found anyone who else who was so perfect to play opposite Jolie. I just remember watching Elizabeth on ER and Weavers reactions was the  same as mine at the time (cause I was in denial).  That is definetly one of  my favorite lesbian moments ever i will never forget it.

Ya'll absolutly rock!!  

Even though I loved Tara and no one can ever replace her, I liked Kennedy from the get-go. She was very different and, well, hot!

It's great how you have clips of the shows you talk about! It helps a lot, even if it's just to jog our memories. I remember watching Out of Practice sometimes, but I would never have remembered it just from the title.

I love this vlog :D

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"The opposite of church is sperm!" - Sarah P. - The Lo-Down

 and somewhere in between I fall and develop amnesia.  I don't remeber HeartBreak on television neither Out of Practice. It was cool watching clips from former shows. Yet, I pick myself off and stroll this time and do remember Friends and ER's handling of Lesbian characters on their shows.

Great commentary Ladies!

 

I'm in Vibe this month...pick up a copy..check me out and then put it back on the stand. thanks.

peace imani (Imani Coppola's Black & White album from her mypsace page)

...i was still wondering why i liked the weaver-legaspi-storyline, the willow-and-whoever-storylines etc. so much. well, now i know. ;-) i think i've seen them all, except heartbeat and all my children. i don't think these were ever aired in little austria.

i just love your vlog!! sometimes i'm kind of surprised how much i've seen of all the stuff you're talking about. i was really looking forward to this vlog, after the 2-week-hiatus. don't make us wait that long next time! ;-)

and now a little question: is there a chance you will include lesbian moments (good, bad or worse) from non-american-tv or movies? hoping you will...

good night!

I think they had a little 'oops' moment there. She put down the menu twice! Hahah. Okay I notice weird things.

GReat VLog as always!

 

The Way The Cookie Crumbles

No Borders Allowed

I, too, ADORED this show.  I still have all the episodes that aired recorded on DVD and I still watch them.  This was the first sitcom where I liked EVERY character.  The writing was awesome, and the actors were superb.  I think if CBS was really invested in this show, they could have made it popular.  If I recall, the time slots they gave it was the kiss of death.  I understand there are one or two episodes taped that never aired.  What I would give to get my hands on those!!!!!  

I actually remember watching "Heartbeat". It was one of the few network shows with strong women characters never mind lesbians.  I liked the relationship between Kerry and Sandy even better than the one between Kerry and Kim. Kim hopped in the sack with another woman shortly after Kerry,so just how serious was she about Kerry?  Sandy was passionate about Kerry and wasn't about to let her ruin the relationship by staying in the closet. BUFFY jumped the shark as far as I'm concerned when they killed off Tara.I don't agree it moved the story line along. I still watched after Tara died but the show was never as interesting again. Regina was an unapolagetic skirt chaser    and I loved that about her. I wanted to see her get together with the Jennifer Tilley character even though Regina could have been her future step-daughter. Bianca and Lena were very good together but I always felt that ABC was afraid to let the relationship go anywhere and risk alienating their core audience. ABC- YOU DROPPED THE BALL!!!!  The new season of the L-WORD can't get here soon enough for me.

I found AE years ago because of The All Gay Recap of AMC. Hot Polish accents, snarktastic storylines....I miss the AGR. There were some great people posting on there. All the messed up soapiness. Lianca, Bam, Memo,Kinks, Lyrtle, Babianca etc. Good times.

I was fortunate to have seen all those except Heatbeats. I was too young, but you ladies got all my faves.

ER: Loved Elizabeth Mitchell's character then, but when I see ER now, i'm like she was kinda mean, but that was my show. I got hooked way back when George Cloonie and Juliana Margulies were on. It did jump the shark later on. I stopped watching regularly after they killed off Sandy. That was a bad move, big time.

QAF: I was one of the few who stuck by this show, largely because of the lone lesbian couple (though I loved what they did with Brian). They got minimum air time and that really sucked! It was frustrating but like you said, they did some good by serving as a precursor to The L Word. And yes, "fully-fleshed" they were on this show. Mel and Lindsey did it all, despite the amount of time they were given. They were just another "typical" lesbian couple, but it's better than nothing, right? Hey, at least no one died!!

