WILL & GRACE: LOWS IN THE MID-EIGHTIES {TWO-PART EPISODE} (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about the friendship between Will Truman, a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler, a straight interior decorator.
In this two-part episode, the four friends go out to dinner before leaving for their respective Thanksgiving holidays; at the restaurant they encounter a woman, Pam, who is upset over troubles with her boyfriend Tom. They invite her to join them and offer some advice in the form of a story, flashing back to Thanksgiving 1985, when Will and Grace were dating. Will's college roommate Rob questioned him about his relationship and Will lied that they were extremely passionate. Grace admitted to Ellen that they have not yet been intimate, as Will wanted to "take it slow." Ellen advised her to hurry the matter, though, lest she become "just friends" with Will. Will then encountered Jack, a flamboyant high school student who immediately deduced Will's sexuality, though Will half-heartedly denied it and explained that he was about to visit his girlfriend's family for the holiday.
In Schenectady, Will met Grace's outrageous mother Bobbi, her "confirmed bachelor" accompanist Julius, and Grace's embittered sister, Joyce. Grace was upset when Bobbi forbid her from sharing a room with Will and snuck into his bed late at night, determined to finally have sex with him. Panicked, Will hid in the bathroom and called Jack, who observed that Will was burdened with his secret and obviously not truly attracted to Grace. Bored with the story, Karen interrupts to tell the tale of how she turned down several "suitors," including a wealthy sultan and Martina Navratilova, out of love for the unattractive Stanley. Pam is still intrigued by Will and Grace's saga. Back in 1985, Grace guessed that Will was nervous due to being a virgin, and he blurted out that he loved her and wanted to marry her before having sex. Grace excitedly accepted and told her entire family the good news. Will then finally accepted the truth and told her about being gay. Grace was outraged that he treated her like a "test drive" and proposed marriage before telling the truth; he argued that it was really a "compliment," and she threw him out of the house in despair.
Will and Grace tell Pam that a year passed before they spoke again, during which time Will came out to his friends and family with varying results. Grace told Ellen about her humiliation, but Karen then interrupts again to explain how she met her beloved maid Rosario after learning that Stan was married. In 1986, Jack "tested" Will by declaring that he was in love with him, though Will gently turned him down. He then ran into Grace and they awkwardly conversed, though Will inexplicably hid from a passing woman. In the present, Jack reveals that the woman was Diane, the one woman with whom Will actually did have sex. Grace is shocked by the news and leaves the restaurant. When a confused Pam wonders about the point of the story, Karen and Jack tell her in no uncertain terms that her boyfriend is also gay. Outside, Grace explains that she believed herself to be the one who changed his life and helped him to come out; he explains that he wanted to be entirely sure and, rather than hurting Grace further, chose to sleep with someone he did not love. He assures her that it was "awful," and the two best friends opt to make up. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 23, 2000 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:43:29
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:65386
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; LGBT Collection - Comedy; Women's Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1998-2006; 2017-2020
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- James Burrows … Executive Producer, Director
- David Kohan … Executive Producer, Created by
- Max Mutchnick … Executive Producer, Created by
- Jeff Greenstein … Executive Producer, Writer
- Alex Herschlag … Co-Executive Producer
- Adam Barr … Co-Executive Producer
- Jhoni Marchinko … Co-Executive Producer
- Bruce Alden … Coordinating Producer
- Tracy Poust … Producer
- Jon Kinnally … Producer
- Tim Kaiser … Producer
- Peter Chakos … Associate Producer
- Steve Sandoval … Associate Producer
- Kari Lizer … Consulting Producer
- Richard Rosenstock … Consulting Producer
- Jonathan Wolff … Music by
- Eric McCormack … Cast, Will Truman
- Debra Messing … Cast, Grace Adler
- Megan Mullally … Cast, Karen Walker
- Sean Hayes … Cast, Jack McFarland
- Shelley Morrison … Cast, Rosario Salazar
- Debbie Reynolds … Cast, Bobbi Adler
- Sara Rue … Cast, Joyce Adler
- Tom Gallop … Cast, Rob
- Leigh-Allyn Baker … Cast, Ellen
- Ever Carradine … Cast, Pam
- Neil Vipond … Cast, Julius
- Raymond Forchion … Cast, Clayton
- Michael D. Trail … Cast, Guy
- Scott Berman … Cast, Dontonio
- Martina Navratilova … Cast, Herself