III: Television and the American Culture The Development of Love Relationships Within the Standard TV Sitcom and the Exclusion of True Gay Relationships For 25 years now, gay and lesbian characters have been appearing here and there on prime-time television. It all started when Billy Crystal debuted as Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap in 1977, playing a gay member of a troubled family. The history of gay characters on television has gone through several phases. …showed first 75 words of 1134 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1134 total…offers us a fable of how life should be rather then how it really is. Couples should be loving and cherish their children. Arguments should be resolved in a loving and caring manner without name-calling, violence, or even shouting. Granted that television is not realistic, but as template for how things should be. The television family of the future hopefully will include those of same sex raising a family and in a loving caring relationship.