The idea of actors on a soap thinking their characters will be turned gay because a new gay character shows up is shocking. I thought the Netherlands were more advanced than most countries.
Y&R is more plot devices and dark stories than characters now, and they don't write major stories for the minority characters. Whatever happens with Rafe I think he will remain a very minor character. At most I can see him being manipulated by someone, or being outed or blackmailed.
I remember Rudy on AMC. He had a cute butt and an even cuter smile. He worked at the TV station. Michael's boyfriend, Brad, was mouthwatering. They never did anything more than hug, of course. I did appreciate that they had a few scenes here and there like Brad saying he had lost some patients after they'd found out he was gay. Chris Bruno wasn't told Michael would be gay until after he took the part. He didn't seem very comfortable with the idea. Ben Jorgenson, on the other hand, was great as Kevin. I remember for years, fans assumed Kevin had died in the explosion at the restaurant he worked at, because he was never seen after that. I don't know what Ben is doing now. He was on ATWT 10 years ago, miscast as a playboy and schemer. He was soon fired, and then he started dating one of his co-stars, Barbara Mandrell's daughter.
Eastenders is just ridiculous at this point. Jack is the most boring soap character ever. He literally drains the life out of people, i swear he does. Can you write something about the Dotty story, which is like the worst camp ever?? Send Charles Busch to EE NOW. He can replace Heather.
Emiel Sandtke said in Man Bijt Hond that it was one actor who talked to the producer but that the media made more of it than it really was. Of course, everyone has to decide for themselves if they believe him, but I DO believe him. Of course I was disappointed when I first heard about this, but I really think (with everything I've heard and seen) that it was blown out of proportion by the media. My feeling is that pretty much everyone at GTST is happy about the new character. And just because one actor might not be happy with it, doesn't mean the whole country is now less advanced. After all, it's just one person.
BTW, those AWZ spoilers about Roman and Axel don't air till the 25th -29th of may. This week on AWZ is Deniz and Stella tricking Roman and Jenny out of the advertising contract for the energy drink.
Always love your Gays Gone By specials.
Glad that Y&R character really is a guy and not a woman as I had feared.
I never thought it would be a woman. I was fairly certain it would be a man. I also think that CBS/Y&R will do something of import with their gay character (s). They really wouldn't bother if they weren't going to, in my opinion. No matter what you may think of them, CBS Daytime has been very successful with their gay storylines on both ATWT and GL with huge loyal audiences. They know there's an audience out there for this and I think they're going to tap into that just as ATWT and GL have. Way back when the new writers took over they talked about having an gay character or characters on the show. I'm glad they're finally following through. I also don't think Rafe is the only gay guy in GC in that the show will pair him with a current cast member or put him with one of the male characters they've got coming up in the next several weeks. And I'm sorry, but I don't believe for one minute the show will have this guy be involved in such trite, outdated stories as being outed or blackmailed. These writers and this show are much smarter and savvier than that. Maybe they can avoid all the problems and traps that ATWT fell into in their early days and just worry about telling a good story.
Like you, I seriously doubt Y&R would go the outing-blackmail route. The most convincing speculation I've read going on about Rafe Torres is that he could turn out to be the long-lost son of Nina Webster McNeil (Tricia Cast): the baby she had when she was 16 who was stolen by the evil Rose DeVille and destined for a black market adoption. It's been known for awhile that the always-popular Nina is set to make another longer-term appearance soon, and Rafe's about the right age to be Nina's missing son.
The new writing team has really been trying to ''mine the past'' for stories, and the fate of Nina's first born son was always one unresolved mystery that fans ached to have unraveled before Ms. Cast decided to leave the show several years ago, but for some reason, the writers back then felt they just couldn't do it in the time they had. Linking Rafe to Nina could be gold in terms of viewer interest. So, if this turns out to be true, then perhaps this character's first story wouldn't so much be a gay story, as simply a background story with rich history.
Y&R is a very conservative show. Adam is the character who has gotten to know Rafe and I can see him blackmailing Rafe, or manipulating his emotions. That would fit with the poor self-loathing/needy gay stereotype we see so often on TV. I can't expect very much out of the current people running Y&R, based on their track records on their other soaps.
