| "Steve Burdick" | |
|---|---|
| Lifestories episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 9 |
| Directed by | Aaron Lipstadt |
| Written by | Richard Gollance |
| Featured music | Brad Fiedel |
| Original air date | December 18, 1990 |
"Steve Burdick" is an episode of the 1990 NBC television series Lifestories, an anthology drama that each week followed a new set of characters dealing with a medical issue. The episode revolves around Burdick (D. W. Moffett), a gay television newsman with AIDS. When his lover dies of the disease, Burdick reveals his own diagnosis on the air to the displeasure of his station manager. The episode was loosely based on Paul Wynne, a newscaster out of San Francisco who died of AIDS in 1990.[1]
The episode was originally scheduled for December 2, 1990. However, NBC pulled the episode, sparking criticism from gay and AIDS activists. By failing to run this episode, NBC was the only major network not to broadcast a show around World AIDS day. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) met with NBC on December 6 to discuss this and other issues. NBC told GLAAD that the cancellation was prompted by "Lifestories" low ratings and that the feeling about a boy requiring a bone marrow transplant would have more appeal at the show's 8pm Sunday time slot. GLAAD asked that the "Lifestories" AIDS episode be rescheduled immediately. They also requested a mother meeting to discuss programming, to which NBC agreed.[2]
The network rescheduled it for December 18, when Lifestories was changed from being a weekly series to a monthly special. The episode was critically acclaimed, winning a GLAAD Media Award, but financially unsuccessful for the network.