For another great GOOL (rhymes with drool). So excited over OLTL (which- even when the gays aren't- on has hot shirtlessness almost daily) and Y&R which I am happy to have discovered because of you. Hard (So-to-speak) to keep up with everything. A year later I am totally bored with the Eurosoaps I used to love - except the Dutch show which has great potential when it returns.Tonight we had a pretty good "Raising the Bar" with what may be a potential bitch- war between the two judges for the "court clerk".
Anthony: I love your column, but you probably should not be so hard on As the World Turns. I suspect that if it had not been for the courageous Luke and Noah storyline, there would be no Kyle and Fish or Adam and Rafe or Phillip and whomever. I agree that the writing is bad, but it's no worse than on the Bold and the Beautiful (just how many times have ridge and Brooke been married??). I'm glad to see Thom back on Y & R, but he is a TERRIBLE actor...much worse than Jake Silberman. Hopefully he will get better as the storyline heats up.
I'm one of the few people who actually seems to enjoy watching ATWT, despite acknowledging its flaws, but I don't think people have any kind of obligation to withhold their negative opinions out of any kind of historic respect. That means they should be mentioned positively in any kind of retrospective of gays on television, not that people should pretend the experience of watching it is any better than they think it is.
I do sometimes wish I could just have a pleasant conversation about a show I enjoy watching, but the fact is that's just not going to happen, and the naysayers withholding their opinions is just going to result in empty boards, not positive conversation.
I understand that ATWT and Luke and Noah were first and broke new ground and I acknowledge that. They deserve kudos for that and they can go down in history for that. But I don't think I'm under any obligation to go 'easy' on them just because of they were first. I think it's up to ATWT to continue to break new ground with Luke and Noah and show people the way rather than continue to give viewers different variations of the same material for the past 2 years. And if they can't break new ground at least entertiain us. They can't be bothered to even do that. I'm hoping the Mason storyline will at least be interesting. But given this show's track record and what I'm starting to hear about the story and where it's going, I'm not hopeful.
In regards to Thom Beirdz's performance, it was shaky to be sure, but I try and give 'new' actors a bit of time to adjust and gel in the role before making comment so I'm going to be a little patient. But given that Jake has been in the role for over two years and this is still what we're getting from him, my patience wore thin a long time ago and is now just frustration.
i agree with Anthony about last weeks episode of ATWT, it was rushed, bad writen, and bad acted. But i think it's quite harsh in comparision. Maybe i'm in the minority, but i don't think Y&R Adam-Rafe is good at all, for me it's like a bad Nuke storyline but with less chemistry. I can make excuses for Michael, because it'll be very hard starts a new character at that point of the storyline, but Yani is bad, bad, bad, i don't know if it's the underdevelopment of the character, or just he is in the Silbermann's league (with the difference that Jake has really good chemistry with his partner).
About OLTL, right now it's really good, but that's the easy part. I'll wait to judge till they become a real couple.
I'm i think if Mason it's just there to make the love triangle i'll quit of ATWT. I don't like love triangles at all, but if they want one, at least they have to take the time to build one. And come on, Nuke sexual life isn't exactly steamy, how can they deal with an Noah's affair? have they the intention to make it sexless? Because if Noah has more action with Mason than with Luke (after two years) i think their fans will have reason to be ballistic. And if Noah - Mason affair will be sexless (like Adam-Rafe one), i predict Nelson Branco will blame Jake (again).
By the way, it's imposible to know the direction this storyline will take, because Forbes March say something different in every interview
Maybe i'm in the minority, but i don't think Y&R Adam-Rafe is good
at all, for me it's like a bad Nuke storyline but with less chemistry.
?? Of all the ways someone could criticize Radam, they're like a bad Nuke storyline? I can't possibly imagine any storyline LESS like Nuke. Frankly, unless they both got amnesia and wound up in a city no one knew either of them, I can't imagine how Nuke could wind up in a situation even vaguely like this.
And chemistry is in the eye of the beholder. I think they've got a very shivvery, creepy, ohmygodisitoveryet kind of chemistry. Which is exactly what they need for this story.
like a bad Nuke storyline, i refer to boring, Y&R Adam storyline (even without Rafe) it's too soapy for me, all they gay content is unbeliable. I can excuse Michael, even i don't buy it it's probably because he is just in middle of the storyline out of nowhere, but Yani is truly bad, even worse that Jake at the begining of Nuke. He just doesn't show any emotion. I think all the storyline is very bad writen, i expect something quite better from the suposed best soap (frankly the little i watch from OLTL is better than this, but i don't judge because maybe the other storylines are better).
And the chemistry, i just don't feel it at all, with the change of Adam, the couple just simple don't match, Rafe looks like a teen in comparision with the nuAdam, and this will be even worse when he will paired with Phyliip. If they invest something more in Rafe character before the begining of this storyline this will be better, but right now it only seems like a story made for the shock value. In fact, for me don't even make sense that they have sex (that was a very bad scene) only to avoid Rafe to discover something, that was only something out of the blue make to create scandal on their conservative audience. In fact i'm starting to think that CE did the right thing when he left, because the Adam character just don't make sense
Well, i really hope that Kish works when they start as a couple (that will be the real test), because i don't think i really get on the Y&R one, and it's obvious that P&G desist of ATWT
I see where you are coming from regarding Radam. We don't know much about Rafe, that is true. And yes, this Rafe/Adam "relationship" is being played largely for the controversy factor. However, I think it is best that I don't think of them as a couple. This very much is a game of power that is being played and sex is the commodity being used. Such a classic soap opera staple.
Adam is a lot like his father in certain respects. Victor was/is ruthless and cruel and not above manipulating people to get what he wants. And knowing how ruthless his father is, Adam is scrambling for his life. Literally. When it all comes to light what he's been upto and what he's done, it will be like a nuclear bomb went off and he'll be lucky to come out alive when the dust settles. His plan got out of hand and went further than he wanted it to. Now he's scrambling to stay afloat, trying to survive. Adam having sex with Rafe was a desperate act. People do things they never thought they would do when desperate. This being a soap, you take certain things with a grain of salt as a straight guy having sex with a gay guy to cover his tracks is not an everyday occurance for most of us. However, I do think something like this comes from a true life human perspective when someone thinks their life is on the line and they'll do anything to preserve it. Thinking of Adam in this perspective helps me to swallow this turn of events a bit easier. The real sticking point is is Rafe this dumb or is there something more that he's upto regarding this situation?
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
but i find quite easy to distract Rafe, hire a couple of goons to bash him or robbed his apartment than have sex with him.
It's curious that Nelson Branco find in Yani his new Jake Silbermann. He bash Yani a lot in his last colum, saying that the show must recast his role. As i say, i'm far from being a fan of his work now, but he is not exactly quilty of all, first if he looks like a teen with nuAdam is because they recast an actor who is a much older than his character, and second, great part of Yani's poor performances are because the bad writing of his character (well, more the lack of writing). But of course Branco don't criticize the writers. If he consider Jake the guilty of the soft Nuke sex scene, it's not a surprise that he finds Yani quilty of all this
I've been more positive than Anthony about recent ATWT plotlines, but the return of Col Mayer was just horribly done. The witing and directing was not just poor, it was lazy (The fugitive runs around in fatigues with his name on them!?!) Worse, the acting, which in the past has rescued some of the writing, varied from phoned-in at best to cringe-inducing at worst.
