Thanks for the trip down memory lane: it's so good to see Lisa Brown, Colleen Pinter, Benjamin Hendrickson (RIP), Michael David Morrison (RIP), a young Martha Byrne, Scott DeFreitas, the younger Paul in the form of Andy Kavovit, Tom Wiggin, and Jennifer Ashe (when the Meg Snyder character was not as irritating as she is now) in those Hank Elliot clips from ATWT. Before the age of Web spoilers and the like, I was never sure when Hank would be onscreen so I made sure the VCR taped ATWT everyday.
I really appreciate revisiting his story, and it just makes it all the more obvious that had Doug Marland lived to pen Luke and Noah's story today, we'd be seeing something different play out on our screens today. For instance, I completely agree that the box opening scene with Noah going through Col. Pervy's personal effects was so poorly executed and a scene that could have been filled with pathos ended up falling flat instead and came off as a simple demonstration on how to open a box you pull out of storage. Truly a wasted opportunity to get more insight to the Noah Mayer character and the fault lies with both the writing and acting. Maybe Noah will really have to sleep with Mason in order to pass his course or stay in the honors program given how bad Noah's film is shaping up.
Looking forward to Michael Muhney's debut big time on Y&R as well as Ollie Fish and Kyle Lewis's story taking off on OLTL. These soaps ought to give ATWT a wake up call as well as some healthy competition for viewers.
It still boggles the mind that out of all the remaining US soaps on air, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which centers on the fashion industry and is set in Los Angeles, has no gay characters or any major minority characters for that matter. Hell, Hank Elliot was a gay designer in Oakdale, IL in 1988!
Other stuff I'm looking forward to is catching up on and watching the FISICA O QUIMICA clips, which I have never seen until now, as well as the upcoming storyline for Olli and Christian on VERBOTENE LIEBE.
I was hoping Axel would be a viable love interest for Roman on ALLES WAS ZAEHLT, but I guess we'll have to see what happens.
Great job as always! Thanks again for this terrific edition of GOOL!
Yes, Anthony, thank you SO much for the Hank Eliot clips. I remember that storyline like it was yesterday, and even with all the earnest dialogue, it still blows the current ATWT out of the water. (And, to echo jsg's comments, so sad to see the late Benjamin Hendrickson and Michael David Morrison there.)
Don't know if you mind me jumping ahead and including a spoiler/rumor I've heard about the upcoming One Life to Live Fish/Kyle storyline; Nelson Branco's lastest Nelson Ratings claims that the audition script for a "Griffin" who goes out on a date with Kyle despite warnings from Fish is actually a recast for the grown-up character of CJ Roberts, the son of legacy characters Tina Lord and Cord Roberts; additionally, the blog Confessions and Critiques of a Television Fanatic says that two former ATWT actors tested for the part: Agim Kaba (ex-Aaron Snyder) and Nicholas Galbraith (ex-Zac Finn). I know some people have expressed frustration that neither Fish nor Kyle are directly related to a core family; now, having a romantic triangle with a core character apparently solves that problem.
(Having said that, were Fish and Kyle to become popular on their own, there's no reason they couldn't be established as core characters in their own right--something that has happened throughout soap history.)
Of course, this is all just rumor at this point, but Nelson has been pretty accurate about his claims, and it does make sense from a storytelling perspective.
Oh, it was tough for me to watch these old clips because I kept wasting time watching these old shows and seeing how wonderful they were. They brought back a lot of wonderful memories about how soaps and how this show in particular used to be so good. Hal Munson, as played by Ben Hendrickson, was one of my favorite ATWT characters and I loved, loved, loved the pairing of Hal and Barbara. And Andy Dixon, played by Scott DeFretas, another of my faves, if not my favorite ATWT character ever was also seen in these clips. Good times.
And of course, I'll be reporting all the latest news on the OLTL casting front in the next GOOL.
I wonder if the ratings for Kings was so bad b/c they didn't air the show. I don't know about anybody else, but here in Tennessee, they aired two 30-minute infomercials in their timeslot instead! I was FURIOUS! I'm just saying, I wonder if thats what happened with their ratings (on top of the fact that no one tuned in for the usual reasons)?
