“Truth and Consequences” (September 29, 1997)

Though it didn’t even get a chance to finish out its second season, Fired Up was one of the rare Must See TV sitcoms to feature two female leads. What’s more, the recurring gay character, Shannon (played by Mark Davis), is unusual in that he’s out, confident and going about his life in a way you just didn’t see on other NBC shows of this era. What’s even odder is that his traditionally masculine dad (Jonathan Banks) loves his son and supports his career as a drag performer. Can we thank Arleen Sorkin for this?

See the photo of Mark Davis looking hunky as hell here.

See all the episodes of Fired Up – including the ones that didn’t air on NBC — on archive.org.

It may not be news to listeners of this podcast, but the Looney Tunes cartoons can be very gay. In celebration of the nearly 800 shorts being hosted on Tubi, Drew, Glen and returning guest Tony Rodriguez look at some of our favorites that also lend themselves to a queer reading. And no, it’s not all Bugs Bunny in Drag. In fact, we probably didn’t pick the drag moments you’re expecting. But no worries: There is zero Tweety content in this episode.

(The search function on the desktop version of Tubi sucks, so you will have to settle for mostly non-Tubi links. Oh well, we tried.)

1. To Hare Is Human: https://archive.org/details/to-hare-is-human

2. Ride Him, Bosko https://archive.org/details/reb11452

3. Hare Trimmed: https://archive.org/details/hare-trimmed-1953-restored

4. Two Gophers from Texas: https://vimeo.com/1074846138

5. What’s Up, Doc?: https://vimeo.com/75457120

6. I Love to Singa: https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/200243359/s01-e08-mr-mrs-is-the-name-i-love-to-singa-porky-of-the-northwoods

7. Hillbilly Hare: https://archive.org/details/looney.-tunes.-s-1950-e-19.-hillbilly.-hare.-720p.-blu-ray.h-264.-aac-ma-g-chamele-0n

"Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice" (March 12, 1995)

Finally, we get around to discussing one of our more formative comedic experiences, and it’s one shared more or less exclusively by elder millennials: The Critic, which somehow managed to be both more grown up and more juvenile than The Simpsons. In this episode, we discuss how the two seasons of this cult favorite repeatedly insinuated that the title character was gay, and how and episode guest-starring Siskel and Ebert manages to be the gayest episode of all.

The Mr. President episode of our bonus series The Fox Files is free to listen to on Patreon, even if you're not pledging money!

Listen to Talking Simpsons discuss Capitol Critters so you don’t have to watch it yourself.

And listen to us guest on Talking Simpsons to discuss the other Al Jean & Mike Reiss effort, Teen Angel.