Well friends, this Friday the biggest news in queer TV is… drumroll….
Presenting the Winners of the 6th Annual Autostraddle TV Awards!
So make sure that you click on over to that first (we’ll wait!) before reading the rest of this round up! Are you back? Ok good! Drag Race is back for another season and that mean Drew is back with the weekly recaps you don’t want to miss! Drew also interviewed her girlfriend Elise Bauman on being queer and competitive in new Canadian sitcom One More Time. Max cancelled Our Flag Means Death and Nic’s writing in response to that devastating news is a must read. After this week’s episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kayla would like us to ponder if Maybe All Real Housewives Are Bisexual.
Also, our latest Anatomy of a Queer Sex Scene entry is here to argue that Multiple Maniacs has the best lesbian sex scene ever. Kayla watched All Fun and Games, and is ready to argue that your favorite silly horror movie doesn’t need have an elaborate backstory. Stroking an Animal is a sensuous portrait of polyamory. Riese wrote you an epic list of the 60 best lesbian movies on Tubi.
And finally, it’s Mean Girls Premiere Friday!! Valerie and Nic promise that the remake left them too gay to function, and that is a gift to us all!
Notes from the TV Team:
+ La Brea is back, which I tell you because there was once a brief queer character on it, but alas I don’t spy any queerness this season yet. I’ll be sure to report back if that changes! — Valerie Anne
Good Trouble 512: “With a Little Help From My Friends”
Written by Natalie
When Malika’s proposal for the women’s center failed, she was so heartbroken, I wondered if Malika would ever return to her job as a political staffer. Losing a vote is always hard but to be blindsided like that? It’s hard to get over. Too hard, Malika surmises, so she returns to the office only to tender her resignation. But when she turns up, it’s just in time to catch the bus to the office’s staff retreat… a retreat for which Malika is woefully overdressed.
Once there, Malika’s phone is confiscated and she’s forced to join her colleagues in some team-building activities. She barely makes an effort, though, admittedly, doing a hula hoop pass in a flowy dress and stiletto booties would be difficult for anyone. Later, she can’t avoid participating the “Circle of Truth” and confesses how dejected she felt after the women’s center’s failure. Having all experienced that feeling before, her colleagues move across the circle, and Malika realizes she’s not alone. Will, the office’s Chief of Staff, encourages Malika to truly become part of the team: he assures her that working with others takes the sting out of the losses. She returns to the Coterie, reinvigorated by the hokey retreat (of course!) and determined to persevere on her dream of building a women’s’ center.
Meanwhile, Alice is greeted in the Ferrets & Friends‘ writers’ room by a gift basket from the network, welcoming her to her first day as head writer. She keeps the news of her new leadership role from Morty, Murray, and Morrie but they’d already seen the gift’s card and admit to being hurt that Alice didn’t tell them. Alice insists that the change is just a formality and nothing has to change: all that matters is that they weren’t cancelled and they still have jobs. The guys agree and they persist with their usual fodder and antics. But the next day, the network exec calls Alice in and chastises her for delivering the same tired jokes that had Ferrets & Friends on the verge of being cancelled. The exec insists that Alice be the fresh, young voice the network hired her to be.
“You have an opportunity to prove yourself, Alice,” Kathy, the network exec, pleads. “Don’t blow it because you’re too afraid to lead.”
Both Malika and Alice’s storylines this week left me feeling like the show had done a disservice to its characters and the story they’ve told for the past five seasons. Was Malika attempting to handle the women’s center alone or did Lucia saddle her with a bulk of the work to add strain to her relationship with Angelica? It feels like the writers forgot how we got to this point and settled for making Malika look oblivious instead. Meanwhile, we’re five seasons into this show, and Alice’s story is still about her lack of confidence. How many times do we have to go through this? I’m tired.
