"December Bride" is the eleventh episode of the eighth season of the

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

television series ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...

''. The episode was written by William Lucas Walker and directed by

Gail Mancuso Gail Susan Mancuso (born July 14, 1958) is an American film and television director. Early life and career Mancuso grew up in Melrose Park, Illinois. She is married to Brian Downs, a doctor, and divides her time between her homes in Valencia, Sa ...

, and originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on December 12, 1995. The episode revolves around the wedding of recurring character Leon Carp (

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (, August 18, 1943 – June 27, 2024) was an American actor, musician, and painter. He became known on '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' its spin-off '' Fernwood 2 Night,'' and '' America 2 Night.'' Other notable roles included ...

(

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

) volunteers to plan his wedding to his boyfriend, but goes against his wishes to create her own vision of a gay wedding. "December Bride" was the first time an American television series had depicted the same-sex wedding of a recurring character. Along with the ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' episode " The One with the Lesbian Wedding" that aired a month later, it attracted controversy for portraying a same-sex wedding and network censorship. Nonetheless, it received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

After an angry customer stiffs

by leaving a check and no tip, she is amused when customer Scott (

Fred Willard Frederick Charles Willard Jr. (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with Christopher Guest in his mockumentary films ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984), ''Waiting for Guffman'' (1996), ''Be ...

) calls his wife to prank her. The two enjoy some comradery until Leon (

) arrives, revealing Scott is Leon's ex-boyfriend whom he dumped at the altar five years earlier. The two plan on remarrying, but have to go out of town for pre-wedding counseling in Minneapolis. Much to Leon's dismay, Roseanne volunteers to plan the wedding for free. Roseanne ropes Jackie into helping her plan the wedding. Despite Leon's instructions to plan a simple and modest ceremony, Roseanne plans a campy extravagant wedding with

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s, male

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

s, enormous

pink triangle A pink triangle is a symbol for the LGBT community. Initially intended as a badge of shame, it was later reappropriated as a positive symbol of self-identity. It originated in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s as one of the Nazi concentratio ...

s. Leon arrives at the venue and is furious with Roseanne's design, finding it to be filled with offensive stereotypes. He attempts to call it off, but Roseanne locks him in the bathroom to avoid him leaving. While greeting the wedding guests – including Leon's mother (

June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American retired actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol (1938 film), ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. She appeared primarily in 1950 ...

) – Dan convinces Roseanne to tone down the wedding. While going to calm Leon down, he reveals that his main reason is his anxiety over marrying Scott. He tries to make excuses for leaving, including claiming he isn't gay due to being insensitive, a Republican, and not liking shopping or

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. Roseanne counters 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 goes forward with the wedding. With Roseanne's initial plans toned down, Leon and Scott exchange their vows. When Dan is distressed over the grooms kissing (off-screen), Roseanne chides him for making fuss over two men kissing. She proclaims "it just happens to be two people of the same sex kissing, and there's nothing wrong with that" just as Sharon (

Mariel Hemingway Mariel Hemingway (born November 22, 1961) is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe-nominated breakout role in ''Lipstick'' (1976), and she received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in Woody Al ...

) — with whom Roseanne previously shared a same-sex kiss with — taps her on the shoulder and greets her, startling Roseanne.

Background

The character of Leon Carp was introduced in the third season episode "Valentine's Day" as Roseanne's stingy boss at the Rodbell's Lunchonette. The character was confirmed to be gay in the third season episode "Dances with Darlene" when his boyfriend came to pick him up after his shift. Roseanne Barr was inspired by two of her siblings being

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

to push for the inclusion of gay characters and issues into the show, saying "My show seeks to portray various slices of life, and homosexuals are a reality". Both Leon and the character of Nancy, played by out actress

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is also well kn ...

, were two of the few gay characters on television at the time with a recurring or main capacity. With the inclusion of Leon and Nancy as recurring characters, ''Roseanne'' won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series three times in 1992, 1993, and 1995. "December Bride" also features cameos by

Christopher Morley Christopher Darlington Morley (May 5, 1890 – March 28, 1957) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.

Alexis Arquette Alexis Arquette (; July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016) was an American actress and transgender activist. Born in Los Angeles, she was the fourth of five children to Lewis Arquette, an actor and director, and Brenda Olivia "Mardi" (née Now ...

, and David Michaels.

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

famously appeared in drag in the final scene of the episode to catch the bridal bouquet. However, the episode ironically did not feature an appearance from main cast member

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on ''Roseanne'' (1988–97; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its sequel, ''The Co ...

, who would come out as a lesbian after the ending of ''Roseanne''.

Controversy

ABC moved "December Bride" from its regularly scheduled broadcast time of 8:00 PM EST 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." The network also did not allow the couple to kiss on-screen. The inclusion of Hemingway serves to both mock the double standard between the acceptability of kisses between same-sex male and female couples, as well as a

callback Callback may refer to: * Callback (comedy), a joke which refers to one previously told * Callback (computer programming), callable (i.e. function) that is passed as data and expected to be called by another callable. * Callback (telecommunication ...

to the controversy surrounding the kiss between Sharon and Roseanne on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" episode.

Proposed spin-off

Roseanne Barr and William Lucas Walker proposed spinning off Leon and Scott into their own series, with "December Bride" as a backdoor pilot. In the spinoff, Leon and Scott were to be raising a teenage daughter fathered by Leon years before. Barr suggested

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...

and

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

could play an inter-racial, inter-generational neighbor couple. Walker and Barr submitted a treatment, but 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. Mull and Willard ultimately remained on ''Roseanne'' in a recurring capacity until its end the following season.

References

External links