GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 25, 1994

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ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS

Roseanne kisses on ABC; Time considers gay mag

by John DuAne Graves

For those of you who enjoyed the Comedy Central channel's all lesbian and gay comedy special, Out There, here's some good news. USA Today reported that last fall's presentation of Out There was so successful, doubling the channel's prime time ratings, that the Comedy Central channel will produce a sequel, Out There II, to air this summer. Now's the time to ask your cable company to carry Comedy Central.

Roseanne Arnold is feuding with ABC over the network's refusal to air an episode of her sitcom, Roseanne, that shows Arnold and Mariel Hemingway exchanging a kiss in a gay bar. In the episode, Roseanne goes to the bar with her bisexual friend Nancy, dances with Hemingway, smooches and then has to explain things to her husband Dan. Roseanne broke ground last year when Nancy, a regular character on the show played by openly bisexual star Sandra Bernhard, came out of the closet. Roseanne Arnold has just published her autobiography, My Lives, which included at least one lesbian affair. For Mariel Hemingway, this is her second gay role. In the 1982 film Personal Best, she portrayed an aspiring Olympic track star who discovers she is bisexual and falls in love with another woman on her track team.

Frank Swertlow, in the February 19 edition of TV Guide, reported that the lesbian storyline was submitted to ABC and was immediately rejected by the network. The show was taped anyway and shown to an audience that included members of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who had been specifically invited to marshall a protest against the network.

Roseanne Arnold's real-life husband Tom, the show's executive producer, said that he was told: "a woman cannot kiss a woman. It is bad for the kids to see." The Arnolds are negotiating their new contract and have threatened to move the show to another network if ABC continues to refuse the episode. Tom Arnold says that he confronted ABC executive Stephen Weiswasser, who told him: "a lot of kids watch this show" and might be led to believe that homosexual kissing is okay. Arnold replied: "What's wrong with it?" and accused Weiswasser of being a homophobe. Weiswasser denied the charge claiming he was "protecting the children." Arnold says he was asked to replace the kissing scene with one in which Hemingway's character "grabs Rosie's butt." Arnold refused the suggestion. Arnold says that he intends to deliver the videotape to ABC anyway and plans legal action if the network refuses to air the show. Arnold says he told Weiswasser: "If you are saying the program is indecent, we will have to settle in court. We are very passionate about this show."

Tom Arnold later contacted CBS vice president Peter Tortorici, and says that Tortorici was willing to consider airing the show. A CBS spokesperson stated that Tortorici had not seen the script and could not commit to airing the program unless they considered the time slot and the scene's overall context. In a report in USA Today, ABC Entertainment president Ted Harbert says that he is "very supportive of the show" and that he believes "the show will" air on ABC. On his Tonight Show, Jay Leno quipped about the brouhaha between the Arnolds and ABC saying: "This seems a

little hypocritical, especially considering where ABC had to kiss Roseanne just to keep her from going to CBS." Just as this column was being finished, USA Today reported that ABC has announced the lesbian episode will be aired on Tuesday, March 1 at 9 pm. Thank ABC for finally agreeing to air the show. Let the network know that scenes like the one they objected to is an experience many people in this country have gone through and that gay expressions of romance are quite normal to our community. After all, our community is part of this country too! Write to: Robert Iger, Stephen Weiswasser and Ted Harbert at ABC, 2030 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90028.

Go Fish, a sex and romance comedy about two lesbians who would like to forget ex-husbands, parents and abuse in general, was one of the films being shown at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Produced in black-and-white on a low budget, the Samuel Goldwyn Company surprised attendees and participants when it purchased Go Fish on the festival's second day. The annual festival devoted to independent films is held in Park City, Utah and is sponsored by actor Robert Redford's Sundance Institute.

Bert Wylen, executive producer of Gaydreams, a lesbian and gay program on Philadelphia's WXPN-FM, is looking for interview subjects to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion through a one-hour radio documentary he is producing for nationwide distribution for the celebrations this June. Wylen is looking for people who were working in the gay rights movement before the 1969 rebellion, were inspired to join the movement by Stonewall or who just want to share their thoughts on Stonewall's place in history or in their personal lives. To be considered for inclusion in this project, write a description of how you fit into the categories described and send it to: Bert Wylen, 302 South 12th Street, Suite 402, Philadelphia, PA 19107 or contact him at 215-772-9010.

Ventures, a division of Time Inc. that develops new magazines, is considering publishing a new lesbian and gay magazine. According to a New York Times report, the concept was brought to Ventures by Maer Roshan, former editor of the lesbian and gay magazine QW. QW folded in 1992 after its main backer died of complications from AIDS. The proposed new magazine is expected to include news, features and profiles about the entire lesbian, gay and bisexual community and its issues. Robert L. Miller, president of Time Inc. Ventures was quoted as saying "It is a project that has come before us and we are intrigued with the idea. We continue to analyze it and anticipate making a decision in the next two months as to whether it is a project we would want to involve ourselves with." Stephanie Blackwood, associate publisher of the Advocate said, "I think it's great that somebody like Time Warner is acknowledging the strength of this consumer segment. What I keep envisioning is the power of the Time Warner sales force to present the gay and lesbian market to advertisers who have been very receptive to the idea of gay and lesbian consumers but very fearful of backlash." The impact of a Time Inc. publication on established lesbian and gay publications is unknown. If the project is approved, a test issue could appear on newsstands by this summer or early fall.

Jeffrey J. Gerhardstein, L.I.S.W., A.C.C. Individual and Group Psychotherapy

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