Rafe had some good scenes Monday and Tuesday, even they were too brief. I agree that there isn't necessarily "chemistry" between Adam and Rafe, but they really haven't given much for Rafe to play with there, so far...at least until today.
It seemed to me that it could be that Rafe is just a good guy who feels friendly and responsible to Adam (being his lawyer), but the way he stood in front of Adam (literally cupping his own package), then saying "I'll always be there for you," and THEN having the balls to confront Victor! Yeah, TGVN told him where to go, but bravo Rafe! Could be an indication that Rafe has stronger feelings for Adam than he's letting on? And, knowing Adam, once he knows Rafe is gay (I'm assuming he doesn't know), would he use Rafe...? I mean, that could be an interesting storyline: scheming, deceitful Adam initially tries to use Rafe's attraction to him but realizes his own attraction to Rafe in return...then Rafe discovers how awful Adam has behaved, making Adam genuinely regretful of his behavior. Great stuff if they went there.
I'm wondering if we'll see him anymore this week: possibly at Lily and Cane's wedding?
.... the scenes between Adam and Rafe were interesting, especially today. But that Adam is an evil one!
I don't think that Adam knows Rafe is gay. If he does, they would have to had discussed it off screen. I wonder if Billy knows though since he's an old friend of Rafe's. But he and Rafe haven't had any scenes since I started watching regularly.
I dunno if we'll see him at the wedding or not. But I have to watch because the show is going to reveal a huge secret about Cane that only the viewers will be privvy to. Apparently, Lily says to him that she was really hurt when Daniel kept his porn addiction from her, but she knows he'll never lie to her. At that point, Cane starts acting weird. That's when we learn, through flashbacks, that he is keeping a big secret. And unlike other soaps, Y&R is keeping underwraps what the secret is until the reveal. I don't think it's THAT, but I'll watch anyway.
I assume that Billy knows Rafe is gay, since they went to school together and Rafe said that Billy stood up for him when others tried to bully him. There's a youtube clip of this moment (Rafe comes in at 3:06):
By the way, I both love and hate that Y&R doesn't release extensive spoilers the way other shows do; I want to know what happens, but it keeps me tuning in, often literally on the edge of my seat!
There are supposedly wedding pics of Cane and Lily's nups, and Rafe is in them (I haven't seen the pics myself). So it looks like he'll be at the wedding. I wonder if he'll come as Colleen's date.
From the CBS casting corner, it shows that Tricia Cast, who plays Nina, Phillip IV's mom, will also be appearing in the wedding episode on the Friday the 15th. Whether she's at the ceremony, I don't know, but it would make sense, since she and Lily's father, Neil, go way back to when he first came on the show. So look to see if Nina happens to meet Rafe at the wedding. Could foreshadow something about her son perhaps.
btw - The spoilers about Phillip IV as a love interest for Rafe appear to be gaining credibility, since they've got in this week's CBS Soaps In Depth.
I've been a fan of Adam from day one when most fans have been against him. I like to root for the underdog. His relationship with Heather was one of the brighter spot pairing early on for me. But he really has crossed the line with this faking of the blindness and gaslighting of Victor's current paramour, Ashley. What he's doing is really, really low.and plain evil. He really is Victor Newman Jr that's for sure. Where did his practically saint of a mother, Hope, go wrong with him? I don't believe Adam knows anything about Rafe's sexuality. At this point if it were revealed that Rafe had a little crush on Adam and Adam found out about it, he'd definitely use that to his advantage. Look at what he's doing to assistant DA girlfriend, Heather. He's not above playing people, even the ones he supposedly cares about.
I am intrigued about this secret Cane may be keeping. Perhaps he really isn't Phillip Chancelor III? There was a scene very early after Cane came to town of him being on the phone with someone after Jill had opened up to the possiblity of him being her son switched at birth. He said something like, "I'm in" and hung up the phone. Nothing ever came of that scene. Probably because the character and actor became really popular with fans and they decided to keep him around as Jill's son. The first DNA test said they weren't related and they did a second one and it said they were. Y&R has shown that they are fine with reversing DNA results.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
It's interesting what they are doing with his character. They must have really listened to the gay cops. I can not speak for them or their lives, but the whole process of coming out as being a process of having to address it each time you meet a new person certainly feels true. Especially in the work place, there is always that question "oh, boy, are they going to have a good or bad reaction, and how will this affect my working relationship with this person I have to work with?" Its never easy to do that, and, therefore it will interesting to see how they tackle it.
We know next to nothing about most of the character's personal lives, including the "main" character Ben. In fact, we've never even seen Ben with a woman or talk about a girls. Hmm. Why are they trying to hide his heterosexuality?! I think it's funny that you claim you're not easily offended, Anthony.
.... we know quite a bit about the other characters personal lives. We've seen Lydia on a date, we know that one cop is married to that flakey chick and we've seen a number of romantic scenes with them. Her partner is married and has some sort of strange rivalry with his wife over writing, all of which is played out on screen. We've also seen romantic scenes with the Latino cop and his wife, who we also know has a secret daughter. And we know the guy in charge has problems with his daughter and is having an affair with a tv reporter. All of this has been given ample airtime. But in the meantime, we get 'hints' over a number of weeks that a character is gay. They don't have to elaborate on it or make it a big deal or make it about him being gay. Just reveal it and move on with the story. That's all I'm saying.
I asked this before, but it remains relevant. The show is also editing along the way. if you noticed, they are moving a lot of things around. The episode we saw last week ("Two Gangs") was supposed to be aired the week before last week.
Yes, but based on the previews of next week's show, Ben will be in a romantic/sexual encounter with a woman, so unless something also happens for John (unlikely), EVERY major character will have been shown in some romantic/sexual/dating/relationship scenes except for...you guessed it, the gay guy. I'll still watch for a while, but as usual the gay character gets the least amount of "action" of any kind in the entire cast. Why should we be surprised? Has there ever been a mainstream show where it was different?
And please don't respond that I am saying every gay character should be a Jack McFarland. Can't we have some middle ground between the two; a well-rounded, complex gay character who still manages to have SOME semblance of a romantic life occasionally? And no, a 5 second scene in an ambiguously gay bar does not pass meet my criteria for a love life.
a) If you want to ask me what I think - that's fine. If you want to tell me what I think without asking, then there is really no point. b) This is the 5th episode, and we are finally getting to Ben's personal life, the supposed lead of the show. What do you know about him based on the shows actually seen prior to this point since that was the basis of the discussion? c) Did you read the spoilers about John or do you think the actor who plays the part is lying?
I quite like the fact the boys are in a background story, just getting on with there lives and each other with little drama, just helping mates like people do,
Although I do think that sometimes they goof off in the background too much, its like they are trying to take the lime light away from the others and its a bit distracting to watch.
For those that care, John Driscoll (ex-Coop of GL) was cast as Phillip Chancellor IV (Nina's son with the deceased Phillip Chancellor III). He is set to come back from Iraq this month I believe, and spoilers are saying that he will come out as gay. Perfect timing, considering all the press regarding the repeal of DADT.
