Gays of our Lives (February 16, 2009)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – River City
When we last took a peek at BBC Scotland drama River City, gay graphic designer Scott Wallace had lost the child he cared about — not to mention the guy he cared about. Since that storyline wrapped up, Scott has pretty much disappeared; however, a few weeks ago, the show introduced an intriguing new gay character in the very nice form of construction worker Nathan Simpson, played by James Daffern.

When Nathan set up shop in River City, he immediately found himself attracted to bartender Rory Murdoch, played by out actor David Paisley. While Rory was flattered by Nathan’s attentions, Rory is straight … or so he says.

David Paisley (Rory) and James Daffern (Nathan)

When Rory arrived in River City for Christmas back in 2007, he found himself clashing with his father, Lenny, the local gangster in town. Rory has never been involved in his father’s activities and makes great strides not to let it affect his life. Beyond his conflicts with his father, he did have one girlfriend, Zoe, but that ended after he found her in bed with his sleazy half-brother. Since then he hasn’t had any serious relationships and his family had started to wonder if he’d ever meet the right woman.

Instead, Rory met Nathan and from that moment on, things were pretty intense between the two men.

While it’s pretty clear that Rory doesn't realize it yet, there is obvious chemistry between the two and his interest in Nathan goes beyond friends. What I particularly liked is that Nathan is not your usual salt of the earth nice gay guy who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s a little shady and has more in common with Rory’s mobbed up family than Rory might be comfortable with.

Nathan isn’t afraid to act on his impulses, though never inappropriately. He flirts with Rory, touching him casually in a way that is typical of how we usually see straight couples behave. And having Nathan be a complicated bad boy is a refreshing change from the typical gay characters who are either bitchy stereotypes or saintly cliches.

It also gives the writers a chance to create conflict other than your usual coming out drama. And as we see in the next clip, that’s exactly what they do.

Storylines such as these continue to make U.K. and other foreign dramas dealing with gay issues much more enjoyable and real than those in the States. In the U.S., the main issue here would likely have been the fact that Rory might be gay and how everyone else feels about it. While each family member does have their own view on the matter, we’re spared any stereotypical homophobic remarks or wailing and gnashing of teeth; even the gangster father seemed to accept it with equanimity. That acceptance doesn’t mean the writers are skimping on what Rory is feeling about his newfound attraction.

The story here isn’t just about the growing relationship between Rory and Nathan, but also about the turf war between Nathan and Rory’s father. That adds an extra element of danger, and an excitement to what could have been the same story we’ve seen a million times before.

What happens next? Check out the spoilers for a sneak peek at next week’s River City!

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION

As The World Turns — After weeks of waiting for both Luke and Noah to finally get back in the story mix, the best the show can do is a murder mystery? Fine, but how about making it plausible? The hyper fast pace, illogical plot points, terrible characterizations and spotty acting are almost enough to make you wish the boys would split for an off screen romantic vacation in Ibiza. After the recent excellent election/Brian Wheatley arc, I guess it was too much to ask to have two good storylines in a row.

Noah: Luke, I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this murder.
We’ve only seen Reg three times in the past year.
Luke: What do you mean you don’t understand? It says
‘act devastated’ right here on page 15.