Not only do you have a complex, topical story of issues of the gay community in the 1980's, but you have Alice Ghostley making her return appearance as Bernice Clifton as well. Apparently, Julia and Suzanne's mother has moved away to Japan, and now Suzanne and Julia have been given the task of looking in on Bernice from time to time. Her arterial flow problem will provide many a source of laughter for the remainder of the series, even giving her the final shot when it came to an end.
Just a few years before he played the villain in "Ghost", Tony Goldwyn made a special guest appearance here as a young gay man dying of AIDS. He wants the Sugarbakers to design a room in a funeral home for others like him who have no other place to be sent off after their deaths. When this was first shown in gay bars in the 1980's, you could not hear a pin drop other than a few soft sobs as the storyline developed. Goldwyn's character of Kendall is a young man filled with heart and love, almost like a son to Julia, and it is very apparent is that the characters as well as the actresses are very affected by the situation.
The secondary story ties in with the main story in an intelligent way that is ingenious. Mary Jo has been asked to speak at her school to support the distribution of condoms to teenagers, and she realizes thanks to Kendall that she's not preventing just pregnancies, she's also helping to prevent deaths. You get the opposite side of the spectrum with a Sugarbaker client who is very insulting to them for aiding Kendall and thus gets a termination by Julia and the head of the PTA who is trying to fight against the distribution out of her own morals. It's a fair and accurate view of all the sides, and even the most bigoted viewer would have a difficult time in not seeing the other side once it is done.
To balance out the sad moments, Alice Ghostley is given a series of very funny lines, describing her own view of safe sex and how it pertains to her marriage. In fact, she gives client Ima Jean (Camilla Carr) a great piece of her mind, and Julia's rant before is a great beginning to what Bernice continues. There's also a very funny title that Mary Jo is given because of the position that she takes, one that even Suzanne wouldn't wear a crown for. This is excellent in every way, stands the test of time, and is one that I can watch over and over and always have to wipe tears away when it is done.
Just a few years before he played the villain in "Ghost", Tony Goldwyn made a special guest appearance here as a young gay man dying of AIDS. He wants the Sugarbakers to design a room in a funeral home for others like him who have no other place to be sent off after their deaths. When this was first shown in gay bars in the 1980's, you could not hear a pin drop other than a few soft sobs as the storyline developed. Goldwyn's character of Kendall is a young man filled with heart and love, almost like a son to Julia, and it is very apparent is that the characters as well as the actresses are very affected by the situation.
The secondary story ties in with the main story in an intelligent way that is ingenious. Mary Jo has been asked to speak at her school to support the distribution of condoms to teenagers, and she realizes thanks to Kendall that she's not preventing just pregnancies, she's also helping to prevent deaths. You get the opposite side of the spectrum with a Sugarbaker client who is very insulting to them for aiding Kendall and thus gets a termination by Julia and the head of the PTA who is trying to fight against the distribution out of her own morals. It's a fair and accurate view of all the sides, and even the most bigoted viewer would have a difficult time in not seeing the other side once it is done.
To balance out the sad moments, Alice Ghostley is given a series of very funny lines, describing her own view of safe sex and how it pertains to her marriage. In fact, she gives client Ima Jean (Camilla Carr) a great piece of her mind, and Julia's rant before is a great beginning to what Bernice continues. There's also a very funny title that Mary Jo is given because of the position that she takes, one that even Suzanne wouldn't wear a crown for. This is excellent in every way, stands the test of time, and is one that I can watch over and over and always have to wipe tears away when it is done.