It can't be easy to work on a show with slashed budgets and a likely cancellation looming, but if last week represents the new standard for ATWT, that's depressing.
I agree with you. I think it's really terrible what they are doing with the show. If they are going to cancell it, at least they can try to give a good taste for the fans.
Bring back the Col for thre rushed episodes it¡s absurd. Any of the people who write Nuke fanfic is able to do something better.
And i fear for the actors, Van is very talented but he only has a couple of theatre plays, and such an iconic character as Luke can be heavy as a stone for his career. I really hope he can make a film or a prime time character before ATWT ends
I think bring Col Mayer back at this point was a waste. It was so rushed. Why bring him back at all if his big plan a pile of swiss cheese. And we got no real aftermath of his maniacal return? No final confrontation between father and son as dad is carted off to jail? No scene of Luke trying to comfort Noah knowing his dad is alive and kicking and that he sent him, even deservedly so, to prison? Such missed opportunity for some good character beats. It was totally used to prop up the Adam/Riley/Hughes family drama. I think the break neck speed of storylines and sloppy writting really hurt this show overall.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
That move by the show was appalling. It's just so unnatural. This is the woman who managed to make herself rich out of cynical men, to buy and muscle her way through a position on the ministry, and to get all the cards on the queen and her pressure points.
This woman was shrewd, and they expect us to believe that she would be disposed of so easily?
It gets to the point where I expect her comeback in the end, because I simply can't believe they offed her.
The progression of that storyline was so jarring. I mean, on one half of the storyline, Jack wants bloody revenge on his mother. On the next, he makes no qualms of his mother having offed his key player to revenge on the mother who killed his one and only love; he actually seems to forget all about it toward the latter half! He marries a girl his mother likes instead, and just seems to return to being cooperative. Not to mention the flirting with some boy shortly afterwards.
Katrina Ghent was obviously thought out as a long term character. You just don't go through so many episodes of introducing a character just to willy nilly kill them offscreen. It's a pity that the canceling of the show led to this very contrived development.
I was supremely disappointed by this Kings episode.
Yeah, after that scene between Katrina and the Queen, I was like 'it's ON!' This is exactly what the show needs to spice it up: a juicy, bitchy rivalary between two strong powerful women. And then they just.... killed her off. And Jack never even acknowledged that she was gone. Plus, Jack was staying away from the guy he loved and only went to him because the lights had gone out that night and he could slip away unnoticed. But he's hooking up with castle guards in the light of day? Another thing I had issue with. Made no sense.
It's not the first time Jack has hooked up with that particular guard - he invited him up to his apartment once before as the guard drove him home, and it obviously wasn't the first time he'd been asked to stay.
Was Jack being a little blatant snuggling with him in front of his fiance? I think that's deliberate - after the past few weeks of forcefully coming out to his mother when his lover died, then being given the marriage out by Katrina, which he decided worked for him as a convenience, it made total sense to me he'd be cocky about having his cake and eating it too.
As for the dismissive way he approached it with the little fiance - she needs to understand her place, just as the Queen told her - she's a womb for the bloodline, and nothing more. They tied Jack & the Queen's agendas together perfectly, and illustrated the new status quo for dealing with a gay first son. I thought it was brilliant.
I was really getting into Kings these past four or so episodes. I was starting to think they made a mistake in cancelling it. But then they started to make some strange choices. I was miffed that Jacks' BF Joseph "killed himself" but thought Jack coming out to the Queen was a step of him being who he was openly in the public eye. That was squashed. Then they go and kill off Katrina Ghent after that nice juicy exchange she had with the Ice Queen? Puzzling to say the least. I think the Queen is more deliciously evil than even Silas and was looking forward to someone of Katrina's stature trying to take her on. Now I don't know if I want to finish out the season. I find David to be totally unappealing as a character and even moreso with that drab Michelle. Silas, Jack and the Queen are where it is at.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
i have a question sir.... do you know what ever happened to ztube31? i am dying to watch the rest of the episodes of LE BLEUS... i know that the relationshiop of kevin and yann wasn't as prominent as in season 1, but i still want to know what happened between the two. i hope someone would take over the reins and translate season two for us. and i miss clara sheller too but season two ended just the way i wanted it to be so i am happy knowing that gilles and jp are happy together!
kyle and fish is the most intriguing gay couple in soapdome!!! and they haven't even acknowledged their attraction for each other yet!!!! both actors are a chemistry match made in gay heaven. i hope they would make it really complex and sexy!!!! kyle is hot!!! both actors are hot!!! love them both.. i hope the show won't chicken out on their love scenes together.
oli and christian are dead to me - this coming from one of the biggest olian fan in the world.... the wallflowers have wilted!!!! it's not cute anymore. the writers are wasting jo and thore's time and talent.
i am glad that american soaps are waking up... better late than never - and we're seriously kicking europe's ass right now with all that's happening!!!!! can't believe i would live to see that day (now if only this would also be true in reality - i.e. in politics) hey i can dream, can't i?
I think it's so smart of the show to introduce Lucas during the last week of the season as a teaser for next season. Same for Elizabeth Hubbard's character Sair.
I loved Lucas' reintroduction to the show a lot. But then again, I love basically the whole show. Only the characters Bing and Lorena are getting on my nerves. You'll get to see Lucas in a scene with Bing, because the actor playing Bing tweeted that he was going to film his first scene with Ferry. This doesn't mean they're in a storyline together. The character on this show is really great.
ATWT has beyond jumped the shark with Luke and Noah. I easily concede that but for Luke Snyder, Noah Mayer, Van Hansis, Jake Silbermann and ATWT, there would be no upcoming Professor Mason, OLTL's Ollie Fish and Kyle Lewis, and Y&R's Adam Wilson, Rafael Torres and Phillip Chancellor III. ATWT has earned its place in U.S. daytime TV history for blazing the trail for gay male couples and no one can take that away from the show, the characters and the actors who portray Luke and Noah. But ATWT is not doing anybody any favors by churning out one bad story after another for Luke and Noah. I'm not even expecting anything anymore with the introduction of Mason based on the storytelling history for Noah and Luke. Here's hoping that Y&R and OLTL will succeed where ATWT has failed -- in telling good, engaging stories with characters that we care about. (My heart already skips a beat for Ollie Fish and Kyle Lewis, but Adam Wilson, Rafe Torres and Phillip Chancellor III have also greatly piqued my interest.)
Speaking of characters to care about, I still happen to love Ollian and cannot wait for their upcoming storyline even if VL does its arcs only in a handful of episodes. It beats seeing Luke and Noah "facing together" whatever their lame crisis du jour is. It's refreshing and realistic to see Olli and Christian navigate their relationships both as lovers and as employer/employee. It's a helluva lot better than watching a rich kid and his college student boyfriend dealing with a psychotic homophobic Army dad who has a very unhealthy obsession with his live gay son, that's for sure.
the clip from GTBT. Wish I had easy access to it because it looked like a fun show. I really liked Lucas and his sister's easy relationship. Loved how everyone was so non-chalant about Dex possibly being gay and his sister's teasing. Refreshing change from the usual coming out stories as whatever issues Dex has internal rather than external.
