Subject: Gay TV Shows 6/3-9/95
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 1995 00:13:00 -0400

Hi, folks!  This is note #1 (of 4) of the list of tv shows
with gay, lesbian, other sexual minority, and gay/straight
AIDS themes, for the tv week of Sat 6/03/95 - Fri 6/09/95.
Be sure to read notes #2-4 also.  Most times are Eastern.

*********** HAPPY GAY PRIDE MONTH, FOLKS! **************

The following shows air at multiple/various times:

>> YOUR HEALTH.  "Included:  a cleric who cares for AIDS
patients."-TV Guide.  Airs:
- Sat. 6/3/95, 2:00 pm, CNN
- Sat.-Sun., 6/3-4/95, 4:30 am, CNN

>> THE PELICAN BRIEF (CC).  It's incidental to the plot,
but one of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices who gets killed
in this movie turns out to have been a closeted gay man.
Airs:
- Sat. 6/3/95, 5:30 pm, HBO
- Wed. 6/7/95, 11:00 am, HBO

>> ALL MY CHILDREN (CC).  Airs weekdays at 1:00 pm ET on
ABC.  A correspondent writes:  "All My Children is
continuing its AIDS storyline, with a scene every
day or every other day."

>> GENERAL HOSPITAL (CC).  Airs weekdays on 3:00 pm, on
ABC.  This soap also has an HIV/AIDS storyline.  See the
note at the end of this list.

>> WHAT SEX AM I?  "A study of transvestism and
transsexualism."-TV Guide.  Airs:
- Mon. 6/5/95, 10:00 pm, Discovery channel
- Mon-Tues. 6/5-6/95, 1:00 am, Discovery

>> WYBE'S THROUGH THE LENS 5.  Airs in Philadelphia PA, on
WYBE ch. 35.  According to their newsletter, WYBE's 5th
short film festival has several shows of possible
interest, including two in this week's lineup.  Each set
of short films will air twice, and this set airs on:
- Tues. 6/6/95, starting at 9:00 pm on WYBE ch. 35
- Sat. 6/10/95, starting at 8:00 pm on WYBE
Among the 6 short films airing in this set are:
FILM #1: FRANKIE & JOCIE:  A phone conversation between
two siblings reveals the complex relationships between
brother and sister, male and female, and heterosexuality
and homosexuality. (19 minutes)
FILM #3: TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER: Two men meet on a
train platform and share a conversation about the
complexities of living in the time of HIV and AIDS and the
impossibility of "living" without risk. (11 minutes)
NOTE: The rest of the films in this set sound interesting,
also.  (Some of them MAY have gay content, but I can't be
sure from the descriptions.)

************** TO BE CONTINUED ON NOTE #2 **************

Be sure to read notes #2 - 4  for more shows!

Warmly, Carol Mortimer, NJ
  Prodigy ID = npwc08a         In IDs: 0 & 1 are numbers.
  AmericaOnLineID = caroLm10           o & L are letters.
  Internet ID = [email-masked]
PS:  My sincere thanks to the numerous correspondents
who have sent me June Gay Pride tv show listings.

Hi, folks!  This is note #2 (of 4) of the list of tv shows
with gay, lesbian, other sexual minority, and gay/straight
AIDS themes, for the tv week of Sat 6/03/95 - Fri 6/09/95.
Be sure to read notes #1,3,& 4 also.  Most times Eastern.

*************** CONTINUED FROM NOTE #1 ******************

>> THE GOODS: THINK POSITIVE.  TV Guide says that this
"AIDS-awareness benefit salutes New York City AIDS
agencies".  Airings include:
- Tues. 6/6/95, 10:30 pm, VH-1
- Wed. 6/7/95, 9:00 pm, VH-1
- Thurs.-Fri., 6/8-9/95, midnight, VH-1
- Fri. 6/9/95, 7:00 pm, VH-1

>> THINK POSITIVE.  "A look at some of New York City's
AIDS organizations through the eyes of the individuals
associated with them.  Included: God's Love We Deliver,
which provides hot meals for home-bound people with AIDS."
NOTE:  I'm not sure if this is the same show as "THE
GOODS: THINK POSITIVE" (listed above), or if they're
related but different shows.  Airs:
- Tues. 6/6/95, 6/6/95, 10:30 pm, MTV
- Wed. 6/7/95, 9:30 pm, MTV
- Thurs. 6/8/95, 7:30 pm, MTV

>> MAURY POVICH:  SEXUAL PREFERENCES (CC).  Airs Wed.
6/7/95 in most areas.  Airings include:
- Wed. 6/7/95, 2:00 pm, NYC NY WNBC ch. 4
- Wed. 6/7/95, 3:00 pm, Phila. PA KYW ch. 3
- Wed. 6/7/95, 4:00 pm, Wildwood, NJ WMGM ch. 4