I havent seen chemistry as well and I doubted it until he stood up to Victor, that would take a pretty strong motivation and it made me think that Rafe is developing feelings for Adam.
At first I thought it might be a good couple since Adam is a cutie, but the boy is evil and a user and I would not want Y&Rs first gay character to get involved in something so seedy from the get go. On the other hand, it would be interesting for Rafe to be the good contrast to Adams bad nature, we will see.
Your news about Cain are very interesting, they did said they were going to out a mayor character, but the rumors about Phillip are flying high. Now there is a pairing I would get behind from the start since John Driscoll is gorgeous and a very good actor, and since by pure birth he would be considered a mayor character, he could be it (crossing fingers).
Im glad to see things are picking up on AWZ, it was about time.
Southland is good and I think the slow development of John is not such a bad thing, I hoping they are doing it to cement the character for those who have not figure it out yet.
BTW, yesterday we might have gotten a glimpse of Gossip Girls Erics dad as teen in that horrid prom episode, what a way to waste what is teen drama gold, and with the rumors of papa Van der Woodsen showing up in the next season, that might mean more time for Paolos character.
Thank you for the column Anthony, as always informative and entertaining, and double thanks for the switch to dailymotion for us out of towners.
I don't think Cane is going to be the one to be outed--the big revelation at Cane & Lily's wedding will involve a guest return appearance by a long-gone legacy character (hint: the actor who plays him is openly gay)...which makes me think the secret Cane is hiding is quite different.
As for the Phillip IV speculation...right now, it's just that. I'd love to see it develop, especially since John Driscoll is both a terrific actor and lovely to look at, but others are saying such rumors are false.
I really wouldn't have a problem with a Rafe/Adam pairing, basically because pairing good guy Rafe with another "good guy" would, in the end, be rather boring; far more interesting--and in a classic soap convention--would be pairing the good guy with the bad boy. Though Adam certainly has a LOT to atone for--how Rafe could forgive him for letting his Aunt Estella take the rap for gaslighting Ashley would require a giant change of heart from Adam.
I keep going back and forth on this...some days, I don't think it'll be Adam, the next day I do think it'll be Adam.
.... I heard about the return and I've quite excited. I agree that the reveal is something different and is probably more about Cane's paternity or who he really is more than anything else. And yeah, I've heard that the Philip thing is true in some quarters and not true in others. So we'll have to wait and see. The show might throw us a curveball and it'll turn out to be someone we weren't even thinking about.
I wouldn't have a problem with Adam and Rafe, but I don't see how we can get past Adam framing Rafe's aunt for gaslighting Ashley and putting her unborn baby in danger.
It's pretty easy to find online. Spoilers are out there. As far as it being a "major character" that's true in the sense of the overall history of the show, not so much with the recent cast.
We barely know Rafe, and the actor is still struggling to define any presence. Then, out of nowhere, we find out he's gay, and sure enough, he starts mooning over the evil straight man who can manipulate him. The actors have no chemistry as of yet and the show has completely ruined Adam in this idiotic gaslighting story which is designed to prop Victor and his boring zombie girlfriend Ashley. My favorite part is that Adam is supposed to be emaciated so he can get out of his tag...even though the actor is buffer than ever!
The only part of this story I find interesting is Rafe's jeans.
As soon as you brought up criticisms of Southland I thought you'd get some negative comment, and you did. I'm glad that you were able to articulate the qualms some of us have about the writing for John, and do so in a way where the easy response isn't, "You're not satisfied unless the character is only about being gay!" and so on.
The Roxy/Christian friendship on EE does nothing for me because it's so one-sided. It's always about Roxy and her immaturity. She's just annoying, and the triangle with Jack and Ronnie is spoiled by dreadful "acting" from Jack, and no chemistry between any of the participants. I can't believe they abandoned the Ronnie/Danielle story for this mess.
You know, their friendship is one-sided, but again, haven't we had friendships like that we just can't pull away from? I don't want to spoil anything, but I think Roxy will soon not have Christian at her disposal because he'll have other things going on that are not about her. As for Ronnie and Daniellle, that storyline was not abandonded. The writers say they always intended it for it to end the way it did. The show had planned for it to be written that way from day one. The actress who played Danielle had only been signed to a six month contract so her stay was always meant to be brief.
They have edited out scenes that were supposed to show Ronnie's devastation about Danielle's death. Danielle has been all but forgotten, all for this going-nowhere triangle with Roxy and Jack. Janine, who ran Danielle over, even waltzes around the family pub without a care in the world, even going to Roxy's christening, even though she was supposed to be be guilt-ridden. I can't imagine they had so little conseqence in mind for this story. It all feels very made up as it goes along to me.
I've had some friendships like Roxy/Christian, but I still don't know why he gives her the time of day. I think it's just that they don't know what to do with Christian, as they don't want to write gay relationships unless the relationships are very minor.
I had no idea that was an error. I never watched Dynasty. I'm probably too young. I even had to go on Google for the correct spelling of "Krystle" for the subtitles, LOL! Maybe the host meant a different character? Anyway, he does have a point. I hate when they just change a character's sexuality... I'm glad it won't happen on GTST.
I agree that the interview was kinda silly, but that's their style (the drumroll, the "ooooh" from the audience... it's all part of the chaotic/silly style of the show). They don't take themselves too seriously. I don't think everybody likes it though. I think you either love them or hate them.
I really can't wait for June 30th. It's too bad that three days later is already the season finale. You might know this. Are there other soaps who take a break during the summer, or is that something typical for Dutch soaps? I think they will introduce him this season, but his storyline won't kick off until next season. At first it's probably going to revolve around Lucas' sister Nina who was injured in the gas explosion and is now paralyzed.
Dynasty was a popular prime time soap in the '80's. He could have meant Claudia or Sammy Jo, who were Steven's wives, but Krystle? How could he confuse her with either of them? Krystle was one of the leads.... and Steven's stepmother! But I digress.....
I think some of the Spanish soaps take a summer break, I believe Aussie soap Home and Away takes a few weeks off at the end of the year, but most air new episodes year round. How long is it between seasons?
BTW, Mark, of the 6 guys they had in that picture, it was obvious (at least to me) that one of them will be Lucas' boyfriend. Which one do you think it will be?
The summer break of GTST this year is 8 weeks long. Season 20 will start on August 31st. They usually end it with a big cliffhanger and I think it will be about the Sanders family this year.
I still think it's going to be Dex (bottom row, in the middle). Or maybe I just really hope that? LOL! I think Dex/Lucas would be hot.
The first guy, Rik de Jong, is too old for Lucas, IMO. He's a thirtysomething with a 9 year old daughter. His wife passed away a couple of months ago.
The second guy is Rik's brother Danny. He's a writer. Right now in a relationship with Dex' sister Ronja, although they seem to be going in the direction of a Danny/Sjors pairing. I think they have great chemistry so I don't think I want him with Lucas. Funny fact: Sjors used to be Nina and Lucas' babysitter pre-SORAS. :P The actor playing Danny, Jan Kooijman, played gay on ONM, the other Dutch soap (before they had him fall in love with a woman...).
