Will & Grace
Will & Grace is a highly popular American pantomime written by the Greek poet Euripides about four people who all like the same gender. The show first aired in 1998 after delays of roughly 2,400 years due to ongoing legal problems which made necessary the discovery and colonization of the American continent, and the setting up the American legal and entertainment industry (all of which was accomplished by Euripides in 1986).
The show focuses on the marriage between lawyer Will Truman and interior designer Grace Adler. The marriage, though built upon the pair's deep and mutual friendship during college, is a slightly unconventional one as Grace is Jewish. Other notable characters include Karen Walker, whose antics have caused outrage among human rights groups, and Jack McFarland, a non-practicing homosexual who seeks physical chastisement from Karen as part of his devout religious beliefs.
Many gay rights groups have claimed that the show primarily deals with homosexuality, but the writers (Euripides and his pen) say that sexuality is not a big theme in the show. For instance, although Will is gay, there is very little reference to it; instead, the writers focus on his personal traits, which are independent of his orientation (such as his campiness and his tendency to sleep with men).
Characters[edit]
Will and Grace was the first sitcom to feature characters; all previous sitcoms used the traditional SITuational COMmunism formula, in which communist propaganda was played repeatedly to a laugh track.
Will Truman[edit]
Will is Grace's husband but is regularly unfaithful to her, most often with other men. As a lawyer, Will's first sexual encounter was with Satan (who Will calls Michael), who frankly tore a new one in him. Will's relationship with Michael lasted 7 years, in which time he married Grace and fathered several children with men on death row, which he managed to have expelled from the country so as to prevent them from interfering with his relationships with Grace and Michael.
Will is fundamentally a moral man though he is vain and insecure about his looks, and frequently is tempted to take the easy route out of predicaments. For instance when "Stan" "died", he resisted telling Karen that he'd lost "Stan"'s will and instead quickly wrote a new one in which he spelled his Grace's name wrong and spent most of the time blathering inanely about meat, as he was hungry.
Of the many traumatic things to happen to Will, the divorce of his parents was probably a relatively pain-free experience (note the caveat relatively). His father had an affair with a younger woman called Tina and his mother did likewise with a younger man called Tim. It transpired that Tina and Tim were brother and sister (which is quite obviously why they have similar names) and were paid by Karen and Jack to punish Will by seducing his parents. The reason for this punishment is uncertain, though Karen revealed it may have had something to do with a large bear Will had made love to (i.e. Rosario).
Grace Adler[edit]
Grace Adler is an interior designer based in New York and the employer of Karen Walker. She met her husband Will after mistaking him for a large piece of cake. Grace's relationship with her parents has been difficult since she accompanied Will on a series of anti-semitic pogroms.
In the middle of the series Grace is married simultaneously to Will and Leo. Unfortunately for Grace, Will and Leo reveal that they are in fact the fathers of a man-child named Shaba, whom she has also fornicated with. Shaba is later revealed to be Will's brother through a paradoxical time-warp. Leo is horrified by this revelation and promptly kills himself.
Grace's hair has been fascinating scientists ever since its debut in the show, as the mixture of chemicals used to make it that amazing shade of red enable her to pick up all short bandwidth radio stations, CNN and non-stop re-runs of Hannah Montana on demand every hour. Research has so far proved inconclusive.
Karen Walker[edit]
Karen is married to the rich business man Stan Walker. Karen is an unrepentant alcoholic and pill popper and (by her own admission) is incapable of human emotion. Karen supposedly has a huge rack, although they are never shown during the series. She continually makes references to Stan as fat but this is a result of her vision being blurred. None of the other characters have the nerve to tell her that "Stan" is in fact two men, conjoined twins Stan and Jeremy, joined at the shoulder.
Karen and "Stan" have a large number of staff working for them, to whom Karen is constantly abusive and violent. She often calls out "I'm approaching!" to which they scuttle off making sure she doesn't have to look at them. Karen's human rights violations culminated in season V when President Bush accused Karen of developing nuclear weapons inside her boobs. The president sought a UN resolution calling for weapon inspectors to be allowed into her rack. Karen agreed unconditionally to this and in 2003 Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, left vital work in Iraq to inspect Mrs. Walker's breasts. The UN report was published in 2005 and reported that while no nuclear material was found, she was found to be harboring a vast arsenal of chemicals, which were probably given to her by Saddam Hussein for safe keeping. Bush led a multinational invasion of her boobs in March 2003 which caused the death of 650,000 plastic surgeons and a global increase in bra burning.
Karen's relationships with the other characters have been shaky throughout the show. She regularly forces her maid Rosario to carry her round like a horse, even when she goes fox hunting. She runs an extortion racket from her place of work: Grace Adler Designs, where she bullies and bribes her boss into paying her "compensation" money to prevent her from going to the cops about the many drugs that come through the office and the many bodies which Karen disposes of by wallpapering them into the houses of Grace's clients.
Karen is also highly critical of Grace's fashion sense. Whenever she sees Grace she always launches into a well-thought-out critique about what her dress sense says to the world, and then pays Grace extra not to reveal to the world her judgmental nature. Karen also intimidates Grace into submitting to perverted sex acts, including full penetration and verbal abuse centered on the disparity of their cleavages.
Karen has the best relationship with Will, whom she is having a raunchy affair pretty much throughout the whole series. Karen knows she can always call on Will whenever she sees the demon who lives inside the pickle jar, or when Grace forces her to work a full half-hour-day of relentless hardships such as using the fax. When Stan was arrested Will was the first person she screwed, and beat him violently.