And gee they used the word penis and made a joke about being well endowed like people that actually live in the 21st century instead of the 1950's land that American soaps perpetually inhabit.
"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)
Is that they are bucking the trend of the multiple marriages. It used to be that only one or two characters per soap did the Liz/Zsa Zsa thing, others had long-term relationships that played out over years.
Instead of doing what they've done to Holden and Lily (the characters have married/divorced/cheated pretty much yearly since the early 90's), they are going back to the old format of giving a super-couple challenges that they face together. That being said, however, I find the stories ridiculous, trite and amazingly short, and the actors not really showing their talents at their best.
"Tom Chroust, who was responsible for the wildly popular Christian/Olli love story on Forbidden Love (wonder how he’d feel about what has been done – or not done – to his couple), has been working as a writer on All That Matters for the past year or so and recently was promoted to head writer on the series. "
Cough, cough, follow up interview, please? Maybe just a quick catch up? Especially since things seem to be heating up between Roman and Deniz, maybe he can give a sneak peak? Is Axel out of the picture or will he be scheming to make things complicated for DeRo? Will Deniz finally mature?
Please, please, please, pretty please? *makes sad puppy eyes*
I love OLTL, and I can't wait to see how this storyline developes. I even watch OLTL when Fish and Kyle isn't on. I am already hooked on the soap, and I only started to watch it one month ago! GTBT looks interesting too. Will definitely keep an eye out for that show when it starts up again. Lucas is adorable.
I've never really gotten into Y&R, the show is just not for me. I am kinda interested in the Phillip and Rafe pairing though.
Anthony, you are just great! Why haven't you gotten your own vlog on here with all the info you track! I, to the dismay of my partner, have placed OLTL on our DVR list because of this column.
Kish is the almost new gay supercouple perhaps or is it just build up? One thing that is confusing me though is that the old Todd Manning is playing another character and the new Todd Manning has no resemblance or chemistry with his ex-wife and former super couple gal Blair!?
I need to catch up on the Rafe/Adam story... And with Thom coming back why not just bring back his former mom in the horribly ungifted Brenda Dixon for a Jill/Jill face off? ;-)
I think they have lots of chemistry. The new Todd did the plastic surgery/coming back under a new identity thing, so the lack of resemblance actually makes a sort of sense.
I think one of the good things about being a new soap viewer is being able to watch the show without the baggage of comparing actors to previous portrayals. So far, the only recast of a character I care about is Noelle Beck stepping into Martha Byrne's Lily, and she did a stellar job. I'm sure that in a few years, I'll be grumbling about the new whippersnappers, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the casts I'm seeing.
He doesn't like the Todd/Blair relationship and it shows. He's a terrible actor anyway. You're lucky you missed the "love story" they told last year where he seduced his old rape victim Marty when she had amnesia.
...complain about the fact that Todd and Blair keep hooking up, and it does kind of show in BOTH of their performances (maybe they don't like each other in real life?). Anyway, I think Trevor St. John does an otherwise fine job as Todd (after seeing Roger Howarth overact excessively as Paul Ryan on ATWT, I find TSJ's underplaying a relief) and he has magnificent chemistry with Florencia Lozano's Téa.
I used to watch OLTL toward the end of college and into my early 20s and loved the Todd Manning phenomenon with Roger Hogwarth. After doing some reading, I see now that he left in 2003 and was later replaced by the current actor. I think I am among the fans who will always prefer the old Todd with the scar. I also read about that horrible plot line they had with New Todd and Marty starting a relationship and was horrified! And now their kids are married?? What?? This Todd also doesn't seem to have the same combination of fun and menace that I loved about Hogwarth. Oh well, so is the way of soaps.
I spent some available time (the commuter train here in DC was atrocious yesterday) catching up on old episodes of OLTL and the Kyle/Oliver (aka Kish) storyline and was really pleased with what I was seeing. A gradual lead up to bring two characters together that makes sense with some hot shirtless straight characters to bookend the story. The scene I liked a lot was the one where Gigi tried to seduce Kyle and he kept saying that she didn't have anything to offer him that he'd want. I think it would be great to have just a romance that didn't have the complications of ATWT gay supercouple and just became something.
I just caught up on the Adam/Rafe storyline and I feel like I'm missing something. What was the past story between Adam and Rafe, there seemed to be something from be4 the June episodes. Also are the feeling from Adam genuine? or was it a ruse to stop Rafe from discovering the box?
This part isn't really a question, but why can't the gay soap characters have there sex scenes, if last week's counted, topless like all the straight couples. It was especially annoying that Adam was shirtless for his scene with a woman directly after and he had taken a shower directly after his encounter with Rafe. Maybe I missed something but that just seemed dumb.
Rafe was Adam's laywer until recently and they became friends. There was some hinting that Rafe was attracted to Adam once it was revealed that Rafe was gay, but it was all subtext as Adam and Rafe never discussed anything personal in any of their scenes until last week when Adam hit on Rafe. No, Adam is not attracted to Rafe. Adam's not even gay... at least that's what the show is saying at this point, even though a lot of fans would love for Adam and Rafe to be a real couple. It's all just a ruse that got out of control.
It makes much more sense that adam isn't gay, or at least closest/conflicted especially with his feeling of disgust after being with Rafe, the shower and calling his girlfriend over immediately for sex. Thank you :].
Bummer! Really! About the season 3 not going to happen. Happy though about a possibility of "Clara Sheller - the movie"! YAY! If Europe seems to be a bit more 'modern' with gay sexual scenes on TV and movies, I have to say - pardon to my French neighbours - that I always thought France was just that little bit more prude, than let's say Germany and the UK or even Spain. I won't mention Belgium, because Belgium is kind of a noman's land when it comes to popular series.. There is not much going on and the only Belgian good actors we have 'run off' to France or further..
So far I appear to be alone in my feelings, but I can't say I care much for Lucas, despite having been excited by the build-up. I think he's just a little too aggressively "youth culture" for my tastes. He reminds me of too many of the students from my subbing days, and not the ones I actually liked. I just want to jerk that cockeyed baseball cap off of his head and tell him to stop being a smartass. :)
Quote:
Ah, sweet sweet cross-media promotion! If you thought Christian and Olli are on their way to bow out- think again! On July 10th, DasErste has Germany's favorite fictional gay couple start a videoblog. All that in combination with what sounds like an engaging storyline for our boys means Ollian - or Chrolli, if you're so inclined - are still going strong. Unquote
As for the Dutch Soap
I love that Lucas acts his age. He's charming and funny and a bit cocky but he's also been living in NYC and that's kinda how we roll (gays and all) so it makes sense that he might behave a bit differently (though I think Dex's sister could go toe for toe with Lucas)
Generally speaking when it comes to gays on TV, I'd take 5 slighty cocky young gay men over 1 meek or tormented, self-hating young gay man anyday. Being a gay teen doesn't have to make you miserable and angsty and it's nice to see that depicted.