Wow, the last time I watched Y&R with regularity was back in the late 80s, when Tricia Cast first started as Nina and her baby was taken by Rose DeVille! If this scenario--Rafe being Nina's long-lost son--is true, I'll definitely be tuning in. (I did, in fact, watch today and saw Rafe representing Neil in the custody case.)
I've kept up loosely with Y&R for more years than I care to admit, and always thought they needed a gay character to fit into their little world of multi-billionaires in a small town. And now that they seem to have wrapped up the worst of the Katherine Chancellor mess they decided to write, they need a new major storyline. And they need a new lawyer - Michael Baldwin is conflict-of-interest all over the place with representing everyone in town. That said, I had to think when you brought Rafe up - he's barely been seen. As for pairing him up with an existing stud on the show, they basically all have had plenty of hetero action, so I don't see how that can work.
My biggest fear is that Kevin comes out of his current crazy gay - that would be a bad thing. He's had a psychotic break, and they'll likely use that to give him a new personality, and I don't want the nutso guy being ours. In a dream world, JT would get paired up, since I think he's gotten boring and wears far too many clothes since he married Victoria. But since he's married, can't we give him a twin brother on the show or something? The actor wouldn't even have to do double duty like they normally do on soaps - he comes pre-made with a real-life twin who's just as hot as he is.
On the Stargate front, I've written that off as an AfterEllen story, based on a casting call for Ming-Na's partner. http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2009/04/stargate-universe-casting-call_15.html
who spent at least a week snickering at Kevin screaming "I won't let him force me back into the closet!" again and again, I hope he's not headed for a romance with Rafe... because, yeah, considering his history it would be awkward at best (especially if his heterosexuality is explained away as the result of abuse, the cause of his recent breakdown).
Y&R's writing team is pretty solid right now. Maria Arena Bell is really paying close attention to the show's history and really digging deep through it with the stories lately. I for one am very appreciative of the turnaround, especially building the Abott family back up again. Y&R had some very dark days a couple years ago to the point I was ready to walk away. But things are on the upswing. I have confidence that what they have in store for Rafe will be well thought out.
As far as Rafe being paired with currently on canvas male characters I could only picture Adam at this point. It was widely speculated that Adam might be gay when he first came to town. If the son of The Great Victor Newman turned out to be gay I would imagine the story potential would be huge given how old school machismo Victor is. Rafe is Adam's attorney so the two are likely to be spending time together. Rafe has an extra excuse to drop by the Ranch now that it has been established that Victor's housekeeper Estella is his aunt.
Nina Webster is one of my all-time faves from when I started watching back in 1991. It would be interesting if Rafe turned out to be the baby that was stolen from Nina all those years ago. If it brings Nina back to the canvas for a spell I'd welcome it. The one thing that would bug me about that though is that the real Phillip Chancellor III (aka Cane) is too close in age to Rafe. One the hazards of SOARS'ing and de-SOARS'ing I'm afraid.
Another great column, Anthony.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
First, I've been watching Y&R the past two days and the vast difference in quality between it and ATWT is stunning. Of course, Y&R has a much higher budget (and it shows with those glorious sets), but the writing and acting is generally much higher (I was very impressed with Karen's bitchslap of Neil and her crying jag) than ATWT, which has really gone down the tubes in the past 2 years.
Second, a soap journalist very much in the know is hinting that Rafe is not the only gay on the canvas and indicates that a "major" character will also be revealed within a month. Now, two thoughts about that: either it's Adam as suggested or perhaps it's Phillip Chancelor IV, who's returning May 4 with Nina (which would then, I guess, put a kibbosh on the whole Rafe being Nina's long-lost son theory, assuming Rafe and Phillip become an item). Since Phillip is also a Navy SEAL, this would also be a very topical storyline considering the whole "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" issue that's still on-going.
I hadn't heard about him coming back to town. If Phillip is the other gay the only character I can imagine having an issue would be his grandmother, Jill. She's been riding a broomstick non-stop for almost two years now. I'm getting excited about the possibilities.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
Yes, you are right, Anthony. Will a third season of Clara Sheller ever be produced?