The third guy is Noud Alberts. I don't see him as a possible love interest for Lucas. He had a couple of girlfriends and he doesn't seem to be very gay-friendly. So I think he might actually be a character who doesn't react very well to Lucas being gay.
The fourth guy is Bing Mauricius. Hate the character and the actor is baaaad. Don't want him with Lucas! His character has been in a few relationships (right now with Lorena, the character from the clip).
The last guy is Jack van Houten. It wouldn't be believable if they made him gay or bi, IMO. And besides, he's Janine's current boyfriend (Janine is Lucas' mother).
So of these six guys I think Dex would be the best choice. He was in a storyline with the Vicky character, but she's leaving at the end of the season. And even though they sort of had something together, it wasn't a serious relationship. So with her gone, they have to give Dex something to do. He actually never had a serious relationship on the show since they introduced him a year ago, so it would be believable if he was bi (or even gay). And the actor, Emiel Sandtke, seems to be very happy about a gay storyline on the show.
Season 6 has just concluded in the UK with what has been acknowledged as a superior season ending episode 16. In fact this season has been superb in both story and character development.The Ian/Mickey relationship has also taken a turn for the better, especially in episodes 15 and 16.
Well, Shameless is one of the few shows that has always used their gay characters like everybody else in terms of story and their romantic lives. The other UK and foreign dramas should watch and take notes. And you're right in that Episode 15 was great in terms of Ian and Mickey. I've been waiting for something like this to happen since they originally got together! I loved the final scene between them in that episode. Mickey's reaction is one reason why I love the character so much. I'll share my thoughts on it and the season finale in the next GOOL.
Thanks Anthony for including The Heart of the City in your column. I have long been a fan and am hopeful this will inspire someone to continue the translations - as they are way behind. ITA that the Iago/Max pairing is classic, and I'd say classy. I can find little to complain about on this show (in fact I wished the entire show aired in America). And even though I miss Max, I'm pleased that Iago wasn't thrown into another romance. Maybe I'm odd, but I'm enjoying his loneliness and struggles without Max - including his building a relationship with Max's father. When Max does come back, and I'm sure he will, that should be some great stuff.
Y&R - I like Adam and Rafe together, even though it seems clear Adam will be deceitful.
ATWT - Great comments. How about showing some of that romance we were promised between Luke and Noah? Luke and Noah are begining to look like all the other losers in OakDale - unreasonable, dumb, self-absorbed, and almost unlikeable. And though Noah can clearly handle a firearm, that scene was poorly blocked as Luke was directly in the line of fire. I don't know how the bullit missed him. I did think Jake's acting superb and Van's little glance at Noah at the very end of that scene was probably the most interesting thing I've seen him do as Luke in some time. I really appreciate those kind of moments.
ATWT Writers - I don't get TeleNext at all. From a business perspective, if your customers keep telling you your product is defective, why would you not listen? Do you want to go the way of large banks and auto companies? Your customers know the product they want to buy. You should listen to them. Hiring another failed writer isn't going to fix the product. You need an entire new top-level management team with a different vision for the product. ATWT can be so easily made into a great show, probably 2nd in the ratings, if they just focus on family, friends, and lovers. They need the contrast between good and bad events, but at a much more even level. For some time now they've been stuck on 95% bad events and 5% percent joy. That really needs to change. I'd say 60/40, with 60% being the joyous events. JMO.
Er... ok, just pissed off here because I'm one of the people who is translating the El Cor de la ciutat stuff right now and, just FYI we do it as fast as we can. It's not that we don't wanna do it, it's just that WE HAVE A LIFE BESIDE THIS... so, you should be grateful instead of being a pain in the ass, picky brat who just thinks we are paid (or something) for doing this. If you don't like the translating pace, then learn catalan!
I want John Copper to come out to his partner. That would shut me up. Before the season is over I want everyone who is watching the show to KNOW definitely that he is gay so that his being gay isn't some "debatable" thing. Simple.
Doesn't have to be some long drawn out scene, doesn't need to be a big deal. Just "Kid, I'm gay, just so you know." or, he could have even said something like "Does this faggot looke better with a badge?" (or some other such thing.)
Whether or not Ben decides to divulge info about himself to Cooper is immaterial to me regarding this point.
There are things about ourselves that are obvious and there are things about ourselves that we have to tell folks about. Fact of life.
I don't need Cooper to come out to department over the PA system or see him show up at the department picnic with his new boyfriend or long-term lover.
I don't expect Cooper to wear buttons or ribbons or put stickers on his car or change the way he speaks, acts or dresses off duty.
I don't expect Cooper to have sex in or on his car with anyone (yet).
Cooper doesn't have to join any groups or make any grand statements about gay rights or tell his coming out story.
I mention all of the above because it seems to be the place folks immediately go to anytime someone says they want Cooper to be "out".
Personally, I just want to hear him say the words "I'm gay" to his partner (or even reference it in a discussion with his ex-wife). I think that is reasonable and totally plausible.
If the producers of the show wanted John's being gay to be a slow reveal (and I don't even know if that's true) then they should not have have revealed the fact that he was gay before the series began. They should have just let us figure it out from the "clues".
If they wanted it to be a mystery, let it be a mystery.
The way it is now, it "feels" like a "Wink, wink, nudge, nudge" to those in the know kind of thing every time Cooper is in some "gay adjacent" situation (the bar, the drag queen store owner, the "faggot".)
The discussions about Cooper on AfterElton go to such extremes with accusations and name calling. It's kinda crazy given how briefly the show has been on. But I get why it matters to folks to have Cooper be out.
Most of the time we're not even arguing with facts, we're dealing with interpretation. Reception. There is nothing black and white about it. Nobody's hair is on fire.
I think the character is great and I like that we know tons about some characters and not very much about others.
But we live in a homophobic, heterosexist society. All things are not equal and being straight is not the same as being gay. It may not be "fair" that folks don't question Ben's sexuality but that's the reality. You are presummed straight until you give someone reason to think you are not. That is the world that these characters live.
Someone seems to think that Cooper hates women and straight people. I think that's madness. But I do think it might make Cooper feel disgusted to spend some much of his time dealing with "domestic" disputes of people who's desire to be together is seen as "normal" and whose "right" to be together is never questioned by "the state" or society in general as long as they are of legal age and straight. I
think that could make a person in Cooper's situation be a bit jaded/cynical about the marriage and divorce of straight couples.
ANYWHO, some of us just want "a little bit more" acknowlegement or confirmation that John is gay for the viewers of the show so that the issue of whether he is or isn't is put to rest.
I don't want it to be even a question in other viewers minds by season's end.
"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)
Southland is launching in a short season of only seven episodes, and thus far they haven't been moving quickly in fully-developing any of the characters. We're getting fed crumbs about each of the characters on an episode-to-episode basis.
So to date I haven't been especially worried. Is Cooper my favorite gay character on TV? Not yet. But do I find him as offensive as I find some others? Nope. Has his presence helped draw my attention to Southland? Yes.