So far Lucas has only been in a couple episodes so we don't really know what he's like in all situations but he was very sweet to his sister and his mom so I'm looking forward to more of him in September (Yay MarkDutchViewer)
"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)
I only hope the writers give them a good storyline, or at least a storyline, because they are nowhere to be found all this year, and it's a pity not take profit of their talent and their amazing chemistry
"so I'm looking forward to more of him in September (Yay MarkDutchViewer)"
Thanks. But my YT channel for Lucas is GTSTfanMark. ;-)
I love Lucas' character. Yeah, he's a little cocky, but like you said, he was very sweet to his sister. Especially when she heard who was responsible for the gas explosion that left her partially paralyzed. Lucas said the right words to calm her down.
I fixed the channel info it in one of my other posts about your channel but this system doesn't let you go back and change anything after someone has replied to your post so I'm glad you showed up. I don't Yay. I so appreciate you!
"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)
I haven't seen DOOL lately but I heard he has a bad haircut and bad veneers. Is that true? Anyway, he looks so damn hot in those photos. I'm glad he's off horrible AMC.
Did you hear about Nelson Branco, who went on about how great the Adam/Rafe story was going to be, is now calling for Yani Gellman to be fired and saying they need to recast with someone who looks older? Of course it's never the writing's fault.
Syed is such an unpleasant person, as is Christian. I think EE just doesn't know how to write for couples.
I think he was glad for how good it would be when Chris Engen was still in the role, not MM. I'm really enjoying MM and I think he's a very talented actor, but with this recast, it makes Yani's youthful appearance glaring and hurts the story. I don't have a problem with his acting. He's fine for what he is asked to do. But he looks like a teenager compared to Micheal Muhney... and well, how will he look next to Thom Beirdz? I'm usually not one to call for an actor to be fired, even one I can't stand, but I now feel the role does call for someone older. I think Rafe should be 30-ish.
As for Syed and Christian, they're not the most likeable people.... but I don't think they have to be. I do like the story and I want to see where it goes. I do wish the show would move along at a steady pace rather than barrel along, nothing happens for a week or two, then make gigantic leaps and bounds. The upcoming EE spoilers for (which I won't reveal here) are a prime example of the mistakes the show is making in telling that story. But more on that in the next GOOL.
I usually enjoy Branco's insights, but his comments regarding Yani Gellman were totally wrong-headed--the problem isn't Gellman's portrayal of Rafe, which is fine, but the fact that the writers failed to give him anything to do to really establish the character.
But, like you say, Gellman's youthful appearance wasn't a problem when he was acting opposite Chris Engen, but Michael Muhney appears nearly a decade older than Engen, which strikes me as the miscasting mistake (I'm so-so on his acting as of yet).
As for pairing the youthful-looking Rafe with the older P3, I don't know, it'll depend on the chemistry between the actors. Besides, Y&R has a history of pairing older men with younger women, AND older-younger pairings do exist in gay relationships, so let's wait and see.
Not to mention JT-Colleen, which upset a lot of people at the time, but has been accepted. And given that Rafe IS a practicing lawyer, it's not like he's being written as some kid Adam snatched off the playground.
.... I don't have a problem at all with May/December romances, don't get me wrong. Rafe is supposedly late 20-ish. That would be okay if the actor looked that old. Rafe had a scene with Noah last week and it looked like they should be classmates. That's the issue. I'm just saying that if Rafe looks too young for Adam, I wonder how he'll look with Phillip, who is very handsome, but he's 40ish. I just hope the audience isn't put off by that is all. Then again, so much depends on chemistry and the story. If the chemistry is hot and the story compelling, none of that will really matter. So I guess we'll just have to see. Soaps do have a long history of May/December relationships. Especially this show.
A lot of people think Mac's current portrayer Clementine Ford should be replaced because she looks too old for the role eventhough she is only a couple years older than the character is supposed to be. They've gotten a makeup routine down for her where she doesn't look that much strikingly older than the actor that plays Billy, but it is noticeable in certain scenes. MM certainly ooks older than he is and than what Adam should be. If he was standing next to his on screen brother Nick, I'd think Adam was the older of the two when that is not the case. I think there are things they Rafe to look older. Better fitting suits would be a start. He seems to be swimming in them. A different hairsyle and a bit of facial hair would go a long way to help Rafe look more in line with the current Adam's "facial" age. If CE was still playing Adam I think this would have played off a bit better. Still the whole thing overall is very intriguing and I want to see what happens next.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
Although Muhney and Rafe have good chemistry and Muhney/Adam makes it work because he actually is not a bad actor. What I think works against them though is that Rafe is significantly shorter than Adam so it makes angling scenes a little awkward... not that I have anything against short men (yum!). I think the later romance of Thom and Rafe will work because I was noticing how short he is and how they usually shoot scenes so far with him further away from the camera in staging to make him look taller than he is with Nina and other actors. The height factor will work better for kissing scenes and a more intimate nature I think. Chemistry though will have to take over after that...
I've seen Yani Gellman in different roles and he looks older or younger depending upon how he's dressed and what his hair and facial hair situation is. The idea that he needs to be recast because he looks "too young" is just crazy to me. That's why you have costuming, hair and makeup folks.
I think some viewers just have weird, limited ideas about what people are supposed to look like at a given age and are projecting them onto this character.
To me, Rafe looks like and acts like a grown man and as with most actualy humans, you can't just tell their age from looking at them.
I don't know how old the characters are supposed to be but Michael Muhney just turned 34, Yani Gellman will be 24 in September. That's 10 years.
If their characters are supposed to be of a similar age range to that of the actors, I don't see what the fuss is about.
10 years apart is a pretty common age range for people involved in a relationship on a soap (and in real life).
I think both actors are doing a fine job with the dialogue and direction they've been given. I think Rafe is SUPPOSED To be a mystery to us. We don't actually know what's going on in his head and we shouldn't (at this point) be able to tell just from his interactions with Adam.
Maybe some people are just frustrated from wanting to "get on with" the couple drama Rafe will no doubt face once he has an actual romantic storyline but I'm really enjoying this cat and mouse thing.
I love the starkness of it. The way so little happens but it has such a big meaning for Adam's overal storyarc. The mystery of what Rafe is thinking/doing and how much he knows or suspects about Adam.
Michael Muhney drew me into the character in a way that the previous actor never did (well before I found out about his leaving).
We've seen Rafe be warm, confident, funny and inviting with Colleen and Lily and in other scenes so we know that his cautious, hesitant, uneven way of relating to Adam isn't the only way he is.
"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)
of someone who blame Jake Silbermann for how light Nuke sex scene was.
The truth is that is not only him the one who criticise Gellman, and i have to agree that his performance is not exactly the best. But the truth is that his character is not developed, and that's the writer's fault not his. And yes, he looks like a kid with nuAdam, but it's not his fault that they made a much older actor as recast.
Both Michael and Yani need time, but the truth is the storyline makes difficult to make the character beliable
Anthony...another great blog. And you were off the charts this week with some of your witty comments.
