It Had to Be This Show?

Lisa Derrick at Firedoglake reports that same-sex marriage has gone mainstream - LGBT couples are being sought for the Newlywed Game.

Whoopee!!

The Newlywed Game--which during the 1960s made the phrase "making whoopee" a nationally recognized catchphrase for state-sanctioned fornication as its way slide by network censors--is casting for same-sex couples whose marriage is legally recognized in their state!

This is a huge, seriously huge step towards mainstream recognition. The show, originally produced by Chuck Barris, is now presented by eHarmony which last year was forced via an anti-discrimination lawsuit to create an LGBT dating division called Compatible Partners.

SNIP

The original version, which aired on ABC from 1966 to 1974 with Bob Eubanks as the host, had African American couples on with white couples beginning in their first season. This broke down the color barrier for the daytime television viewer, so it would be really awesome if the show would have same-sex couples on with opposite-marriage couples, rather than ghetto-izing them.

The Game Show Network, the Newlywed Game and their advertisers deserve kudos for this. Wow!

I always hated the Newlywed Show. Of all the game shows the primary purpose of which seemed to be the ritual humiliation of the vict - er, contestants - the Newlywed Show was the worst.

But with every civil right comes obligations, and I guess proving they can be as embarassingly stupid on television as straight couples is the price LGBT couples have to pay.