Gypsies, Tramps and Weed

Grace (Debra Messing), Jack (Sean Hayes), and Karen (Megan Mullally) are celebrating Will's (Eric McCormack) birthday at a restaurant. As a present, Grace gives Will a gift certificate from a psychic. Additionally, Jack gifts Will a Cher doll, but Will almost immediately and sarcastically gifts it back to Jack. During the dinner, their waiter Lenny (Robert Romanus) is rude to them, particularly to Grace. She complains to the manager which ultimately leads to the dismissal of Lenny. Guilty of the result, Grace hires Lenny as her new office assistant, much to the displeasure of Karen, her other assistant.

Meanwhile, Will visits Psychic Sue (Camryn Manheim) at her home. Psychic Sue begins Will's reading which leads her to tell him that she is sensing a "trip", not for him, but intended for someone close to him, and that she is "getting" China. Will is puzzled to hear that a "strawberry blond hair woman, with brown eyes" still loves him, and he reveals to Psychic Sue that he is gay. Will tells Grace of what occurred with Psychic Sue, which leads to Grace "tripping" over the steps in the kitchen, and her saying "I just broke my grandmother's China." Will reacts to what Psychic Sue told him. He also learns that his parents send him a package containing photos and the collar of his deceased dog, Daisy, who had "thick coat of strawberry blond hair." Will revisits Psychic Sue with the intention of knowing about his future love life. She tells Will that the man he will end up with is named "Jack". Will tells Grace about his return visit to Psychic Sue and how he will end up with someone named "Jack". Will is frightened of the idea that he and his friend Jack, also gay, will end up together. Will finally tells Jack what the psychic said, which horrifies Jack, but Will and Jack realize they are meant to stay together, just in the non-romantic relationship they have always had.

At Grace Adler Designs, Lenny promises Grace clients, but instead he has clients whom he sells cannabis to. Grace discovers what Lenny is doing, and fires him for taking advantage of her. Meanwhile, Jack carries a Cher doll, an adoration he has for the singer. He begins to annoy his friends with the doll, mainly having a booster seat for the doll at a restaurant. At the same restaurant, Jack encounters the real Cher, who tells him it is strange that he talks to her doll. Jack, however, believes that Cher is a drag queen. Annoyed, Cher starts to leave, but returns to sing "If I Could Turn Back Time" to convince him that she is indeed Cher. He does not believe it, which leads Cher to slap him and finally Jack realizing that it is Cher.

File:Cher in 1990 (1).jpg guest starred in the episode. Her appearance was well received by critics.]]

"Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" was written by Katie Palmer and directed by series producer James Burrows.{{cite web|url=http://www.screenrush.co.uk/series/episodes_gen_csaison=329&cserie=100.html|title=Will & Grace: Episodes|access-date=January 13, 2010|publisher=Screenrush (AlloCiné)}} In October 2000, it was confirmed that singer-songwriter Cher would guest star on Will & Grace as herself.{{cite journal|first=Raymond A.|last=Edel|title=Television News & Notes — Will & Grace & Cher|date=October 2, 2000|journal=The Record (Bergen County)|page=Y8}} She filmed her appearance on October 17.{{cite journal|title=Cher to appear on 'Will & Grace'|date=October 2, 2000|journal=Dayton Daily News|page=2A}} Cher revealed, "We did two endings. I improvised one. I hope they show it as an outtake 'cause the audience loved that one more than the one they're gonna show. Instead of the thing I was supposed to do, I did something to Sean [Hayes] – something completely different and he just about passed out. I don't know what possessed me."{{cite journal|first=Deborah|last=Wilker|title=Cher Isn't Sure How To Categorize 'Not.Com.Mercial' CD|date=November 1, 2000|journal=The Times Union|page=C5}} It was also announced that actress Camryn Manheim would appear.{{cite journal|first=Mike|last=McDaniel|title=Star Turns Guests add interest|date=November 2, 2000|journal=Houston Chronicle|page=4}} Cher would later guest star on Will & Grace two years later.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/03/30/memorable-will-grace-guest-stars-cher/|title='Will' Power|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=March 2, 2006|access-date=January 8, 2010|archive-date=May 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520001749/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1178303,00.html|url-status=live}}

The result of the Cher doll appearing in the episode was a "collaboration" among the Will & Grace staff, NBC, Mattel, and the Ketchum Entertainment Marketing unit. The collaboration ranged from Mattel lending the producers a $60,000 prototype of the doll for filming the episode, to the scheduling of a Mattel Web site where viewers interested in buying the doll could register to purchase it.{{cite news|first=Stuart|last=Elliott|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/16/business/media-business-advertising-mattel-doll-modeled-after-certain-singer-does-turn.html|title=The Media Business: Advertising; A Mattel doll modeled after a certain singer does a turn on 'Will & Grace.' Is it product placement?|access-date=January 6, 2010|date=November 1, 2000|work=The New York Times}} Following the airing of "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed", it was reported that 1,200 people logged on Mattel's website requesting e-mail updates on the Cher doll.{{cite magazine|first=Joe|last=Dziemianowicz|url=https://ew.com/article/2000/12/15/fair-cher/|title=Fair Cher|access-date=January 7, 2010|date=December 1, 2000|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} Co-creator of the show, Max Mutchnick kept the prototype.