The leak about Clara's demise has put Patrice Duhamel, Director of France2 on the spot. I'm sure the conservatives wanted it dumped given the so called reaction to its "explicit", read "gay" content and used its ratings to justify it. However, as you point out it was the highest rated French produced dara in 2008. Perhaps Duhamel could look at how it was programmed to understand how its ratings diminished.
Although the official word is that it has not been cancelled because the third season scripts have been ordered, there is no guarantee that the show will ever go into production. The other suggestion is that this will pressure the writers into making it less explicit, less gay in content.
When the initial news broke in early April the French blog sites were up in arms with petitions etc being launched. Save our Clara was their cry.One of the actors of the series, anonymously, participated and called supporters to arms. My hunch is Zoe Felix as she has been very prominent in her support of the season 2 content. I guess we'll know sooner rather than later but it wouldn't hurt for people to still email Patrice Duhamel at France2 to support the series and advocate for a third season.
On a similar note the gay blog sites in France have registered their disappointment at the treatment of Kevin and Yann in season 2 of Les Bleus. The suggestion is that M6 told the writers that they wanted the show to appeal to a wider audience and that there should be less emphasis on Kevin and Yann.
It garnered 2.95 million viewers but the questionable scheduling might have had something to do with that. On the first Wednesday it was up against the World Cup qualification match, France V Lithuania and the NBC programme, Life. The football rated 9.4 million viewers. The next two weeks it was up against the football(soccer) again and House, the most popular non French show at the moment. Naturally Les Bleus came third. Obviously the attempt to broaden its appeal failed and in the bargain antagonised its core viewers. (Amongst gay viewers the most popular characters are......Yann(Mathieu Delarive) and then Kevin(Nicholas Gob).)
With two characters, Lyes(Mhamed Arezki) and Nadia(Gabriele Valensi) basically disappearing at the end of season two or the first episode of season 3 and being replaced by Gina Djembe and Antoine Hamel, it will be interesting to see what the story lines and story time involving Kevin and Yann will be.
Given the anti gay content push that seems to be evident at both networks at the moment things are looking less than positive for both Clara Sheller and Les Bleus.
The rating of física o química were way better than the opener of the second season, but lower that the finale. Well the finale of the second season were the best ratings ever of the series. Las season spend almost ten episodes with lower ratings that this first episode, so i think it's a very good result
thanks Anthony for his masterpiece again!! I love this Rafe, wish he was in your top 12 of last week!!! Loved your comment on the pic of Luke and Noah, hahaha, your sense of humor is great!!
I am so glad Van Hansis went on the record about the controversial Brian Wheatley storyline because I think he did some of his best work in that arc along with Elizabeth Hubbard and Laurence Lau.
Besides, who wouldn't be hot for Larry Lau, who, at 55, is still as hot as he was during his days as Greg Nelson on ALL MY CHILDREN and Jamie Frame on ANOTHER WORLD over 20 years ago?
I'm getting sad for VERBOTENE LIEBE. Christian and Olli are very langweilig right now. I do hope there's an interesting storyline coming up for Thore and Jo soon...
will do with this previously invisible character. I am glad that I started to tune into Y&R shortly after I stopped watching ATWT late last year as I could no longer watch the sloppy self-contained episodes that always left me mad rather than satisfied.
I was a little skeptical at first as Y&R seemed to good to be true and I had broken up with ATWT after a long run. Great acting, pacing, and the show manages to integrate its huge cast in ways that engage my soap-loving self.
I hope that Y&R will do a better job than ATWT did with "gay." I am pretty confident that it will succeed as that show currently manages to entertain me in ways that ATWT has not in so many years. I've not seen if the actor has the chops of his contemporaries on the show, but good writing tends to save the day so I am optimistic.
If you have not watched it, you might want to give Y&R chance as there is also lots more eye candy as well as strong men and women who (for the most part) don't spend their time repeating the same speeches about "good versus evil," who whining about who is the worst parent in town.
