Some of My Best Friends
Encyclopedia
for the 1971 film, see Some of My Best Friends Are...
Some of My Best Friends is an American sitcom
shown on CBS
from February 28 until April 11, 2001. The series was inspired by the film Kiss Me, Guido
.
as Warren, a gay writer living in Greenwich Village
, and Danny Nucci as Frankie, his straight (and at first homophobic
) roommate. Alec Mapa
played Vern, Warren's flamboyant best friend, who lived upstairs from Warren and usually entered Warren's apartment by coming down the fire escape and through a window. Michael DeLuise
portrayed Pino, Frankie's dimwitted best friend. Jessica Lundy
appeared as Meryl, Warren's sister and the manager of the apartment building. Also seen on a recurring basis were Frankie's parents, Italian restauranteurs Connie (Camille Saviola
) and Joe (Joe Grifasi
).
grew up in The Bronx
and came to the realization that there were two very different worlds which didn't co-mingle. "In the club scene, both communities, gay and straight, co-existed but never really talked to one another. I had friends from both communities and I thought, if both these guys could talk to each other, that could be some exciting, interesting stuff." Vitale took a job at Club Med
in the mid-'80s, and befriended his gay boss. "He had the most dynamic personlity of anybody I ever met, and I wanted to be like him, but I wanted to be straight and be like him," Vitale said. The two quickly became best friends, and because of their conflicting backgrounds, people described them as "The Odd Couple
." One day, someone commented, "It would be great if somebody made a sitcom out of you two," which sparked an idea in Vitale's head for a television show.
After sticking his foot in the door of the film world in the early '90s, Vitale first pitched the concept of the series to executives as a vehicle for John Travolta
and Harvey Fierstein
, but he was told that a lead gay character on a television series would never fly.
Several weeks later, Vitale happened to watching The Arsenio Hall Show
when Fierstein came out and announced the show as his upcoming project, with Fierstein playing opposite Andrew Dice Clay
. Furious that his idea had been stolen, Vitale threatened legal action and quickly scrambled to get a copyright on the story. The result was 96 Greenwich Street, a one-act play which was first staged at The Village Gate
in New York City
as part of a festival of short plays. Vitale received a positive response, expanded it to a 2-act play in 1993 and turned it into a screenplay for a film in 1994. The same year, Kevin Smith
's Clerks
had been a highly successful film made on a micro-budget, and Vitale set out to make his film the same way.
By 1996, the story was filmed under the title Kiss Me, Guido
, picked up for distribution by Paramount Pictures
and widely released in 1997. Reviews were generally positive, but several critics picked up on its intended television origins. Roger Ebert wrote, "Like a 30-minute sitcom, it acts like you already know all the characters and are just happy to have fresh dialogue. It's as if the deeper issues have been settled in previous episodes. And yet, also like a sitcom, it's kind of fun as it slides past. Here is a movie that was born to play on television." Vitale again tried to get it turned into a TV series, but it wasn't until after Will & Grace
had become a hit that television executives would finally take him seriously.
variation titled Brother's Keeper
in the 1998-99 season. It was there that Vitale was paired with gay sitcom veteran Marc Cherry
, with whom he began developing the show.
arrived at Axelrod/Widdoes to pitch a spec script
that he'd written, but the producers were more interested in getting him to star as gay lead Warren Fairbanks in their TV series. Bateman did several auditions and readings, but the one person he couldn't impress was CBS
president Les Moonves. "I figured it was perfunctory because Les Moonves had been my boss since I was 16. He was running Warner Bros. when I was doing The Hogan Family
. This history wound up working against the actor. "Perhaps he had a bit of a difficult time seeing me as a gay guy, or perhaps he had something completely different in mind, I don't know. But he wanted them to keep looking, and they did, and they entertained a few different people and names and ultimately ended up coming back to me."
Danny Nucci was approached to play straight Frankie Zito by executive producer Jonathan Axelrod, whose then-wife, actress Illeana Douglas
, had worked with Nucci in the 1993 film Alive
. Nucci wasn't doing much television at the time, but he liked the pitch and saw Frankie as a very real character. "I've got a buddy from the Bronx, Joey," said Nucci. "Through the years I've watched him grow from looking at the world this way" — Nucci held his palms close together — "to this," he said, stretching his hands apart. "So he's a great template."