>> MRS. DOUBTFIRE (CC).  Harvey Fierstein and California
gay comic Scott Capurro appear as the gay couple who
transform Robin Williams into an elderly woman.  Airs:
- Wed. 6/7/95, 9:00 am and again at 5:00 pm, HBO

The following shows air once this week as far as I know:

>> STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (CC).  Airs Sat. 6/3/95,
7:00 pm, on WPIX national cable superstation ch. 11.  This
is the show in which Dr. Beverly Crusher falls in love
with a male ambassador.  Things are going well until the
ambassador gets sick.  It turns out that "he" is actually
a conjoined Trill.  When the male host body dies, and
the ambassador is implanted in a new - FEMALE - body, Dr.
Bev can't cope with suddenly having a lover who's female.

>> SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES: PORTRAITS OF GAY, LESBIAN,
AND BISEXUAL YOUTH.  Airs in Seattle, WA on Sat.-Sun.,
6/3-4/95, midnight, on KCTS ch. 9.  (Will rerun on Thurs.
6/29/95 at 4:30 am.)

>> ZORRO, THE GAY BLADE.  Airs Sun. 6/4/95, 4:30 pm,
Cinemax.  George Hamilton stars in this comedy about the
twin sons of the masked swordsman Zorro:  one is straight,
and the other is a flaming queen.  When the original Zorro
dies, the sons take over his role.  This movie has a lot
of stereotypical moments, but it also some hysterically
funny ones (Zorro in a lavendar cape and tassled hat).

*********** CONTINUED ON NOTE #3 *******************

Please be sure to read notes #1, 3, & 4 for more shows.

Warmly, Carol Mortimer, NJ
  Prodigy ID = npwc08a         In IDs: 0 & 1 are numbers.
  AmericaOnLineID = caroLm10           o & L are letters.
  Internet ID = [email-masked]

Hi, folks!  This is note #3 (of 4) of the list of tv shows
with gay, lesbian, other sexual minority, and gay/straight
AIDS themes, for the tv week of Sat 6/03/95 - Fri 6/09/95.
Be sure to read notes #1,2, & 4 also.  Most times Eastern.

*************** CONTINUED FROM NOTE #2 ******************

>> VIEW FROM THE VALLEY.  Airs in Allentown, PA on Sun.
6/4/95, 4:30 pm, on WLVT ch. 39A.  The topic is hate
crimes.  Unknown if it will address anti-gay violence.

>> In the "all ISMs are related" category:  FRONTLINE: A
CLASS DIVIDED (CC).  Airs in New York City NY on Sun.
6/4/95, 5:00 pm, on PBS WNET ch. 13.  TV Guide said that
this excellent show "follows up on an unusual experiment
in discrimination.  In 1970, teacher Jane Elliott divided
her third-graders into two groups and, for two days, had
one group discriminate against the other.  In 15 minutes,
says Elliott, she was able to turn wonderful thoughtful
kids into nasty, vicious ones.  The lessons learned are
discussed by students who participated in the exercise."

>> ORLANDO (CC).  Airs Mon. 6/5/95, 4:30 pm, Showtime
cable.  TV Guide says that this is a "Visually striking
adaptation of Virginia Woolf's historical fantasy about an
individual (Tilda Swinton) who lives variously as a man or
a woman over the course of four centuries."

>> GOLDEN GIRLS (CC).  Airs in NYC NY on Mon. 6/5/95, 6:30
pm, on WNYW ch. 5.  May or may not air in syndication in
other areas as well.  This is the show in which Dorothy's
lesbian friend (Lois Nettleton) visits, and falls in love
with Rose (Betty White).

>> JUST ONE OF THE GUYS (CC).  Airs Tues. 6/6/95, 1:30 pm,
Cinemax.  Comedy about a teen woman (Joyce Hyser) who
poses as a male and enrolls in another high school, to
research a newspaper article about sexism.  When she falls
for her male best friend at the new school, the other
students assume that "he" is a gay male.

>> POSITIVE HEALTH.  Airs in Phila. PA every Tuesday
(including 6/6/95) at 7:30 pm, on WYBE ch. 35.  Locally
produced show by and for PWAs and people who are HIV+.

>> LIFE & TIMES.  Airs in Los Angeles CA on Wed. 6/7/95,
7:30 pm local time, on KCET ch. 28.  According to KCET's
program guide, this show "profiles lesbian comic Monica
Palacios and gay cartoonist Roy Williams."

>> THE CHILDREN'S HOUR.  Airs Wed. 6/7/95, 11:45 am,
Encore cable.  Faithful (and therefore pretty depressing)
1962 adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play about two women
who run a girls' school in a small town.  One of their
students lies and says that the women are lovers, and the
whole turn turns against them in a vile display of mass
homophobia.  Warning:  This has a very upsetting ending.

