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Sugar & Spice (Picket Fences)
Encyclopedia
"Sugar & Spice" is an episode of the CBS
comedy-drama
series Picket Fences
. Written by series creator David E. Kelley
and directed by Alan Myerson
, the episode originally aired on April 29, 1993. The episode caused controversy because it depicted 16 year-old lead character Kimberly Brock engaged in same-sex kissing with her best friend and frankly discussing her sexuality.
"Sugar & Spice" was an early entry on a list of American television episodes in which a lesbian or possibly lesbian character kisses a straight-identifying character. These lesbian kiss episode
s often occurred during times of the year when networks were most concerned about generating ratings, and have come to be viewed by some critics as gimmicks to help secure those ratings. The controversy generated by "Sugar & Spice" and other lesbian kiss episodes led to a chilling effect on the non-sensationalized presentation of same-sex intimacy on network television through most of the rest of the 1990s.
) and her best friend Lisa Fenn (Alexondra Lee
) exchange several experimental kisses during a sleepover at Kimberly's house, the first kiss being a chaste peck with the later kisses becoming more intimate. Kimberly's younger brother Matthew (Justin Shenkarow
) eavesdrops on the girls the next day when they discuss the incident and their feelings. He goes to his mother, town doctor Jill Brock (Kathy Baker
) and tells her that Kimberly is a "lesbo". A patient overhears and word of the kissing spreads through the town. Kimberly's father, Sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt
) and stepmother Jill react poorly to the idea that their daughter might be a lesbian, debating "nature vs. nurture" and "elective lesbianism" and even renting "hunk films" starring Mel Gibson
and Kevin Costner
. Kimberly turns to her birth mother, Lydia (Cristine Rose
), who had had a lesbian relationship in college. Lydia advises her that her relationship with another woman was during the women's movement and that while she enjoyed her time with the woman she realized that she was confusing feelings of intimacy with sexuality. Lisa and Kimberly talk further. Lisa acknowledges that she is in love with Kimberly but Kimberly lets her know that she is unable to return those feelings.
In a secondary plot, male Sheriff's deputy Kenny Lacos (Costas Mandylor
) is given a promotion over female deputy Maxine Stuart (Lauren Holly
) after she is asked in her interview about such things as whether she was planning to get married and get pregnant in the near future. She sues for sex discrimination and Kenny's promotion is reversed. She tells Kenny that she would be proud to serve under him but tells Sheriff Brock that his blatant bigotry has made her less proud to serve under him.
Before "Sugar & Spice" aired, CBS, fearing sponsor pullouts and viewer backlash, demanded revisions to the kissing scene. According to Kelley in a Los Angeles Times
interview, the network initially suggested fading to black before the second more intimate kiss, then suggested cutting away before the kiss to a shot of one of Kimberly's brothers eavesdropping. Eventually, the network and Kelley settled on reshooting the kissing scene in darkness. In the episode as aired, a line of dialog is inserted
over a shot of the exterior of the Brock house to explain why the room is suddenly dark.
in Salt Lake City, which had earlier refused to air an episode dealing with polygamy, also refused to air this episode. In a move described by Stephen Tropiano of PopMatters
as "a prime example of network hypocrisy", CBS released the original footage along with the reshot scene to Entertainment Tonight
, which generated enormous publicity for the episode. Television critic John Martin described this episode as indicative of the way that Picket Fences deftly blended ethical and social issues with family concerns.
) and straight-identifying Abby Perkins (Michele Greene
). The kiss led to complaints to the network and five sponsors pulled their ads from the episode. In reviewing incidents of lesbian kisses on network television programs, the New York Times noted that they tended to happen during "sweeps" periods, when the networks use Nielsen ratings
to determine advertising rates. Noting lesbian kisses during sweeps periods on such shows as L. A. Law, Roseanne
, Party of Five
and Ally McBeal
in addition to the Picket Fences episode and noting that they were occurring about once per year, the Times concludes that kisses between women are:
The Guardian
concurred in this assessment, calling the lesbian kiss episode "a clear sign of desperation and a show running out of ideas...Snogging The Friend is the new Jumping The Shark
."
