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Mitch McTaggart looks at Queer TV in final ep of SBS VICELAND series
"There's this rough patch between the 80s and early 2000s, where it was just rubbish," Mitch McTaggart says.
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In the final episode of The Back Side of Television, Mitch McTaggart will turn his attention to gay visibility on Aussie TV.
“It’s largely charting what the journey has been like for gay representation, and that we just went into a complete black hole with it in the 80s. I think we’re barely just coming out of it now,” he tells TV Tonight.
“I think over the last 5 or 10 years, it’s improved dramatically but there’s this rough patch between the 80s and early 2000s, where it was just rubbish.”
McTaggart returns with a 2021 special on New Year’s Day.
9:20pm tonight on SBS VICELAND.
- Tagged with The Back Side of Television
13 Responses
Just watched the 3 Eps. This show must go on. Deliciously scripted, researched properly and delivered like Hungry Beast mixed with Media Watch. Refreshing and “keeping the bastards honest”.
That was my letter to the Green Guide pointing out the missing kiss in ‘The Simpsons”!
It was quite the surprise seeing it 30 years later.
Finally! When people say Grimshaw is a “respected” “journalist” we can point them to McTaggart’s ACA segment. Beautiful!
Do we think Ray Martin would have led a program with stories like that?
Umm, yes? Ray Martin might have more cred than Tracy Grimshaw, but it’s still ACA at the end of the day and it will always be trash. Ray Martin v John Safran lives on forever thanks to YouTube.
Anyway, this show is great and I want more.
This show finished strong! “I’m talking about ACA, Mum!” Priceless. Looking forward to the New Year special, and hopefully more after that.
What makes this guy an authority? In the 90s there was representation on Melrose Place and Friends. Here in Aus we had the first gay kiss on G.P. Then there was the UK drama This Life, plus I think the UK Queer as Folk came out at the end of the 90s.
If you’ve watched first 2 eps you’ll see it refers to Australian content. First gay kisses on Australian TV were in the ’70s. Your references are largely mid-late 90s, so it concurs with his point.
I don’t think there were actually any gay kisses in No 96 or The Box, in the 70s, there were of course gay characters.
Yes lesbian kiss on The Box, but earlier Chequerboard and This Day Tonight. Later Prisoner.
Yes, first male gay kiss on Aussie tv was the 90s.
In drama, but documentary was 1972 Chequerboard.
This show and Mitch are both great – hope we see more of him in the future
Agreed! A very crisp, delicious explanation of how under 50’s have deserted linear FTA and highlighting that those under 50’s will one day be over 50’s and still have no appetite for the dross on FTA.