When 'Quantum Leap' Looked Back At Gays In The Military

Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell in 'Quantum Leap'

Super-smart guy Matt Baume’s latest installment of ‘Culture Cruise’ breaks down a 1992 episode of the NBC series, Quantum Leap, which explored the early gay movement in 1964 at a military academy.

As you may recall, the series (which aired from 1989-1993) starred hunky Scott Bakula as “Dr. Sam Beckett,” a scientist who travels through time tasked with having to ‘set right what once went wrong.’ His co-star was a hologram of his friend “Al” played by Dean Stockwell.

That may sound kind of weird today, but it was a hit in its day.

Baume shares how the episode integrated a lot of accurate historical details of the early gay rights movement from a time when such a thing barely existed.

Matt Baume's Culture Cruise

In the episode titled, “Running For Honor,” Sam leaps into the persona of Tommy, a mid-western military cadet. As in every installment, Sam’s first challenge is to figure out why he’s even there.

It turns out there have been violent attacks around the military academy targeting young men suspected of being gay.

The tie-in here is that when the episode aired in 1992, the country was gradually becoming more comfortable talking about gay-related issues.

After a decade of HIV/AIDS headlines, and the deaths of 150,000 Americans, the importance of coming out and visibility was becoming more and more clear.

The topic of ‘gays in the military’ was making headlines as presidential candidate Bill Clinton promised to overturn the ban on open service by gays and lesbians, and Republicans were fiercely opposed to that idea.

This all led to the hideous compromise that became ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’

The episode also highlights the use of ‘underground newspapers’ which were the precursors to publications like The Advocate, and even includes a scene about ‘outing’ fellow students in the name of the gay movement.

In the end, Sam has to stop the hate crime murder of a gay ex-cadet and, in doing so, proves the foolishness of banning gays in the military.

Baume does a great job of highlighting the effort the writers took to weave in true historic details, including the Stonewall riots. And he does so without sounding like a boring history lecture.

Check out Baume and his ‘Culture Cruise’ below, and you can find more of his videos on YouTube here.

That Time When 'Designing Women' Went Looking For A Lesbian'

Super-smart guy Matt Baume takes a look back at a 1990 episode of the hit sitcom Designing Women which explored how southerns handled discovering lesbian amongst them.

"When we think about gay characters on sitcoms, we usually picture people in big Northern cities," writes Baume. "But season four of Designing Women features an unusual southern and conservative take on having queer friends."

"And it also set the stage for Ellen’s coming out episode, just a few years later," he adds.

Watch Baume break it down for you below.

Podcast: Oklahoma Parents Threaten Trans 5th Grader; Anthony Starble's Latest Track "Paperweight"

 In this week's podcast:

• An Oklahoma school district shut down after parents of students threatened violence on a transgender 5th grader

• That anti-gay Colorado baker is at it again - this time denying a cake to a trans woman

• Smart guy Matt Baume reminds us when 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' went gay for just one episode

• A gay Afghanistan teen was denied asylum by Austria for not being ‘gay’ enough

• Plus, out musician Anthony Starble's new remix of "Paperweight"

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report - Hit the play button below:

That Time When The Mary Tyler Moore Show Went Gay

Cloris Leachman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Journalist, historian and all-around smart-gay Matt Baume devotes this installment of his popular Culture Cruise web series on an episode of the iconic1970s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The year was 1973. Homosexuality was considered a mental illness, you could be arrested for being gay in most of the country, no openly gay or lesbian person had ever been elected to public office. And Mary Tyler Moore, America’s sweetheart, put a gay man in front of viewers for an entire episode without anyone noticing until the last minute -- and then acted like it was no big deal. When it was, in fact, a very, very, very big deal.

The episode, titled “My Brother’s Keeper,” aired on January 13, 1973. In the episode, “Phyllis” (played by Cloris Leachman) set out to set up “Mary” (Mary Tyler Moore) with her brother, “Ben.”

It turns out there’s no chemistry there, but Mary’s best friend “Rhoda” (Valerie Harper) ends up finding a connection with Ben. The problem is - Phyllis hates Rhoda, and can’t stand the idea of her brother with Rhoda.

Of course, in the end, Ben it’s revealed that Ben is gay.

What’s important here, though, is how the writers of TMTMS handled the moment. As you may remember, television (or most of America, for that fact) was not welcoming or warm-hearted when it came to ‘the gays.’

As Baume points out, if a gay person was on TV, they were usually portrayed as murderers or perverts. Note the infamous “The Homosexuals” documentary that aired in 1967 that declared “the average homosexual, if there is one, is promiscuous.”