I'll admit, for a while now I have been hoping that we would reach the point where we could have gay characters on TV without them being the "gay character" in their respective shows.
Part of this is a reflection of my own life. I am out at work. My boss and co-workers know about me. But our corporate culture draws a somewhat stark divide between work and personal lives. For example, I have never met any of my straight co-worker's spouses. We only rarely discuss our personal lives, share vacation photos or even discuss our weekends.
So to me there's nothing strange about Cooper not coming out to Ben. Cooper is Ben's training officer, not his new BFF. I honestly don't understand why Cooper would feel the need to specifically come out to Ben. I don't come out to casual acquaintances. At work I deal with many people regularly who are nonetheless not regular co-workers (we're a large corporation). I don't ever feel the need to say: "Hey, just so you know, I'm gay."
I would like to see Cooper's sexuality come into play more overtly in the storyline. But I'm philosophical here. This is a short season and they have a huge cast. I doubt we're going to see any of these characters fully-developed by the end of this season.
So I'm just sitting back and letting things develop here. To be honest I find the cop show aspect as interest as the Cooper-is-gay aspect. So I'm not jumping ship yet. After all, I also watch CSI, which has no gay characters.
..... if we were just getting 'crumbs' on everyone else in the cast, I'd have nothing to write about. But as I noted in a previous post, we are getting far more than that on MOST of the cast/characters. We have seen nearly characters personal and romantic lives given ample screentime. So IMO, that that they are doing this to everyone doesn't hold up when what is being aired says otherwise.
As I noted in my IMHO, I love the show. I think it's a great show and I'm looking forward to its second season. As a fan of the genre, I think it's a great addition. But part of my gig is to point out how gay characters are treated as compared to straight ones. And for me, it's not the same at all.
You keep mentioning other stories lines, but not the one related to John and Ben, which is about two people introducing themselves to each other, unlike the rest of the show. When I read your spoilers from the actor playing John, it fits exactly with what I sensed they were doing with the two characters- introducing them to each other as the audience is introduced to them. I maybe wrong, but everything that keeps coming out supports this.
Ben, easily one of the most prominent draws on the show, won't be having his first onscreen bout of heterosexuality until tomorrow. Otherwise he's been very resistant to sharing personal information, including with Cooper. Indeed, part of their story dynamic so far has the guarded nature of their relationship and the slow revelation of the things they have in common.
Chickie has not demonstrated any romantic life of any kind so far. The most we know is that she has a teenage son and no apparent partner of either gender. Lydia went on a couple of awkward dates. Dewey's wife is divorcing him, but we haven't seen exactly why (and we've only seen her briefly in a non-speaking scene). We assume it's because he's a jerk.
The male detectives have more romance, but most of it looks even uglier than a soap opera. Sammy has his neurotic pot-smoking wife. Sal has his affair with California License Plate "SXYRPTR". Nate is married but we've seen little of his wife doing anything but being quietly supportive. Russell seems to have a wandering eye and tension in his marriage, but we have little detail beyond that.
So I'd say the relationship deal is still pretty mixed. Interestingly it does seem that the male detectives have gotten more relationship airtime than either the uniforms or Lydia. Also, with the exception of Nate what relationships we have seen so far are pretty toxic.
Now as I kind of inferred above, I don't see the problem yet. For example, like many of the people who watch CSI, I felt that some of the worst episodes were the ones where they tried to focus on the romantic lives of the characters. They have backed away from that to a heavy degree, ackowleding that their mostly straight male viewer base wants to see more high-tech crime solving, less agonizing over love.
Southland is new, and hasn't reached viewer niche lock yet. I'm guessing that they're shooting for straight males while throwing in some concessions for the wives/girlfriends of a predominantly male audience. But the target audience clearly wants to see more cop stuff than romance stuff.
Now again, does that bother me? No. I don't have a partner or a boyfriend, and neither does every gay man in America. It's a false assumption that every gay guy has a relationship of some kind. In particular, ones who haven't been out long.
Which is part of what intrigues me about Cooper to be honest. He's not a stereotypical gay man. He's only recently self-identified as gay and doesn't appear to have a strong sense of connection to "gay culture" or the "gay community". He's a loner more than a bit of curmudgeon so I don't see him hanging out at gay police group meetings.
It's also kind of funny in a way. Our one true "queer" action hero, Captain Jack Harkness on Torchwood, has never once actually said to anyone that he's straight, gay, bi or even "omnisexual" (a term never used in the show that I can recall). Indeed, he's dismissive of "you people and your quaint categories". Nor, if you think about it, did we see anything more than gay innuendo until the next-to-last episode of the first season of the show. We actually had to get through a considerable number of episodes before we actually saw Jack do something really "gay" onscreen.
So here I am, being similarly patient with Southland. This is not to say I won't change my mind down the road. For example, I used to think that Brothers & Sisters was the best thing on TV. Now I'm not even sure I really want to waste the money buying the Season Three DVD's when they come out!
Likewise, if we get into Season Two of Southland and they haven't explored Cooper's sexuality more then maybe I'll get annoyed. But not now. It's too soon. And frankly I'd rather Cooper be single than have a crazy partner like Sammy does!
We know that there will be more about John in the next week or so in either the 6th episode or 7th because they re-arranged the scenes. Some of the editing makes sense. Some does not. For example, I generally liked last week's episode, but they threw in a few random scenes with character played by Thomas Everett Scott. Some of this is that they are still finding their legs. The pacing and structure of the story has changed from the start of the series. They have slowed downt he pacing and focused on individual cases a little more. Some of it is the shortness of the season and too many characters. Thus, again going back to the re-arrangement of the scenes to push John's personal life to the last episodes. The spoilers from the actor playing the part suggests to me where this is going. Namely that he's out to people he trusts at work, which in a corporate or military setting (and I am guessing police) is not unheard of. You come each time to the new people you work with each time you meet new people, but you must also take into consideration the working situation. I dated this marine. He and I talked about his experiences. It was not that people did not come out to anyone in the military, it was that he came out to some people he could trust given the fact that he also had to do his job in the military. Thus, many people who were his friends in the military knew he was gay.
I believe the writers may have a point that they are making regarding Ben and John. That being that the two characters are getting to know each, and as someone else pointed out- that we are getting to know them as they do. That's not true of anyone else in the show. To me, what's more interesting is the reaction to the idea of wait to see rather than the characters themselves. I like the show and characters, but ultimately I hope it is not going to be the last representation of a different way of doing a gay character. As I said previously, it makes me wonder how stories I write will be received given how fast people want to know information about characters. Does that mean if I do not introduce, for example, the sexual part of a character into my story early on- people will react poorly to it? I also give the example of the upcoming Ang Lee movie which is about a gay man who organized Woodstock. The reaction o fmy friends when i described the story is not a gay character because that's not the focus of the movie. I have had gay friends do that already. So coming here to read this makes me wonder whether I am limited in the way I can tell a story about gay characters?
I knew I had watched that soap before, but I couldn't remember Max's other love interest. It started good at first, but became kinda boring as it went on.