The casting of the Vern character (named "Terry" in earlier incarnations) was trickier, as he was originally written to be played by an overweight white
guy. But when petite Asian Alec Mapa
came in to audition for the part, he immediately won over Vitale. The problem was nobody else thought the flamboyant actor was right for the show. Mapa was repeatedly called back to audition, but it wasn't until the zero hour that he was finally cast and the character was re-conceived to suit him. It's also worth noting that after the series was canceled, Mapa guest-starred on Cherry's Desperate Housewives
as a character named Vern; it is unknown if this was intended to be the same character or merely an inside-joke.
. DiCarlo was cast in the part before Nucci landed the lead, and since then-32 year old Nucci was significantly older than the 24 year old character he was playing, DiCarlo was deemed to young to portray his mother. "I honestly wasn't given any explanation," said DiCarlo, "but during studio audience filming an exec approached me prior to my first scene and said 'YOU'RE Danny's mom?'. I think I knew trouble could ensue."
The next Herculean task was finding a suitable name for the series. "Kiss Me, Guido made no sense, because Warren's not trying to get Frankie to kiss him," explained Axelrod. "And guido, it turns out, was offensive to Italians." Other titles announced were Macho Man and Me and Frankie Z, the latter of which very nearly stuck -- the February 2001 issue of Genre
and the March 2001 issue of Out
both referred to the show as Me and Frankie Z." Bateman also joked that cast and crew had their hearts set on the title Everybody Loves Rimming.
At the last minute, the show was re-titled Some of My Best Friends, a name reminiscent of the completely unrelated 1971 film Some of My Best Friends Are...
, and cited as "the worst title" by both of the show's leads. "It's like you're looking in the dustbin," complained Nucci. "Let's find the worst title for a sitcom that's a mouthful and nobody will get." Bateman conceded, saying, "Even if you happen to think of the phrase some of my best friends are gay,' and I don't think most people will, that still is not that clever... I can't believe that's the [title] they settled on after looking for one for six months."
Further complications ensued thanks to Bette Midler
's unrelated self-titled sitcom Bette. In December 2001, Midler went on Late Show with David Letterman
and publicly denounced her own series, calling it “the lowest thing that ever happened to me in my life.” Ratings of her show were already steadily declining, so CBS made the unwise decision to put Some of My Best Friends in her timeslot and push Bette back a half-hour in place of Welcome to New York
, which was put on permanent hiatus.
The show finally debuted on February 28, 2001, and ranked number 77 in the weekly Nielsen ratings
. After two low-rated weeks on Wednesday nights, the episode Blah, Blah, Blah was aired in a high-profile timeslot on Monday night following Everybody Loves Raymond
. It failed to attract a wider audience. Although all seven episodes were scheduled (and rescheduled), the show wound up being pre-empted numerous times due to NCAA college basketball tournament, and ultimately two episodes went unaired during its CBS run. The unaired episodes wouldn't surface in the USA until the show was run sporadically on the gay-themed Logo
network a few years later.
. The Los Angeles Times' Harry Rosenbaum opened his review with the lines, "First Will & Grace, now Will & Guido. Just about, anyway." Critic James Enderst similarly stated, "They're The Odd Couple of the 21st century. Or Will & Grace lite. You decide." New York Daily News
critic David Bianculli stated, "[Alec] Mapa plays Vern as a cross between Sean Hayes' Jack on Will & Grace and Suzanne Somers
' Chrissy on Three's Company
."
On the negative end of the spectrum, many critics denounced the show for being too formulaic. Hal Boedeker of The Orlando Sentinel called the show "hopelessly tired and old hat." Rosenbaum similarly stated, "Familiar stereotypes have always earned easy howls, from minstrel shows and old-time burlesque to political cartoons that deploy exaggeration as parody. The especially obnoxious ones ultimately fail when the multitudes realize their humor is not only hollow but at times twisted and even dangerous." Mapa later lashed back at that review in The Advocate
saying, "I was totally slammed in the straight press... The L.A. Times called my portrayal 'dangerous.' But everyone in the gay community totally got it, because it takes one to know one."
