BROTHERS: YOU BROUGHT A NEW KIND OF LOVE TO ME (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about the three Waters brothers and their attempts to come to terms with the revelation that the youngest of them is homosexual.
Joe wakes up surprised to find that Donald has slept over. They share an awkward conversation over breakfast; Joe believes that Donald slept with Cliff last night, but Donald insists that there is nothing going on between the two of them. Joe admits that he is unfamiliar with the gay lifestyle and asks Donald questions about gay relationships. Cliff discovers that Joe’s old football friends are back in town, but Joe is reluctant to see them, feeling that he is no longer “one of the boys” since his retirement. His teammates come to visit him, including Bubba, Joe’s best friend from college. They believe he is in the bathroom showering and wait to surprise him, but are shocked when Donald emerges instead. They speak with Donald and come under the misapprehension that Joe is gay. They decide to wait for Joe at his restaurant, rather unnerved by their encounter with Donald.
While waiting at the restaurant they try to talk to Joe, who is too busy to see them. Bubba does not want to assume anything about Joe, although the others seem convinced that Joe is gay. They speak to Cliff about the matter and he tells them about his conversation with Joe that morning; they misinterpret his statement, and it seems to confirm their suspicions about him. Joe finally has time to speak to them and they inquire about Donald. Joe seems unsure of how to speak to them about it, and he misinterprets their statements, believing that they have found out that Cliff is gay. Joe throws one of them, Brad, out of the restaurant after he utters an anti-gay slur, and the others follow. That night, Bubba visits Joe at his apartment alone and apologizes for their earlier encounter. Joe reciprocates his apology, and Bubba surprises Joe by revealing that he is gay and that he has been attracted to Joe for some time. This flusters Joe as he tries to explain the truth to Bubba, but he is unsuccessful and Bubba leaves, angry.
The next morning, Joe tells Cliff about his encounter with Bubba, and Cliff says that he should have simply told the truth in the first place. He asks Kelly if he projects any kind of “effeminate” behavior, and she delights in playing with his emotions about the matter. Joe visits Donald and, somewhat uncomfortably, talks to him about Bubba; Donald knows about the incident from speaking with Cliff. Joe asks Donald for advice on what to do with Bubba, and Donald says that they should first be able to speak to each other plainly and with respect. Unwilling to hurt Bubba’s feelings, Joe plans to allow Bubba to think that he is gay and “let him down easy.” However, Donald does not believe this will work, especially after he reads the ludicrous Dear John letter Joe has written. Donald gives Joe several alternate ideas, such as having Bubba see him with another man and asking him to “flounce” in order to put Bubba off; he notes that despite popular opinion “gay relationships are just like straight ones.” Joe takes him up on this suggestion and Donald demonstrates how he should speak in order to effect the deception.
That night Bubba arrives at the restaurant and Joe prepares to follow Donald’s advice. Cliff stops him and strongly urges him to be honest with Bubba, recounting how dishonesty caused turmoil in his own relationships. He sits down with Bubba, who apologizes for yelling at him earlier, and they recount their first football game together. Bubba explains that he first became attracted to Joe when they started staying in the same room together on road games. Before Joe can try to put him off, Bubba says that he no longer wants to go out with Joe; he says he was simply relieved to find out that he wasn’t “alone,” and doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. Joe asks Bubba why he didn’t tell him sooner, and he believes that despite his accomplishments both on and off the field, he didn’t want to risk having his homosexuality exposed by the media, fearing that it would undo everything he worked hard to accomplish in his life. Bubba then also tells Joe that Cliff already cleared up the matter for him, and he knows that Joe isn’t gay. However, he appreciates that Joe accepts him for who he is and worked hard not to hurt his feelings.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by Blake Byrne.
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: Showtime
- DATE: August 16, 1984 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:25:21
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:13920
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; LGBT Collection - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: Showtime - TV series, 1984-1989
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Gary Nardino … Executive Producer
- Stu Silver … Supervising Producer
- Greg Antonacci … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Don Van Atta … Producer
- Suzy Friendly … Associate Producer
- Joel Zwick … Director
- David Lloyd … Created by
- Dan Foliart … Music by
- Howard Pearl … Music by
- Gloria Nissenson … Theme Music by
- Marcus Baron … Theme Music by
- Joel Diamond … Theme Music by
- Robert Walden … Cast, Joe Waters
- Paul Regina … Cast, Cliff Waters
- Brandon Maggart … Cast, Lou Waters
- Robin Riker … Cast, Kelly Hall
- Hallie Todd … Cast, Penny Waters
- Philip Charles MacKenzie … Cast, Donald Maltby
- James Avery … Cast, Bubba
- Tim Rossovich … Cast, Joe Don
- Joe Hacker … Cast, Brad
- Fred Pierce … Cast, Stretch
- Ronald Lee Jarvis … Cast, The Man