What about the rest of you at AE? Did you tune in to Kings and get infomercials instead? Did you try to tune in to Kings at all?
I would like to see them finally resolve CJ's character, but being a member of the sprawling Lord family doesn't mean he'll have more longevity. Sarah Roberts definitely didn't.
I've been surprised at some of the strong backlash from some boards over this storyline, which hasn't started yet. I'm reminded that any time a soap does a gay story, it will be seen as bandwagon, PC, ratings stunt, and it takes very hard work for the show to get around this.
Heh. Anthony, you really want Noah to have an affair with his Film prof. Don't you? :) I've already said I hope it doesn't happen. But it probably will. Like when(Not so Dead)Daddy Dearest shows up again. Either he or Luke could end up having to shoot him. And maybe he'll finally die. But that would create problems in Nuke's relationship. And could lead to Noah cheating. But the only way I'll accept it, is if Riley (who could turn out to be Adam Munson)ends up comforting Luke. Luke can be the one to get Riley out of those tight fitting clothes. Because nobody cheats on Luciano Eduardo Grimaldi Snyder and gets away with it. :)
Wow so many storylines. It must be a huge headache to keep up! Thank you so much for doing this.
I definitely look forward to MM on Y&R. I have liked him ever since his stint on Veronica Mars. I wonder how suited he will be for the soap genre.
There's no Fer-David scenes because David wasn't in yesterday's episode. In física o química all regulars have screen time in every episode, so Fer appear talking with Yoli and Quino (and he had a couple of nice and funny scenes) but David is not a regular, so he didn't appear.
The episode was centered in other characters so Fer only play a supportive role, and a lot of people fear that David ended in a Hugo's way, but it seems he will be in the last episode, and they solve the situation (the relationship will be developed in fourth season).
The guy who plays David (Adrian Rodriguez) is extremely popular, and the character has a huge female following (girls are a lot more indulgent with him that gays, even i think he acted bad, the thruth is that he acted threatened with Gorka's blackmail and his situation is not very different from Craig in Hollyoaks, in fact i think that Craig was a lot more dishonest), and the curious thing is that a couple of episodes ago nobody knows how the story ends (with Fer or with Ruth) and i find quite interesting that most of his female fans want him to be in a relationship with Fer
Craig was a low down dirty dog and he emotionally and physically abused Sarah and emotionally abused JP and was stringing both of them along for a year. A year! And he was a grown man (over 18) at the time.
I never, ever understood how anyone had sympathy for what he did to Sarah and JP. No one deserved to be manipulated and played with like that.
And he can't even "blame" being gay because according to him, he's not gay so there goes that excuse. But enough about Craig.
I have great affection for David. No matter how much I criticize his choices and his behavior, I see him as someone who is truly struggling to find himself, do the right thing and be a better man.
I think he has real, deep feelings for Fer and I think when he feels threatened he falls back on what a lot of young men do, bravado, machismo, etc.
Adrian really imbues his portrayal with layers and depth and emotional and you feel David's torment and frustration and hysteria at the end and you feel his desire for Fer is so strong.
SPOILER - - SPOILER - - SPOILER
Fer needed to kick David to the curb to give him the incentive to change and also so as not to feel like a victim.
I've never liked Ruth but I don't like seeing any young girl suffer with body image issues and feel such low self esteem and lack of self worth.
Whatever happens, David needs to do some seriously crawling, and begging to Ruth for forgiveness and to Fer to forgive AND take him back. Luckily Fer is strong enough and compassionate enough to maybe reconsider (though he did dismiss Hugo without so much as a "goodbye")
I really love this show. It's like Degrassi crossed with Skins. Smart and funny and sexy with a big heart.
"That's our job today: to control the extent to which people can publicly manifest antigay sentiment."(Bayard Rustin) ** "Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common" (Dorothy Parker)
Hank's defining moment on ATWT was when he was shot trying to keep Paul Ryan from his evil father James Stenbeck. That allowed viewers to see a gay man as a hero. ATWT is not the same show, not close to the same show, but I think part of Marland's legacy lives on in Nuke.