On the flipside, many reviews were favorable, as were the critiques of the leads. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Rob Owen stated, "Some of My Best Friends trades on every Italian and gay stereotype possible, but it manages to make these zingers seem fresh thanks to strong performances from Bateman and Nucci." The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger misleading opened saying the show was "shameless in its use of hoary stereotypes. It brazenly reduces gay people, Italian people, Asian people and aging married people to caricatures in the interests of good ratings and corporate profits," but he then concluded, "It's often pretty darned funny."
Some of My Best Friends Are...
Some of My Best Friends Are... is a 1971 drama film written and directed by Mervyn Nelson.-Plot:On Christmas Eve 1971 in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, a group of gay men and women meet at the Blue Jay Bar to talk about their lives and relationships....
Some of My Best Friends is an American sitcom
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...
shown on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from February 28 until April 11, 2001. The series was inspired by the film Kiss Me, Guido
Kiss Me, Guido
Kiss Me, Guido is a 1997 independent film comedy. Written and directed by Tony Vitale, it stars Nick Scotti, Anthony Barrile, Anthony DeSando and Craig Chester.-Synopsis:...
.
Synopsis
Some of My Best Friends stars Jason BatemanJason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
as Warren, a gay writer living in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, and Danny Nucci as Frankie, his straight (and at first homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
) roommate. Alec Mapa
Alec Mapa
-Personal life:Mapa, a Filipino American, was born in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School . Mapa is openly gay and lends his support to various projects supporting the gay, lesbian, and Asian American communities...
played Vern, Warren's flamboyant best friend, who lived upstairs from Warren and usually entered Warren's apartment by coming down the fire escape and through a window. Michael DeLuise
Michael DeLuise
Michael Robert DeLuise is an American actor, film director, and film producer.-Early life and career:DeLuise was born in Los Angeles, the second son of actor and comedian Dom DeLuise and actress Carol Arthur, and the brother of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise and actor David DeLuise.DeLuise...
portrayed Pino, Frankie's dimwitted best friend. Jessica Lundy
Jessica Lundy
Jessica R. Lundy is an American actress. Although she has appeared in several movies, she is noted more for her television roles, especially as Joel Fleishman's fiancee/ex-fiancee Elaine Shulman on the series Northern Exposure...
appeared as Meryl, Warren's sister and the manager of the apartment building. Also seen on a recurring basis were Frankie's parents, Italian restauranteurs Connie (Camille Saviola
Camille Saviola
-Early life:Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of Mary and Michael Saviola. She grew up near Yankee Stadium and graduated from Music and Arts High School then attended college for one year before dropping out to get into acting...
) and Joe (Joe Grifasi
Joe Grifasi
Joseph G. "Joe" Grifasi is an American character actor of film, stage and television.Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bishop Fallon High School, a now defunct Catholic high school in Buffalo. He played...
).
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jason Bateman | Warren Fairbanks |
| Danny Nucci | Frankie Zito |
| Alec Mapa | Vern Limoso |
| Joe Grifasi Joe Grifasi Joseph G. "Joe" Grifasi is an American character actor of film, stage and television.Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bishop Fallon High School, a now defunct Catholic high school in Buffalo. He played... |
Joseph "Joe" Zito |
| Camille Saviola Camille Saviola -Early life:Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of Mary and Michael Saviola. She grew up near Yankee Stadium and graduated from Music and Arts High School then attended college for one year before dropping out to get into acting... |
Connie Zito |
| Michael DeLuise Michael DeLuise Michael Robert DeLuise is an American actor, film director, and film producer.-Early life and career:DeLuise was born in Los Angeles, the second son of actor and comedian Dom DeLuise and actress Carol Arthur, and the brother of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise and actor David DeLuise.DeLuise... |
Pino Palumbo |
| Jessica Lundy Jessica Lundy Jessica R. Lundy is an American actress. Although she has appeared in several movies, she is noted more for her television roles, especially as Joel Fleishman's fiancee/ex-fiancee Elaine Shulman on the series Northern Exposure... |
Meryl Doogan |
Origin
Creator Tony VitaleTony Vitale
Tony Vitale is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his critically acclaimed film Kiss Me, Guido.- Biography :...
