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December Bride (Roseanne)
Encyclopedia
"December Bride" is an episode of the situation comedy
television series Roseanne
. The episode revolves around the wedding
of recurring character Leon Carp and his boyfriend Scott. "December Bride" was the eleventh episode of the show's eighth season. It was written by William Lucas Walker and directed by Gail Mancuso
. The episode originally aired on ABC
on December 12, 1995.
) at her diner and learns he will be marrying Leon (Martin Mull
) at the end of the week and that Leon had left him at the altar five years earlier. Because they have to be out of town for pre-wedding counseling, Roseanne volunteers to plan the wedding for free.
Leon arrives at the wedding venue and is appalled at Roseanne's decor, which includes drag queen
s, male strippers and enormous pink triangle
s. He attempts to flee and worries that maybe he isn't really gay since he hates shopping, he's insensitive, he detests Barbara Streisand, and he's a republican. Roseanne counters this assertion by asking "But do you like having sex with men? GAY!" In a last desperate effort, he kisses Roseanne. He confirms that he is gay and he goes forward with the wedding. With the drag queens and strippers toned down, Leon and Scott exchange their vows.
reprised her role as Sharon, the woman who kissed Roseanne in the 1994 episode "Don't Ask, Don't Tell
". When Roseanne's husband Dan (John Goodman
) is distressed when the grooms kiss (off-screen), Roseanne chides him for making a fuss about two people of the same sex kissing and Sharon sits down behind her. Her appearance serves as a callback
to the earlier episode and the controversy that surrounded it.
"December Bride" also features cameos by Christopher Morley
, Alexis Arquette
and David Michaels
. Milton Berle
famously appeared in drag
in the final scene of the episode to catch the bridal bouquet.
to 9:30 PM. An ABC spokesperson stated that this was not because of the inclusion of a same-sex wedding but because "the adult humor in this episode was more appropriate for the later time period".
Leon and Scott into their own series. She suggested Don Rickles
and RuPaul
could play an inter-racial, inter-generational neighbor couple. ABC did not accept the series, reportedly because the network believed that a series with a gay couple as the central characters could not be sustained.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
television series Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
. The episode revolves around the wedding
Same-sex marriage in the United States
The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...
of recurring character Leon Carp and his boyfriend Scott. "December Bride" was the eleventh episode of the show's eighth season. It was written by William Lucas Walker and directed by Gail Mancuso
Gail Mancuso
Gail Mancuso is an American television director.- Select TV work :* Modern Family * $h*! My Dad Says * 30 Rock * Scrubs...
. The episode originally aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on December 12, 1995.
Plot
Roseanne meets Scott (Fred WillardFred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
) at her diner and learns he will be marrying Leon (Martin Mull
Martin Mull
Martin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
) at the end of the week and that Leon had left him at the altar five years earlier. Because they have to be out of town for pre-wedding counseling, Roseanne volunteers to plan the wedding for free.
Leon arrives at the wedding venue and is appalled at Roseanne's decor, which includes drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s, male strippers and enormous pink triangle
Pink triangle
The pink triangle was one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, used to identify male prisoners who were sent there because of their homosexuality. Every prisoner had to wear a downward-pointing triangle on his or her jacket, the colour of which was to categorise him or her by "kind"...
s. He attempts to flee and worries that maybe he isn't really gay since he hates shopping, he's insensitive, he detests Barbara Streisand, and he's a republican. Roseanne counters this assertion by asking "But do you like having sex with men? GAY!" In a last desperate effort, he kisses Roseanne. He confirms that he is gay and he goes forward with the wedding. With the drag queens and strippers toned down, Leon and Scott exchange their vows.
Cameos
Mariel HemingwayMariel Hemingway
- Early life :Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway and Margaux Hemingway...
reprised her role as Sharon, the woman who kissed Roseanne in the 1994 episode "Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Roseanne)
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is an episode of the American situation comedy series Roseanne. Written by James Berg and Stan Zimmerman and directed by Philip Charles MacKenzie, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was the 18th episode of season 6. It follows lead character Roseanne Conner on her visit to a gay bar...
". When Roseanne's husband Dan (John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
) is distressed when the grooms kiss (off-screen), Roseanne chides him for making a fuss about two people of the same sex kissing and Sharon sits down behind her. Her appearance serves as a callback
Callback (comedy)
A callback, in terms of comedy, is a joke which refers to one previously told in the set. The second joke is often presented in a different context than the one which was used in the initial joke. Callbacks are usually used at or near the end of a set, as the aim is to create the biggest laugh at...
to the earlier episode and the controversy that surrounded it.
"December Bride" also features cameos by Christopher Morley
Christopher Morley (actor)
Christopher Morley was an actor and female impersonator who specialized in cross-dressing roles in the 1970s and '80s. He played numerous parts in television and movies, most known for his parts in Freebie and the Bean and General Hospital . In General Hospital, Morley played Sally Armitage, owner...
, Alexis Arquette
Alexis Arquette
Alexis Arquette is an American trans woman, actress, musician, and cabaret performer.-Early life:...
and David Michaels
David Michaels (actor)
David Michaels was born in 1964 in Manchester. He is an English actor, appearing on stage and television.He appeared in many stage productions, including A Midsummer's Night Dream, and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company....
. Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
famously appeared in drag
Drag
- In science and technology :* Drag , the force which resists motion of an object through a fluid* Drag equation, a mathematical equation used in analyzing the magnitude of drag caused by fluid flow...
in the final scene of the episode to catch the bridal bouquet.
Controversy
ABC moved "December Bride" from its regularly scheduled broadcast time of 8:00 PM ESTEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
to 9:30 PM. An ABC spokesperson stated that this was not because of the inclusion of a same-sex wedding but because "the adult humor in this episode was more appropriate for the later time period".
Spin-off
Roseanne Barr proposed spinning offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
Leon and Scott into their own series. She suggested Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
and RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
could play an inter-racial, inter-generational neighbor couple. ABC did not accept the series, reportedly because the network believed that a series with a gay couple as the central characters could not be sustained.
External links
- December Bride at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...