It's way too fast for Syed and Christian to kiss on Eastenders, and Christian is still far too vacuous and one-dimension a character for this story. Why am I not surprised that Eastenders has poor pacing and characterization yet again.
Jonathan Scarfe -- did he play Carter's druggie cousin on ER?
If anybody remembers last summer, the boys had no screen time, and the ratings dropped drastically b/c they pushed that Parker/girl Parker was with storyline and all the teenagers (who are home for summer) hated it, so they didn't watch the show. Not only did they not like the Parker couple, they rarely showed Luke and Noah.
We are currently well into summer, and once again the boys and Damian are rarely on, and the ratings sink badly. Now of course the ratings have a lot more to do with just LOAH, but ATWT is NOT helping!! They are a power couple, but they act like they don't care!! It just ticks me off that I finally have all this time on my hands to see the boys, and then they aren't being shown...and then all these ATWT cancellation rumors are floating around. And the other characters (aside from Damian and Casey and crazy-booty Paul) are SOOOOOOO BORING!!
My dream...if ATWT does get cancelled, that LOAH gets to move to another, much more highly rated show. I don't care which one as long as its one of the top 3, and they go together! They don't have to stay together (I'm all for drama), but to see them go before their time is just sooo heartbreaking.
Also, after nearly 2 years of being faithful (to whomever he was with at the time), I hope Noah finally dips his pen in someone else's ink!! Its about time! I am a full on Jakeluster, but this whole "faithfulness" gets boring when you're on a show built around doing the WRONG thing all the time!! And for that matter, I hope even if Noah doesn't cheat on Luke I hope Noah drives Luke away so that Luke will have a full-on affair with someone else (forget a drunken spur of the moment kiss), I'm talking booty-calls, broken promises, and the occasional secretive shopping through Oakdale together!!
Lastly, I'm so happy Christian and Olli are fighting. An actors chops are put to the test in scenes like these, and they always pull them off so well. Also, after so many months of getting along and just giving out relationship advice, its a much needed break in the pattern.
Sometimes i think the writers sabotage the show. It's just not a simple question of bad writing or rushing the storylines, it's a question of being blind or stupid.
I only follow Nuke storylines so my vision is partial, but i read some forums, and almost everybody seems to hate Meg, and she is everywhere. There are some couples (allison-casey) who are chemistry free, but the writers insist in pushing them.
And there are some popular characters who are totally under used. Luke and Noah are the most popular couple of ATWT (and one of the most popular couples in all soaps), Van is the only male actor of ATWT nominated for an Emmy, and even with that they are barely there, we are lucky if they are a couple of days per week (sometimes only standing there). I only hope with the competence of other gay storylines, the writers invest more in this characters, and make some changes on the show, but i doubt it
Great blog update Anthony! You are nothing but thorough. Unfortunately are work these videos are blocked but I check them out at home. I learn so much about the availability of gay characters around the world here. Here are some random thoughts after reading:
1. Y&R and OLTL storylines makes me wonder how we can catch them outside of this site and the DVR? Any guidance as to where we can go and catch ourselves up? It would be a great resource!
2. Agree about core character argument. If you aren't pat of an established family it is easy to get rid of your character.
3. Christian and Olli oh my! Are we headed toward a break with these two?
4. HOT HOT HOT Soap Stud of The Week Anthony! My compliments for a keen eye. Why is it always the bad ones that always look so scrumptious!
5. Woudn't it be great to create a soap that started with a core gay male couple with kids and build out from there?
Watching the ATWT clips really brought home how far production values have slid in the last twenty years. Quality location shooting, decent music, above excellent acting (Andy/Scott DeFreitas going from comfortably touching and horsing around w/Hank to being almost incapable of forming a coherent sentence explaining why he can't be seen w/him in less than five minutes and making it seem less a scripted scene and more of an actual event), characters/stories a viewer could fall into immediately (The scene w/Hal telling Hank and Babs that Paul would have to get over his issues, while Paul is on the phone w/James and the scene w/Margo and Lien filling in Andy/Tom on Paul's flight to James were intriguing and made you want more...and occurred BEFORE the opening titles). Budget cuts aside, its like the producers/writers don't even try anymore and, with rare exception (looking at you Jon Helmsly and Van Hasis) the cast is coasting w/them.