Max and Enric (his previous boyfriend) were seen together in bed many times so I don't know if the show is shy about it (I haven't seen a lot of sex scenes depicted on the show) but the few I've seen of straight characters were very tame. Men are shown shirtless or in just boxers, women in their bras and panties. Both Max and Iago were show coming out of their bedroom in only underwear and hugging and kissing (Iago used to be half-naked a lot actually) so I think that's pretty even.
In addition to Iago, there is another gay character Gonzalo (a chef) who's coming out was totally seamless and handled to easily and not like an event. Gonzalo initially had a funny, sweet and sometimes sad crush on Iago but the story was handled so well and Iago never waived in his loyalty to Max and Gonzalo was not demonized for his crush.
He actually WOOED Iago. It was sweet.
Anyway, they are good friends now and Gonzalo plays a big part in Iago's story which I think is amazing because I would love for other gay character to not be so isolated and to have a few other gay friends (beyond their boyfriend).
I really hope Bernat comes back to the show before the season ends because it sucks to see Iago suffer so much and miss Max so much but the way they are handling it is very realistic and Iago has outbursts of emotion sometimes about Max being gone that is so poinant. Also Max's father has really taken Iago into his family as his son-in-law and works hard to remind Iago how much Max loves him and how he believes Iago and Max are meant to be together.
"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)
was merely physical, they get attracted for each other and fall into the others arms. But then they get into an spiral of action (like Nuke lately) and the sex wasn't exactly the focus. Enric - Max relationship was great when they weren't in a relationship, all the coming out of Enric and how he fell for Max was great, but when they become a couple the things become boring (and meaninnless, all the open relationship was completly out of Max character) And about Gonzalo, i really love that guy. Yes he isn't so good looking as Iago or Max, but he is a good guy, and really love Iago. It's a way to introduce a third you can root for. Sometimes in soaps the third it's only a character to shake the relationship, but Gonzalo is different, i know most fans wait till Max return, but the truth is that if Bernat decide not to come back to the show, i don't mind watching Iago with Gonzalo
I love that you've included El Cor - it's long been one of my favorite foreign soaps. The arc of Max's stories was really well done - first his own coming out, then him dating a guy who was coming out, then moving on to more grown-up stories with Iago.
I really liked the little hint of John's gayness in Southland this week. It wasn't just about the producers hinting to the audience, but also John hinting to Ben in order to gauge his potential reaction.
Your column is my favorite on the site, thanks, and keep up the good work.
that nobody makes a big deal about Iago and Max being a couple. Max is out for a long time, and everybody in the neighbourhood cares for him. Iago on the other hand is accepted because he is Max's boyfriend
Those pictures of Thore were SUPER hot, but why did he have to have a god damn cigarette? disgusting. As for Cooper, I haven't been watching the show (I should, but life gets in the way), but I'm not ready to say that this is dissapointing treatment of a gay character. Yes, it is frustrating that everything is so subtle, but on the other hand, I think it is interesting the show isn't doing to whole "Ok, here's the gay guy, and all the drama about him being gay." you don't always know someone's sexual orientation right off the bat.
by 
Rafe this week
Rafe had some good scenes Monday and Tuesday, even they were too brief. I agree that there isn't necessarily "chemistry" between Adam and Rafe, but they really haven't given much for Rafe to play with there, so far...at least until today.
It seemed to me that it could be that Rafe is just a good guy who feels friendly and responsible to Adam (being his lawyer), but the way he stood in front of Adam (literally cupping his own package), then saying "I'll always be there for you," and THEN having the balls to confront Victor! Yeah, TGVN told him where to go, but bravo Rafe! Could be an indication that Rafe has stronger feelings for Adam than he's letting on? And, knowing Adam, once he knows Rafe is gay (I'm assuming he doesn't know), would he use Rafe...? I mean, that could be an interesting storyline: scheming, deceitful Adam initially tries to use Rafe's attraction to him but realizes his own attraction to Rafe in return...then Rafe discovers how awful Adam has behaved, making Adam genuinely regretful of his behavior. Great stuff if they went there.
I'm wondering if we'll see him anymore this week: possibly at Lily and Cane's wedding?
I Thought....
.... the scenes between Adam and Rafe were interesting, especially today. But that Adam is an evil one!
I don't think that Adam knows Rafe is gay. If he does, they would have to had discussed it off screen. I wonder if Billy knows though since he's an old friend of Rafe's. But he and Rafe haven't had any scenes since I started watching regularly.
I dunno if we'll see him at the wedding or not. But I have to watch because the show is going to reveal a huge secret about Cane that only the viewers will be privvy to. Apparently, Lily says to him that she was really hurt when Daniel kept his porn addiction from her, but she knows he'll never lie to her. At that point, Cane starts acting weird. That's when we learn, through flashbacks, that he is keeping a big secret. And unlike other soaps, Y&R is keeping underwraps what the secret is until the reveal. I don't think it's THAT, but I'll watch anyway.
Billy and Rafe
I assume that Billy knows Rafe is gay, since they went to school together and Rafe said that Billy stood up for him when others tried to bully him. There's a youtube clip of this moment (Rafe comes in at 3:06):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttc0V5k18sg
Later, Billy received counsel from Rafe when Cane was contesting custody of Billy and Chloe's baby (starts at 1:07 and 2:57):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZdWrMMqkKc
By the way, I both love and hate that Y&R doesn't release extensive spoilers the way other shows do; I want to know what happens, but it keeps me tuning in, often literally on the edge of my seat!
And, yeah, Adam is SO evil...and HOT!
Hmm.....
Rafe
Colleen's "date"
Rafe & Nina
From the CBS casting corner, it shows that Tricia Cast, who plays Nina, Phillip IV's mom, will also be appearing in the wedding episode on the Friday the 15th. Whether she's at the ceremony, I don't know, but it would make sense, since she and Lily's father, Neil, go way back to when he first came on the show. So look to see if Nina happens to meet Rafe at the wedding. Could foreshadow something about her son perhaps.
btw - The spoilers about Phillip IV as a love interest for Rafe appear to be gaining credibility, since they've got in this week's CBS Soaps In Depth.
Adam...
I've been a fan of Adam from day one when most fans have been against him. I like to root for the underdog. His relationship with Heather was one of the brighter spot pairing early on for me. But he really has crossed the line with this faking of the blindness and gaslighting of Victor's current paramour, Ashley. What he's doing is really, really low.and plain evil. He really is Victor Newman Jr that's for sure. Where did his practically saint of a mother, Hope, go wrong with him? I don't believe Adam knows anything about Rafe's sexuality. At this point if it were revealed that Rafe had a little crush on Adam and Adam found out about it, he'd definitely use that to his advantage. Look at what he's doing to assistant DA girlfriend, Heather. He's not above playing people, even the ones he supposedly cares about.
