A-Story, Bee-Story is the fifth episode of the sixth season and 121st overall. Heavily pregnant Debra Messing appears only at the end.
Jack joins a gay spelling bee with Karen as her coach while Will tries to dissuade Leo from leaving for Cambodia by showing him "Will Truman's New York".
Synopsis[]
Gay spelling bee[]
This could end in a catastro-postrophe.
Karen helps Jack out prepare for a spelling bee hosted by a gay club, with gay contestants and gay words. She suggests cheating by writing words on her boobs, as nobody's going to look there at a gay club. Jack, however, wants to win on his own.
Jack is surprisingly good at spelling, and is able to reach the final round. When he struggles to spell "maitre d'", Karen tries to help her out by shouting clues at him, causing the judge to throw her out. Later, Jack scolds Karen for not believing in him enough. He then brings out the spelling bee trophy, showing he actually won after spelling "erect", and they celebrate.
Will Truman's New York[]
Grace becomes sick down with food poisoning so Leo goes to Will to get consommé for her. Seeing how content Will is with his life, Leo shares his dissatisfaction after quitting Doctors Without Borders to settle in Brooklyn with Grace. He admits considering an offer to go on a mission again to Cambodia. Knowing Grace will be devastated if she learns about it, Will persuades Leo to go with him around New York and see what he has been missing.
However, after Leo and Will go to brunch and watch a hockey game, Leo shares he has decided to go to Cambodia. Will teaches him how to approach Grace to "rhetorically box her in", so she won't be able to protest him leaving. Later, Leo informs Will that Grace has decided to join him in Cambodia, leaving Will devastated.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Eric McCormack (Will Truman)
- Debra Messing (Grace Adler)
- Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland)
- Megan Mullally (Karen Walker)
Guest[]
- Harry Connick, Jr. (Leo Markus)
- Alex Boling (Judge)
- Bruce Dworkin (Guy)
- Mark Cirillo (Contestant #11)
Notes[]
- Grace is bedridden in this episode due to Debra Messing's pregnancy at the time. The two scenes she appears in were actually filmed in her house. Her trip to Cambodia was written in for her absence during maternity leave.
- The "gay words" during the spelling bee are: "DeGeneres", "taffeta", "GQ", "Eyebrow job", Christina Aguilera's "Dirrrty", "Mom, I don't know how to tell you this", "disinherited", and "maitre d'" (of a roller disco). Other gay words, according to Jack include: "flounce", "hydrangea", "set design by", "Daiquiri" and "doily".
Cultural references[]
- Will mentions big cast changes to the Tony-award winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, which had just opened in Broadway a year prior.
- While preparing with Karen, Jack would rather watch the "Hilton sisters milk a cow", referencing The Simple Life, a reality show where socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie live as average Americans in rural areas, which would start airing two months later in December 2003. During pre-production, Paris and her sister Nicky were slated to star, but the latter opted out.
- Leo remarks that he does not want to wait outside Joe Allen's for gay icon Liza Minnelli to come out. Joe Allen's restaurant is a New York staple for Broadway actors and fans.
- Will says that Grace thinks the Cambodian communist party Khmer Rouge is make-up.
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
I miss the excitement. Here there's no civil wars, there's no cholera, there's no epidemics. There's nothing to do! — Leo, bored in New York