The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV [Paperback]

Tropiano fittingly pays tribute to Celluloid's author, the late Vito Russo, in the book's introduction, and then, for lack of a better word, picks up his mantle and runs with it. This is a thorough, intelligent piece of work. It's important. It's funny. It's generally readable. And, most of all, it's ACCURATE.

I'm of an age where I remember many of these episodes, yet never put them in the contextual order the author manages to. It is so clear to see that he is devoted to telling the truth about our representation - good and bad - and that he has dedicated what must have been years in order to bring this information to the general public. In fact, one of the most impressive things about this book to me is that it appeals to both gay and straight audiences, intellectuals and the general public, and men and women equally. In an age where we all seem to be ghettoized in our specific special interest groups, "Prime Time Closet" provides a bridge for all of us into the truth.

Grouping TV history by genre - medical dramas - law and order dramas - tv movies and miniseries - and comedy - was a brilliant idea because the categories really do cover most of the high (and "low") points of what is and was out there. The choice to box some episodes (a la TV Guide closeups) was hysterical as were many of Tropiano's lists towards the back of the book rating different tv episodes (check out the list of TV Variety shows rated on the Kinsey scale of most gay ("As gay as it gets," "Look Mary, a show for us," to least gay, "a touch of pink," "don't ask, don't tell." ) What I also like is that unlike so many "gay" books, Tropiano doesn't get mired in the camp. He just uses it as an occassional way to spice things up. Make no mistake about it, this is an intellectual work, and an extremely impressive one at that. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

By the way, I read a previous review of a reader chastising Tropiano for not being accurate in several places and implying the book probably has many more mistakes his "eagle" eye didn't catch. Wrong!!! Tropiano is correct in stating that the episode of "Family" (Rites of Friendship) premiered Sept. 28, 1976 because it was the opener of the season, not first aired Dec. 28, 1976 as the reviewer asserts. He also nitpicked about Tropiano leaving out minor episodes of "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "Murder She Wrote." Big deal. There are always going to be a few omissions like that in a book this large. The fact that Tropiano got about 99 and a half % of it right, is cause to be impressed and buy the book, not to take an opportunity to chastize an author that did valuable, important work. As for his criticism of Tropiano for sometimes using the term "homosexual" to refer to gay men and lesbians (he also uses the terms gays and lesbians) and likening it to calling an African American a "Negro," I don't know what to say. This author has written a compelling, authoritative survey of a subject about "homosexuality" on TV. Should he just leave out the word homosexual to be politically correct? And when did it become bad to be called a homosexual anyway??? The latter is more the sort of thing this book addresses so impressively.