I am intrigued about this secret Cane may be keeping. Perhaps he really isn't Phillip Chancelor III? There was a scene very early after Cane came to town of him being on the phone with someone after Jill had opened up to the possiblity of him being her son switched at birth. He said something like, "I'm in" and hung up the phone. Nothing ever came of that scene. Probably because the character and actor became really popular with fans and they decided to keep him around as Jill's son. The first DNA test said they weren't related and they did a second one and it said they were. Y&R has shown that they are fine with reversing DNA results.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
Southland & John Regarding the (Spoiler)
They're not treating John differently
Actually....
What do we know about Ben?
follow up point
Yes, but based on the
Yes, but based on the previews of next week's show, Ben will be in a romantic/sexual encounter with a woman, so unless something also happens for John (unlikely), EVERY major character will have been shown in some romantic/sexual/dating/relationship scenes except for...you guessed it, the gay guy. I'll still watch for a while, but as usual the gay character gets the least amount of "action" of any kind in the entire cast. Why should we be surprised? Has there ever been a mainstream show where it was different?
And please don't respond that I am saying every gay character should be a Jack McFarland. Can't we have some middle ground between the two; a well-rounded, complex gay character who still manages to have SOME semblance of a romantic life occasionally? And no, a 5 second scene in an ambiguously gay bar does not pass meet my criteria for a love life.
3 points
VL
Rafe's Possible Love Interest
I am very wary of an Adam/Rafael pairing
I havent seen chemistry as well and I doubted it until he stood up to Victor, that would take a pretty strong motivation and it made me think that Rafe is developing feelings for Adam.
At first I thought it might be a good couple since Adam is a cutie, but the boy is evil and a user and I would not want Y&Rs first gay character to get involved in something so seedy from the get go. On the other hand, it would be interesting for Rafe to be the good contrast to Adams bad nature, we will see.
Your news about Cain are very interesting, they did said they were going to out a mayor character, but the rumors about Phillip are flying high. Now there is a pairing I would get behind from the start since John Driscoll is gorgeous and a very good actor, and since by pure birth he would be considered a mayor character, he could be it (crossing fingers).
Im glad to see things are picking up on AWZ, it was about time.
Southland is good and I think the slow development of John is not such a bad thing, I hoping they are doing it to cement the character for those who have not figure it out yet.
BTW, yesterday we might have gotten a glimpse of Gossip Girls Erics dad as teen in that horrid prom episode, what a way to waste what is teen drama gold, and with the rumors of papa Van der Woodsen showing up in the next season, that might mean more time for Paolos character.
Thank you for the column Anthony, as always informative and entertaining, and double thanks for the switch to dailymotion for us out of towners.
The Cane and Phillip speculation
I don't think Cane is going to be the one to be outed--the big revelation at Cane & Lily's wedding will involve a guest return appearance by a long-gone legacy character (hint: the actor who plays him is openly gay)...which makes me think the secret Cane is hiding is quite different.
As for the Phillip IV speculation...right now, it's just that. I'd love to see it develop, especially since John Driscoll is both a terrific actor and lovely to look at, but others are saying such rumors are false.
I really wouldn't have a problem with a Rafe/Adam pairing, basically because pairing good guy Rafe with another "good guy" would, in the end, be rather boring; far more interesting--and in a classic soap convention--would be pairing the good guy with the bad boy. Though Adam certainly has a LOT to atone for--how Rafe could forgive him for letting his Aunt Estella take the rap for gaslighting Ashley would require a giant change of heart from Adam.
I keep going back and forth on this...some days, I don't think it'll be Adam, the next day I do think it'll be Adam.
We shall see....
Yes...
.... I heard about the return and I've quite excited. I agree that the reveal is something different and is probably more about Cane's paternity or who he really is more than anything else. And yeah, I've heard that the Philip thing is true in some quarters and not true in others. So we'll have to wait and see. The show might throw us a curveball and it'll turn out to be someone we weren't even thinking about.
I wouldn't have a problem with Adam and Rafe, but I don't see how we can get past Adam framing Rafe's aunt for gaslighting Ashley and putting her unborn baby in danger.
Rafe's boyfriend is.....
Double Post
Double Post
Adam/Rafe is so poorly written and paced
We barely know Rafe, and the actor is still struggling to define any presence. Then, out of nowhere, we find out he's gay, and sure enough, he starts mooning over the evil straight man who can manipulate him. The actors have no chemistry as of yet and the show has completely ruined Adam in this idiotic gaslighting story which is designed to prop Victor and his boring zombie girlfriend Ashley. My favorite part is that Adam is supposed to be emaciated so he can get out of his tag...even though the actor is buffer than ever!
The only part of this story I find interesting is Rafe's jeans.
You're on the spot, as you often are
Christian/Roxy
The aftermath
They have edited out scenes that were supposed to show Ronnie's devastation about Danielle's death. Danielle has been all but forgotten, all for this going-nowhere triangle with Roxy and Jack. Janine, who ran Danielle over, even waltzes around the family pub without a care in the world, even going to Roxy's christening, even though she was supposed to be be guilt-ridden. I can't imagine they had so little conseqence in mind for this story. It all feels very made up as it goes along to me.
I've had some friendships like Roxy/Christian, but I still don't know why he gives her the time of day. I think it's just that they don't know what to do with Christian, as they don't want to write gay relationships unless the relationships are very minor.
Dynasty
I had no idea that was an error. I never watched Dynasty. I'm probably too young. I even had to go on Google for the correct spelling of "Krystle" for the subtitles, LOL! Maybe the host meant a different character? Anyway, he does have a point. I hate when they just change a character's sexuality... I'm glad it won't happen on GTST.
I agree that the interview was kinda silly, but that's their style (the drumroll, the "ooooh" from the audience... it's all part of the chaotic/silly style of the show). They don't take themselves too seriously. I don't think everybody likes it though. I think you either love them or hate them.
I really can't wait for June 30th. It's too bad that three days later is already the season finale. You might know this. Are there other soaps who take a break during the summer, or is that something typical for Dutch soaps? I think they will introduce him this season, but his storyline won't kick off until next season. At first it's probably going to revolve around Lucas' sister Nina who was injured in the gas explosion and is now paralyzed.
Yeah.....
Dynasty was a popular prime time soap in the '80's. He could have meant Claudia or Sammy Jo, who were Steven's wives, but Krystle? How could he confuse her with either of them? Krystle was one of the leads.... and Steven's stepmother! But I digress.....
I think some of the Spanish soaps take a summer break, I believe Aussie soap Home and Away takes a few weeks off at the end of the year, but most air new episodes year round. How long is it between seasons?
BTW, Mark, of the 6 guys they had in that picture, it was obvious (at least to me) that one of them will be Lucas' boyfriend. Which one do you think it will be?
Summer break
The summer break of GTST this year is 8 weeks long. Season 20 will start on August 31st. They usually end it with a big cliffhanger and I think it will be about the Sanders family this year.
I still think it's going to be Dex (bottom row, in the middle). Or maybe I just really hope that? LOL! I think Dex/Lucas would be hot.
The first guy, Rik de Jong, is too old for Lucas, IMO. He's a thirtysomething with a 9 year old daughter. His wife passed away a couple of months ago.