Will & Grace producer, Tim Kaiser, in an interview with The New York Times, said that the doll's appearance was not any kind of "forced" product placement, as some speculated, explaining, "It was just a natural fit, because Jack's affection for Cher is a thread that is running through the show already." Kaiser continued saying that NBC "saw the strength" of the episode's storyline and understood that "if a Cher doll is in the show that much, it's an integral part of the episode." Kaiser said that "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" writer Katie Palmer "originally didn't know" Mattel planned to market a Cher doll and learned about it after working on the script. Curt King, a spokesman for NBC, further commented that the doll's role in the episode was due to the producers thinking of "a lot of humor [that] would come out of it." Mark Malinowski, senior vice president and director at Ketchum Entertainment Marketing, revealed that Mattel was launching the Cher doll and in a "brainstorming meeting" they mentioned Will & Grace as the Jack character in love with Cher. "We thought it would be great to try to include the doll in a plot line of an episode because it would be organic, playing off something that already exists. I don't think any viewer will see this and think 'product placement.' [...] It's strategic for the product and relevant for the audience, particularly the gay men who watch the show because the characters of Jack and Will are gay." It was also noted that Mattel did not pay a fee to the show's producers or NBC to have the Cher doll appear in the episode.{{cite journal|first=Stuart|last=Elliott|title=Cher doll blurs TV's commercial line|date=November 2, 2000|journal=The San Diego Union-Tribune|page=E.5}}

Television critic Scott D. Pierce revealed that NBC did not want television critics to give away too much detail about Jack and Cher's "time together". In a June 2004 interview, actress Megan Mullally, who plays Karen, in regards to Cher's appearance, said: "I wasn't sure about Cher's [appearance]. They flew her in. Like, she was sort of dropped in on a crescent moon, she did the scene, and was, like, airlifted back out. And when I met her she was in her full Cher Land drag, so I didn't get to experience her as a person."{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2004/06/25/will-grace-scene-stealer/|title=Megan Mullally|access-date=January 7, 2010|date=June 2, 2004|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}

In its original American broadcast, "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" was watched by approximately 22 million viewers.{{cite news|first=Lisa|last=de Moraes|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/64552731.html?dids=64552731:64552731&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+22%2C+2000&author=Lisa+de+Moraes&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Stars+Add+Shine+to+Prime+Time&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604061800/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/64552731.html?dids=64552731:64552731&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+22,+2000&author=Lisa+de+Moraes&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Stars+Add+Shine+to+Prime+Time&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 4, 2011|title=Stars Add Shine to Prime Time|access-date=January 7, 2010|date=November 2, 2000|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=C7}} The episode received a 14.8 rating, according to Nielsen ratings, among viewers in the 18–49 demographic.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Television Ratings|date=November 2, 2000|work=Press-Telegram (Long Beach)|page=A14}} It was Will & Grace's second-highest rating ever.{{cite news|title=Celebrity Update|date=November 1, 2000|work=Orlando Sentinel|page=A2|quote=And Cher's guest spot on Will & Grace gave the show its second-highest rating ever}} The episode finished in fifth place in the weekly ratings for the week of November 13–19, 2000. Since airing, the episode received positive reviews.

Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune in regard to Cher's appearance, said "she is put to grand comic use, showcasing the talents of [Sean] Hayes as the series continues to climb to the top tier of TV comedy."{{cite news|first=Steve|last=Johnson|title=Channel Surfing|date=November 1, 2000|work=Chicago Tribune|page=13}} Liz Lucero of the Columbia Daily Spectator said that Cher's role was "small enough to still let the core characters shine",{{cite news|first=Christine |last=Jordan |author2=Liz Lucero |url=http://eye.columbiaspectator.com/article/2009/02/27/thrill-stunt |title=The Thrill of the Stunt |access-date=January 7, 2010 |date=February 2, 2009|work=Columbia Daily Spectator |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216131840/http://eye.columbiaspectator.com/article/2009/02/27/thrill-stunt |archive-date=December 16, 2009 }} meanwhile Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News said that Cher's guest spot "is also sort of a logical place" for her to make an appearance, "albeit in an odd sort of way."{{cite journal|first=Scott D.|last=Pierce|title=Robin, Cher, Sally return to TV tonight|date=November 1, 2000|journal=Deseret News|page=C06}} Pierce continued to report that Jack and Cher's scene at the end was a "hoot". Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post said that the character Jack "did a better Cher than Cher did." The Orlando Sentinel's Hal Boedeker called Cher's cameo "amusing".{{cite news|first=Hal|last=Boedeker|title='ER' Bounces Back With Shots In Arm — Tonight's Momentous Episode With Sally Field Shows What Goes Into The Science Of A Hit|date=November 1, 2000|work=Orlando Sentinel|page=E1}}

Tom Shales of The Washington Post said, "There are a few laughs in Katie Palmer's script".{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Shales|title=TV Previews — Vital Signs: 'ER' Still Full of Life|date=November 1, 2000|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=C1}} Pierce was complimentary towards Camryn Manheim opining, "she does a delicious turn as a wacky psychic who's about as different from the character she plays on The Practice as you could imagine." Chicago Sun-Times' contributor Phil Rosenthal said that the "most interesting guest" on "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" was Robert Romanus.{{cite journal|first=Phil|last=Rosenthal|title=Yesterday again — Special lets us meet the Beatles once more|date=November 1, 2000|journal=Chicago Sun-Times|page=55}}

The episode can be found on the Season 3 DVD set. However, like many of the episodes throughout the series, this episode is shown in its syndicated version. Several trims were made between the version that originally aired and the version contained on the U.S. and international releases.

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• {{IMDb episode|0748797|Gypsies, Tramps and Weed}}

{{Will & Grace}}

{{Cher}}

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Category:2000 American television episodes

Category:Will & Grace episodes

Category:Television episodes directed by James Burrows

Category:Cultural depictions of Cher

Category:2000 LGBTQ-related television episodes