What Baume does so well here is put what could be viewed as just another ‘gay punchline’ into perspective and gives us context on the whys and hows this was actually an important moment.

At the time the episode aired, Minneapolis (where TMTMS took place) outlawed homosexuality even though that same year saw the debut of Minneapolis first Pride event. And 1973 was the year homosexuality was removed from the list of mental illnesses.

I won’t spoil it for you, so watch the video.

Follow Matt Baume’s Culture Cruise on YouTube here, where he regularly takes a deep dive on LGBTQ themes in TV, movies, books, games and more.

Matt Baume Explores Homophobia Via "The Simpsons"

The Simpsons recently came under fire due to a controversy over the character of Apu. For years, Apu has been voiced by a non-Indian actor playing into what many feel are old, tired, and insulting stereotypes.

Ironically, The Simpsons has used the platform of its enormous viewership to combat harmful stereotypes for years.

One example: head back to 1997 when John Waters guested on the show and Homer couldn't seem to figure out why he didn't like Waters.

Smart-guy Matt Baume explains:

The 1997 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Homer's Phobia" doesn’t just mark a turning point for queer characters on television -- it’s a turning point for homophobia on television as well.

With an unlikely appearance by cult filmmaker John Waters, the episode features a groundbreaking depiction of intolerance, a crash course in camp, and a smarter conversation about queer Americans than on any other show at the time -- all in a medium that was still thought of as only being for kids.

Watch the segment below.

For more insight into the current "Apu" issue, watch voice-over actor (and voice of "Apu") Hank Azaria explain what's up to Stephen Colbert below.

News Round-Up: June 14, 2017

Tyson Beckford

Some news items you might have missed:

• International super model (and current celebrity host at Chippendales in Las Vegas) Tyson Beckford covers Vegas Magazine

• Fox News is dropping it's woefully inaccurate slogan, "Fair & Balanced." #AboutTime

• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has broken the record for the worst approval rating (only 15% approval) for any governor in any state surveyed by Quinnipiac University in more than 20 years.

• Terrific article by Matt Baume about the emergence, history and evolution of Queer Proms over the past 20 years. #GreatRead

• Investigators have found evidence of attempted Russian cyber-hacking by in 39 states' voting software and data.

• Check out Raúl Castillo, before his Looking role on HBO, in the short film 2012 Kiss Me where he played Kid Vargas, a boxer with a secret.

Matt Baume "Debriefs" Trump's First 100 Days For LGBTs

As President Trump attempts to spin his empty list of "accomplishments" during his first 100 days in the White House,  Matt Baume offered this list of actions Trump has moved on since taking office including:

• rescinding LGBT protections under federal contractors
• rescinded transgender protections for students
• ended data collection by the federal government on LGBTs so they could even know who, what and how many there are
• appointed a SCOTUS justice who seems set to rule against any LGBT rights
• and his cabinet is decidedly anti-LGBT

Quite a list from the guy who said he would be "better for the gays" than Hillary Clinton.

Watch below.

Matt Baume: Yes, You Do Need To Worry About SCOTUS Nominee Neil Gorsuch

Smart guy Matt Baume answers the question: Do we need to be worried about this SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch?

The answer: yes, yes you do, unless you don't like having the freedom to marry, to get medical care, to have a place to live, or to use the bathroom.

Matt Baume Looks At This Week's LGBT Headlines

Smart guy Matt Baume takes a look at some of this week's LGBT headlines:

• Arkansas lawmakers just took a step closer to banning marriage equality nationwide

• Texas says marriage equality is "open to debate"

• There's been a wave of violence against LGBTs

Matt Baume On Exactly WHO So-Called "Bathroom Bills" Actually Protect

Matt Baume

Super-smart guy Matt Baume has looked at the data, and he concluded: so-called "bathroom bills" do protect people - just not the ones they say.

What's the REAL reason for "bathroom bans"? Those are laws that prevent transgender people from using the bathroom unless it matches their birth certificate. The politicians pushing them claim that they just want to protect people. And they're right -- stopping trans people from using the bathroom will protect people. But not the people they say.

Watch Baume break down the stats for you below:

Matt Baume On How The Repeal Of Obamacare Would Affect LGBTs

From super-smart guy Matt Baume (via Huffington Post):

If the ACA is repealed, as Republicans are trying to do, not only would 32 million people lose health care, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but LGBTs would be disproportionately affected. And “disproportionately affected” is a phrase which here means “get sick and die.”

