| The Wedding | |
|---|---|
| Season One, Episode One | |
| |
| Air date | July 13, 1984 |
| Written by | David Lloyd |
| Directed by | Joel Zwick |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous none |
Next You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me |
The wedding is set at the Point After, a restaurant owned by former football star Joe Waters. His younger brother and roommate, Cliff, is set to tie the knot. He's standing at the altar, waiting for the bride, when he announces to his brothers he cannot go through with the wedding. He runs off into the storage room. Joe comes in to talk to him, followed soon by oldest brother Lou, to try to calm Cliff down. After Lou dishes out some "advice" and leaves, Joe lingers behind, still unsuccessfully trying to get Cliff back to the altar. Cliff cites one very important reason why he shouldn't go through with the wedding: he's gay. Cliff and Joe return home, where Joe is still in a state of shock over Cliff's announcement. Things get more complex when Cliff's best friend, a flamboyant gay man named Donald Maltby, shows up, ecstatic over Cliff's "courage" to come out of the closet. Joe is mad at Donald but gets angrier when Cliff apologizes for Joe's behavior. They argue and Cliff leaves to spend the night at Donald's house. Lou stops by the Point After the next day to ask Joe why Cliff decided not to get married. Joe tells Lou that Cliff is gay, which Lou flat-out rejects. They go to Donald's apartment to confront Cliff. Pulled from both directions -- by his brothers who don't understand and by his best friend who wants him to be "gay and proud" -- Cliff runs away.
Cliff returns home and starts to pack to leave because he doesn't want to make his brother uncomfortable. Joe takes the suitcase from him and assures him that he will not reject his own brother.
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Memorable Quotes[]
Donald: I'm so proud of our boy, honestly. When he called and told me he'd finally come out, I literally screamed. I said, "Honey, you've got to give me more notice, I would've baked a cake!" I mean, Hallmark doesn't even make a card for this!
Lou: Wait a minute. This "friend" he stayed with, is he..."swish"?
Joe: The man walks with a lisp.