Makes me sad.
Are moving way too fast if the kiss is next week, They really don't even speak much on the show let alone any yearning looks being present.
If that is the case then I cannot see this turning out to be anything more than a angst ridden religion based story line and nothing more.
by 
Thanks for the trip down
Thanks for the trip down memory lane: it's so good to see Lisa Brown, Colleen Pinter, Benjamin Hendrickson (RIP), Michael David Morrison (RIP), a young Martha Byrne, Scott DeFreitas, the younger Paul in the form of Andy Kavovit, Tom Wiggin, and Jennifer Ashe (when the Meg Snyder character was not as irritating as she is now) in those Hank Elliot clips from ATWT. Before the age of Web spoilers and the like, I was never sure when Hank would be onscreen so I made sure the VCR taped ATWT everyday.
I really appreciate revisiting his story, and it just makes it all the more obvious that had Doug Marland lived to pen Luke and Noah's story today, we'd be seeing something different play out on our screens today. For instance, I completely agree that the box opening scene with Noah going through Col. Pervy's personal effects was so poorly executed and a scene that could have been filled with pathos ended up falling flat instead and came off as a simple demonstration on how to open a box you pull out of storage. Truly a wasted opportunity to get more insight to the Noah Mayer character and the fault lies with both the writing and acting. Maybe Noah will really have to sleep with Mason in order to pass his course or stay in the honors program given how bad Noah's film is shaping up.
Looking forward to Michael Muhney's debut big time on Y&R as well as Ollie Fish and Kyle Lewis's story taking off on OLTL. These soaps ought to give ATWT a wake up call as well as some healthy competition for viewers.
It still boggles the mind that out of all the remaining US soaps on air, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which centers on the fashion industry and is set in Los Angeles, has no gay characters or any major minority characters for that matter. Hell, Hank Elliot was a gay designer in Oakdale, IL in 1988!
Other stuff I'm looking forward to is catching up on and watching the FISICA O QUIMICA clips, which I have never seen until now, as well as the upcoming storyline for Olli and Christian on VERBOTENE LIEBE.
I was hoping Axel would be a viable love interest for Roman on ALLES WAS ZAEHLT, but I guess we'll have to see what happens.
Great job as always! Thanks again for this terrific edition of GOOL!
Memory lane and OLTL rumors
Yes, Anthony, thank you SO much for the Hank Eliot clips. I remember that storyline like it was yesterday, and even with all the earnest dialogue, it still blows the current ATWT out of the water. (And, to echo jsg's comments, so sad to see the late Benjamin Hendrickson and Michael David Morrison there.)
Don't know if you mind me jumping ahead and including a spoiler/rumor I've heard about the upcoming One Life to Live Fish/Kyle storyline; Nelson Branco's lastest Nelson Ratings claims that the audition script for a "Griffin" who goes out on a date with Kyle despite warnings from Fish is actually a recast for the grown-up character of CJ Roberts, the son of legacy characters Tina Lord and Cord Roberts; additionally, the blog Confessions and Critiques of a Television Fanatic says that two former ATWT actors tested for the part: Agim Kaba (ex-Aaron Snyder) and Nicholas Galbraith (ex-Zac Finn). I know some people have expressed frustration that neither Fish nor Kyle are directly related to a core family; now, having a romantic triangle with a core character apparently solves that problem.
(Having said that, were Fish and Kyle to become popular on their own, there's no reason they couldn't be established as core characters in their own right--something that has happened throughout soap history.)
Of course, this is all just rumor at this point, but Nelson has been pretty accurate about his claims, and it does make sense from a storytelling perspective.
These Clips.....
Oh, it was tough for me to watch these old clips because I kept wasting time watching these old shows and seeing how wonderful they were. They brought back a lot of wonderful memories about how soaps and how this show in particular used to be so good. Hal Munson, as played by Ben Hendrickson, was one of my favorite ATWT characters and I loved, loved, loved the pairing of Hal and Barbara. And Andy Dixon, played by Scott DeFretas, another of my faves, if not my favorite ATWT character ever was also seen in these clips. Good times.