I am glad Yani is back on TV I kind of missed him (he was on a bunch of shows years ago). He played Michael Shepard's boyfriend in the Michael Shepard Story a few years back, so hopefully he will be good playing Raffie.
Canadian viewers, who get Y&R a day early, have confirmed that Rafe comes out to Colleen in tomorrow's (Friday's) episode. Also, for those watching the show, The Chipmunk makes another important appearance. I sooooo heart The Chipmunk!
wait a minute, WHAT? Y&R now has a gay charecter!? this is hard for me, cause I tried watching it a couple of times but Im just so used to the charecters on atwt that I just give up. it fustrates me to death because I just WISH atwt could be better. wow, I'll try y&r again but it isnt going to be easy, does anyone els have as much trouble as I do when trying to switch or get into new soaps? Im just now learning about this, Ive been gone for quite a while.
The (very minor) gay character only came out on Friday, with no real story attached to it. I think people are hoping that they're planning something bigger, but from what you describe of your history with the show, you might rather wait and see if it develops. There will undoubtedly be able to find clips to fill you in if the character is developed more.
As I've mentioned in various places, I recently tried Y&R but gave up, mostly because of the chipmunk. Well, that and the fact that they have 3 mental illness stories running simultaneously. There was a lot to like about it, but it just didn't live up to the sky-high hype, and I managed to free up FIVE hours a week just by dropping a single show. I will miss Sharon.
The chipmunk, who I'm sorry to say is gone now, may have been the most creatively successful thing I've ever seen a soap do. Normally when they veer into the weird, you get evil twins, or weather control machines. This could've gone wrong, but it ended up being oh, so right.
Kevin got kidnapped, and since he was never the most mentally stable young man, the kidnapper discovered you could pretty much control him with claustraphobia. Once he'd basically engineered a breakdown, he got the kid robbing convenience stores wearing a chipmunk costume. This was to paint him as a criminal and frame him for a bunch of stuff. Eventually, after weeks of mental abuse, Kevin had a full on psychotic break, and the chipmunk head started talking to him, telling him to do things, and landed him in a mental hospital, where they further abused his claustrophobia by restraining him
Last week, Kevin fought the man in a chipmunk costume, and when he won, and the head came off the guy, it was Kevin, and he came back to sanity.
Honestly, it sounds rough when I try and write it up, but it seriously worked for me, because they built the whole characterization up over weeks, not a two-day arc like other soaps might. Plus, that chipmunk was freakin' nutz! I loved him.
But speaking as a recent viewer of the show, with less investment or inclination to give the show the benefit of the doubt, I saw:
1) A man hallucinating a giant, talking chipmunk, complete with voice synthesizer that constantly changed pitch mid-sentence to draw attention to itself;
2) Another woman hallucinating a baby's cry... OR IS SHE?
3) A third character breaking down, stealing things without her conscious mind telling her she's doing it.
Are they sure 3 simultaneous mental illness storylines are enough? Surely they could work in that Adam can see, he's just "hallucinating darkness?" Then, Delia could disappear, but it turns out that she was just a mass hallucination all this time!
It certainly doesn't help that two of those storylines are so similar... Kevin and Sharon are both facing legal trouble, while people rush around, trying to convince the law that they need help, not punishment. Surely you could finish a storyline BEFORE you reuse it? Even ATWT manages that.
Like I said, it's not that there isn't stuff to like about Y&R. Just that, after all the hype about it being orders of magnitude better than ATWT, I expected it to be... you know, that. I judged it by the bar its fans set, and it's not there.
by 
Various thoughts
The idea of actors on a soap thinking their characters will be turned gay because a new gay character shows up is shocking. I thought the Netherlands were more advanced than most countries.
Y&R is more plot devices and dark stories than characters now, and they don't write major stories for the minority characters. Whatever happens with Rafe I think he will remain a very minor character. At most I can see him being manipulated by someone, or being outed or blackmailed.
