Jack and Bobby - The Gay Episode
posted at 2:48 am
on Dec. 5, 2004
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Sometimes, it’s what you don’t see that matters.
Last week, airing at 9 p.m., the WB network ran an episode of “Jack and Bobby”
The main arc of the episode is about a teenager who, in a flashback, comes out to his best friend, Jack, and professes his love for him in the school’s locker room.
Jack is straight, though, and he deals with his friend calmly and appropriately. His friend is very upset, but Jack tries to comfort him, saying “What’s the big deal? It’s 2003. ... It’s not that big a thing. My uncle’s gay ... no one cares anymore.” Nevertheless, they drift apart as friends in the following year. At some point that year, the boy also comes out to his mom, who rejects him; the boy commits suicide in the episode’s present day.
Also in the episode, Jack’s gay uncle shows up for Thanksgiving—though his part in the plot revolves around his drinking and general poor life choices, not his gayness.
Did you see the cover story about this ground-breaking episode in Time? Did you hear it debated on radio talk shows? What about all the protests in front of the television stations airing it? Is there a Website called “AfterJack&Bobby.com”? What about the letter campaign to the FCC trying to stop the rerun from airing Sunday at 6 p.m. as many J&B episodes do?
Nah, you didn’t miss it. There weren’t any.
When Ellen DeGeneres kissed another woman—on the lips, with romantic intent, in a non-dream sequence, during prime time on a major network—the societal reverberations were debated for weeks. That was in the fall of 1997.
We’re only seven years later, just seven years, and a scene involving male teen homosexuality that would have been a fire storm then, goes off with little fanfare indeed.
And I am thanksful, both for the episode, which was dramatic and compelling without being maudlin or campy, as well as for the lack of drama around its airing, which is as it should be.
Because, as Jack said, it’s 2003 and no one cares any more—but I do have one last thought—it should be noted this was aired during sweeps. 😊