For example, HIV treatment can cost thousands of dollars per month. Insurance companies that don’t want to pay for that treatment could just refuse to cover all gay people on the basis that gay men are more likely to be HIV positive. Or they could raise monthly premiums just for gays. Or they could create a lifetime cap, so you pay into their system and then as soon as you need expensive treatment, they drop you. All this was legal until the ACA banned it.

Matt Baume: 2016 Wasn't All Bad

Matt Baume reminds us that there were significant advances for LGBTs in 2016, and then shares his thoughts on how to KEEP those advances in 2017. Hint: stand up and make some noise!

From Baume: “Do we have to do a year in review for 2016? This was a rough one, but what if I told you there were some really great milestones for LGBTs this year? It’s true! Amidst all the bad news, 2016 had some real bright spots. And 2017 could have more — or it could be much, much worse.”

How Conservatives Could Undo Marriage Equality

All-around smart guy Matt Baume is concerned about what Donald Trump’s election will mean for the LGBT community, and especially marriage equality. And when Matt's concerned, I pay attention.

Although I don't think anything will happen any time soon, Baume outlines exactly how our marriage rights could be taken away:

1. Weakening marriage protections

2. Making strategic appointments

3. Using lawsuits to overturn marriage

“It would be very weird if the US Supreme Court reversed their marriage equality decision after just a few years,” Baume says, “but very weird things have been happening a lot lately.”

Matt Baume: Trump's 10 Worst Appointees And The Damage They Could Do To LGBTs

From Matt Baume:

Donald Trump's the most pro-gay Republican president-elect in history, right? Well, no -- he's stacking his administration with people who've spent their entire careers going after queer people.

Here are the ten most dangerous people Donald's appointed, the harm that they could do in their new jobs, and what you can do to stop them.

Matt Baume: "Is Donald Trump A Friend To The Gays?"

All-around smart guy Matt Baume asks "Is Donald Trump a friend of 'The Guys?'"

"Ask the gays," Donald said, "who's your friend?"

Well, the gays are ready with their answer, and it's probably not what he wanted.

Here are some of Donald's quotes about marriage equality, civil unions, and job protections for LGBTs ... and also some "friends" that Donald Trump might not want the gays to know about.

Matt Baume: How Many LGBT People Have Won Oscars?

Super smart guy Matt Baume follows up on Sam Smith's Oscar flub where he mistaken said that no openly gay man had won an Academy Award before.

Sam Smith just won an Oscar and noted that he's the first openly gay man to win an Academy Award -- but wait, that can't be right, can it? Well, no. Here some of Oscar's queerest moments -- and honestly, I think it's a GOOD thing that Sam lost count.

Matt Baume Shares True Love Stories For Valentine's Day

Just in time for Valentine's Day (on Sunday), Matt Baume shares the stories of how several of his viewers met and fell in love.

"How'd you meet the people you love? I asked my followers how they met their partners, and they sent me some really sweet stories. I've gathered some of my favorites and I'm so excited to share them with you."

Matt Baume: The State Of The Union Is Gay

All around smart guy Matt Baume recaps last night's State of the Union speech, and the progress LGBTs have made under the Obama administration.

Matt Baume Explores American TV's First "Same-Sex Married Couple"

Smart guy Matt Baume reminds us of a truly ground-breaking moment in television history: the night America met it's first same-sex marriage couple.

From Baume:

When did gay partners become a part of the family on TV? October 9, 1977. That's the night CBS aired an All in the Family episode entitled "Cousin Liz," which in just a half hour did three amazing things: it showed America that they could have queer family members. It depicted what may be TV's first gay marriage. And oh yeah it may have changed the course of an election.

I haven't thought about this episode since it aired in 1977, but I do remember it. At the time I must have been 14 years old. I didn't exactly know I was gay yet, but it lodged in my consciousness.

Baume does a great job of breaking down how the storyline at first goes all "comedy" on the idea of a lesbian couple. But then, as only "Edith" could do when given the chance during All In The Family, she steps past the "dingbat" and becomes our teacher.

Definitely worth the watch. Make sure you check the moment at the 5:05 mark.

Matt Baume On Matt Damon's Statement That Actors Should Keep Sexuality Secret

Matt Damon, while promoting his new movie The Martian made mention to The Guardian of how he sees the effect of coming out on the careers of gay actors:

“I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly,” he continues. “But in terms of actors, I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”

Matt Baume has his own take on those comments:

Matt Damon told an interviewer this week that actors should keep their sexuality secret whether straight or gay, which is a little hypocritical considering he's an open book when it comes to his heterosexuality.

I don't think he's a homophobe, but imposing a double standard on gay actors is just wrong.