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Page 11
COUNTERCULTURE
ABC's Heartbeat: Lesbians in Prime Time
Prime time television has improved a bit in the past
few years. It takes more risks, dares to be "realistic" in
ways the netwoiks feel the viewing public can handle it
(not too much real life) and have made a token attempt
at racial and gender parity and doing away with
stereotypes. Now, ABC has decided to really
push the limits of its audience's "acceptance" with
its new 6-episode pilot series "Heartbeat." During
the fifth episode of this medical "LA Law" take
off, we learn that one of the main character, a
female M.D., is a lesbian - complete with lover, a
daughter who has some problems with her
mother's relationship, and a very supportive circle
of colleagues and friends. The show was created
by Sara Davidson whose doctor happens to be a
lesbian employed at a women's medical center.
The authenticity is evident in the show, although
in a upper middle - class and stilted fashion. Gail
Strickland, who plays the role of Marilyn
McGrath, and Gina Hedit who plays Patti, her
lover of four years, are restricted to occasional
passionless hugs and hand touching on the show.
Despite this, the intimate conversations they have
are realistic-reflecting two women who love and
respect one another - and who demonstrate no
guilt about who they are. It's probably a plus that
the characters are not allowed m ore room to
express physical afection. If they were, its likely
that people would watch the show just to see the
"taboo" of women touching each other, and the
show would lose some credibility. As it stands,
the focus is on a positive relationship and not on sex,
which is a credit to ABC and the writers.
In episode 5, which aired April 19th, Stnckland
wrestles with the problem of whether to attend her
daughter's wedding. Her daughter, played to perfection,
puts conditions on her mother's attendance - she is
welcome but her lover, who the daughter has yet to meet,
is not. The writers do an excellent job of revealing the
fears of both mother and daughter. By the time of the
wedding in episode 6, the problem has been resolved.
Mom’s lover and daughter have met, discovered they
have a lot in common and, in a particularly moving
scene, the daughter admits that her anger is not about her
mother's lesbianism but about feelings of desertion when
her mother and father divorced. It’s a credit to the
writers that these complex and emotional issues are
handled so well in a brief period of time. There is no
thinness or triteness here. The people arc real and the
situations arc real, leading those of us who live these
situations to believe there must be a lesbian writing
these parts - or at least being consulted. J. Carey
Junkin and Walter Wheeler of Couples, Inc., a
California-based national advocacy organization
for lesbian and gay families, were official
consultants, but we do not know if a lesbian or
lesbians were directly involved.
Southern Voice interviewed Gina Hecht,
Strickland's lover on the show, and asked if she
knew if lesbians were being consulted or writing
the part. Hecht had no knowledge of this but did
say that the writers are "very bright and aware" and
have a "good understanding of issues today such as
what can happen when gays ans lesbians come out
to their famUites." She knew only the main writer,
Billy Schwartz, and laughingly stated she fell sure
that "he is not a lesbian."
Hecht related that she had gotten a taste of
"what it's like in the real world" by portraying a
lesbian. She said that curiosity among employees
at the studios was "very high. I've worked for ten
years in this business and my sexuality has never
been in question," she said. "Several times I would
hear whispers as I walked by such as 'that’s the one,
Continued on Page 13
inside/OUT: Lesbian/Gay
Radio, NPR-style
Have you ever wondered what "All Things
Considered" might have sounded like if Susan
Stamberg had been a lesbian? WelL you don't have to
wonder any longer-just turn your radio to 89.3,
WRFG-FM on Thursdays at 6:00 pm. and you can hear
"inside/OUT' (i/O), a new lesbian and gay half-hour
radio show which calls itself "The International Gay and
Lesbian Radio Magazine". In production cnly since
March of this year, i/O is closely modeled in format on
the successful National Public Radio newsprogram,
except that it presents only
the 5-to-l 0 minute feature
stories, similar to what
ATC does after it gives
you 8 minutes worth of
news. And i/O's stories
are just about as good as
ATCs, which is a credit to
the program's all volunteer
staff.
I only listened to the
first two shows, which
means that i/O is still
figuring out what it's going
to do and how to do it
But from what I heard, the
program shows much
promise. Those first two
shows centered arotmd
two general areas of
interest politics and
humor, and it does a better job with the first are. Specific
stories include reports on Great Britain’s homophobic
new law, Clause 29, which prohibits local governments
from passing laws that promote homosexuality; what
happened at Stonewall, for those who don't know; ACT-
UP'S March 11 demonstration in Manhattan, which
backed traffic up into New Jersey, the recent meeting in
Los Angeles of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians
and Gays; and an interview with the first openly gay
member of the Candian Parliament. Meaty stuff, and all
of the stories were informative and professionally dene.
Co-anchors Greg Gordon and Lucia Chappelle have
between them more than 12 years of experience in radio
and their chemistry is good and will get better as the
show progresses.
On the humor side, i/O is
still straggling. Does a fake
commercial with Elmer Fudd
endorsing the "Gay-mewican
Express Card” ("Don't be
hemo without it") do justice
to the substance of the rest of
the show? I wonder. i/O did
score with an interview with
feminist comedian Kate
Clinton, but I would be
concerned with any group
that couldn't do a good
interview with someone as
funny as Clinton. Maybe the
humor will get better as i/O
finds its voice; its cute little
logo indicates the show's
creators have a sense of
whimsy, much like the early
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make sure that their message doesn't get undercut by the
humor and obscure the truly substantial voice they have
already established.
The politics of the people responsible for this show is
also impressive. It is produced by Pacifica Radio, the
people who carried a live broadcast of the March on
Washington last October. The show's lesbian host,
Lucia Chappelle, is station manager at KPKF-FM,
Pacifica's flagship station in Los Angeles. And in
Atlanta, you can hear i/O on Atlanta's alternative radio
station WRFG-FM. And there is clearly a need for a
show like this. i/O quotes one of the letters they received
from one of their listeners: "I am 15 going on 16 and of
course gay.... I listen to your radio program every week
on my headphones so nobody will hear me listening...."
Radio's almost mythic power to change people's lives
and incite their imaginations is clearly evident here, and
its value can't be underestimated for the gay people for
whom it is their only private escape from their day to day
experience.
i/O's mission is important and it is arriving at a
seminal time in our community's history. As
organizations start to solidify and strengthen after the
March, it is important that we find ways to network and
communicate to one section of the U.S. about what
another section is doing. i/O already has 28 radio
stations signed up in the U.S., thanks to a grant from the
Chicago Resource Center, which is subsidizing
distribution. What that means is that WRFG is getting
13 free weeks of i/o, and then the station and K. C.
Wildmoon, the local radio host involved in bringing i/0
to town, will have to pay for a year's worth of these
programs. To find out more, tune into K. C’s show,
"Still Ain’t Satisfied", which airs from 53)5 to 7:00 pm.
on Thursdays. I for one am glad she’s carrying this
wonderful new source of timely and detailed information
for Atlanta's gay and lesbian community.
■ Al Cotton
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