All My children: As much as I tried to deny that I liked Eden Rigel (cuz she just bugged me!), she did well with the Bianca character. I was disappointed when they ended the Bianca-Maggie relationship, especially after all they went through for them to finally be together. *rolls eyes* W/E, I'm so over it!

And finally, on Buffy: All I have to say is "thanks for the lesson, Teach!!" LOL

Oh, and its such a shame Out of Practice didn't make it. I think people started watching just a little too late, myself included! =(

Don't be a slave to the unavailable!

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that joined Afterellen to keep up with the Bianca storyline on All My Children. It's kind of interesting to recall that storyline and compare it to the Luke-Noah storyline from As the World Turns (which I keep up with on Afterelton) and see how far same sex storylines have come on daytime television.

I hadn't thought about Out of Practice until a new weeks ago when Paula Marshall showed up on Nip/Tuck. After seeing the clip, I think I may try and track down some of the old episodes of the show. I need something to wipe the memory of Paula (Kate) on Nip/Tuck in the pool out of my psyche forever. ::shutters::

I'm definitely someone who was critical of Friends and some of their more gratitutious lesbian moments, but I'll concede the point to you, Sarah, they did actually break some ground.

As for QAF, I'm in agreement with Lori...I'll give the show a pass. Have their been any lesbian writers who've done good jobs portraying gay characters? Certainly not Ilene Chaiken.

Another great vlog! Thanks :)

I was so scared to watch AMC whenever Bianca came on screen.  I just knew my mother would magically know I was gay everytime Binks said it out loud.  Thankfully over the years I've been able to go back and watch everything I missed when my mom walked into the room.  Awww, Leo.  I watch Las Vegas to get my Leo fix. 

Elizabeth Mitchell was my ultimate crush for a few years.  Post Gia of course.  I had the same issue with watching her on ER as I did with Bianca.  I couldn't be in the room when she was on screen for fear the gay energy was gonna start glowing around me or something.  If anything should have tipped my mother off, it was me leaving the room everytime a gay character showed up on screen.  Especially when my face turned flush with heat just prior to my exit.

There is a huge irony here for me! Heartbeat was a major personal ping moment for me; leading to fleeting thoughts about one Kate Mulgrew. The irony comes 20 years later learning that there were lesbians on this show. Given I was only 11 in my own little sheltered way I likely thought the two women were roomates!

Anyways, once again great VLog ladies...

What a terrific follow-up to the PSAs! While I've never been really big on the whole 'everybody must be radically out and proud' concept, the lack of visibility of our kinfolk on major TV programs only allows the general public to think of us as 'the other' and therefore disposable and ignorable.

Despite it's teeny-bopper presentation and generally sloppy storylines I think South of Nowhere waranted some inclusion on this list. Spashley has certainly endured a great deal of difficulty due to the sapphic nature of their relationship, however, that was only one cause of many.

I'm sure we are all painfully aware of just how far we have to go, but looking over our collective shoulder it's nice to see how far we've already come! Thanks again Sarah and Lori!

I'm so ignorant to lesbian action on tv that didn't happen today, so thanks.  Some of that was actually kinda hot. 

www.myspace.com/emmahuntermusic

That Out of Practice clip was hilarious. But what is worse is when you have 5 of your exes in one room (ah, 30th birthdays) and then they start comparing notes about you! Argh!

Also, hell yes, about the lesbians-with-babies trope. That's most certainly when ER jumped the shark for me (it wasn't helped when Sandy got killed off). I thought the relationship with Kim was fab. Kim was all about no bullsh*t and yep, if there's nothing here for me, I'll move on.

Also, while some of Kerry's wibbling in private drove me insane, I very much related to her dilemmas at work as well. I'm not exactly "out" myself (although if anyone looks at me and doesn't think "butch dyke", there's something wrong with them) - I'm quite selective about what ammunition I feel comfortable handing people in working situations. Australia isn't too bad, but it's not as fine with the queer thing as the UK or NZ.

I actually used to watch Heartbeat when it was on the air.  I was in high school, and was realizing my attraction to girls, and I watched the show for the lesbian couple.  It was a great show to have!

finally a new Sarah & Lori vlog. missed you ladies ;)

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THE UNOFFICIAL JILL BENNETT FANCLUB WEBPAGE
http://www.freewebs.com/ujbfc
NOW WITH Jill & Jamie Q&A's!!!&

How did I miss "Out of Practice"?  Great perspective, girls.  I enjoyed it and I admire your work.

