The Ambiguously Gay Duo

The Ambiguously Gay Duo is an American animated comedy sketch that debuted on The Dana Carvey Show before moving to its permanent home on Saturday Night Live. It is produced by Robert Smigel as part of the TV Funhouse series of sketches. It follows the adventures of Ace (voiced by Stephen Colbert) and Gary (Steve Carell), two superheroes whose sexual orientation is a matter of dispute. Ace and Gary's initials, A and G, appear on their shirts, and could also stand for "ambiguously gay."

The Ambiguously Gay Duo is a parody of the comic book superheroes Batman and Robin, who in their secret identities as a wealthy bachelor and his young ward, have been suggested by some to be a homosexual couple. This charge was most famously leveled by Fredric Wertham in his 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent.

Other recurring Saturday Night Live skits playing on this theme are: Pat, an individual of ambiguous gender, the short-lived Lyle the Effeminate Heterosexual, and Mango, a flamboyant, self-obsessed cabaret entertainer.

Episode plot

The typical episode usually begins with the villain, usually Bighead, briefing his associates on plans for some dastardly deed. The villain declares he cannot be stopped, not even by the duo Ace and Gary. Upon mention of the superheroes, the villain and his associates begin a debate over the orientation of and relationship between Ace and Gary. The villain is doubtful; the associates are sure; speculation continues.

The police commissioner, with the chief of police at his side, calls on the superheroes to save the day. They, too, end up in an involved discussion over whether or not the duo is gay.

Ace and Gary set out to foil the evil plan, but not before calling attention to themselves with outrageous antics and innuendo, and otherwise behaving in ways not usually associated with heterosexual men. Oblivious to their own behaviour, but now aware of the shocked and horrified expressions around them, the scene closes something like:

Ace [patting Gary on the butt] : Good job, Gary!
Villains/Bystanders [gasps, and horrified stares]
Ace: What's everybody looking at?
Villains/Bystanders [in unison]: Nothing!

This gag finds itself in every episode.

Episodes not following this general formula will feature Ace and Gary answering fan mail or offering child safety tips. One such episode follows the adventures of Ace and Gary giving children a ride home in their phallus shaped car, where they give home decorating tips, making suggestive gestures and innuendo while completely unaware of how they are being received.

Characters

• Ace is the leader of the duo. He is mentor to Gary, refers to him as “friend of friends,” and has a wide array of superpowers reminiscent of Superman. Ace is voiced by Stephen Colbert.
• Gary, Ace's sidekick, is the younger of the duo. Gary is less experienced, and has fewer superpowers than Ace. His powers include super strength, breath, stamina, and flexibility. Gary is voiced by Steve Carell.
• The Police Commissioner is the duo's primary contact, and when trouble arises, he makes the call to their hangout. His calls tend to interrupt a workout of some kind, with one or the other of the duo shirtless. The commissioner, voiced by Steve Carell, believes Ace and Gary might not be gay.
• The Chief of Police hangs out with the commissioner, apparently waiting to find evidence in support of his confident belief that Ace and Gary are, in fact, gay. He and the commissioner are endlessly engaged in debate over their positions on this subject.
• Bighead, as the name might suggest, sports a very large, bald head, and is usually the brains behind most of the evil schemes. Second only to his primary vocation of mad scientist is his obsession with outing the superheroes as gay. He is constantly criticized for the amount of energy he invests in this pursuit.
• Dr. Brainio is probably named for the auxiliary brain he has attached to his skull with cables and tubing. He occasionally partners with Bighead, but is quite a bit more undecided about Ace and Gary. Dr. Brainio is voiced by Stephen Colbert.
• Orbitrox is a small, green, free-floating droid who sides with Bighead on the question of Ace and Gary's orientation. Orbitrox has proffered evidence of their having visited gay bars, but emphatically denies visiting himself, snapping, "Back off dickweed, it's research!"
• Kor-Al, an obvious parody of Superman's Jor-El, is the duo's mentor whose spirit resides in the "Fortress of Privacy." He offers his advice from time to time when Ace and Gary seek counsel.

Ambiguously gay

The intrinsically homosocial behavior of many popular superheroes is magnified with Ace and Gary. Unlike Batman and Robin, they display behavior that is not common for normal superheroes. This illuminates the homosexual aspect of their behavior beyond reasonable deniability, often reaching toward the absurd. It is usually quite inappropriate and shocking for pedestrians and bystanders, who tend to stare and sometimes laugh at them. ^{[neutrality disputed]}

Episode guide

Other appearances

• January 12, 2002 (Josh Hartnett/Pink), The Ambiguously Gay Duo makes a surprise appearance in The X-Presidents – the Hunt for Osama.
• April 29, 2006, The Ambiguously Gay duo co-hosted Saturday Night Live: The Best of TV Funhouse. The hosting duties included the opening monologue performed by Ace and Gary, plus new animated/live-action material during the pre-commercial and post-commercial bumpers. It was revealed during these bumper segments that they seem to have an undying obsession with former cast member Jimmy Fallon. The show ended with the duo taking cast members Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg to their secret headquarters — both naked — in the penis-car, with announcer Don Pardo begging to be taken with them and a spurned Fallon looking on from his apartment window with tears in his eyes.

Trivia

• The Will & Grace Season 5 DVDs have a blooper reel that includes Eric McCormack (Will) and Sean Hayes (Jack) deliberately throwing off Megan Mullally's (Karen) entrance by breaking character and posing, hands on hips, looking directly at her entry point. "Let's wait for Karen to come in", says Sean. Megan, also breaking character, laughs and quips "You're like 'The Ambiguously Gay Duo' or something", to which Eric replies "Not, not that ambiguous, really. Pretty 'Right On the Money Gay Duo'". (In a subsequent take, Eric and Sean have resumed their normal character acting, but the memory of the stunt causes Megan to laugh through another attempt at her entrance.)

See also

• Saturday Night Live
• Ambiguously Gay Duo Costumes
• List of SNL TV Funhouse
• TV Funhouse
• Robert Smigel

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