And of course, I'll be reporting all the latest news on the OLTL casting front in the next GOOL.
KINGS
I wonder if the ratings for Kings was so bad b/c they didn't air the show. I don't know about anybody else, but here in Tennessee, they aired two 30-minute infomercials in their timeslot instead! I was FURIOUS! I'm just saying, I wonder if thats what happened with their ratings (on top of the fact that no one tuned in for the usual reasons)?
What about the rest of you at AE? Did you tune in to Kings and get infomercials instead? Did you try to tune in to Kings at all?
Kitty
Core family
I would like to see them finally resolve CJ's character, but being a member of the sprawling Lord family doesn't mean he'll have more longevity. Sarah Roberts definitely didn't.
I've been surprised at some of the strong backlash from some boards over this storyline, which hasn't started yet. I'm reminded that any time a soap does a gay story, it will be seen as bandwagon, PC, ratings stunt, and it takes very hard work for the show to get around this.
Michael Muhney
Noah's extra credit (Spoilers in Post)
Wow so many storylines. It
Física O Química
They don't cut anything
There's no Fer-David scenes because David wasn't in yesterday's episode. In física o química all regulars have screen time in every episode, so Fer appear talking with Yoli and Quino (and he had a couple of nice and funny scenes) but David is not a regular, so he didn't appear.
The episode was centered in other characters so Fer only play a supportive role, and a lot of people fear that David ended in a Hugo's way, but it seems he will be in the last episode, and they solve the situation (the relationship will be developed in fourth season).
The guy who plays David (Adrian Rodriguez) is extremely popular, and the character has a huge female following (girls are a lot more indulgent with him that gays, even i think he acted bad, the thruth is that he acted threatened with Gorka's blackmail and his situation is not very different from Craig in Hollyoaks, in fact i think that Craig was a lot more dishonest), and the curious thing is that a couple of episodes ago nobody knows how the story ends (with Fer or with Ruth) and i find quite interesting that most of his female fans want him to be in a relationship with Fer
Thank you very much!
Absolutely Right About Craig
Craig was a low down dirty dog and he emotionally and physically abused Sarah and emotionally abused JP and was stringing both of them along for a year. A year! And he was a grown man (over 18) at the time.
I never, ever understood how anyone had sympathy for what he did to Sarah and JP. No one deserved to be manipulated and played with like that.
And he can't even "blame" being gay because according to him, he's not gay so there goes that excuse. But enough about Craig.
I have great affection for David. No matter how much I criticize his choices and his behavior, I see him as someone who is truly struggling to find himself, do the right thing and be a better man.
I think he has real, deep feelings for Fer and I think when he feels threatened he falls back on what a lot of young men do, bravado, machismo, etc.
Adrian really imbues his portrayal with layers and depth and emotional and you feel David's torment and frustration and hysteria at the end and you feel his desire for Fer is so strong.
SPOILER - - SPOILER - - SPOILER
Fer needed to kick David to the curb to give him the incentive to change and also so as not to feel like a victim.
I've never liked Ruth but I don't like seeing any young girl suffer with body image issues and feel such low self esteem and lack of self worth.
Whatever happens, David needs to do some seriously crawling, and begging to Ruth for forgiveness and to Fer to forgive AND take him back. Luckily Fer is strong enough and compassionate enough to maybe reconsider (though he did dismiss Hugo without so much as a "goodbye")
I really love this show. It's like Degrassi crossed with Skins. Smart and funny and sexy with a big heart.
"That's our job today: to control the extent to which people can publicly manifest antigay sentiment." (Bayard Rustin) ** "Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common" (Dorothy Parker)
Various
Hank's defining moment on ATWT was when he was shot trying to keep Paul Ryan from his evil father James Stenbeck. That allowed viewers to see a gay man as a hero. ATWT is not the same show, not close to the same show, but I think part of Marland's legacy lives on in Nuke.
It's way too fast for Syed and Christian to kiss on Eastenders, and Christian is still far too vacuous and one-dimension a character for this story. Why am I not surprised that Eastenders has poor pacing and characterization yet again.