Michele Greene confirmed in an interview with AfterEllen.com
that her kiss with Amanda Donohoe's C. J. was a ratings ploy and that there was never any intention on the part of producers to seriously explore the possibility of a relationship between two women.
During a period in network television history when producers were pushing the broadcast boundaries on sexually explicit content with such shows as NYPD Blue
, the controversy over this and other television episodes that made inroads into presenting same-sex sexuality or affection led producers not to present any sexualization of their gay and lesbian characters. As noted by author Ron Becker,
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...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
series Picket Fences
Picket Fences
Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...
. Written by series creator David E. Kelley
David E. Kelley
David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...
and directed by Alan Myerson
Alan Myerson
-Career:Myerson began working in theatre in New York City, then directing The Second City in Chicago. He founded The Committee in San Francisco in 1963...
, the episode originally aired on April 29, 1993. The episode caused controversy because it depicted 16 year-old lead character Kimberly Brock engaged in same-sex kissing with her best friend and frankly discussing her sexuality.
"Sugar & Spice" was an early entry on a list of American television episodes in which a lesbian or possibly lesbian character kisses a straight-identifying character. These lesbian kiss episode
Lesbian kiss episode
The "lesbian kiss episode" is a sub-genre of the U.S. television media created in the 1990s. Beginning in 1991 with a kiss on L.A. Law episode "He's a Crowd" between C.J...
s often occurred during times of the year when networks were most concerned about generating ratings, and have come to be viewed by some critics as gimmicks to help secure those ratings. The controversy generated by "Sugar & Spice" and other lesbian kiss episodes led to a chilling effect on the non-sensationalized presentation of same-sex intimacy on network television through most of the rest of the 1990s.
Plot
Kimberly Brock (Holly Marie CombsHolly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs is an American film and television actress and producer whose roles have included a portrayal in Charmed as Piper Halliwell and another in Picket Fences, where she received a Young Artist Award for her role, as Kimberly Brock...
) and her best friend Lisa Fenn (Alexondra Lee
Alexondra Lee
Alexondra Lee is an American actress. She is married to actor Stephen Dunham.She was born in Pennsylvania to parents Mae and Harry Lee. Lee studied ballet since the age of four and has danced in The Nutcracker Suite with the New York City Ballet Company. She began dancing with the New York City...
) exchange several experimental kisses during a sleepover at Kimberly's house, the first kiss being a chaste peck with the later kisses becoming more intimate. Kimberly's younger brother Matthew (Justin Shenkarow
Justin Shenkarow
Justin Moran Shenkarow is an American actor best known for his roles of Matthew Brock in Picket Fences, Simon Holmes in Eerie, Indiana, and the voice of Harold Berman on Hey Arnold!.-Life and career:...
) eavesdrops on the girls the next day when they discuss the incident and their feelings. He goes to his mother, town doctor Jill Brock (Kathy Baker
Kathy Baker
Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker is an American stage, film and television actress.-Career:Baker began her career at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love opposite Ed Harris...
) and tells her that Kimberly is a "lesbo". A patient overhears and word of the kissing spreads through the town. Kimberly's father, Sheriff Jimmy Brock (Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
) and stepmother Jill react poorly to the idea that their daughter might be a lesbian, debating "nature vs. nurture" and "elective lesbianism" and even renting "hunk films" starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
and Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
. Kimberly turns to her birth mother, Lydia (Cristine Rose
Cristine Rose
Cristine Sue Rose is an American actress. She has also been credited as Christine Rose. She's best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama Heroes.-Early life:...
), who had had a lesbian relationship in college. Lydia advises her that her relationship with another woman was during the women's movement and that while she enjoyed her time with the woman she realized that she was confusing feelings of intimacy with sexuality. Lisa and Kimberly talk further. Lisa acknowledges that she is in love with Kimberly but Kimberly lets her know that she is unable to return those feelings.
In a secondary plot, male Sheriff's deputy Kenny Lacos (Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor is a Greek Australian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny in Picket Fences, and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the Saw films.-Early life:...