I remember Rudy on AMC. He had a cute butt and an even cuter smile. He worked at the TV station. Michael's boyfriend, Brad, was mouthwatering. They never did anything more than hug, of course. I did appreciate that they had a few scenes here and there like Brad saying he had lost some patients after they'd found out he was gay. Chris Bruno wasn't told Michael would be gay until after he took the part. He didn't seem very comfortable with the idea. Ben Jorgenson, on the other hand, was great as Kevin. I remember for years, fans assumed Kevin had died in the explosion at the restaurant he worked at, because he was never seen after that. I don't know what Ben is doing now. He was on ATWT 10 years ago, miscast as a playboy and schemer. He was soon fired, and then he started dating one of his co-stars, Barbara Mandrell's daughter.
Eastenders is just ridiculous at this point. Jack is the most boring soap character ever. He literally drains the life out of people, i swear he does. Can you write something about the Dotty story, which is like the worst camp ever?? Send Charles Busch to EE NOW. He can replace Heather.
I think...
Emiel Sandtke said in Man Bijt Hond that it was one actor who talked to the producer but that the media made more of it than it really was. Of course, everyone has to decide for themselves if they believe him, but I DO believe him. Of course I was disappointed when I first heard about this, but I really think (with everything I've heard and seen) that it was blown out of proportion by the media. My feeling is that pretty much everyone at GTST is happy about the new character. And just because one actor might not be happy with it, doesn't mean the whole country is now less advanced. After all, it's just one person.
lang-weeeeeil-lig or laaaaaaaaangweilig
German for boring is langweilig ;)
BTW, those AWZ spoilers about Roman and Axel don't air till the 25th -29th of may. This week on AWZ is Deniz and Stella tricking Roman and Jenny out of the advertising contract for the energy drink. Always love your Gays Gone By specials. Glad that Y&R character really is a guy and not a woman as I had feared.
I Never....
Outing-Blackmail Story
I'm not sure
Rafe and Nina
Y&R and Stargate
I've kept up loosely with Y&R for more years than I care to admit, and always thought they needed a gay character to fit into their little world of multi-billionaires in a small town. And now that they seem to have wrapped up the worst of the Katherine Chancellor mess they decided to write, they need a new major storyline. And they need a new lawyer - Michael Baldwin is conflict-of-interest all over the place with representing everyone in town. That said, I had to think when you brought Rafe up - he's barely been seen. As for pairing him up with an existing stud on the show, they basically all have had plenty of hetero action, so I don't see how that can work.
My biggest fear is that Kevin comes out of his current crazy gay - that would be a bad thing. He's had a psychotic break, and they'll likely use that to give him a new personality, and I don't want the nutso guy being ours. In a dream world, JT would get paired up, since I think he's gotten boring and wears far too many clothes since he married Victoria. But since he's married, can't we give him a twin brother on the show or something? The actor wouldn't even have to do double duty like they normally do on soaps - he comes pre-made with a real-life twin who's just as hot as he is.
On the Stargate front, I've written that off as an AfterEllen story, based on a casting call for Ming-Na's partner. http://spoilertv.blogspot.com/2009/04/stargate-universe-casting-call_15.html
As someone...
who spent at least a week snickering at Kevin screaming "I won't let him force me back into the closet!" again and again, I hope he's not headed for a romance with Rafe... because, yeah, considering his history it would be awkward at best (especially if his heterosexuality is explained away as the result of abuse, the cause of his recent breakdown).
Y&R's Writing
Y&R's writing team is pretty solid right now. Maria Arena Bell is really paying close attention to the show's history and really digging deep through it with the stories lately. I for one am very appreciative of the turnaround, especially building the Abott family back up again. Y&R had some very dark days a couple years ago to the point I was ready to walk away. But things are on the upswing. I have confidence that what they have in store for Rafe will be well thought out.
As far as Rafe being paired with currently on canvas male characters I could only picture Adam at this point. It was widely speculated that Adam might be gay when he first came to town. If the son of The Great Victor Newman turned out to be gay I would imagine the story potential would be huge given how old school machismo Victor is. Rafe is Adam's attorney so the two are likely to be spending time together. Rafe has an extra excuse to drop by the Ranch now that it has been established that Victor's housekeeper Estella is his aunt.
