As most of you may or may not have seen quite recently the big reveal in Season eight episode 14’s Murdoch Mysteries episode “Toronto’s girl problem”. In which it was revealed that the character of Dr. Emily Grace was a lesbian or at the very she was bi-sexual which at the time she would have been refereed to a serif. The show has of course represented gay characters before it really got me thinking about the show and bit about the landscape of TV in general. It would be fair too say that at times George Crabtree has been a puzzle of a character. Raised by a priest in a literal bordello on the shoals of Newfoundland with his flowery “aunts”.
If you’ll recall why did George so doggedly pursuing the affections of Dr. Grace when in the past he’s gone out of his way too spurn the advances of other more amorous women like Dr. Julia Ogden’s younger sister Ruby. What can we say about George’s friend and fellow constable Higgins, they are quite close nearly inseparable in fact. Now should we be reading more into there relationship? Possibly I would say the prospect is profoundly interesting.
The fact that more shows are representing more then just white heterosexual couples is great, I’m absolutely all for it. I dream of a day where I’ll see all of my friends and loved ones are on television and together we finally do away with the real housewives. Kidding aside in the majority of popular shows when they do choose to represent members of the gay community more often then not they tend to be white lesbians, which somehow no one seems to have much a problem with. But when the inverse is true it’s national news and a subject too deride at the keurig machine the next day.
My beloved Walking Dead first gave us Tara played by Alanna Masterson as a very out at times delightfully gregarious lesbian women. Even taking a girl friend for as short lived and tragic as it was while she was a member of the Governors new charges. I heard no out cry then no one complain about Tara but recently when Eric appeared and as my fellow fans of the book knew already he was a out gay man in a committed relationship with his boyfriend/partner Eric. When we first see Aaron and Eric together they kiss as naturally as anyone would for being in that situation and not seeing your loved one for so long.
But that became an issue the stories and opinions I heard the following were jarring too say the least. I overheard someone on the phone in line and he was gushing about how sad and angry he was about how he can’t watch the Walking Dead with his 9 year old son anymore because of gay kissing. So the message I’m starting to get is lesbians are more socially acceptable then gay men so we’ll only represent one element of a very diverse community.
Going into a different area for a moment something I have discussed at length with one of my very good friends about Peter Capaldi’s introductory season of Doctor Who. Truly there is nothing in this world that will convince me that Michelle Gomez was going to The Master/ Mistress from the start. What I really objected too about the gender swap wasn’t that they did it at all it was the story and the complete non-answer reasons why it happened. All things that rife in Doctor Who since Moffat took the show runner spot.
The relationship between The Doctor and The Master has always been played with and we’ve been a lot of very strong influences that indicate that over time there relationship wasn’t just friendship. Spoiler alert for 4 something year old episode now, in Sound Of The Drums when The Master is defeated and the Toglofaine are sent back too the dark despondent end of time they came from his unwitting accomplice Lucy Saxon shoots him.
A very distraught Doctor holding The Master in his arms and begging him to regenerate. Begging for him to live or at the very least want too live. With all the great pomp and circumstance a moment like that deserves. I thought at best it was cowardly too bring back The Master as a woman because it would have been far more intriguing and daring too come back to there relationship but as men. Not only that too rather flatly bring out The Master attraction to The Doctor and kissing him in a way outing there relationship. So it stops being two men in an inferred sexual relationship to being yet another white hetero sexual relationship on TV. I feel very strong doing that was a half measured ideal too try and bring some shock to the a season that more often then not fizzled.
A very fantastic and complicated relationship between two profoundly interesting alien characters is swiftly cut down too make room for a very uncomplicated socially acceptable television situation. It reads too me as if the BBC and Moffat are very willing to sacrifice quality of story and representation of members of there very real audience to capture a prodigious quantity of eyes and wallets that would shrink at the sight of gay men on television.
Is this true about all shows on television probably not all I’m asking for everyone to take a step back and say it’s okay for George Crabtree to be gay.