I so agree with you regarding Leon having to be blind, deaf and dumb to find Sean alluring. Also, your comment about the smile being wiped off Leon's face when he sees Sean naked in the bathtub almost had me peeing myself with laughter. I just cannot stomach the Sean character on Corri. And what makes it worse is when Mr Cotton is seen on TV out of character, it's as though he's still in character. Him and Sean are one of the same, i'm sure. And thanks for the good laugh about the constipated look on Noah's face. So very true.
Still crushing big time on Ollian. Love this couple to death. And looking forward to their up and coming storyline. Still think they're the best gay couple on TV. And Jo and Thore still have that amazing chemistry. So pleased that they are going to have an ongoing blog. Nice acknowlegement from the VL team of the importance of the Olli and Christian characters.
As for the latest US offerings of gay storylines...i'm not going to bother since I just feel they are too affraid to really delve into a true gay relationship storyline. After Luke and Noah, I ain't going to waste my time. I'm sure OLTL and Y@R will give their gay characters plenty of screen time, but to what effect? And of what quality? I hope they do better than Luke and Noah, but I'm not holding my breath.
by 
Thanks Anthony
As the world turns
ATWT
I'm one of the few people who actually seems to enjoy watching ATWT, despite acknowledging its flaws, but I don't think people have any kind of obligation to withhold their negative opinions out of any kind of historic respect. That means they should be mentioned positively in any kind of retrospective of gays on television, not that people should pretend the experience of watching it is any better than they think it is.
I do sometimes wish I could just have a pleasant conversation about a show I enjoy watching, but the fact is that's just not going to happen, and the naysayers withholding their opinions is just going to result in empty boards, not positive conversation.
I WIsh I Could Agree....
I understand that ATWT and Luke and Noah were first and broke new ground and I acknowledge that. They deserve kudos for that and they can go down in history for that. But I don't think I'm under any obligation to go 'easy' on them just because of they were first. I think it's up to ATWT to continue to break new ground with Luke and Noah and show people the way rather than continue to give viewers different variations of the same material for the past 2 years. And if they can't break new ground at least entertiain us. They can't be bothered to even do that. I'm hoping the Mason storyline will at least be interesting. But given this show's track record and what I'm starting to hear about the story and where it's going, I'm not hopeful.
In regards to Thom Beirdz's performance, it was shaky to be sure, but I try and give 'new' actors a bit of time to adjust and gel in the role before making comment so I'm going to be a little patient. But given that Jake has been in the role for over two years and this is still what we're getting from him, my patience wore thin a long time ago and is now just frustration.
For once
i agree with Anthony about last weeks episode of ATWT, it was rushed, bad writen, and bad acted. But i think it's quite harsh in comparision. Maybe i'm in the minority, but i don't think Y&R Adam-Rafe is good at all, for me it's like a bad Nuke storyline but with less chemistry. I can make excuses for Michael, because it'll be very hard starts a new character at that point of the storyline, but Yani is bad, bad, bad, i don't know if it's the underdevelopment of the character, or just he is in the Silbermann's league (with the difference that Jake has really good chemistry with his partner).
About OLTL, right now it's really good, but that's the easy part. I'll wait to judge till they become a real couple.
I'm i think if Mason it's just there to make the love triangle i'll quit of ATWT. I don't like love triangles at all, but if they want one, at least they have to take the time to build one. And come on, Nuke sexual life isn't exactly steamy, how can they deal with an Noah's affair? have they the intention to make it sexless? Because if Noah has more action with Mason than with Luke (after two years) i think their fans will have reason to be ballistic. And if Noah - Mason affair will be sexless (like Adam-Rafe one), i predict Nelson Branco will blame Jake (again).
By the way, it's imposible to know the direction this storyline will take, because Forbes March say something different in every interview
Radam vs. Nuke
?? Of all the ways someone could criticize Radam, they're like a bad Nuke storyline? I can't possibly imagine any storyline LESS like Nuke. Frankly, unless they both got amnesia and wound up in a city no one knew either of them, I can't imagine how Nuke could wind up in a situation even vaguely like this.
And chemistry is in the eye of the beholder. I think they've got a very shivvery, creepy, ohmygodisitoveryet kind of chemistry. Which is exactly what they need for this story.
When i said
like a bad Nuke storyline, i refer to boring, Y&R Adam storyline (even without Rafe) it's too soapy for me, all they gay content is unbeliable. I can excuse Michael, even i don't buy it it's probably because he is just in middle of the storyline out of nowhere, but Yani is truly bad, even worse that Jake at the begining of Nuke. He just doesn't show any emotion. I think all the storyline is very bad writen, i expect something quite better from the suposed best soap (frankly the little i watch from OLTL is better than this, but i don't judge because maybe the other storylines are better).
And the chemistry, i just don't feel it at all, with the change of Adam, the couple just simple don't match, Rafe looks like a teen in comparision with the nuAdam, and this will be even worse when he will paired with Phyliip. If they invest something more in Rafe character before the begining of this storyline this will be better, but right now it only seems like a story made for the shock value. In fact, for me don't even make sense that they have sex (that was a very bad scene) only to avoid Rafe to discover something, that was only something out of the blue make to create scandal on their conservative audience. In fact i'm starting to think that CE did the right thing when he left, because the Adam character just don't make sense
Well, i really hope that Kish works when they start as a couple (that will be the real test), because i don't think i really get on the Y&R one, and it's obvious that P&G desist of ATWT
Hmm...
I see where you are coming from regarding Radam. We don't know much about Rafe, that is true. And yes, this Rafe/Adam "relationship" is being played largely for the controversy factor. However, I think it is best that I don't think of them as a couple. This very much is a game of power that is being played and sex is the commodity being used. Such a classic soap opera staple.
Adam is a lot like his father in certain respects. Victor was/is ruthless and cruel and not above manipulating people to get what he wants. And knowing how ruthless his father is, Adam is scrambling for his life. Literally. When it all comes to light what he's been upto and what he's done, it will be like a nuclear bomb went off and he'll be lucky to come out alive when the dust settles. His plan got out of hand and went further than he wanted it to. Now he's scrambling to stay afloat, trying to survive. Adam having sex with Rafe was a desperate act. People do things they never thought they would do when desperate. This being a soap, you take certain things with a grain of salt as a straight guy having sex with a gay guy to cover his tracks is not an everyday occurance for most of us. However, I do think something like this comes from a true life human perspective when someone thinks their life is on the line and they'll do anything to preserve it. Thinking of Adam in this perspective helps me to swallow this turn of events a bit easier. The real sticking point is is Rafe this dumb or is there something more that he's upto regarding this situation?
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
Maybe because i don't know how the show works
but i find quite easy to distract Rafe, hire a couple of goons to bash him or robbed his apartment than have sex with him.
It's curious that Nelson Branco find in Yani his new Jake Silbermann. He bash Yani a lot in his last colum, saying that the show must recast his role. As i say, i'm far from being a fan of his work now, but he is not exactly quilty of all, first if he looks like a teen with nuAdam is because they recast an actor who is a much older than his character, and second, great part of Yani's poor performances are because the bad writing of his character (well, more the lack of writing). But of course Branco don't criticize the writers. If he consider Jake the guilty of the soft Nuke sex scene, it's not a surprise that he finds Yani quilty of all this
ATWT is in a really sad state.