Jonathan Scarfe -- did he play Carter's druggie cousin on ER?
WILL ATWT NEVER LEARN!!!
If anybody remembers last summer, the boys had no screen time, and the ratings dropped drastically b/c they pushed that Parker/girl Parker was with storyline and all the teenagers (who are home for summer) hated it, so they didn't watch the show. Not only did they not like the Parker couple, they rarely showed Luke and Noah.
We are currently well into summer, and once again the boys and Damian are rarely on, and the ratings sink badly. Now of course the ratings have a lot more to do with just LOAH, but ATWT is NOT helping!! They are a power couple, but they act like they don't care!! It just ticks me off that I finally have all this time on my hands to see the boys, and then they aren't being shown...and then all these ATWT cancellation rumors are floating around. And the other characters (aside from Damian and Casey and crazy-booty Paul) are SOOOOOOO BORING!!
My dream...if ATWT does get cancelled, that LOAH gets to move to another, much more highly rated show. I don't care which one as long as its one of the top 3, and they go together! They don't have to stay together (I'm all for drama), but to see them go before their time is just sooo heartbreaking.
Also, after nearly 2 years of being faithful (to whomever he was with at the time), I hope Noah finally dips his pen in someone else's ink!! Its about time! I am a full on Jakeluster, but this whole "faithfulness" gets boring when you're on a show built around doing the WRONG thing all the time!! And for that matter, I hope even if Noah doesn't cheat on Luke I hope Noah drives Luke away so that Luke will have a full-on affair with someone else (forget a drunken spur of the moment kiss), I'm talking booty-calls, broken promises, and the occasional secretive shopping through Oakdale together!!
Lastly, I'm so happy Christian and Olli are fighting. An actors chops are put to the test in scenes like these, and they always pull them off so well. Also, after so many months of getting along and just giving out relationship advice, its a much needed break in the pattern.
Kitty
Sabotage
Sometimes i think the writers sabotage the show. It's just not a simple question of bad writing or rushing the storylines, it's a question of being blind or stupid.
I only follow Nuke storylines so my vision is partial, but i read some forums, and almost everybody seems to hate Meg, and she is everywhere. There are some couples (allison-casey) who are chemistry free, but the writers insist in pushing them.
And there are some popular characters who are totally under used. Luke and Noah are the most popular couple of ATWT (and one of the most popular couples in all soaps), Van is the only male actor of ATWT nominated for an Emmy, and even with that they are barely there, we are lucky if they are a couple of days per week (sometimes only standing there). I only hope with the competence of other gay storylines, the writers invest more in this characters, and make some changes on the show, but i doubt it
Great Blog!
Great blog update Anthony! You are nothing but thorough. Unfortunately are work these videos are blocked but I check them out at home. I learn so much about the availability of gay characters around the world here. Here are some random thoughts after reading:
1. Y&R and OLTL storylines makes me wonder how we can catch them outside of this site and the DVR? Any guidance as to where we can go and catch ourselves up? It would be a great resource!
2. Agree about core character argument. If you aren't pat of an established family it is easy to get rid of your character.
3. Christian and Olli oh my! Are we headed toward a break with these two?
4. HOT HOT HOT Soap Stud of The Week Anthony! My compliments for a keen eye. Why is it always the bad ones that always look so scrumptious!
5. Woudn't it be great to create a soap that started with a core gay male couple with kids and build out from there?
6. Any more word on Clara Scheller?
Kyle & Fish
Hi, Someone has started what looks like the beginning of Kyle & Fish video collection at youtube. Four clips in the story now.
Kyle & Fish Part 1 starts here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Ji9MAbbNM
ATWT
Syed and Christian
Are moving way too fast if the kiss is next week, They really don't even speak much on the show let alone any yearning looks being present. If that is the case then I cannot see this turning out to be anything more than a angst ridden religion based story line and nothing more.
How long is syeds contract for?
William Fichtner(sp?)....
Josh Snyder
Tuc Watkins
has been a busy boy!
WARNING - language NSFW.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/30f6314fe7/the-sentimentalist
I have a question
What the heck happened to Les Bleus?
Please help my friend keep her child by going here. :)
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