) is given a promotion over female deputy Maxine Stuart (Lauren Holly
Lauren Holly
Lauren Michael Holly is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the TV series Picket Fences, as Mary Swanson in the 1994 film Dumb & Dumber, and as Jenny Shepard on the TV series NCIS. She was married to comic actor Jim Carrey from 1996 to...
) after she is asked in her interview about such things as whether she was planning to get married and get pregnant in the near future. She sues for sex discrimination and Kenny's promotion is reversed. She tells Kenny that she would be proud to serve under him but tells Sheriff Brock that his blatant bigotry has made her less proud to serve under him.
Production
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
interview, the network initially suggested fading to black before the second more intimate kiss, then suggested cutting away before the kiss to a shot of one of Kimberly's brothers eavesdropping. Eventually, the network and Kelley settled on reshooting the kissing scene in darkness. In the episode as aired, a line of dialog is inserted
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
over a shot of the exterior of the Brock house to explain why the room is suddenly dark.
Reception
Network affiliate KSL-TVKSL-TV
KSL-TV, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. KSL-TV is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
in Salt Lake City, which had earlier refused to air an episode dealing with polygamy, also refused to air this episode. In a move described by Stephen Tropiano of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
as "a prime example of network hypocrisy", CBS released the original footage along with the reshot scene to Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, which generated enormous publicity for the episode. Television critic John Martin described this episode as indicative of the way that Picket Fences deftly blended ethical and social issues with family concerns.
The "lesbian kiss episode"
Picket Fences was one of the first American television series to feature an intimate kiss between two women. Two years earlier, L. A. Law had aired an episode (also written by Kelley) that included a kiss between bisexual-identified character C. J. Lamb (Amanda DonohoeAmanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe is an English film and television actress. She is known for her 1980s relationship with popstar Adam Ant and her later work on television — including L.A. Law and Emmerdale — and her roles in successful movies including Liar, Liar.-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter...
) and straight-identifying Abby Perkins (Michele Greene
Michele Greene
Michele Dominguez Greene is an American actress, singer, and songwriter, perhaps most well-known for her role as attorney Abigail "Abby" Perkins in L.A. Law from 1986 - 1991. She returned to that role in 2002 for the TV "reunion" film L.A...
). The kiss led to complaints to the network and five sponsors pulled their ads from the episode. In reviewing incidents of lesbian kisses on network television programs, the New York Times noted that they tended to happen during "sweeps" periods, when the networks use 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...
to determine advertising rates. Noting lesbian kisses during sweeps periods on such shows as L. A. Law, 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...
, Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
and Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
in addition to the Picket Fences episode and noting that they were occurring about once per year, the Times concludes that kisses between women are:
"Eminently visual; cheap, provided the actors are willing; controversial, year in and year out; and elegantly reversible (sweeps lesbians typically vanish or go straight when the week's over), kisses between women are perfect sweeps stunts. They offer something for everyone, from advocacy groups looking for role models to indignation-seeking conservatives, from goggle-eyed male viewers to progressive female ones, from tyrants who demand psychological complexity to plot buffs."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
concurred in this assessment, calling the lesbian kiss episode "a clear sign of desperation and a show running out of ideas...Snogging The Friend is the new Jumping The Shark
Jumping the shark
Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery....
."
Michele Greene confirmed in an interview with AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
that her kiss with Amanda Donohoe's C. J. was a ratings ploy and that there was never any intention on the part of producers to seriously explore the possibility of a relationship between two women.
During a period in network television history when producers were pushing the broadcast boundaries on sexually explicit content with such shows as NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, the controversy over this and other television episodes that made inroads into presenting same-sex sexuality or affection led producers not to present any sexualization of their gay and lesbian characters. As noted by author Ron Becker,
"So viewers got to see Carol and Susan wed on FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, but they didn't get to see them kiss. And fans of NYPD Blue could hear male hustlers talk about their johns, but the only sex they got to see involved the precinct's straight cops—naked butts and all. Clearly, chastity was the price gay characters paid for admission to prime-time television in the 1990s."