Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World
| Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World | |
|---|---|
 l-r: Evan, Chuck, Dana, Kirsten, Rick, Steve | |
| Created by | Q. Allan Brocka |
| Starring | Alan Cumming Billy West Lori Alan Peter Paige Mitch Morris Wilson Cruz Laraine Newman Emily Brooke Hands Liza Del Mundo Q. Allan Brocka Will Matthews Taylor M. Dooley |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Q. Allan Brocka Dave Mace Eileen Opatut Lance W. Reynolds |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Logo |
| Release | July 10 2007 – Present |
Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In All The World is a stop motion animated sitcom created by Q. Allan Brocka, who also acts as director.[1] It is a spin off from Brocka's 1999 short film of the same name,[2] and debuted on the LGBT focused Logo network in July 2007[3] and on the Canadian Teletoon's late-night programming block "The Detour" that October. After the first season aired Logo renewed the program for a second season.[4]
The animation of the original Rick & Steve shorts was done using Lego blocks and figures, prompting a lawsuit from the company.[5] Though the series no longer uses Lego blocks, it still draws comparison to both them and those by Playmobil.[6][7]
Overview
The show follows the lives of three gay couples—the titular Rick and Steve, Chuck and Evan, and Dana and Kirsten—as they live in the fictional "gay ghetto" of West Lahunga Beach. The title is a bit of a misnomer, as all three of the main couples have typical "couple issues;" including Steve actively seeking a three-way with Rick and another man, Kirsten and Dana deciding to have a baby (with Rick's sperm), and Chuck and Evan simply trying to be together with a 31 year age difference between them.
Along with the couples in West Lahunga are a few friends; including fag hag Condi Li (who prefers to think of herself as an "alternative lifestyle companion"), lesbian couple Ebony and Ivory with their baby Echinacea (whom they would refer to as "she/he"...emphasis on she, as they are refusing to learn which sex the child actually is), and porn star Dylan Ram-Brick. Steve's mother and stepfather drop in on occasion, and Rick's almost psychically connected mother has been known to call him whenever something has or is about to go wrong for him.
Characters
- Rick Brocka, Jr. (voiced by Will Matthews): Steve's 30 year old Filipino American genius husband. He's a homemaker/computer programmer who's "obsessed with cleanliness and science fiction" and a member of the West Lahunga Beach chapter of Gay Men-zuh.[8]
- Steve Ball (voiced by Peter Paige): Rick's 33 year old husband. Steve is a well off real estate broker, despite not being very bright. He's more than a little fixated on his appearance, spending hours in the gym at a time, but personally sees no problem with that. Despite his love for only Rick he seeks a more exciting sex life.[9]
- Kirsten Kellogg (voiced by Emily Brooke Hands): Kirsten is 28, Rick's best friend and Dana's wife. She's considered a lipstick lesbian, though she has been confused for a boy often in her life. She manages the "Chick Sticks" store but is also an artist.[10]
- Dana Bernstein (voiced by Taylor M. Dooley): Kirsten's angry 32 year old bulldyke wife. Dana is misanthropic and quick to hurl insults, but is willing to help Rick & Steve with household repairs when the need arises. She's also in touch with her Jewish heritage, but only in a political sense.[11]
- Chuck Masters (voiced by Alan Cumming): Chuck is 50 years old, Steve's best friend and Evan's boyfriend. He is both HIV positive and paralyzed from the left testicle down—putting him in a wheelchair—though the two are only tangentially connected. Chuck is an angry, yet truthful, individual.[12]
- Evan Martinez (voiced by Wilson Cruz): Evan is Chuck's 19 year old vacuous kept boyfriend. He's addicted to a multitude of drugs, to the point that forgetting to take them for a day completely messes up his system. He's also the most superficial and trendy of all characters and loves to spend time in clubs.[13]
- Pussy (voiced by Liza Del Mundo): Rick and Steve's extremely intelligent cat Pussy is so smart that she sometimes talks to people. [14]
- Supporting character voices were provided by Margaret Cho ("Condi Li"), Billy West ("Dr. Hunk"), Lori Alan ("Ivory"), Lorna Luft ("Joanna"), Mitch Morris ("Preston") and Laraine Newman.
Episodes
| Title | Original air date | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| Guess Who's Coming for Quiche? | July 10, 2007 | Dana and Kirsten ask Rick to donate sperm to inseminate Kirsten. They agree but secretly mix Steve's sperm in. Rick and Steve consider a threesome to spice up their relationship. |
| Bush Baby | July 17, 2007 | Rick and Steve see a marriage counselor who advises them to involve each other in their hobbies. Dana and Kirsten baby-sit "Echinacea" for friends Ebony and Ivory and are horrified when Echinacea's first word is "Bush." |
| Damn Straights | July 24, 2007 | After accidentally splashing sperm on herself last episode, Dana is pregnant. Steve's parents come for a visit but refuse to believe that Rick is a man. Evan must leave West Lahunga Beach in search of medical marijuana. |
| It's Raining Pussy | July 31, 2007 | After her 17th boyfriend comes out, Rick and Steve's friend Condi makes her 17th suicide attempt, then tries to steal Evan away from Chuck. Meanwhile, Pussy organizes the neighborhood cats in a vendetta against Dana after the boys turn Pussy's room into a nursery, and Pussy begins to believe that Dana's unborn fetus is a mouse. |
| Save Our Seamen | August 14, 2007 | The gang all go on a "Cruisey Cruise" family cruise to bond. Onboard, they must deal with Rick's ex-boyfriend Hunter, stowaway Condi, "Mommy Boot Camp" and being marooned on an iceberg. |
| Hormonally Yours | August 28, 2007 | Dana and Rick go into hormone-induced hazes, Dana from pregnancy and Rick from an herbal steroid. Dana becomes sweet but obsesses over baby-proofing. Rick obsesses over being "skinny-fat" and working out and becomes uncontrollably horny. Meanwhile, Steve tries to expand his business by meeting the local Log Cabin Republicans but winds up with the "K K Gay." Dana snaps out of it just in time to go into labor. |
References
- ^ "Rick & Steve Do Outfest". Logo. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
- ^ Southern, Nathan. "Overview". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
- ^ Finley, Adam. "Rick and Steve hit Logo in July". TV Squad. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
- ^ "Logo Announces Full Slate of Gay Animation". The Advocate. November 2 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Boy Culture, Seattle, and the actors and models of LA". GayCities. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
- ^ Watercutter, Angela (June 21 2007). "Lego My Gay-go". Blog.Wired.com. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dargis, Manhola (May 21 2006). "CalArts: The School With Antz in Its SquarePants". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Rick". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Steve". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Kirsten". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Dana". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Chuck". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Evan". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome Wagon: Meet Pussy". Cast of Characters. LOGO. Retrieved 2007-11-27.