I've been more positive than Anthony about recent ATWT plotlines, but the return of Col Mayer was just horribly done. The witing and directing was not just poor, it was lazy (The fugitive runs around in fatigues with his name on them!?!) Worse, the acting, which in the past has rescued some of the writing, varied from phoned-in at best to cringe-inducing at worst.
It can't be easy to work on a show with slashed budgets and a likely cancellation looming, but if last week represents the new standard for ATWT, that's depressing.
It's awful
I agree with you. I think it's really terrible what they are doing with the show. If they are going to cancell it, at least they can try to give a good taste for the fans.
Bring back the Col for thre rushed episodes it¡s absurd. Any of the people who write Nuke fanfic is able to do something better.
And i fear for the actors, Van is very talented but he only has a couple of theatre plays, and such an iconic character as Luke can be heavy as a stone for his career. I really hope he can make a film or a prime time character before ATWT ends
Such A Waste
I think bring Col Mayer back at this point was a waste. It was so rushed. Why bring him back at all if his big plan a pile of swiss cheese. And we got no real aftermath of his maniacal return? No final confrontation between father and son as dad is carted off to jail? No scene of Luke trying to comfort Noah knowing his dad is alive and kicking and that he sent him, even deservedly so, to prison? Such missed opportunity for some good character beats. It was totally used to prop up the Adam/Riley/Hughes family drama. I think the break neck speed of storylines and sloppy writting really hurt this show overall.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
Killing Katrina Ghent...
That move by the show was appalling. It's just so unnatural. This is the woman who managed to make herself rich out of cynical men, to buy and muscle her way through a position on the ministry, and to get all the cards on the queen and her pressure points.
This woman was shrewd, and they expect us to believe that she would be disposed of so easily? It gets to the point where I expect her comeback in the end, because I simply can't believe they offed her.
The progression of that storyline was so jarring. I mean, on one half of the storyline, Jack wants bloody revenge on his mother. On the next, he makes no qualms of his mother having offed his key player to revenge on the mother who killed his one and only love; he actually seems to forget all about it toward the latter half! He marries a girl his mother likes instead, and just seems to return to being cooperative. Not to mention the flirting with some boy shortly afterwards.
Katrina Ghent was obviously thought out as a long term character. You just don't go through so many episodes of introducing a character just to willy nilly kill them offscreen. It's a pity that the canceling of the show led to this very contrived development.
I was supremely disappointed by this Kings episode.
Yes.....
Kings made sense to me
It's not the first time Jack has hooked up with that particular guard - he invited him up to his apartment once before as the guard drove him home, and it obviously wasn't the first time he'd been asked to stay.
Was Jack being a little blatant snuggling with him in front of his fiance? I think that's deliberate - after the past few weeks of forcefully coming out to his mother when his lover died, then being given the marriage out by Katrina, which he decided worked for him as a convenience, it made total sense to me he'd be cocky about having his cake and eating it too.
As for the dismissive way he approached it with the little fiance - she needs to understand her place, just as the Queen told her - she's a womb for the bloodline, and nothing more. They tied Jack & the Queen's agendas together perfectly, and illustrated the new status quo for dealing with a gay first son. I thought it was brilliant.
Total Mistake
I was really getting into Kings these past four or so episodes. I was starting to think they made a mistake in cancelling it. But then they started to make some strange choices. I was miffed that Jacks' BF Joseph "killed himself" but thought Jack coming out to the Queen was a step of him being who he was openly in the public eye. That was squashed. Then they go and kill off Katrina Ghent after that nice juicy exchange she had with the Ice Queen? Puzzling to say the least. I think the Queen is more deliciously evil than even Silas and was looking forward to someone of Katrina's stature trying to take her on. Now I don't know if I want to finish out the season. I find David to be totally unappealing as a character and even moreso with that drab Michelle. Silas, Jack and the Queen are where it is at.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
mr. langford...
i have a question sir.... do you know what ever happened to ztube31? i am dying to watch the rest of the episodes of LE BLEUS... i know that the relationshiop of kevin and yann wasn't as prominent as in season 1, but i still want to know what happened between the two. i hope someone would take over the reins and translate season two for us. and i miss clara sheller too but season two ended just the way i wanted it to be so i am happy knowing that gilles and jp are happy together!
kyle and fish is the most intriguing gay couple in soapdome!!! and they haven't even acknowledged their attraction for each other yet!!!! both actors are a chemistry match made in gay heaven. i hope they would make it really complex and sexy!!!! kyle is hot!!! both actors are hot!!! love them both.. i hope the show won't chicken out on their love scenes together.
oli and christian are dead to me - this coming from one of the biggest olian fan in the world.... the wallflowers have wilted!!!! it's not cute anymore. the writers are wasting jo and thore's time and talent.
i am glad that american soaps are waking up... better late than never - and we're seriously kicking europe's ass right now with all that's happening!!!!! can't believe i would live to see that day (now if only this would also be true in reality - i.e. in politics) hey i can dream, can't i?
Good Times Bad Times
I think it's so smart of the show to introduce Lucas during the last week of the season as a teaser for next season. Same for Elizabeth Hubbard's character Sair.
I loved Lucas' reintroduction to the show a lot. But then again, I love basically the whole show. Only the characters Bing and Lorena are getting on my nerves. You'll get to see Lucas in a scene with Bing, because the actor playing Bing tweeted that he was going to film his first scene with Ferry. This doesn't mean they're in a storyline together. The character on this show is really great.
ATWT has beyond jumped the
ATWT has beyond jumped the shark with Luke and Noah. I easily concede that but for Luke Snyder, Noah Mayer, Van Hansis, Jake Silbermann and ATWT, there would be no upcoming Professor Mason, OLTL's Ollie Fish and Kyle Lewis, and Y&R's Adam Wilson, Rafael Torres and Phillip Chancellor III. ATWT has earned its place in U.S. daytime TV history for blazing the trail for gay male couples and no one can take that away from the show, the characters and the actors who portray Luke and Noah. But ATWT is not doing anybody any favors by churning out one bad story after another for Luke and Noah. I'm not even expecting anything anymore with the introduction of Mason based on the storytelling history for Noah and Luke. Here's hoping that Y&R and OLTL will succeed where ATWT has failed -- in telling good, engaging stories with characters that we care about. (My heart already skips a beat for Ollie Fish and Kyle Lewis, but Adam Wilson, Rafe Torres and Phillip Chancellor III have also greatly piqued my interest.)
Speaking of characters to care about, I still happen to love Ollian and cannot wait for their upcoming storyline even if VL does its arcs only in a handful of episodes. It beats seeing Luke and Noah "facing together" whatever their lame crisis du jour is. It's refreshing and realistic to see Olli and Christian navigate their relationships both as lovers and as employer/employee. It's a helluva lot better than watching a rich kid and his college student boyfriend dealing with a psychotic homophobic Army dad who has a very unhealthy obsession with his live gay son, that's for sure.