*********** CONTINUED ON NOTE #4 *******************

Please be sure to read notes #1, 2, & 4 for more shows.

Warmly, Carol Mortimer, NJ
  Prodigy ID = npwc08a         In IDs: 0 & 1 are numbers.
  AmericaOnLineID = caroLm10           o & L are letters.
  Internet ID = [email-masked]

Hi, folks!  This is note #4 (of 4) of the list of tv shows
with gay, lesbian, other sexual minority, and gay/straight
AIDS themes, for the tv week of Sat 6/03/95 - Fri 6/09/95.
Be sure to read notes #1 - 3 also.  Most times Eastern.

*************** CONTINUED FROM NOTE #3 ******************

>> SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION.  Airs Wed. 6/7/95, 7:05 pm,
The Movie Channel.  Will Smith stars as a gay con man.

>> THREE OF HEARTS (CC).  Airs Wed-Thurs., 6/7-8/95, 12:55
am, The Movie Channel.  Very strange movie about a lesbian
(Kelly Lynch) who hires a male gigolo (William Baldwin) to
romance, and then drop, her bisexual ex (Sherilyn Fenn),
in the hopes that the ex will then give up on men and
return to her.

>> SHORT STORYLINE.  Airs in Philadelphia PA on 91FM
WHYY *RADIO* on Thurs. 6/8/95, noon.  This special Gay
Pride Month radio program "features Becky Birtha's 'In The
Life,' from the book WE ARE THE STORES WE TELL: THE BEST
SHORT STORIES FROM NORTH AMERICAN WOMEN SINCE 1945.

>> ER (CC).  Airs Thurs. 6/8/95, 10:00 pm, NBC.  TV Guide
says:  "Ross (George Clooney) feels overwhelmed by a
caseload that includes parent abuse, a suicide, a child
with cancer and a teen prostitute with AIDS."

>> ROSEANNE (CC).  Airs in Phila. PA on Fri. 6/9/95, 7:00
pm, on Phila. WGBS ch. 57.  May or may not air in other
areas as well.  This is the episode in which Roseanne and
Jackie go with Nancy and her lover to a gay bar, and
Nancy's lover (Mariel Hemmingway) kisses Roseanne.

*********************************************************

That's it for this week's tv shows, but check out the
6/6/95 issue of SOAP OPERA DIGEST, which has a feature
article on AIDS-related story lines in the tv soap operas.
The story reviews a variety of story lines past & present,
and has some nice pictures (including a color shot of the
ONE LIFE TO LIVE scene with AIDS quilt panels).  One
paragraph of particular interest (pg. 45) says:
  "Paradoxically, ONE LIFE TO LIVE Head Writer Michael
Malone believes the disease might open the door - however
briefly - for some gay characters on daytime.  'It's a
shame, but it may be easier for [viewers] to deal with a
gay character if he or she is subsumed into a story of
grief and loss,' he says.  'AIDS is a redemptive buffer
for some viewers; it makes [being gay] acceptable.  And
this has always been the case, sadly enough.  It's like
black characters: A dying, suffering black man is more
tolerable than an angry, healthy one.' "

Also, a friend sent me the following on GENERAL HOSPITAL:
" 'General Hospital' has an AIDS storyline involving a
character who tested HIV-, as did his girlfriend. They had
unprotected sex some number of times. Stone (that's his
name, I'm not making it up) begins to have flu-like
symptoms, night sweats, etc. A doctor treating him for
dyslexia arranges for him to be tested again, and...he's
seroconverted. Ignoring a gangland shooting subplot, he
tells his girlfriend, has further tests that reveal his
T-cell count to be about 80.  The script is notable for a
couple of points they've made rather bluntly:
 1. Stone is convinced he's been given a death sentence,
and initially refuses any treatment. The doctor on the
case patiently and repeatedly explains how his various
opportunistic problems can be managed to provide him a
better quality of life.
 2. Stone is also convinced none of the hospital will want
to treat him. His doctor and the hospital's chief of staff
give him a stern "Not in this hospital, buster !" speech
and proceed to treat his gunshot wound (don't ask,
unrelated storyline) themselves. Stone is still a little
put off by the BioHazard trashcan in his room.
 3.  His girlfriend is tested again and comes up HIV-.
Before she can jump for joy, her doctor reminds her that
Stone tested negative initially, and she needs to be
tested 3 more times over the next 18 months before being
reasonably sure she hasn't been infected."

*********************************************************

Warmly, Carol Mortimer, NJ
  Prodigy ID = npwc08a         In IDs: 0 & 1 are numbers.
  AmericaOnLineID = caroLm10           o & L are letters.
  Internet ID = [email-masked]