Gays of our Lives (November 24, 2008)

Gossip Girl – Barely there Eric put in a noticeable appearance in last week’s Gossip Girl when he found out his boyfriend was cheating on him … thanks to his stepfather Bart, who, like every controlling patriarch, has files on everybody in his and his families’ lives. Don’t we all wish we could have that hot new guy we like investigated before we put too much effort into the relationship? Think of all the time we’d save!

Eric: "You mean my boyfriend had a tattoo THERE?
I didn’t know that… I never even got to first base!"

Eric’s stepbrother, bad boy Chuck (who is BTW, my favorite character on the show) gleefully tantalized sweet Eric with the lure of even more secrets in Bart’s possession. Eric couldn’t resist and literally opened a Pandora’s box of secrets and lies about his mother’s past that will come to play out over the course of the season (and we’ll have spoilers about it in next week’s GOOL). It was nice to see Eric growing and developing as a person, not to mention taking on an active role in the twists and turns of the show’s plot. Let’s hope that continues as well as him getting a new boyfriend … once Bart has him checked out, of course.

As The World Turns – Can someone just give it to Van Hansis? The Emmy, that is. Hansis, as virginal gay teen Luke Snyder, is lighting up the screen these days as his character continues to spiral downward in the wake of his expulsion and his painful breakup with Noah. On Tuesday’s episode, he went on a bender, picking fights with his bud Casey, insulting everyone with his razor sharp tongue and generally being self-destructive. Those scenes may have been Hansis’ best work to date. And all that was before the kiss from Luke’s new grandpappy Brian!

Luke: "Hey, no tongue. I went out with Noah a year before I let him get that far!"

Luke is falling apart before our very eyes and while it may be tough to watch, it is making for riveting television. I do have a couple of caveats: since when did Holden and Lily not stick their nose in Luke’s life? Even when things are going well, they’re up in his business, so why, when his life is a disaster, do they have a ‘hands off’ attitude? Given their close bond with Luke, it’s completely out of character for both of them. And what’s up with Noah regarding his attitude toward Luke? Two weeks ago he was the love of your life. Now you can’t stand to be around him, giving him the brush-off even as his grandmother could be dying? You can’t even offer Luke a hug, Noah? Yeesh.

SPOILERS

River City – Manu’s plan to get rid of the baby comes to fruition when Marty, the father, shows up and wants his baby back. But things quickly go awry when Marty ends up kidnapping the child. Can Scott get the baby back? And what happens when Scott learns what Manu has done? Calling Dr. Phil!

Hollyoaks – The Jolly Roger, the new gay bar in town, opens for business and new best buds Ravi and Russ (pictured below) are two of its first few patrons.