For many years, tv has disguised gay couples as heterosexuals with some other reason for being together -- they work in the same office, or share an apartment, or are brothers. So censors, skittish network executives, and shrieking homophobic audiences remain clueless, but if you're "in the know," the gay subtext is obvious.
Bronson Pinchot broke into film as Tom Cruise's buddy in Risky Business (1983).. After several years of playing swishy gay-vague characters, such as Dennis on Sara and Lloyd in After Hours, he was cast in the gay-vague buddy sitcom Perfect Strangers (1986-1993). He played Balki Bartokomous, an exuberant free-spirit from the faux-Greek country of Mypos, who descends upon his stick-in-the mud distant cousin Larry (Mark Linn-Baker) in Chicago. You can anticipate the the standard "let's do something wacky"/"but I have a dentist appointment" plotlines.
It's supposed to be a brief visit, but the two end up falling in love, their affection explained as fraternal love, and Balki stays on.
Larry: "Balki is cute and all, but how can I build a future with someone who doesn't even know how to fill out an IRS Form 1088-B?"
Balki: "Larry is good in bed, but he's so shy and reserved. How can I draw him out of his shell?"
Apparently the network had a problem: the guys were too obviously a gay couple. So during the second season plotlines increasingly involved dating girls, culminating in steady girlfriends Jennifer and Mary Anne (Melanie Wilson, Rebeca Arthur).
Obviously a screen. Could they be sitting farther apart on that couch?
Obviously a screen. Could they be sitting farther apart on that couch?
More after the break. A lot more.