The second guy is Rik's brother Danny. He's a writer. Right now in a relationship with Dex' sister Ronja, although they seem to be going in the direction of a Danny/Sjors pairing. I think they have great chemistry so I don't think I want him with Lucas. Funny fact: Sjors used to be Nina and Lucas' babysitter pre-SORAS. :P The actor playing Danny, Jan Kooijman, played gay on ONM, the other Dutch soap (before they had him fall in love with a woman...).
The third guy is Noud Alberts. I don't see him as a possible love interest for Lucas. He had a couple of girlfriends and he doesn't seem to be very gay-friendly. So I think he might actually be a character who doesn't react very well to Lucas being gay.
The fourth guy is Bing Mauricius. Hate the character and the actor is baaaad. Don't want him with Lucas! His character has been in a few relationships (right now with Lorena, the character from the clip).
The last guy is Jack van Houten. It wouldn't be believable if they made him gay or bi, IMO. And besides, he's Janine's current boyfriend (Janine is Lucas' mother).
So of these six guys I think Dex would be the best choice. He was in a storyline with the Vicky character, but she's leaving at the end of the season. And even though they sort of had something together, it wasn't a serious relationship. So with her gone, they have to give Dex something to do. He actually never had a serious relationship on the show since they introduced him a year ago, so it would be believable if he was bi (or even gay). And the actor, Emiel Sandtke, seems to be very happy about a gay storyline on the show.
Shameless on GOOL
Another great read, Anthony.
Are you going to reveiew Shameless any time soon?
Season 6 has just concluded in the UK with what has been acknowledged as a superior season ending episode 16. In fact this season has been superb in both story and character development.The Ian/Mickey relationship has also taken a turn for the better, especially in episodes 15 and 16.
Shameless Rules!
Shameless
Heart of the City
Thanks Anthony for including The Heart of the City in your column. I have long been a fan and am hopeful this will inspire someone to continue the translations - as they are way behind. ITA that the Iago/Max pairing is classic, and I'd say classy. I can find little to complain about on this show (in fact I wished the entire show aired in America). And even though I miss Max, I'm pleased that Iago wasn't thrown into another romance. Maybe I'm odd, but I'm enjoying his loneliness and struggles without Max - including his building a relationship with Max's father. When Max does come back, and I'm sure he will, that should be some great stuff.
Y&R - I like Adam and Rafe together, even though it seems clear Adam will be deceitful.
ATWT - Great comments. How about showing some of that romance we were promised between Luke and Noah? Luke and Noah are begining to look like all the other losers in OakDale - unreasonable, dumb, self-absorbed, and almost unlikeable. And though Noah can clearly handle a firearm, that scene was poorly blocked as Luke was directly in the line of fire. I don't know how the bullit missed him. I did think Jake's acting superb and Van's little glance at Noah at the very end of that scene was probably the most interesting thing I've seen him do as Luke in some time. I really appreciate those kind of moments.
ATWT Writers - I don't get TeleNext at all. From a business perspective, if your customers keep telling you your product is defective, why would you not listen? Do you want to go the way of large banks and auto companies? Your customers know the product they want to buy. You should listen to them. Hiring another failed writer isn't going to fix the product. You need an entire new top-level management team with a different vision for the product. ATWT can be so easily made into a great show, probably 2nd in the ratings, if they just focus on family, friends, and lovers. They need the contrast between good and bad events, but at a much more even level. For some time now they've been stuck on 95% bad events and 5% percent joy. That really needs to change. I'd say 60/40, with 60% being the joyous events. JMO.
Er... ok, just pissed off
Er... ok, just pissed off here because I'm one of the people who is translating the El Cor de la ciutat stuff right now and, just FYI we do it as fast as we can. It's not that we don't wanna do it, it's just that WE HAVE A LIFE BESIDE THIS... so, you should be grateful instead of being a pain in the ass, picky brat who just thinks we are paid (or something) for doing this. If you don't like the translating pace, then learn catalan!
THANK YOU!
Why Does Southland Brings Out Such Extreme Reactions?
I want John Copper to come out to his partner. That would shut me up. Before the season is over I want everyone who is watching the show to KNOW definitely that he is gay so that his being gay isn't some "debatable" thing. Simple.
Doesn't have to be some long drawn out scene, doesn't need to be a big deal. Just "Kid, I'm gay, just so you know." or, he could have even said something like "Does this faggot looke better with a badge?" (or some other such thing.)
Whether or not Ben decides to divulge info about himself to Cooper is immaterial to me regarding this point.
There are things about ourselves that are obvious and there are things about ourselves that we have to tell folks about. Fact of life.
I don't need Cooper to come out to department over the PA system or see him show up at the department picnic with his new boyfriend or long-term lover. I don't expect Cooper to wear buttons or ribbons or put stickers on his car or change the way he speaks, acts or dresses off duty.
I don't expect Cooper to have sex in or on his car with anyone (yet). Cooper doesn't have to join any groups or make any grand statements about gay rights or tell his coming out story.
I mention all of the above because it seems to be the place folks immediately go to anytime someone says they want Cooper to be "out".
Personally, I just want to hear him say the words "I'm gay" to his partner (or even reference it in a discussion with his ex-wife). I think that is reasonable and totally plausible.
If the producers of the show wanted John's being gay to be a slow reveal (and I don't even know if that's true) then they should not have have revealed the fact that he was gay before the series began. They should have just let us figure it out from the "clues".
If they wanted it to be a mystery, let it be a mystery.
The way it is now, it "feels" like a "Wink, wink, nudge, nudge" to those in the know kind of thing every time Cooper is in some "gay adjacent" situation (the bar, the drag queen store owner, the "faggot".)
The discussions about Cooper on AfterElton go to such extremes with accusations and name calling. It's kinda crazy given how briefly the show has been on. But I get why it matters to folks to have Cooper be out.
Most of the time we're not even arguing with facts, we're dealing with interpretation. Reception. There is nothing black and white about it. Nobody's hair is on fire.
I think the character is great and I like that we know tons about some characters and not very much about others.
But we live in a homophobic, heterosexist society. All things are not equal and being straight is not the same as being gay. It may not be "fair" that folks don't question Ben's sexuality but that's the reality. You are presummed straight until you give someone reason to think you are not. That is the world that these characters live.
Someone seems to think that Cooper hates women and straight people. I think that's madness. But I do think it might make Cooper feel disgusted to spend some much of his time dealing with "domestic" disputes of people who's desire to be together is seen as "normal" and whose "right" to be together is never questioned by "the state" or society in general as long as they are of legal age and straight. I
think that could make a person in Cooper's situation be a bit jaded/cynical about the marriage and divorce of straight couples.
ANYWHO, some of us just want "a little bit more" acknowlegement or confirmation that John is gay for the viewers of the show so that the issue of whether he is or isn't is put to rest.
I don't want it to be even a question in other viewers minds by season's end.
"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)
And I'm waiting for season's end before worrying
Southland is launching in a short season of only seven episodes, and thus far they haven't been moving quickly in fully-developing any of the characters. We're getting fed crumbs about each of the characters on an episode-to-episode basis.
