Gays of our Lives (March 1, 2009)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – Degrassi: The Next Generation, Clara Sheller, and River City
This week we look at three very different series that hail from three different countries. But all have one thing in common: each tell interesting and intriguing stories about the lives and loves of gay men.

First up, Degrassi: The Next Generation and ‘The Life of Riley’.

Riley Stavros, played by Argiris Karras, is the long running Canadian teen drama’s latest entry in its much-lauded history of depicting the lives of gay characters. But two recent episodes clearly showed Riley is very different from Degrassi’s last gay character, Marco (out actor Adamo Ruggiero). Where Marco was openly gay and never struggled with his sexual identity, it’s been nothing but a constant battle for Riley. In fact, he hates being gay and desperately wishes things were different. But as we see in this first clip, he can’t control who he is.

While this story is mostly told through Peter’s (Jamie Johnston) eyes, it’s actually a wise choice since we don’t yet know Riley but are well acquainted with Peter. Even so, the show avoids the cliché of making the story about Peter’s feelings about Riley being gay or his inability to accept his friend’s sexuality.

Instead, the story is made much more powerful – and fresh – by having Peter try to help the struggling teen to accept himself. And while the clip ends with Riley still in torment over his sexuality, things do finish on a slightly hopeful note by having Riley know that when he is ready, he’ll have someone there to help him get through it.

When we next see Riley, we see that not only has he still not come to terms with being gay, but that his struggles have actually deepened as he heads down a dangerous path.

If there’s a flaw in this story, it is that it doesn’t break away from Degrassi’s usual format of two stories per episode. It would have been nice to see such a complex story as Riley’s given a little more room to breathe.

That said, in the time allotted, it does a great job of depicting Riley’s ongoing struggle. It was also nice that Riley was wise enough to realize that drugs were not the way to handle his internal conflict. And it was great to see Peter still there as his friend, listening and giving him the kind of encouragement he needs.

Nonetheless at the end of the episode, Riley seemed even more haunted than before. All in all, there’s a great story being told here; let’s hope that Degrassi picks up this plot thread soon.