Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
The aggressive cackle that punctuated Roseanne’s opening credits wasn’t just added to spice it up. You can view series lead Roseanne Barr’s rowdy laugh as a message to all the haters of the era: this show’s gonna laugh in the face of whatever small-minded people define as “wholesome.” By depicting a sarcastic and dysfunctional (but still loving) blue collar family, Roseanne was absolutely radical when it arrived in 1988. It makes sense, then, that this radical show would also push gay representation into new territory. Roseanne had recurring gay characters–more than one!–throughout the majority of its run. The first one, Roseanne’s boss Leon Carp (Martin Mull), quietly came out in Season Three’s “Dances with Darlene.”
April 1991’s “Dances with Darlene” is actually Leon’s third appearance, so there was no way he was going to become another sitcom gay-of-the-week. Roseanne also didn’t sideline Leon after outing him; Leon became a recurring character for the rest of the show’s run, appearing in 46 episodes across seven seasons. This allowed Leon to become more than just Roseanne’s boss or Roseanne’s gay boss. Viewers got to see Leon date and get married, and he participated in stories that had nothing to do with his sexuality.
In the interest of full disclosure, I feel it’s relevant to bring up that like Leon, I’m also a gay man with a mustache, glasses, and fondness for ties.
It’s a real Looper situation.
Leon’s plotline in “Dances with Darlene,” an episode directed by Gail Mancuso and written by Brad Isaacs, was most likely concocted to out him. It’s the B-plot to the titular school dance’s A, and it’s paper thin. Like Mary Tyler Moore’s sole gay episode, the plot builds up to a big gay reveal at the last minute. The B-plot is set at Rodbell’s Luncheonette, a tiny little diner parked inexplicably in the middle of a department store. I guess it’s like a Target’s Pizza Hut, only with more country kitsch. Leon introduces Roseanne and co-worker Bonnie to an inspector from Rodbell HQ (Amy Aquino).
Inspector Wagner has been brought in to evaluate performances, but her mind’s really focused on one employee: the mysterious, charismatic, mustachioed Leon. In what has to be a violation of just a ton of ethical codes, Ms. Wagner puts off doing her job in order to get the lowdown on Leon’s relationship status. Ms. Wagner can’t see the above pic like we can; that’s the unmistakeable awkward body language of a gay man being hit with flirtation waves from a straight woman. All this baffles Roseanne, who says she wouldn’t get with Leon even if he was the last man on Earth (“I’d demand a recount”).
A day passes and Ms. Wagner still hasn’t started evaluations. She decides to get her personal business out of the way and ask Leon out on a date. Leon is surprised and even kinda giddy. It’s definitely not every day that a woman asks Leon out.
He then lets her down gently-ish, with an answer that totally shocks Roseanne.
Roseanne shouts, “You are not!” Leon fires back, totally petulant, “Am too!” Ms. Wagner then slams a big notebook down on the table and starts working. One has to wonder how many times this whole scenario has repeated itself, as Ms. Wagner drifts from department store luncheonette to department store luncheonette…
It’s not until the stinger, a full screen of credits rolling over the action, that we find out who that “somebody else” is. It’s Jerry Gimbel (Michael Des Barres), a “friend” who arrives at Rodbell’s to pick up Leon and take him to dinner. Upon seeing Jerry, Leon immediately comments, “There’s my blue shirt. I was looking all over for that this morning.” Leon introduces him as a friend and they leave for dinner. Roseanne and Bonnie look at each other, wait a beat, and then let out an “ooooooohhh” of recognition.
Every gay person knows what Leon’s going through at the end of the episode. Straight people don’t get that being gay means repeatedly coming out. Every new person you meet, every new job you get, you have to go through it all over again. You’re hyper aware of the pronouns you use and the stories you tell. You spend those first conversations either looking for an opening to out yourself, or hanging back to determine whether or not it’s safe to. This happens over and over again, and will continue to be the norm until people aren’t presumed straight until proven gay.
Leon is out, at least out-ish. Leon has a boyfriend, and they’re public enough for him to meet Leon at work. They’re even going on what sounds like a double date with two other men. But, in that moment, Leon had to make a quick decision about whether or not to call Jerry his friend or his boyfriend to two employees that he barely knows. I’m glad that unlike other series, Leon comes back for another 43 episodes and all of those issues get unpacked.
The episode’s A-plot is also relevant to viewers that don’t strictly adhere to gender roles. Tomboy Darlene (Sara Gilbert) is blown away when she’s suddenly asked to the spring dance by an unseen teen named Barry. This news sends Roseanne into mothering overdrive as she makes Darlene try on every fancy teen dress in Rodbell’s. Darlene hates every minute of it, and Gilbert sells just how painful high heel shoes are (or maybe Gilbert isn’t acting!).
Darlene stomps away, proclaiming that she’s going to go “change into human clothes.” Rosanne starts planning a big makeover on Saturday before the dance, which pisses Darlene off because it’ll mean missing softball practice. This leads to a big confrontation between Roseanne and Darlene. Darlene is angry that her mother only shows interest in her life when a guy asks her out. Why wasn’t she stoked when Darlene struck out 11 batters with no walks? Darlene doesn’t want to be her mom’s Barbie doll, she wants to be her own person—and that person likes sports and hates dresses.
Darlene tells her mom that she “likes boys and everything,” but she doesn’t want to put up with all that “crap” to get to the “good stuff.” Roseanne backs down from her frills-or-nothing stance, and even buys Darlene some golf shoes to make it up to her (okay, Roseanne thought they were baseball cleats).
Darlene’s not gay. She marries David (Johnny Galecki) at the end of Season 8. Gilbert is a lesbian, and knowing that makes this plot resonate even more. This episode tackles constrictive gender norms from a very real and earnest place; it’s very likely that this one episode made a lot of girls, queer or otherwise, feel confident. Darlene knows herself and she’s brave enough to stand up for herself, to assert herself, even in the face of her mother’s resistance. In the end, her mother supports her decision and engages her on her level (golf shoes!).
In one episode, Roseanne tackled issues that are important to both LGBT teens and adults—and 25.3 million people watched it live. That’s just one of many ways Roseanne was radical.