Nina Webster is one of my all-time faves from when I started watching back in 1991. It would be interesting if Rafe turned out to be the baby that was stolen from Nina all those years ago. If it brings Nina back to the canvas for a spell I'd welcome it. The one thing that would bug me about that though is that the real Phillip Chancellor III (aka Cane) is too close in age to Rafe. One the hazards of SOARS'ing and de-SOARS'ing I'm afraid.
Another great column, Anthony.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
Y&R quality and more possible spoilers
Second, a soap journalist very much in the know is hinting that Rafe is not the only gay on the canvas and indicates that a "major" character will also be revealed within a month. Now, two thoughts about that: either it's Adam as suggested or perhaps it's Phillip Chancelor IV, who's returning May 4 with Nina (which would then, I guess, put a kibbosh on the whole Rafe being Nina's long-lost son theory, assuming Rafe and Phillip become an item). Since Phillip is also a Navy SEAL, this would also be a very topical storyline considering the whole "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" issue that's still on-going.
Phillip IV...
I hadn't heard about him coming back to town. If Phillip is the other gay the only character I can imagine having an issue would be his grandmother, Jill. She's been riding a broomstick non-stop for almost two years now. I'm getting excited about the possibilities.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
sOCuthland?!?
Your "because that always works soooo well"
had me dying. lol!! Great as always. :)
Please help my friend keep her child by going here. :)
http://helpwithlawyerfees.webs.com/
Clara and Les Bleus under fire
Yes, you are right, Anthony. Will a third season of Clara Sheller ever be produced?
The leak about Clara's demise has put Patrice Duhamel, Director of France2 on the spot. I'm sure the conservatives wanted it dumped given the so called reaction to its "explicit", read "gay" content and used its ratings to justify it. However, as you point out it was the highest rated French produced dara in 2008. Perhaps Duhamel could look at how it was programmed to understand how its ratings diminished.
Although the official word is that it has not been cancelled because the third season scripts have been ordered, there is no guarantee that the show will ever go into production. The other suggestion is that this will pressure the writers into making it less explicit, less gay in content.
When the initial news broke in early April the French blog sites were up in arms with petitions etc being launched. Save our Clara was their cry.One of the actors of the series, anonymously, participated and called supporters to arms. My hunch is Zoe Felix as she has been very prominent in her support of the season 2 content. I guess we'll know sooner rather than later but it wouldn't hurt for people to still email Patrice Duhamel at France2 to support the series and advocate for a third season.
On a similar note the gay blog sites in France have registered their disappointment at the treatment of Kevin and Yann in season 2 of Les Bleus. The suggestion is that M6 told the writers that they wanted the show to appeal to a wider audience and that there should be less emphasis on Kevin and Yann.
It garnered 2.95 million viewers but the questionable scheduling might have had something to do with that. On the first Wednesday it was up against the World Cup qualification match, France V Lithuania and the NBC programme, Life. The football rated 9.4 million viewers. The next two weeks it was up against the football(soccer) again and House, the most popular non French show at the moment. Naturally Les Bleus came third. Obviously the attempt to broaden its appeal failed and in the bargain antagonised its core viewers. (Amongst gay viewers the most popular characters are......Yann(Mathieu Delarive) and then Kevin(Nicholas Gob).)
With two characters, Lyes(Mhamed Arezki) and Nadia(Gabriele Valensi) basically disappearing at the end of season two or the first episode of season 3 and being replaced by Gina Djembe and Antoine Hamel, it will be interesting to see what the story lines and story time involving Kevin and Yann will be.
Given the anti gay content push that seems to be evident at both networks at the moment things are looking less than positive for both Clara Sheller and Les Bleus.
The other way round
I didn't know Matt Lescher
Better Video Player: Thanks
thanks Anthony for his
Ah, Murray. I heart him so.
I am so glad Van Hansis went
I am so glad Van Hansis went on the record about the controversial Brian Wheatley storyline because I think he did some of his best work in that arc along with Elizabeth Hubbard and Laurence Lau.
Besides, who wouldn't be hot for Larry Lau, who, at 55, is still as hot as he was during his days as Greg Nelson on ALL MY CHILDREN and Jamie Frame on ANOTHER WORLD over 20 years ago?
