Okay gang, help me out here... (Les Lye characters)

[BBOvenGuy]

I've been asked to participate in GLBT Month at the "YA Books Central" website with my book, The Real Life Channel, and I thought I'd mention dealing with GLBT issues when I worked for YCDTOTV. It's a very short answer - "We didn't." But there was one character Les did that was kind of a stereotypical "flaming *****" type, and I'm trying to remember it. He did it before my time, but when I was there, they were still talking about how much Nickelodeon objected to it.

Am I jarring anyone's memories?

(Oh, and I'll post about my book's appearance at YA Books Central when it's up...)

[Ric]

Peter ****roach...heh...gotta love our edits...that would be C o c k r o a c h

Les once told us that Peter was the most difficult character for him to play. Not because of content but because all of those sketches were very long, and since they didn't use cue cards, he had to write a lot of the lines on the counter so he could read them. The name is derived from Ottawa food critic Peter ****rin...that's C o c k r i n.

[BBOvenGuy]

Ah yes, that was his name. Thanks!

And heck, Les had all sorts of ways to hide pages of the script where he could find them during a take. Peter... well, that guy... wasn't the only one who needed them.

[slimeyboy]

I thought I'd mention dealing with GLBT issues when I worked for YCDTOTV. It's a very short answer - "We didn't."

i remember an episode where 'mom' comes home from the laundromat, talking about some scandalous 'storyline' between a pink shirt and a football jersey.. and there were a couple other subtle references, but i think you probably had to be a g-a-y kid to catch them..

[Ric]

Last edited by slimeyboy : Today at 04:44 AM. Reason: this board doesn't even allow the word 'g-a-y'.. how friggin' ridiculous..

Actually, Chris and I choose which words are censored and which aren't. G A Y is one of the chosen many due to its recent integration into pop culture's lexicon as something that can be interpreted as slander. We had some really inappropriate exchanges of dialogue a few versions of this message board ago, where name-calling took place, so we've "beefed up security" (for lack of a better term) to ensure that everyone always feels welcome here.

[slimeyboy]

we've "beefed up security" (for lack of a better term) to ensure that everyone always feels welcome here.

yeah, everyone except g-a-y ppl who should feel like a filthy 4-letter word.. thanks for clearing that up..

[TheLockerMonster]

I will keep the political editorial brief : I am g-a-y and I don't disagree with what Ric did nor do I feel like a filthy 4 letter word. I feel like a filthy 3 letter word! Just kidding. I'm not angry at Ric and Chris' decision. It's a message board for heavens sake. There's plenty of other things to worry about in life!

As for Les' more flamboyant characters, there were two others that he played that I wish I'd seen more of : the scout leader and the original librarian.

Rob

[Ric]

yeah, everyone except g-a-y ppl who should feel like a filthy 4-letter word.. thanks for clearing that up..

That's pretty funny considering there are many g a y ppl among you on the msg board. You should take a few moments to get to know your fellow posters.

I heard a guy call into a radio show a few months ago and complained about how people were beginning to refer to uncool things as "g a y." He heard his nephew calling things that he didn't like "g a y" and was offended that american culture would embrace the term as something negative. Since this is a msg board about a CLASSIC TV SHOW and not GLBT issues, the edits were put in place to prevent it from being used in a way that someone could find offensive. We've done this before with other words but only after a war had already broken out on the msg board.

Keep in mind that the n word is used as a term of endearment among some groups of people but because this isn't a web site where rap lyrics are likely to be discussed, it's not welcome here to prevent someone from using it in an offensive way all the same. There are other words that mean g a y that aren't censored, like homosexual. It may take you a few more keystrokes to type it out, but you can use it all you want.

Now, back to talking about the show....

[wrmSLIME]

Term of endearment?

Thats utter crap.

Here is the sad reality. Kids of all colors see their role models using certain words and of course want to be like them and use them as well.

Its endearing for the black kids to use it, but the white kids are racist?

So all of a sudden you have to teach kids that they are different and that race matters and racism is perpetuated.

As far as g a y goes, this is from m-w.com

Main Entry: 1g a y
Pronunciation: 'gA
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French gai, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German gAhi quick, sudden
1 a : happily excited : MERRY <in a g a y mood> b : keenly alive and exuberant : having or inducing high spirits <a bird's g a y spring song>
2 a : BRIGHT, LIVELY <g a y sunny meadows> b : brilliant in color
3 : given to social pleasures; also : LICENTIOUS
4 a : HOMOSEXUAL <g a y men> b : of, relating to, or used by homosexuals <the g a y rights movement> <a g a y bar>

Its not even the original meaning of the word... I just don't like double standards...that's all.