Anonymous wrote:Friends
Gilmore Girls
How I Met Your Mother
Scrubs
Ally McBeal - this was my favorite when it first aired but upon rewatching, I was horrified at all the transphobia and victim shaving
Re: transphobia - I think they used certain characters apt to be judgmental/phobic to demonstrate how ridiculous/wrong it is to judge others. Those same characters seemingly learned that “everyone is basically the same..:even transpeople (who I believe they refer to as cross-dressers or something else rather than trans).
They did multiple episodes about transpeople, and that in and of itself was way ahead of its time in the late 90s.
One episode in season 1 featured the Latino actor from my so called life. They were fabulous! The episode is heartbreaking. But it wasn’t transphobic. It was groundbreaking for the 90s and they navigated it as you might suspect given the era.
Having said that, I am all for calling out the obvious anorexia on Ally McBeal. And I found her to be exhausting in a late season 4 episode where she whines about her BF Robert Downy Jr ignoring her on her birthday. She spends the bulk of the show sulking at home in her jammies. Meanwhile, he’s in trial. Literally. What did she expect? This is the episode with Sting, Paul Reubens, and Sherry Oteri/snl.
Overall, Ally McBeal is fun to rewatch. Different, but fun. I enjoy the Fishisms.