grew up in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
and came to the realization that there were two very different worlds which didn't co-mingle. "In the club scene, both communities, gay and straight, co-existed but never really talked to one another. I had friends from both communities and I thought, if both these guys could talk to each other, that could be some exciting, interesting stuff." Vitale took a job at Club Med
Club Med
Club Méditerranée , commonly known as Club Med, is a French corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. It is considered the original all-inclusive resort.-Foundation:...
in the mid-'80s, and befriended his gay boss. "He had the most dynamic personlity of anybody I ever met, and I wanted to be like him, but I wanted to be straight and be like him," Vitale said. The two quickly became best friends, and because of their conflicting backgrounds, people described them as "The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
." One day, someone commented, "It would be great if somebody made a sitcom out of you two," which sparked an idea in Vitale's head for a television show.
After sticking his foot in the door of the film world in the early '90s, Vitale first pitched the concept of the series to executives as a vehicle for John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
and Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
, but he was told that a lead gay character on a television series would never fly.
Several weeks later, Vitale happened to watching The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
when Fierstein came out and announced the show as his upcoming project, with Fierstein playing opposite Andrew Dice Clay
Andrew Dice Clay
Andrew Dice Clay is an American comedian and actor who played the lead role in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up albums...
. Furious that his idea had been stolen, Vitale threatened legal action and quickly scrambled to get a copyright on the story. The result was 96 Greenwich Street, a one-act play which was first staged at The Village Gate
The Village Gate
The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York.Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 158 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structure by architect Ernest Flagg was known at the time as...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as part of a festival of short plays. Vitale received a positive response, expanded it to a 2-act play in 1993 and turned it into a screenplay for a film in 1994. The same year, Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
's Clerks
Clerks
Clerks is a 1994 independent comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances...
had been a highly successful film made on a micro-budget, and Vitale set out to make his film the same way.
By 1996, the story was filmed under the title Kiss Me, Guido
Kiss Me, Guido
Kiss Me, Guido is a 1997 independent film comedy. Written and directed by Tony Vitale, it stars Nick Scotti, Anthony Barrile, Anthony DeSando and Craig Chester.-Synopsis:...
, picked up for distribution by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and widely released in 1997. Reviews were generally positive, but several critics picked up on its intended television origins. Roger Ebert wrote, "Like a 30-minute sitcom, it acts like you already know all the characters and are just happy to have fresh dialogue. It's as if the deeper issues have been settled in previous episodes. And yet, also like a sitcom, it's kind of fun as it slides past. Here is a movie that was born to play on television." Vitale again tried to get it turned into a TV series, but it wasn't until after Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
had become a hit that television executives would finally take him seriously.
Production
The show wound up at the Axelrod/Widdoes production company, which had previously produced another Odd CoupleOdd Couple
Odd Couple is a 1979 Hong Kong film directed by Lau Kar Wing , who also stars, alongside Sammo Hung. It was the first film to be released by Gar Bo Motion Picture Company , an independent production company set up by Hung, Lau and producer Karl Maka.The movie is a showcase for the different...
variation titled Brother's Keeper
Brother's Keeper (TV series)
Brother's Keeper is an American television series that was originally broadcast from 1998 to 1999 on ABC. It was produced by Axelrod-Widdoes Productions and Donald Todd Productions in association with Studios USA Television....
in the 1998-99 season. It was there that Vitale was paired with gay sitcom veteran Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
, with whom he began developing the show.
Casting
Jason BatemanJason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
arrived at Axelrod/Widdoes to pitch a spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
that he'd written, but the producers were more interested in getting him to star as gay lead Warren Fairbanks in their TV series. Bateman did several auditions and readings, but the one person he couldn't impress was CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
president Les Moonves. "I figured it was perfunctory because Les Moonves had been my boss since I was 16. He was running Warner Bros. when I was doing The Hogan Family
The Hogan Family
The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991...
. This history wound up working against the actor. "Perhaps he had a bit of a difficult time seeing me as a gay guy, or perhaps he had something completely different in mind, I don't know. But he wanted them to keep looking, and they did, and they entertained a few different people and names and ultimately ended up coming back to me."
