Date of airing: August 17, 2001 (Disney Channel)
written by: Melissa Gould
directed by: Kim Friedman
Consider me shocked that the Disney Channel offered its audience an interracial relationship in the year 2001. And it was done so nonchalant, I was actually wondering if I was on the right planet for a second, as Gordo and Brooke going for the lip lock seemed way too normal for a show written and produced in 2001, when conservative television was not at all interested in being open to depict relationships that do not involve two adult white people of two different sexes. Gordo and Brooke dating made for an interesting half hour though, and I appreciated that it focused on the core of three friends in this episode, with Gordo being in the center of attention, and Lizzie and Miranda having equal time in the spotlight when it comes to acting crazy about the dates Gordo is on. Plus, the episode delivered some great t(w)eenage comedy when Lizzie could not hold herself back from being opinionated about dating. Who would have thought that the thought of locking lips with someone else as a teenager was so disgusting that it was seen as its own horror movie?
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| Interracial romance alert! Notify Republican Congress members! |
What a shame that Brooke was a one-episode girlfriend though, as Gordo would have made for a great character now and possibly in the next episode if Brooke had been part of his life for longer than 20 minutes. Seeing Lizzie and Miranda accept Gordo’s new girl on the side could have been worth a bigger and ongoing story, with the breakup serving as the “second chapter” in Gordo’s story for the next episode. It is where Lizzie and Miranda could have proven their status as BFFs to Gordo by picking him up again and distracting him from the pain of losing his first girlfriend. But then I remembered that Gordo thinks of himself as a smart boy, so he would have never let it go that far in the first place. He would have broken up with Brooke before it ever became a real relationship, which is essentially what happened here.
Also, this would have been an episode of DAWSON’S CREEK otherwise, and not a Disney Channel sitcom, and there are no dice to be won for a Disney Channel sitcom in which a romantic relationship is being taken seriously by the writers. But whatever, Brooke existed, she kissed Gordo, and the Disney Channel not only had a kiss in this episode (I always bitch about how the parental characters on Disney Channel shows never kiss but once during any of the shows, let alone were kisses between teenage characters ever considered normal, as they were treated as season highlights within the narrative), but it was also a kiss that involved an African-American girl. Kyla Pratt, it looks like you just started a movement. It is a movement that has not at all impressed the studio because they became even more conservative as time went on.
It was nice to see that both Lizzie and Miranda were asking themselves whether or not they liked Gordo, which was a story I was expecting to see at some point. 19 episodes in and I am kind of glad that the show has not been about Gordo and either of the girls yet, but I see that story as necessary in the next season, so I am waiting for the confirmation that Lizzie is the one Gordo will be spending his adult with, judging by her inner animated monologue, in which she must have realized she really likes him. Is this where the revival show would have gone if it ever had made it past the production of its second episode?
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| Miranda really does not want to go in there. |
Meanwhile, Matt goes for the mathematical lesson, and it was a partially hilarious one. I loved that he was using the knowledge he just acquired for personal gain, which by itself should be applauded by his parents and possibly even rewarded by not giving him house arrest. Is this not the best way to learn the lesson of percentages and realize the importance of math? Besides that, not only was Matt getting into percentages, but with all the crap that has been owed to him, including a cute puppy I wanted to cuddle immediately, he was also learning something about finances in the process. I was hoping Matt would be placed in such a story, and for the writers to turn towards a narrative that can also be treated as a lesson of sorts. Plus, it makes Matt more bearable as a character if he goes through lessons an adult viewer of this series can get behind.
