Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 13:04:09 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: Special Online GLAADAlert 11/7/96 - Keep Relativity On The Air! Special Online GLAADAlert 11/7/96 Keep Relativity On The Air! Relativity, a new ABC series with one of the most sensitive and interesting lesbian or gay characters on television today, is currently being considered by the network for renewal. The show features Rhonda, the lesbian sister of main character Leo, who has been fleshed out as a full, complex and realistic character. In the September 28 episode of Relativity, Rhonda broke up with her girlfriend Sylvia and commiserated about it with both her brother and his new girlfriend, Isabelle. Rhonda was sensitively portrayed as she came to grips with the reality that her relationship is over. Staying at Leo's house until she finds her own place, she bonds with Isabelle, who was breaking up with her fiancee. The two women shared a bed one night, while Leo slept on the couch, and talked about the difficulties of saying goodbye and moving on. Since then, Rhonda has continued to grow, working through the reverberations of ending a relationship, exploring a new friendship with Isabelle and struggling with her family to understand the meaning of her mother's recent death. "Even with 23 lesbian or gay characters on the TV landscape, including the prospect of network television's first lesbian lead character, ABC's Relativity stands out as one of the season's best new offerings, " said Chastity Bono, GLAAD's Entertainment Media Director. "Relativity presents a fair and accurate look at the life of a lesbian and we hope that ABC will not only keep the show on the air but will continue to develop this character fully." Relativity is produced by the creators of the groundbreaking, gay-inclusive shows thirtysomething... and My So-Called Life. While critically acclaimed, My So Called Life suffered an untimely death due to low ratings. Please write ABC and Disney and urge them to leave Relativity on the air. Also, encourage them to continue to develop a strong role for Rhonda as a three-dimensional lesbian character. Do not let this excellent character suffer the same fate as Rickie from My So-Called Life, a show canceled long before the charater had the opportunity to meet full potential. Contact: Jamie Tarses, President, Ted Herbert, Chairman, Brett White of Broadcast Standards ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, California 90067, phone: 310.557.7777, fax: Jamie Tarses - 310.557.7679, Ted Harbert - 310.557.7160, Brett White - 310.557.7160, e-mail: abcaudr@ccabc.com; Michael Eisner, CEO, Michael Ovitz, President, The Walt Disney Company, 500 South Buena Vista, Burbank, California 91521 phone: 818.560.1000, fax: Michael Eisner - 818.560.5155, Michael Ovitz (general fax line) - 818.560.1930, e-mail through feedback form on WWW: http://www.disney.com/Mail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's DISPATCH AND QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.