So to date I haven't been especially worried. Is Cooper my favorite gay character on TV? Not yet. But do I find him as offensive as I find some others? Nope. Has his presence helped draw my attention to Southland? Yes.
I'll admit, for a while now I have been hoping that we would reach the point where we could have gay characters on TV without them being the "gay character" in their respective shows.
Part of this is a reflection of my own life. I am out at work. My boss and co-workers know about me. But our corporate culture draws a somewhat stark divide between work and personal lives. For example, I have never met any of my straight co-worker's spouses. We only rarely discuss our personal lives, share vacation photos or even discuss our weekends.
So to me there's nothing strange about Cooper not coming out to Ben. Cooper is Ben's training officer, not his new BFF. I honestly don't understand why Cooper would feel the need to specifically come out to Ben. I don't come out to casual acquaintances. At work I deal with many people regularly who are nonetheless not regular co-workers (we're a large corporation). I don't ever feel the need to say: "Hey, just so you know, I'm gay."
I would like to see Cooper's sexuality come into play more overtly in the storyline. But I'm philosophical here. This is a short season and they have a huge cast. I doubt we're going to see any of these characters fully-developed by the end of this season.
So I'm just sitting back and letting things develop here. To be honest I find the cop show aspect as interest as the Cooper-is-gay aspect. So I'm not jumping ship yet. After all, I also watch CSI, which has no gay characters.
Well...
..... if we were just getting 'crumbs' on everyone else in the cast, I'd have nothing to write about. But as I noted in a previous post, we are getting far more than that on MOST of the cast/characters. We have seen nearly characters personal and romantic lives given ample screentime. So IMO, that that they are doing this to everyone doesn't hold up when what is being aired says otherwise.
As I noted in my IMHO, I love the show. I think it's a great show and I'm looking forward to its second season. As a fan of the genre, I think it's a great addition. But part of my gig is to point out how gay characters are treated as compared to straight ones. And for me, it's not the same at all.
Again, what are we getting on Ben before this week?
Have we really?
Ben, easily one of the most prominent draws on the show, won't be having his first onscreen bout of heterosexuality until tomorrow. Otherwise he's been very resistant to sharing personal information, including with Cooper. Indeed, part of their story dynamic so far has the guarded nature of their relationship and the slow revelation of the things they have in common.
Chickie has not demonstrated any romantic life of any kind so far. The most we know is that she has a teenage son and no apparent partner of either gender. Lydia went on a couple of awkward dates. Dewey's wife is divorcing him, but we haven't seen exactly why (and we've only seen her briefly in a non-speaking scene). We assume it's because he's a jerk.
The male detectives have more romance, but most of it looks even uglier than a soap opera. Sammy has his neurotic pot-smoking wife. Sal has his affair with California License Plate "SXYRPTR". Nate is married but we've seen little of his wife doing anything but being quietly supportive. Russell seems to have a wandering eye and tension in his marriage, but we have little detail beyond that.
So I'd say the relationship deal is still pretty mixed. Interestingly it does seem that the male detectives have gotten more relationship airtime than either the uniforms or Lydia. Also, with the exception of Nate what relationships we have seen so far are pretty toxic.
Now as I kind of inferred above, I don't see the problem yet. For example, like many of the people who watch CSI, I felt that some of the worst episodes were the ones where they tried to focus on the romantic lives of the characters. They have backed away from that to a heavy degree, ackowleding that their mostly straight male viewer base wants to see more high-tech crime solving, less agonizing over love.
Southland is new, and hasn't reached viewer niche lock yet. I'm guessing that they're shooting for straight males while throwing in some concessions for the wives/girlfriends of a predominantly male audience. But the target audience clearly wants to see more cop stuff than romance stuff.
Now again, does that bother me? No. I don't have a partner or a boyfriend, and neither does every gay man in America. It's a false assumption that every gay guy has a relationship of some kind. In particular, ones who haven't been out long.
Which is part of what intrigues me about Cooper to be honest. He's not a stereotypical gay man. He's only recently self-identified as gay and doesn't appear to have a strong sense of connection to "gay culture" or the "gay community". He's a loner more than a bit of curmudgeon so I don't see him hanging out at gay police group meetings.
It's also kind of funny in a way. Our one true "queer" action hero, Captain Jack Harkness on Torchwood, has never once actually said to anyone that he's straight, gay, bi or even "omnisexual" (a term never used in the show that I can recall). Indeed, he's dismissive of "you people and your quaint categories". Nor, if you think about it, did we see anything more than gay innuendo until the next-to-last episode of the first season of the show. We actually had to get through a considerable number of episodes before we actually saw Jack do something really "gay" onscreen.
So here I am, being similarly patient with Southland. This is not to say I won't change my mind down the road. For example, I used to think that Brothers & Sisters was the best thing on TV. Now I'm not even sure I really want to waste the money buying the Season Three DVD's when they come out!
Likewise, if we get into Season Two of Southland and they haven't explored Cooper's sexuality more then maybe I'll get annoyed. But not now. It's too soon. And frankly I'd rather Cooper be single than have a crazy partner like Sammy does!
Some of this is re-editing
I have the wait to see policy
da!
Max and Iago
Enric!!!
Max and Iago and El Cor
Max and Enric (his previous boyfriend) were seen together in bed many times so I don't know if the show is shy about it (I haven't seen a lot of sex scenes depicted on the show) but the few I've seen of straight characters were very tame. Men are shown shirtless or in just boxers, women in their bras and panties. Both Max and Iago were show coming out of their bedroom in only underwear and hugging and kissing (Iago used to be half-naked a lot actually) so I think that's pretty even.
In addition to Iago, there is another gay character Gonzalo (a chef) who's coming out was totally seamless and handled to easily and not like an event. Gonzalo initially had a funny, sweet and sometimes sad crush on Iago but the story was handled so well and Iago never waived in his loyalty to Max and Gonzalo was not demonized for his crush.
He actually WOOED Iago. It was sweet. Anyway, they are good friends now and Gonzalo plays a big part in Iago's story which I think is amazing because I would love for other gay character to not be so isolated and to have a few other gay friends (beyond their boyfriend).
I really hope Bernat comes back to the show before the season ends because it sucks to see Iago suffer so much and miss Max so much but the way they are handling it is very realistic and Iago has outbursts of emotion sometimes about Max being gone that is so poinant. Also Max's father has really taken Iago into his family as his son-in-law and works hard to remind Iago how much Max loves him and how he believes Iago and Max are meant to be together.
"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)
The truth is that the begining of Max and Iago storyline
El Cor and Southland
I love that you've included El Cor - it's long been one of my favorite foreign soaps. The arc of Max's stories was really well done - first his own coming out, then him dating a guy who was coming out, then moving on to more grown-up stories with Iago.
I really liked the little hint of John's gayness in Southland this week. It wasn't just about the producers hinting to the audience, but also John hinting to Ben in order to gauge his potential reaction.
Your column is my favorite on the site, thanks, and keep up the good work.
And it's not that surprised
Those pictures of Thore were
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