Karen's relationship with Jack is highly problematic for many viewers. There is a great contrast between the meek and mild personality of Jack and the sadistic tendencies of Karen. It is very likely that Jack only sees Karen in order to inflict pain and punishment on him, for which he believes he deserves in order to erase his original sin.
Jack McFarland[edit]
Jack is a highly devout Christian who maintains a vow of unemployment. Jack remains celibate throughout his adult life, though he insists on having anal sex with men as a punishment for his earthly frailties.
Jack is constantly bothered by sexual advances from Will. It is these advances that have led to infrequent slips in his proud record of unemployment; for instance, in one episode after taking a shower, Jack reached for his towel only to find it draped over the erect penis of a very drunk and high Will. This incident led to Jack's "career" on the stage in an attempt to come to terms with his best friend's predatorial nature.
Jack's son Eliot appears in the middle of the series, apparently the product of a rape his mother committed on Jack twelve years earlier. Jack is very disappointed in Eliot when he comes out as straight, though he eventually comes to terms with this and pays Grace to sex him up.
Other Regular Characters[edit]
Not all characters can go to the toilet on a regular basis; however, here is a selection of those who can.
"Stan" Walker[edit]
"Stan" is in fact two men joined at the hip who are nevertheless referred to in the singular due to the fact that their wife Karen can't tell they are two men. Legally Karen is only married to Stan, Jeremy never married. In Season IV Stan commits tax evasion and is sentences to prison. This leads to the judge having to make a difficult moral decision: as Jeremy has committed no crime is it right to condemn him to jail for the crimes of his brother; the judge eventually decides he has no choice but to commute Stan's sentence to a $400,000 fine. Jeremy incensed by this leniency, stabs a police officer, killing him instantly thus allowing the judge to send them both down. The judge praised Jeremy for his unreserved dedication to justice before sentencing him to death, a sentence which also had to be commuted as it would lead to the death of Stan, who was merely to be given a custodial sentence.
Later on "Stan" "fakes" his own "death", though it is in fact only Jeremy that fakes his death after he and Stan undergo a separation procedure; Stan still lives with Karen, but due to his slightness Karen cannot see him, and so maintains the belief that Stan is dead. Karen has a number of subsequent relationships and even a brief marriage but all Stan can do is look on, unable to communicate to his drugged up wife.
Rosario Salazar[edit]
Rosario was bought by Karen from Texas University when she was on the brink of receiving her Master's degree in Criminal Psychology (and accompanying manumission). Though the legal status of Rosario being "bought" is a regular theme in the show, due to some savvy legaleering by Will, Rosario's rights as a human being are never recognised.
Despite this Rosario has great affection for Karen, who in turn has great respect for Rosario; so much so that Rosario is the only one of her maids who she hasn't tested to see if her liver is suitable for transplant.
Marvin "Leo" Markus[edit]
Leo, a Jewish doctor met Grace whilst she trying to conceive a child with Will. He sees Will and Grace dogging in their local park in broad daylight as he passes by on horseback and sees two nasty gashes on Grace. He treats the one on her forehead with his medical know-how and proceeds to know the other one with his own forepart (let's assume he surgically reattached it). After all three had climaxed, Leo proposes to Grace and much to the Will's chargrin they get married. Though Will eventually accepts their union, he refuses to have his marriage with Grace annulled forcing her to commit Bigamy.
Leo's Job as doctor takes him all over the world due to his committmed to Doctors Without Borders. In various episodes he travels to desperate developing nations including Cambodia, Guatamala, some place in Africa and Canada. Leo's speciality is Euthanasia, which is portrayed graphically in the show, mainly as part of its general anti third-world white supremacist ideology.
Notable Episodes[edit]
Although Will and Grace was not the first sitcom to divide its output into episodes, it was the first to divide itself into episodes, which is just as good... right? Right?
Well whatever, here is a selection of those you might want to write in your notepad.
Lows in the Mid Eighties[edit]
A two part episode, which caused great controversy when it was first aired. Will, Grace, Karen and Jack try to console a woman in a bar by recounting the tale of how Will and Grace got married. The episode is mainly a flashback to the 1980s when Will proposes to Grace. When Will makes the proposal to her Grace accepts but it fraught with guilt about a secret she has kept from him. Eventually she comes out for the first time and admits that she's Jewish. Will is mortified by this and storms out. After the fallout the pair don't see each other for at least a year. Eventually they do get back together although Grace has to agree to renounce her family and religion. To celebrate the pair go on a violent pogrom.
This episode prompted the anti-defamation league to release a statement of condemnation before retracting it instantly after realizing it was just a TV show. Sadly however few others realized this and widespread riots and real-life pogroms resulted leading to the cancellation of both Frasier and Family Guy.
Oh, No, You Di-In't[edit]
This is the second part of two episodes in which Karen (after "Stan"'s "death") and her lover Lyle Finster get married for a good half hour. This also sees the return of Grace's noble husband Leo from saving (and euphanising) lives in Cambodia. Leo has a guilty secret to tell which he confides in Will, he tells him he has been unfaithful to the evil queen Grace and has kissed another woman. Will replies that he doesn't care because Grace has been sexing him up all the time Leo's been away, but to this Leo replies that all he cares about is Grace's feelings.
When Leo finally tells Grace he reveals that in fact he not only kissed this woman, but had sex with her. In his defense he claims he only did it because the woman was suffering from a fatal infection called Cupidocoitus which can only be cured by sex with a married man. Grace tells him to go fuck himself and demands he perform self castration and when he refuses Grace threatens to use her Gay Mafia connections to bomb every clinic in Cambodia that Leo's worked at. Leo eventually agrees although it will cause the death of thousands of women from Cupidocoitus.
See also[edit]
- List of jokes in Will & Grace