Danny Nucci was approached to play straight Frankie Zito by executive producer Jonathan Axelrod, whose then-wife, actress Illeana Douglas
Illeana Douglas
Illeana Douglas is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer.-Background:Douglas is a granddaughter of the actor Melvyn Douglas and his first wife, artist Rosalind Hightower, and has said that her grandfather's performance in Being There, in particular, was influential on her own...
, had worked with Nucci in the 1993 film Alive
Alive (1993 film)
Alive is a 1993 American movie based upon Piers Paul Read's 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, which details the story of a Uruguayan rugby team who were involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972.The film was...
. Nucci wasn't doing much television at the time, but he liked the pitch and saw Frankie as a very real character. "I've got a buddy from the Bronx, Joey," said Nucci. "Through the years I've watched him grow from looking at the world this way" — Nucci held his palms close together — "to this," he said, stretching his hands apart. "So he's a great template."
The casting of the Vern character (named "Terry" in earlier incarnations) was trickier, as he was originally written to be played by an overweight white
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
guy. But when petite Asian Alec Mapa
Alec Mapa
-Personal life:Mapa, a Filipino American, was born in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School . Mapa is openly gay and lends his support to various projects supporting the gay, lesbian, and Asian American communities...
came in to audition for the part, he immediately won over Vitale. The problem was nobody else thought the flamboyant actor was right for the show. Mapa was repeatedly called back to audition, but it wasn't until the zero hour that he was finally cast and the character was re-conceived to suit him. It's also worth noting that after the series was canceled, Mapa guest-starred on Cherry's Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
as a character named Vern; it is unknown if this was intended to be the same character or merely an inside-joke.
Troubled times
The first tip-off that the series was in trouble came early on when actress Josette DiCarlo, who originally portrayed Frankie's mother in the pilot, was replaced by character-actress Camille SaviolaCamille Saviola
-Early life:Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of Mary and Michael Saviola. She grew up near Yankee Stadium and graduated from Music and Arts High School then attended college for one year before dropping out to get into acting...
. DiCarlo was cast in the part before Nucci landed the lead, and since then-32 year old Nucci was significantly older than the 24 year old character he was playing, DiCarlo was deemed to young to portray his mother. "I honestly wasn't given any explanation," said DiCarlo, "but during studio audience filming an exec approached me prior to my first scene and said 'YOU'RE Danny's mom?'. I think I knew trouble could ensue."
The next Herculean task was finding a suitable name for the series. "Kiss Me, Guido made no sense, because Warren's not trying to get Frankie to kiss him," explained Axelrod. "And guido, it turns out, was offensive to Italians." Other titles announced were Macho Man and Me and Frankie Z, the latter of which very nearly stuck -- the February 2001 issue of Genre
Genre (magazine)
Genre magazine was a New York city-based monthly periodical written for gay men. It was owned by gay press publisher Window Media.-History:...
and the March 2001 issue of Out
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
both referred to the show as Me and Frankie Z." Bateman also joked that cast and crew had their hearts set on the title Everybody Loves Rimming.
At the last minute, the show was re-titled Some of My Best Friends, a name reminiscent of the completely unrelated 1971 film Some of My Best Friends Are...
Some of My Best Friends Are...
Some of My Best Friends Are... is a 1971 drama film written and directed by Mervyn Nelson.-Plot:On Christmas Eve 1971 in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, a group of gay men and women meet at the Blue Jay Bar to talk about their lives and relationships....
, and cited as "the worst title" by both of the show's leads. "It's like you're looking in the dustbin," complained Nucci. "Let's find the worst title for a sitcom that's a mouthful and nobody will get." Bateman conceded, saying, "Even if you happen to think of the phrase some of my best friends are gay,' and I don't think most people will, that still is not that clever... I can't believe that's the [title] they settled on after looking for one for six months."
Further complications ensued thanks to Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
's unrelated self-titled sitcom Bette. In December 2001, Midler went on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
and publicly denounced her own series, calling it “the lowest thing that ever happened to me in my life.” Ratings of her show were already steadily declining, so CBS made the unwise decision to put Some of My Best Friends in her timeslot and push Bette back a half-hour in place of Welcome to New York
Welcome to New York
Welcome to New York was a television sitcom that aired on CBS. The show starred Jim Gaffigan, who played a weatherman from Fort Wayne, Indiana, who then moved to New York and worked as a meteorologist for fictional morning news show called "AM New York"...
