Nbc’s ‘Single Guy’ Pokes Some Fun At Homophobia

It must be gratifying for gays to see television series take a stand against prejudice by getting a few well-framed laughs from homophobia.

You’ve seen it with Frasier Crane and his boss (Eric Lutes, now of “Caroline in the City,” in a swell performance). It happened to George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld with a nosy reporter (“Not that there’s anything wrong with being ….”). And this season it happened to Jonathan when “The Single Guy” (NBC at 8:30) was mistaken for the single gay guy.

In all three cases, when politically correct, enlightened, tolerant, reasonable men are mistakenly identified as being gay, they panic. What could be more … more … embarrassing?

Well, certainly not embarrassing. You see, there’s nothing wrong with being gay. Nothing at all. But ….

It’s funny. These situations point to how hard we try to be open-minded - and how nervous we can be about human sexuality, hetero or otherwise.

Forced out of his apartment by damage from a water leak, Jonathan (Jonathan Silverman) moves in with his gay neighbors (Mark Harelik, Michael Winters), who think he’s gay when he shows up at a play with a male acquaintance (David Schwimmer playing his “Friends” character, Ross).

Jonathan thinks Ross is gay, and vice versa. They want to do the right thing but, gosh, do they go about it in a funny way.

Highlights

“Martin,” FOX at 8: FOX shuffles its Thursday lineup in preparation for the fall. “Martin” and “Living Single” swap time slots.

In a daffy “Martin” rerun, Gina (Tisha Campbell) gets her head stuck in a new brass bed. The “Living Single” repeat at 8:30 finds Regine (Kim Fields Freeman) dating a man and his father (Mario and Melvin Van Peebles).

“Before They Were Stars,” ABC at 8:30: David Letterman as a wacky young TV weatherman and Kelsey Grammer as a soap star top the list of vintage clips.

“The Commish: Father Image” (1995), ABC at 9: Darren McGavin guest-stars as Scali’s (Michael Chiklis) retired mentor who’s called in to crack a high-profile murder.

We’ve seen this before. The guy Scali once looked up to turns out to be a disappointment.

But McGavin (fondly remembered as Murphy’s dad on “Murphy Brown”) helps make the old story click.

Cable Calls

“Ghost Dad” (1990), USA at 8: USA’s heart is in the right place, scheduling this comedy as Father’s Day weekend approaches. However, it just happens to be one of the worst comedies made in a long time and certainly a career lowlight for star Bill Cosby.

In a familiar scenario, he plays a businessman and father who dies and comes back as a ghost to make amends for some past behaviors.

“Ed Wood” (1994), TMC at 11:10: I’m a B-movie fan, so maybe that’s why I’ve watched this campy portrait of moviemaker Wood (Johnny Depp) twice. It’s full of surprises, and Martin Landau’s Oscar-winning take on Bela Lugosi is seasoned with humor and pathos.

Depp, unfortunately, often sounds like he used Jon Lovitz as his dialogue coach.

Talk Time

“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Former Vice President Dan Quayle and comedian Jeffrey Ross.

“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Comedian Adam Sandler, actor Ben Stiller and chef Georges Perrier.

“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Bill Maher (“Politically Incorrect”), comedian Mario Joyner and sports writer Mike Lupica.