Entertainment
It only seems like a short "Just Jack" ago since the original series was airing, and yet there's so many Will & Grace quotes that are so outdated it hurts. That likely has something to do with the fact that the final episode aired back in 2006 — not that any of us needs to be reminded of quickly time is passing. As a show with such a whimsical, yet sardonic, take on society, politics, and popular culture, some of the outdated references from Will & Grace are understandable. After all, this was a show that was all about celebrating the changing landscapes of that particular time, while also pushing boundaries, too.
Though the majority of these outdated quotes are due to pop culture references that feel odd and aged over a decade later, some of them are due to radical changes that have happened within society, politics, and indeed LGBTQ+ culture as we know it. Suffice to say, that makes some of them a little difficult to digest. However, with new episodes of Will & Grace closer to us than a vial of vodka is to Karen Walker at any one moment, it also seems important to acknowledge that the show will be feeling fresh and new once more, with comedy that likely won't be as dated as these offerings now are...
1
Grace: "How could I not have known? He was Boy George for Halloween, he has a diffuser on his hairdryer, and he's prettier than me."
Yowza. The '90s is on the cordless, and it wants it's "Boy George" reference returned, immediately.
2
Will: "'Pansexual'? Isn't that a rest stop on the road to 'homo'?"
Ah, the early '00s. A time when pansexuals and bisexuals were regularly joked about as being nothing more than a pit-stop to gay-town. Thankfully, such erasure of bisexual and pansexual identity is now acknowledged as being unacceptable, with sexual identities much more broadly highlighted as legitimate, and celebrated for their diversity.
3
Jack: "K.D. Lang, you are a lesbian."
Take a moment to celebrate the fact that it's 2017, and we now have way more out-and-proud lesbian celebrities to choose from than just K.D. Lang whenever we want to make a reference to how delighted we are that someone is out-and-proud.
4
Jack: "Now you're talkin' Jackanese."
Now here is some Japanese appropriation with a side of "Just Jack." As loveable as the character was, it's easy to imagine a line like this garnering it's fair share of stern eye rolls and angry Tumblr posts in 2017.
5
Karen: "Honey, when I agreed to drive you to the set, you didn't say it was on Staten Island. How the hell am I ever gonna get the stench of landfill and working class families out of tropical lightweight wool?"
Karen will need her vodka levels topped off when she finds out that a Staten Island landfill was recently turned into New York City's second biggest park.
6
Grace: "I feel like I'm in 'The Twilight Zone'. And all the people are pigs. And I'm the pretty one, but everyone thinks I'm ugly because they're all pigs and they think pigs are pretty."
Look, The Twilight Zone will always be classic. But by this stage, you can bet your ass that Grace would be dropping a big, fat American Horror Story reference instead.
7
Jack: "One day I hope to have a hag of my very own."
Remember when straight women who were besties with a gay man were affectionately labeled with the derogatory term, "hags,"? Thankfully, that terminology is totally over.
8
Jack: "Will, you don't understand. We have to help the new gays. Nurture them, make them beautiful. We have to 'Gay It Forward'."
If you've been staring at this quote for a fair while and thinking, "huh? What's outdated about this?," then you've already proven my point. It's a play on words from the 2000's Pay It Forward, starring Kevin Spacey. You're welcome.
9
Will: "When you saw Kevin Spacey you tried to get back those nine bucks you paid for 'K-Pax'. I believe your exact words were: 'hey Spacey, pay it forward.'"
And yes. Yet another reference to Spacey, and Pay It Forward, with the added bonus of a K-Pax reference, to boot. For the record, neither of these movie references have aged very well. At all. It's doubtful that even Spacey remembers starring them.
10
Jack: [to a guy who works in tv] "TV? I love TV. 'Buffy' is my life. So into Willow being a les, did you have anything to do with that?"
Oh, who are we kidding with this one, Buffy is always relevant.
11
Jack: "Mary Kate and Ashley, it's beautiful."
Sure, in the early '00s, using the Olsen twins' names as an epithet made utter sense. But by 2017? Hate to say it, but their star has waned, and it just doesn't have the same impact anymore.
12
Jack: [to Will, about Jack's Son, Elliot] "Would it have killed you to acknowledge that he exists, or were you too busy high-kickin' it with Nikki Kidman at the Moulin Rouge?"
Moulin Rouge, guys. The 2017 equivalent would surely be something along the lines of "skirt-twirling it with Emma Stone on a La La Land road"
13
Grace: "Look, Karen, I'm sorry, but taking care of children is a huge responsibility. It's more 'Tickle Me, Elmo' and less... 'Let's fill Elmo up with drugs and smuggle him across the border.'"
Let's just say that this joke doesn't sit too comfortably within the current political climate and leave it at that, shall we?
14
Jack: "Uma Thurman-Hawke, hide me."
Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke seperated in 2003, and were divorced in 2005. And it's still completely acceptable if you continue to have some major feelings about that.
15
Jack: "We hate her. We hate her even more than the know-it-all daughter on The 'Gilmore Girls.'"
While this quote is understandable for various reasons, if the Gilmore Girls revival, A Year In The Life, taught us anything it's that Rory Gilmore isn't actually the know-it-all we thought she was.
16
Jack: "But there's always a lot of rich, old gay guys at those things looking for younger gay guys to take care of. You know, the way Dick Cheney takes care of George Bush."
Oh, the simpler times of early '00s US political reference points, you guys.
Though some of these quotes are face-palm worthy, and best left in the early-'00s, some of these outdated quotes continue to remain relevant in our hearts — regardless of how much time is passed.