, which was put on permanent hiatus.
The show finally debuted on February 28, 2001, and ranked number 77 in the weekly Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. After two low-rated weeks on Wednesday nights, the episode Blah, Blah, Blah was aired in a high-profile timeslot on Monday night following Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
. It failed to attract a wider audience. Although all seven episodes were scheduled (and rescheduled), the show wound up being pre-empted numerous times due to NCAA college basketball tournament, and ultimately two episodes went unaired during its CBS run. The unaired episodes wouldn't surface in the USA until the show was run sporadically on the gay-themed Logo
Logo (TV channel)
Logo is an American digital cable television channel owned by Viacom's MTV Networks division. Launched in June 2005, the channel's programs are geared towards the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community...
network a few years later.
Reception
Critical reaction was mixed, though love it or hate it the majority of TV critics rampantly drew comparisons to the only hit show on the air at the time that featured gay characters, Will & GraceWill & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
. The Los Angeles Times' Harry Rosenbaum opened his review with the lines, "First Will & Grace, now Will & Guido. Just about, anyway." Critic James Enderst similarly stated, "They're The Odd Couple of the 21st century. Or Will & Grace lite. You decide." New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
critic David Bianculli stated, "[Alec] Mapa plays Vern as a cross between Sean Hayes' Jack on Will & Grace and Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
' Chrissy on Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
."
On the negative end of the spectrum, many critics denounced the show for being too formulaic. Hal Boedeker of The Orlando Sentinel called the show "hopelessly tired and old hat." Rosenbaum similarly stated, "Familiar stereotypes have always earned easy howls, from minstrel shows and old-time burlesque to political cartoons that deploy exaggeration as parody. The especially obnoxious ones ultimately fail when the multitudes realize their humor is not only hollow but at times twisted and even dangerous." Mapa later lashed back at that review in The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
saying, "I was totally slammed in the straight press... The L.A. Times called my portrayal 'dangerous.' But everyone in the gay community totally got it, because it takes one to know one."
On the flipside, many reviews were favorable, as were the critiques of the leads. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Rob Owen stated, "Some of My Best Friends trades on every Italian and gay stereotype possible, but it manages to make these zingers seem fresh thanks to strong performances from Bateman and Nucci." The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger misleading opened saying the show was "shameless in its use of hoary stereotypes. It brazenly reduces gay people, Italian people, Asian people and aging married people to caricatures in the interests of good ratings and corporate profits," but he then concluded, "It's often pretty darned funny."
Episodes
| Production # | Title | Synopsis | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40354-001 | "Pilot" | Aspiring actor Frankie Zito answers an ad that reads "GWM Seeks Roommate," thinking "GWM" stands for "Guy With Money," not "Gay White Male." | February 28, 2001 |
| 40354-002 | "The Marriage Counselor" | Confusion abounds when Warren reluctantly gives Frankie's mother some sex tips. | Unaired |
| 40354-003 | "Scenes from an Italian Party" | Everything seems to go wrong when Warren orchestrates a 25th anniversary party for Frankie's parents. Meanwhile, Meryl swoons over a completely oblivious Frankie. | Unaired |
| 40354-004 | "A Brief Encounter" | Numerous misunderstandings ensue when Frankie's once-worn silk boxers go missing. | March 28, 2001 |
| 40354-005 | "Blah, Blah, Blah" | Warren and Frankie decide to share custody of Frankie's girlfriend (Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Danell Obradors is an American actress.Obradors was born in San Fernando Valley, California to Argentine immigrants Angie, a church worker, and Albert Obradors, an office cleaning business owner. Before becoming an actress, Jaqueline was a cashier at Hughes Market in Canoga Park,... ). |
March 12, 2001 |
| 40354-006 | "Fight Night" | Frankie attempts to hide his gay roommate when his buddies come over to watch the fights. | March 7, 2001 |
| 40354-007 | "Shaggy Dog Story" | Frankie and Warren take in a stray dog. Meanwhile, Meryl finally agrees to a date with Pino. | April 11, 2001 |