"You Go to My Head" (October 1, 1974)

We're kicking off our final season by discussing what's arguably the most important sitcom that we haven't profiled yet: Happy Days. Technically, Happy Days never did an episode, but what's surprising is how close this one gets, with actual lines spoken including "I'm in the closet" and "Do you prefer dick?"

We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

Yes, we're wrapping up the podcast. Is it Heated Rivalry's fault? Kinda!

We had a really good go, but after a lot of conversations about this, we have decided that we will end Gayest Episode Ever with one last ten-episode season. The below episodes will be going live every other week (in the way new episodes have appeared in the feed in the last year), so we're going to be around for some time yet, but this is the plan for the last run of GEE.

And if you're disappointed or surprised, please let us know. But in this mini-ep we do get into the reason why we've come to that decision.

The schedule for the final season (order TBD)

1. Happy Days S2E4 "You Go to My Head"

2. Ned and Stacey S1E19 "Gay Caballeros"

3. Dear John S1E13 "Stand by Your Man"

4. Married… With Children S3E21 "Life's a Beach"

5. Duckman S3E2 "Forbidden Fruit"

6. Oh Grow Up (episode TBD)

7. Gay Disney shorts

8. Cheers S11E26 "One for the Road"

9. Batman: TAS S2E11 "Baby Doll"

10. Frasier S1E24 "My Dinner With Niles"

"A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger" (August 17, 1996)

In our fourth look at Sailor Moon, we're discussing the final season, which features the Sailor Stars. Canonically, they're female superheroes who magically become boys in order to remain in disguise, and as a result some Sailor Moon fans consider them to be trans-coded or metaphorically transgender. It's not really for us to say one way or another, but there's enough discussion about how to discuss these characters' gender that it made sense to cover this episode. Will it be the last?

Sailor Moon, previously:

• The Cartoons That Made Us Gay: Sailor Moon
• Sailor Moon Meets a Lesbian Couple
• Sailor Moon Meets a Beguiling Genderfluid Villain

Also listen to the complete run of The Cartoons That Made Us Gay on the GEE Patreon!

"Ellen's First Christmess" (December 17, 2001)

Yes, we're closing 2025 with a lump of coal rather than a sugarplum fairy. Believe it or not, Ellen Degeneres had a second sitcom between her first one and her reign as the iron-fisted queen of daytime. It's mostly lost in the shuffle today, but we're taking a look at her Christmas episode to point out how she chose to shut up about her sexuality this time around. Was it worth it? No.

See you in hell, 2025.

We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

"The Artist" (December 19, 1987)

Over the years, we've shared a lot of laughs with the girls on the laini, but our journey with the four horniest seniors in the history of Miami has come to an end, as "The Artist" is the final gay episode of The Golden Girls that we have much to say about. It's a slight episode, in terms of gay rep, but it actually has a lot to say about the show and the way gay men relate to it, we'd rager.

Links what Drew discusses: Drew on Super Mario Moment podcast (video and audio) Drew on Cinema Oblivia Drew on Call Me By Your Game Drew on What a Cartoon

"More Like Skanksgiving" (November 20, 2012)

Here you have it: the one other gay-themed Thanksgiving episode of a sitcom. Three seasons in, this one reveals heretofore-unheard canon that the Happy Endings characters exist as they do solely as a result of MTV's The Real World — and that Max things he might have been the first gay person on TV. Meanwhile, no one is remarking how Jane's 2002 raver outfit is one of the more explicitly bisexual things she's ever done on this show, and we at one point meet her ex-girlfriend.

Listen to our previous Happy Endings episode, and if this one isn't Thanksgiving enough for you, check out our Bob's Burgers bi Thanksgiving extravaganza.

We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

"The Ruptured Duck" (October 10, 1961)

On the surface, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis tells the story of a teen boy who falls in love with every girl except Zelda Gilroy, who pines for him hopelessly. All of this is complicated by the fact that the Sheila Keuhl, the actor who played Zelda was in real life a gay woman who ultimately lost out on getting her own spinoff because she didn't fit the idea for what a leading lady was in the early 1960s. But Keuhl got the last laugh IRL, and Zelda Gilroy's queer adjacent legacy lives on in Velma from Scooby-Doo.

We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

"Werking Mom" (November 18, 2018)

Yes, The Simpsons did a drag episode, and you might be interested to know that the idea did not originate with "Hey, let's do one about RuPaul's Drag Race." In fact, co-writer Carolyn Omine provided some background info, including how the surprising success of drag queens in the Tupperware sales market ultimately resulted in both Marg and Homer donning drag, and we say this is a great example of how latter-day Simpsons can bend with the times. Our blue duck has become a swan!

Listen to the latest episode of The Fox Files — posted so everyone who follows us on Patreon can listen! — here.

Listen to all our previous Simpsons episodes here.

We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

"The Neighbors" (September 14, 1985) "Victor / Vicki-toria" (February 14, 1987) "The Bad Seed" (November 7, 1987)

Ignore whatever you might have heard about Small Wonder and focus instead on how the show spotlighted Vicki (a.k.a. V.I.C.I), a kid who was labeled as different just for acting the only way she knew. As a result of being defiantly resistant to social norms, Vicki has become iconic to all sorts of 80s kids also failed to fit in, and in this episode, we'll make the argument for the ways she speaks to queer audiences. Tiffany Brissette, you should have been a star.

Works cited (among others):

• This Yahoo! Entertainment retrospective

• The Mike & Juliet Show cast reunion

"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.