'The Sisterhood of the Comfortable Pants'

Slate has a great article on how "Golden Girls" was ahead of it's time. And I've always agreed. Wifey and I used to catch "Golden Girls" after "Frasier" on weeknights (I know, we're 150 years old) and I've loved the way they featured gay and lesbian peeps with no shame; I mean, the show started out with a gay duder as a cook. (He was subsequently let go after a bit, probably because the dynamic was so obviously better with just the four ladies.)

But one of my favorite episodes is when Dorothy's friend Jean comes to visit and Dorothy knows Jean is a lesbian but no one else realizes it. It's not a problem until Jean falls for Rose.



Also fantastic: Blanche's reaction when they first tell her. "Lesbian. Lesbian? LES-BIAN?"

And we can't forget about the groundbreaking episode about abortion on "Maude."