I'm getting sad for VERBOTENE LIEBE. Christian and Olli are very langweilig right now. I do hope there's an interesting storyline coming up for Thore and Jo soon...
Y&R rocks and I am pumped to see what this writing team
I was a little skeptical at first as Y&R seemed to good to be true and I had broken up with ATWT after a long run. Great acting, pacing, and the show manages to integrate its huge cast in ways that engage my soap-loving self.
I hope that Y&R will do a better job than ATWT did with "gay." I am pretty confident that it will succeed as that show currently manages to entertain me in ways that ATWT has not in so many years. I've not seen if the actor has the chops of his contemporaries on the show, but good writing tends to save the day so I am optimistic.
If you have not watched it, you might want to give Y&R chance as there is also lots more eye candy as well as strong men and women who (for the most part) don't spend their time repeating the same speeches about "good versus evil," who whining about who is the worst parent in town.
Wow!
Yani Gellman is so cute!
Our gay store here!
http://astore.amazon.com/the-greatest-gay-entertainment-store-20
Yani Gellman
Rafe comes out in tomorrow's (Friday's) episode
He Said It, Today!!!
Rafe said the words "I'm gay" and they moved on. . .
. . .and they're off!
Please, God, don't let him hook up with the Chipmunk!
LOL!!!
wait a minute, WHAT? Y&R now
Soaps
The (very minor) gay character only came out on Friday, with no real story attached to it. I think people are hoping that they're planning something bigger, but from what you describe of your history with the show, you might rather wait and see if it develops. There will undoubtedly be able to find clips to fill you in if the character is developed more.
As I've mentioned in various places, I recently tried Y&R but gave up, mostly because of the chipmunk. Well, that and the fact that they have 3 mental illness stories running simultaneously. There was a lot to like about it, but it just didn't live up to the sky-high hype, and I managed to free up FIVE hours a week just by dropping a single show. I will miss Sharon.
who
The chipmunk
The chipmunk, who I'm sorry to say is gone now, may have been the most creatively successful thing I've ever seen a soap do. Normally when they veer into the weird, you get evil twins, or weather control machines. This could've gone wrong, but it ended up being oh, so right.
Kevin got kidnapped, and since he was never the most mentally stable young man, the kidnapper discovered you could pretty much control him with claustraphobia. Once he'd basically engineered a breakdown, he got the kid robbing convenience stores wearing a chipmunk costume. This was to paint him as a criminal and frame him for a bunch of stuff. Eventually, after weeks of mental abuse, Kevin had a full on psychotic break, and the chipmunk head started talking to him, telling him to do things, and landed him in a mental hospital, where they further abused his claustrophobia by restraining him
Last week, Kevin fought the man in a chipmunk costume, and when he won, and the head came off the guy, it was Kevin, and he came back to sanity.
Honestly, it sounds rough when I try and write it up, but it seriously worked for me, because they built the whole characterization up over weeks, not a two-day arc like other soaps might. Plus, that chipmunk was freakin' nutz! I loved him.
YMMV, Obviously
But speaking as a recent viewer of the show, with less investment or inclination to give the show the benefit of the doubt, I saw:
1) A man hallucinating a giant, talking chipmunk, complete with voice synthesizer that constantly changed pitch mid-sentence to draw attention to itself;
2) Another woman hallucinating a baby's cry... OR IS SHE?
3) A third character breaking down, stealing things without her conscious mind telling her she's doing it.
Are they sure 3 simultaneous mental illness storylines are enough? Surely they could work in that Adam can see, he's just "hallucinating darkness?" Then, Delia could disappear, but it turns out that she was just a mass hallucination all this time!
It certainly doesn't help that two of those storylines are so similar... Kevin and Sharon are both facing legal trouble, while people rush around, trying to convince the law that they need help, not punishment. Surely you could finish a storyline BEFORE you reuse it? Even ATWT manages that.
Like I said, it's not that there isn't stuff to like about Y&R. Just that, after all the hype about it being orders of magnitude better than ATWT, I expected it to be... you know, that. I judged it by the bar its fans set, and it's not there.