Gayest Episode Ever

“Flaming Moe” (January 16, 2011)

Today, LGBTQ characters on The Simpsons get to be more than walking gay jokes, and, really, this is one of the first episodes that shows Smithers as a (mostly) out member of the larger community in Springfield. It’s not perfect, however; there’s an homage to the 2008 film Milk that lands strangely, there’s a hetero love subplot for Skinner that takes acts two and three, and there’s a trans joke that underscores how advances in representation for LGBs didn’t include the Ts. But this episode, penned by future showrunner Matt Selman, shows the series is learning and evolving.

Watch Drew's supercut of every LGBTQ joke on The Simpsons (season 1 through 31) to get that view count over 4 million.

Watch the new season of Ninjago: Dragons Rising June 1 on Netflix! And if you don’t know what a Ninjago is, watch Ninjago Decoded, starting here.

You can now watch Glen’s movie, Being Frank, on Freevee via Amazon Prime — and now also on Apple TV. WATCH IT NOW!

Two announcements: No. 1, Drew is tired and he is wanting to take a week off with an episode that requires less editing; and and No. 2, this podcast is launching a series of Patreon-only episodes where Drew and Glen discuss subjects unlikely to arise in their typical episodes. In this one, they both list off their picks for the hottest dads in sitcom history. And if you’re seeing this for the first time on the main, non-Patreon feed, then there’s already another one of these ready for your rabid consumption. Hit the link to our Patreon below to listen.

Want to see the dads we’re discussing in this episode? Check out the gallery on the episode page.

The logo for this Patreon-only series was designed by Jeff Hinchee, who is awesome. See more of his work on his website.

Listen to Fruitbowl, a podcast that is an oral history of queer sex, hosted by Dave Quantic.

If you haven’t yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes.

Support us on Patreon!

Buy or rent Glen’s movie, Being Frank, on iTunes

Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles’ No. 1 best queer art space:

Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter

Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn

And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson.

This is a TableCakes podcast.

This episode’s outro track is “Daddy Joe” by Tasha.

It’s finally here: The Cartoons That Made Us Gay, our new Patreon-exclusive bonus podcast, focused on queer readings of the cartoons of our youth. While this series will comprise ten episodes only available on our Patreon feed, we’re putting the first part of the first episode on the main feed to show off what we’re doing.

To listen to the full version of this episode, all you need to do is pledge $1 a month on Patreon and subscribe to the Patreon-only feed for fancy people in your podcast app of choice. It’s easy! You should do it! But we’re biased!

This episode focuses on the 1987 run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — specifically “Michelangelo Meets Mondo Gecko,” which is all about Mike being drawn to the man (or man-gecko) of his dreams, and we couldn't think of a weirder way to kick off this new podcast project. In doing this episode, we hoped to make this cartoon series accessible even for people who have never watched the show, but let us know how we did.

Coming up next: Jem and The Holograms!

The logo for The Cartoons That Made Us Gay was designed by Jeff Hinchee.

Show notes that will make more sense if you listen to the full episode on Patreon:

In case you're not familiar with the “Asian cliche” musical motif

Harry Nilsson’s “The Point”

Listen to Matt Baume’s interview with Cam Clarke

Was April O’Neil whitewashed?

Queer readings of kids shows, previously:

• He-Man with special guest Henry Gilbert
• Fraggle Rock with special guest Matt Baume
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Dinosaurs
• 80s Cartoons with special guest Ted Biaselli
• Harley & Ivy

Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter

Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn

And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. This episode was edited by Meika Grimm. This is a TableCakes podcast.

“Bad Girl” (November 12, 1996)

If you were not the target audience (and target age) for this live-action Nickelodeon series, you may be shocked to find out that The Secret World of Alex Mack is a sci-fi show. It’s basically Spider-Man with a baby gay lead protagonist, played with remarkable aplomb by Larisa Oleynik. We’re joined by Katie Mathewson, screenwriter on Hawkeye and the breakout hit Jury Duty, to discuss how very queer this show is — and in particular this episode, which plays out like a mid-90s lesbian teen romcom.

Check out Lizzie Borden (no, not that one), who directed this episode and may have played a role in giving it its queer vibe.

Listen to Drew and Glen talk about Conan O’Brien’s failed pilot Lookwell on Talking Simpsons!

Watch the new season of Ninjago: Dragons Rising June 1 on Netflix! And if you don’t know what a Ninjago is, watch Ninjago Decoded, starting here.

Listen to the newest episode of Deep Cuts & Superficial Wounds here.

You can now watch Glen’s movie, Being Frank, on Freevee via Amazon Prime. WATCH IT NOW!

Go shop at our TeePublic store!

Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter

Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn

“The Perils of Punky” (October 20, 1985)

This might be the most famous weird episode of any TV show ever, and with good reason: it is utterly inexplicable how this parade of horrors came to be. It would be weird for any sitcom to deliberately scare its viewers, much less a show that catered specifically to kids. Wait, is the shared trauma of this Punky Brewster the reason why millennials can’t stop talking about old TV? No, really — is this why???

This is an episode of our Patreon bonus podcast Weirdest Episode Ever. Listen to the rest of those episodes on Patreon or now also on Apple Podcasts!

Check out Drew's video of all the times Brandon the dog was clearly not acting and was, in fact, actually scared of what was happening during this episode.

Most of the quotes used in this piece come from this Yahoo TV retrospective on this episode.

Watch Drew’s supercut of the Soleil Moon Frye’s pre-Punky made-for-TV horror movie, Invitation to Hell — and listen to the Monday Afternoon Movie about it!

The logo for Weirdest Episode Ever was designed by Ian O’Phelan. The theme music was composed by Nick Loiacano.

Go shop at our TeePublic store!

Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter

Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn

And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode’s art was designed by Ian O’Phelan.