7th will & grace heaven

as will & grace and 7th heaven sputter to their respective series finales, i'd like to share the lessons i've learned from these two nearly opposite shows.

1. you don't need big ratings to be the #1 show on the wb.
2. it's people who dress boring and ugly who pick on other people's clothes for being boring and ugly. witness karen always pointing out the flaws in grace's drobe of war when all karen ever wears are scoop or v-neck, sleeve to the elbow, plain tops and to the knee plain skirts. maybe a scarf or two and some diamonds. i'm sure up close her duds are supposed to be a minimum of $1000 apiece from some designer so big i'm not even allowed to say the name, but on tv they just look like jaclyn smith collection. and jack in his constant khakis and white button downs putting down will in his kenneth cole. maybe the writers are being supersmart and trying to showcase jack and karen's insecurities. maybe.
3. sometimes cute kid actors grow up to be cute young adult actors and cute adult actors. witness mackenzie rosman and david gallagher. though 21 might still hit both of them hard and make them sweetinize (i.e. go all jodie sweetin meth addict).
4. gay actors are better at playing straight characters than straight actors are at playing gay characters. i look at will's eyes and i just don't see gay. not at all. sarcasm does not equal gay. if that were true every jew would be gay and i wouldn't be a double minority, just some sort of unified jewgay vs jewish and gay. though i guess there would still be gays who weren't jewish. but that could be fixed by strapping nonjew gays down to plastic covered couches and making them watch a marathon of the nanny.
5. 7th heaven dad stephen collins was really bad in star trek: the motion picture, but it wasn't his fault because he's honestly a good actor. personally i loved him most in the indiana jones tv ripoff tales of the gold monkey.
6. 7th heaven mom catherine hicks was perfect in star trek iv. perfect. on the tube, her high expectations for her family members moved me because i always wanted a family that wanted me to succeed and be happy. tear. moving on.
7. debra messing is the best actor on that show. she gets compared to lucille ball sometimes but i think debra's better. really.
8. sometimes it takes a, b, c and d plots working together to drive home a point on morality and choices. which made 7th heaven preachy and hokey sometimes, but if you're watching it and the life lesson is one you never learned that will actually make your life better potentially, it's okay. plus they had eileen brennan on sometimes as a cranky old lady and i adore her. actually she guested on will & grace as jack's severe and demanding acting teacher. she is the missing link.
9. some shows can't ever have spinoffs. though it would be cool to check in with the cast of both shows after the rapture. with 7th heaven, it would be the end of the world rapture deal. with will & grace, it would be a new club in soho.
10. if i miss both too much, i can always track down a gay themed after school special from the '80s, like the one with ed marinaro as the coach helping this kid accept himself. that was good. and since 7th heaven is an after school special and will & grace is gay, i'll be covered.

Comments

[grouchbutt]

I heart Catherine Hicks. Did you see her in the approximately 15-hour early-80s remake of Valley of the Dolls that they show on Fox Movie Channel sometimes? Lisa Hartman has so much camel toe that you can see her uterus. ("Hysterectomy pants, I call them!") Anyway, I will miss Annie Camden's frownsmile...

[rob]

Good call on Debra being the best actor on Will & Grace. She's been carrying it on her back the last couple years as the other three of have resorted to totally coasting. Anyone who caught the Grace-free episodes during her maternity leave knows what I'm talking about.