Or was that Captain Janeway in that little snippet of the credits to Heartbeat you showed? Looks mightily like Kate Mulgrew whoever that person was...

 

Great vlog yet again btw! :)

All hotness and groundbreaking lesbian moments aside the thing I just was never able to get passed is that Tara and Willow just felt more comfortable to me than Kennedy and Willow.

Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson had a magical chemistry and it never felt like acting. Their storyline was very organic and felt like life, not a bunch of lines or like a decision someone made to put these two together.

I think if there had been one more season of Buffy, Kennedy and Willow wouldn't have felt so forced. And there'd be more episodes to counteract the not-so-stellar performance Iyari Limon gave in "The Killer In Me".

Adam Busch and Alyson Hannigan gave a really intense performance in that scene when Willow's on her knees crying for Tara to come back. Kennedy's reaction was just kinda weak. And I dunno...like Iyari Limon hadn't really grown into the role of Kennedy.

omg i have never heard of heartbeat and i pride myself on my useless t.v knowledge. i'm a tv freak but alas it's not mentioned much or ever.

I missed the earlier seasons of friends but i caught that jennifer-winona kiss. (speaking of gratuitious lesbian moments anybody catch Life last night? )

I caught some kim-kerry clips on you tube and i got to agree with the poster who said kim was kind of mean. but i did like kerry-sandy but not kerry-and the weird reporter she liked last season.

I liked bianca , not so much maggie but i really started to watch AMC for that storyline but school intefered. i have now watched the clips. this website if anybody's interested.

http://www.bamforbeginners.com/timeline/

Having not watched buffy when it originally aired i didn't hate kennedy , kind of liked her just thought she was short. but 'touched' is actually one of my favorite season 7 episodes along with 'the killer in me' when they actually acknowledge willow's guilt about moving on. she still loves tara but she's gone. oh why did buffy go away??

I really liked out of practice. CBS should not have cancelled that show. tv networks are dumb.

 i agree with you girlromeo (sp) .one more season of buffy and that relationship would have not been so despised. they could have fleshed it out a bit more and let it grow.

I suppose I have to come out as one of the older readers of AE...I'm 51.  Of course, that gives me an advantage in that I fell in love with Kate Mulgrew when she was on a soap called Ryan's Hope...when was that late 70's?

Excellent, excellent, excellent episode of "She Made Me Watch This," Sarah (and Lori!)!!! I've been watching your vlogs for a few weeks now, and just have to say this is among the best....probably because you reviewed TV shows I actually watched -- like Friends, ER, etc.

Sarah, your astute analysis (and Lori's appropriate rebuttals) brought back the excitement of watching lesbian "firsts" on broadcast television. I especially loved the clips from Friends, which I personally feel advanced beyond measure the acceptance of our "alternative" lifestyle among the viewing audience. While they may have been "sub-characters" for 10 years, I applaud the audacity of the writers to present the content in a way that was easy for mainstream America to digest. Progress, my friends, is sometimes a slow road, but an important one, to be sure. "Friends" ultimately paved the way for even more "in your face" and comedically brilliant shows like "Will and Grace," at a time the audience was better prepared to accept it!  

And, after digesting your vlog for just a minute, I thought, how lucky are WE to be  watching these moments of "firsts" in primetime TV??? Some day, this will all seem like the "BIG DUH" and the world will wonder what all the fuss was about, and isn't that just a wonderful thought????

I can't believe I didn't remember Phoebe's reaction, that's a classic scene... I love Phoebs

I actually liked QAF. Yes, the lesbian couple wasn't a big part of it but I liked the storyline, Emmett was my fav character....I remember I was watching it one day and my little brother came in and layed next to me and I was trying to be all protective and told him to cover his eyes (yeah, that didn't work) and he went, why r u watching this? r u gay? that was a cute moment :)

I used to watch Out of Practice, but I think it only aired for one season over here, did it get cancelled after the 1st season, how many seasons are there?

anywho, always a pleasure watching u guys ;)

great blog!

"i don't suffer from insanity...i enjoy every minute of it"