Wow! Loved
the clip from GTBT. Wish I had easy access to it because it looked like a fun show. I really liked Lucas and his sister's easy relationship. Loved how everyone was so non-chalant about Dex possibly being gay and his sister's teasing. Refreshing change from the usual coming out stories as whatever issues Dex has internal rather than external.
And gee they used the word penis and made a joke about being well endowed like people that actually live in the 21st century instead of the 1950's land that American soaps perpetually inhabit.
Good Times Bad Times aka Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden
This you tube channel follows the storyline of Lucas, Dex and Nina
http://www.youtube.com/user/GTSTfanMark
"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)
The only good thing about Nuke
Is that they are bucking the trend of the multiple marriages. It used to be that only one or two characters per soap did the Liz/Zsa Zsa thing, others had long-term relationships that played out over years.
Instead of doing what they've done to Holden and Lily (the characters have married/divorced/cheated pretty much yearly since the early 90's), they are going back to the old format of giving a super-couple challenges that they face together. That being said, however, I find the stories ridiculous, trite and amazingly short, and the actors not really showing their talents at their best.
Bring on Kish! Or Rallip (Phafe?).
"Tom Chroust, who was
"Tom Chroust, who was responsible for the wildly popular Christian/Olli love story on Forbidden Love (wonder how he’d feel about what has been done – or not done – to his couple), has been working as a writer on All That Matters for the past year or so and recently was promoted to head writer on the series. "
Cough, cough, follow up interview, please? Maybe just a quick catch up? Especially since things seem to be heating up between Roman and Deniz, maybe he can give a sneak peak? Is Axel out of the picture or will he be scheming to make things complicated for DeRo? Will Deniz finally mature?
Please, please, please, pretty please? *makes sad puppy eyes*
I love OLTL!
I love OLTL, and I can't wait to see how this storyline developes. I even watch OLTL when Fish and Kyle isn't on. I am already hooked on the soap, and I only started to watch it one month ago! GTBT looks interesting too. Will definitely keep an eye out for that show when it starts up again. Lucas is adorable.
I've never really gotten into Y&R, the show is just not for me. I am kinda interested in the Phillip and Rafe pairing though.
Harvey Milk: You gotta give 'em hope.
Yeah GOOL!
Anthony, you are just great! Why haven't you gotten your own vlog on here with all the info you track! I, to the dismay of my partner, have placed OLTL on our DVR list because of this column.
Kish is the almost new gay supercouple perhaps or is it just build up? One thing that is confusing me though is that the old Todd Manning is playing another character and the new Todd Manning has no resemblance or chemistry with his ex-wife and former super couple gal Blair!?
I need to catch up on the Rafe/Adam story... And with Thom coming back why not just bring back his former mom in the horribly ungifted Brenda Dixon for a Jill/Jill face off? ;-)
Todd and Blair
I think they have lots of chemistry. The new Todd did the plastic surgery/coming back under a new identity thing, so the lack of resemblance actually makes a sort of sense.
I think one of the good things about being a new soap viewer is being able to watch the show without the baggage of comparing actors to previous portrayals. So far, the only recast of a character I care about is Noelle Beck stepping into Martha Byrne's Lily, and she did a stellar job. I'm sure that in a few years, I'll be grumbling about the new whippersnappers, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the casts I'm seeing.
Trevor St. John
I've heard both TSJ and Kassie DePaiva...
Todd/Marty... and some Kish talk
I used to watch OLTL toward the end of college and into my early 20s and loved the Todd Manning phenomenon with Roger Hogwarth. After doing some reading, I see now that he left in 2003 and was later replaced by the current actor. I think I am among the fans who will always prefer the old Todd with the scar. I also read about that horrible plot line they had with New Todd and Marty starting a relationship and was horrified! And now their kids are married?? What?? This Todd also doesn't seem to have the same combination of fun and menace that I loved about Hogwarth. Oh well, so is the way of soaps.
I spent some available time (the commuter train here in DC was atrocious yesterday) catching up on old episodes of OLTL and the Kyle/Oliver (aka Kish) storyline and was really pleased with what I was seeing. A gradual lead up to bring two characters together that makes sense with some hot shirtless straight characters to bookend the story. The scene I liked a lot was the one where Gigi tried to seduce Kyle and he kept saying that she didn't have anything to offer him that he'd want. I think it would be great to have just a romance that didn't have the complications of ATWT gay supercouple and just became something.
oops
double post...darn buttons!
Física o química and gay pride
Y&R question
I just caught up on the Adam/Rafe storyline and I feel like I'm missing something. What was the past story between Adam and Rafe, there seemed to be something from be4 the June episodes. Also are the feeling from Adam genuine? or was it a ruse to stop Rafe from discovering the box?
This part isn't really a question, but why can't the gay soap characters have there sex scenes, if last week's counted, topless like all the straight couples. It was especially annoying that Adam was shirtless for his scene with a woman directly after and he had taken a shower directly after his encounter with Rafe. Maybe I missed something but that just seemed dumb.
Adam and Rafe....
Thank you
It makes much more sense that adam isn't gay, or at least closest/conflicted especially with his feeling of disgust after being with Rafe, the shower and calling his girlfriend over immediately for sex. Thank you :].
Clara Sheller..
Bummer! Really! About the season 3 not going to happen. Happy though about a possibility of "Clara Sheller - the movie"! YAY! If Europe seems to be a bit more 'modern' with gay sexual scenes on TV and movies, I have to say - pardon to my French neighbours - that I always thought France was just that little bit more prude, than let's say Germany and the UK or even Spain. I won't mention Belgium, because Belgium is kind of a noman's land when it comes to popular series.. There is not much going on and the only Belgian good actors we have 'run off' to France or further..
So looking forward to Kyle and Fish!!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
R.I.P. Heath
JEFFREY WRIGHT for "MLK Jr" biopic!
Lucas
Christian and Olli VideoBlog (Thanks Gays of Daytime)
CHROLLI VIDEO BLOG (Adorable Teaser!)
http://mediathek.daserste.de/daserste/servlet/content/2668692?pageId=487872&moduleId=439104&categoryId=&goto=1&show=
According to Wolfi over at Gays of Daytime,
As for the Dutch Soap I love that Lucas acts his age. He's charming and funny and a bit cocky but he's also been living in NYC and that's kinda how we roll (gays and all) so it makes sense that he might behave a bit differently (though I think Dex's sister could go toe for toe with Lucas)
Generally speaking when it comes to gays on TV, I'd take 5 slighty cocky young gay men over 1 meek or tormented, self-hating young gay man anyday. Being a gay teen doesn't have to make you miserable and angsty and it's nice to see that depicted.
So far Lucas has only been in a couple episodes so we don't really know what he's like in all situations but he was very sweet to his sister and his mom so I'm looking forward to more of him in September (Yay MarkDutchViewer)
"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)
The video blog is really nice
"so I'm looking
"so I'm looking forward to more of him in September (Yay MarkDutchViewer)"
Thanks. But my YT channel for Lucas is GTSTfanMark. ;-)
I love Lucas' character. Yeah, he's a little cocky, but like you said, he was very sweet to his sister. Especially when she heard who was responsible for the gas explosion that left her partially paralyzed. Lucas said the right words to calm her down.
