140: Becker Meets a Trans Woman

“He Said, She Said” (November 1, 1999)

The legends speak of a forgotten volume of lore known as… Becker. Allegedly a hit CBS television series starring Ted Danson, it is apparently a victim of the same magic spell that befell Wings, making it all but forgotten from pop culture discourse today. However, as guest Jasmine Friend brought to our attention, Becker did a 1990s twist on the “old friend in town turns out to be trans” trope we discussed in our recent Jeffersons episode. This will likely be the only podcast you will listen to this week that will discuss not only Becker but also the pop culture legacy of Jadzia Dax, the extreme gendering of Ms. Pac-Man and Persian custom of taarof in a single episode.

Read Jasmine’s Twitter thread, which is what brought this episode to our attention in the first place.

Episode artwork designed by Ian O’Phelan.