OOPSIE!
Ooo, MDV/F, you're like a secret agent!
I fixed the channel info it in one of my other posts about your channel but this system doesn't let you go back and change anything after someone has replied to your post so I'm glad you showed up. I don't Yay. I so appreciate you!
"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)
James Scott!
I haven't seen DOOL lately but I heard he has a bad haircut and bad veneers. Is that true? Anyway, he looks so damn hot in those photos. I'm glad he's off horrible AMC.
Did you hear about Nelson Branco, who went on about how great the Adam/Rafe story was going to be, is now calling for Yani Gellman to be fired and saying they need to recast with someone who looks older? Of course it's never the writing's fault.
Syed is such an unpleasant person, as is Christian. I think EE just doesn't know how to write for couples.
NB
I think he was glad for how good it would be when Chris Engen was still in the role, not MM. I'm really enjoying MM and I think he's a very talented actor, but with this recast, it makes Yani's youthful appearance glaring and hurts the story. I don't have a problem with his acting. He's fine for what he is asked to do. But he looks like a teenager compared to Micheal Muhney... and well, how will he look next to Thom Beirdz? I'm usually not one to call for an actor to be fired, even one I can't stand, but I now feel the role does call for someone older. I think Rafe should be 30-ish.
As for Syed and Christian, they're not the most likeable people.... but I don't think they have to be. I do like the story and I want to see where it goes. I do wish the show would move along at a steady pace rather than barrel along, nothing happens for a week or two, then make gigantic leaps and bounds. The upcoming EE spoilers for (which I won't reveal here) are a prime example of the mistakes the show is making in telling that story. But more on that in the next GOOL.
Then recast Adam, not Rafe
I usually enjoy Branco's insights, but his comments regarding Yani Gellman were totally wrong-headed--the problem isn't Gellman's portrayal of Rafe, which is fine, but the fact that the writers failed to give him anything to do to really establish the character.
But, like you say, Gellman's youthful appearance wasn't a problem when he was acting opposite Chris Engen, but Michael Muhney appears nearly a decade older than Engen, which strikes me as the miscasting mistake (I'm so-so on his acting as of yet).
As for pairing the youthful-looking Rafe with the older P3, I don't know, it'll depend on the chemistry between the actors. Besides, Y&R has a history of pairing older men with younger women, AND older-younger pairings do exist in gay relationships, so let's wait and see.
Older-Younger
I Don't..
Clementine Ford Too
A lot of people think Mac's current portrayer Clementine Ford should be replaced because she looks too old for the role eventhough she is only a couple years older than the character is supposed to be. They've gotten a makeup routine down for her where she doesn't look that much strikingly older than the actor that plays Billy, but it is noticeable in certain scenes. MM certainly ooks older than he is and than what Adam should be. If he was standing next to his on screen brother Nick, I'd think Adam was the older of the two when that is not the case. I think there are things they Rafe to look older. Better fitting suits would be a start. He seems to be swimming in them. A different hairsyle and a bit of facial hair would go a long way to help Rafe look more in line with the current Adam's "facial" age. If CE was still playing Adam I think this would have played off a bit better. Still the whole thing overall is very intriguing and I want to see what happens next.
Once upon a time I died. And like my namesake I got better.
The Height Factor
Although Muhney and Rafe have good chemistry and Muhney/Adam makes it work because he actually is not a bad actor. What I think works against them though is that Rafe is significantly shorter than Adam so it makes angling scenes a little awkward... not that I have anything against short men (yum!). I think the later romance of Thom and Rafe will work because I was noticing how short he is and how they usually shoot scenes so far with him further away from the camera in staging to make him look taller than he is with Nina and other actors. The height factor will work better for kissing scenes and a more intimate nature I think. Chemistry though will have to take over after that...
How singularly innocent I look this morning.
Appearances
I've seen Yani Gellman in different roles and he looks older or younger depending upon how he's dressed and what his hair and facial hair situation is. The idea that he needs to be recast because he looks "too young" is just crazy to me. That's why you have costuming, hair and makeup folks.
I think some viewers just have weird, limited ideas about what people are supposed to look like at a given age and are projecting them onto this character.
To me, Rafe looks like and acts like a grown man and as with most actualy humans, you can't just tell their age from looking at them.
I don't know how old the characters are supposed to be but Michael Muhney just turned 34, Yani Gellman will be 24 in September. That's 10 years.
If their characters are supposed to be of a similar age range to that of the actors, I don't see what the fuss is about.
10 years apart is a pretty common age range for people involved in a relationship on a soap (and in real life).
I think both actors are doing a fine job with the dialogue and direction they've been given. I think Rafe is SUPPOSED To be a mystery to us. We don't actually know what's going on in his head and we shouldn't (at this point) be able to tell just from his interactions with Adam.
Maybe some people are just frustrated from wanting to "get on with" the couple drama Rafe will no doubt face once he has an actual romantic storyline but I'm really enjoying this cat and mouse thing.
I love the starkness of it. The way so little happens but it has such a big meaning for Adam's overal storyarc. The mystery of what Rafe is thinking/doing and how much he knows or suspects about Adam.
Michael Muhney drew me into the character in a way that the previous actor never did (well before I found out about his leaving).
We've seen Rafe be warm, confident, funny and inviting with Colleen and Lily and in other scenes so we know that his cautious, hesitant, uneven way of relating to Adam isn't the only way he is.
"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)
You can't expect somthing better
of someone who blame Jake Silbermann for how light Nuke sex scene was.
The truth is that is not only him the one who criticise Gellman, and i have to agree that his performance is not exactly the best. But the truth is that his character is not developed, and that's the writer's fault not his. And yes, he looks like a kid with nuAdam, but it's not his fault that they made a much older actor as recast.
Both Michael and Yani need time, but the truth is the storyline makes difficult to make the character beliable
Anthony...another great
Anthony...another great blog. And you were off the charts this week with some of your witty comments.
I so agree with you regarding Leon having to be blind, deaf and dumb to find Sean alluring. Also, your comment about the smile being wiped off Leon's face when he sees Sean naked in the bathtub almost had me peeing myself with laughter. I just cannot stomach the Sean character on Corri. And what makes it worse is when Mr Cotton is seen on TV out of character, it's as though he's still in character. Him and Sean are one of the same, i'm sure. And thanks for the good laugh about the constipated look on Noah's face. So very true.
Still crushing big time on Ollian. Love this couple to death. And looking forward to their up and coming storyline. Still think they're the best gay couple on TV. And Jo and Thore still have that amazing chemistry. So pleased that they are going to have an ongoing blog. Nice acknowlegement from the VL team of the importance of the Olli and Christian characters.
As for the latest US offerings of gay storylines...i'm not going to bother since I just feel they are too affraid to really delve into a true gay relationship storyline. After Luke and Noah, I ain't going to waste my time. I'm sure OLTL and Y@R will give their gay characters plenty of screen time, but to what effect? And of what quality? I hope they do better than Luke and Noah, but I'm not holding my breath.