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Anthony D. Langford

Gays of our Lives (December 1, 2008)

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford
 on December 1, 2008

SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK

Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass, Gossip Girl)

Why him? Because who doesn’t want a piece of Bass?

While the bland pretty boys of GG are busy putting audiences to sleep, it’s Westwick’s Chuck that makes fans sit up and take notice. Chuck is a salacious, unrepentant bad boy and we love him for it. Whether he’s scheming to destroy his enemy of the week (such as self-righteous prig Dan or step-sister Serena), sparring with his power hungry father or wickedly seducing bad girl Blair (whose games with Chuck are the highlight of the show), he does it with a seductive purr, dangerous charm and an evil twinkle in those beautiful dark eyes. And while Chuck may be a pampered high society brat, he does have a heart: witness his giving homeless Nate a place to live and taking gay step-brother Eric under his wing without a hint of judgment. Chuck is by far the most interesting and fully fleshed out character on a show full of one-dimensional, uninteresting characters. For all those reasons and more, he is our … SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK.

THIS WEEK’S POLL QUESTION


LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

 

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's picture

TIL THE WEDDING IS THE BOMB DIGGITY

Posted by
Anonymous
on December 02, 2008 at 12:00am

Definitely my new favorite show this season.

Such brief episodes but so much packed in.  Both actors are fabulous and they sizzle together and separately. 

Check out the full playlist in Hebrew with English Subs

by clicking here Til The Wedding, Parts 1-10

Cheers to Mantan4il for her tireless work

"Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common." (Dorothy Parker)

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Joseph's picture

Clara Sheller Episode 4

Posted by
Joseph (8280 points) (1686 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 12:14am

My best friend in Paris emailed me last week just busting with excitement over the climax of episode 4 of Clara Sheller, saying it was pretty jawdropping and very, um, exciting. Can't wait to see it.

Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/

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Anthony D. Langford's picture

Yep....

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 12:30am
.... next week's GOOL will have a fresh batch of spoilers on Clara Sheller (and more behind the scenes pics as well).   I've heard nothing but kudos from my French speaking friends who've seen the episodes already aired.  It sounds like it's going to be a very interesting season.  I can't wait until we get to see as well.
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Novinous's picture

I'm mad !

Posted by
Novinous (452 points) (95 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 08:03am

I'm French, I live in France ... and I didn't even see Clara Sheller, seriously I'm starting to wonder what's going on with me, I remember to not forget to watch it during the whole week and when it comes to the day it airs... I forgot ! Twice !

So here I am, waiting to see it for the first time as well as you guys... this is so frustrating. 

And I loved Beautiful People, really and awesome show, what a shame it only lasted 6 episodes.

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giovannif7's picture

Beautiful People

Posted by
giovannif7 (2369 points) (498 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 02:35am

I was fortunate enough to be able to see the entire six-episode first season of Beautiful People - what a wonderful show! I'd classify it as more of a sitcom than a soap opera, but there are definitely some soapy moments. I hope either BBC America or PBS (or even LOGO) brings the show to the U.S. soon, as there's no way a U.S. network-produced series will ever allow a show to spend so much airtime focused on a gay kid and his equally-gay best friend. 

Fans of the British coming out/first love gay film "Beautiful Thing" might find it a bit confusing that Beautiful People is written by Jonathan Harvey, who also wrote "Beautiful Thing" - the film. There's another crossover, in that Tameka Empson, who played Leah (the Mamma Cass fan) in "Beautiful Thing," plays a hairdresser in the series. I'd wager that anyone who enjoyed the film will also find this series wonderfully warm, funny and touching.

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Jon's picture

Probie and Batt

Posted by
Jon (2920 points) (597 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 05:07am
I'm not sure why Brian Batt thinks marriages between gay men and straight women have not been explored. Steven Carrington had them. So did Jodie Dallas. The Shield married their gay character off and he never looked back. I assume that Batt's character will have the "doesn't actually love his wife in a physical way, but oh if only he were straight, if only he hadn't been cursed with being gay" type of storytelling. While it will be nice if they don't take the opportunity to turn him straight, I don't see the innovation. As for Probie, I thought he was only bi for a few episodes, cured after he had hot sex with a woman. I don't know, FX is so anti-gay I don't watch their shows.
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Anthony D. Langford's picture

Maybe I Don't Understand....

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 07:33am
.... what he is trying to say, but I think he meant exploring that gay men had to get married, not the exploration of the marriage itself.  At least that's how I took it.   
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HenryZ's picture

As much as Noah annoys me

Posted by
HenryZ (1039 points) (210 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 08:37am
As much as Noah annoys me sometimes (or most of the time), I have to agree with Jake Silbermann's nomination in that "Most Shamefully Clothed" category. That fine torso is going to waste. Can't they find more reasons to take Noah's clothes off? Apparently they don't want Luke and Noah having The Sex but this is a soap and they specialize in contrived situations. Someone needs to contrive to spill beverages, paint, baked beans...whatever... onto Noah's shirt to get him to undress more often.
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Anthony D. Langford's picture

It's No Secret....

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 09:20am
.... that I don't have much use for Noah as a character, but I agree they should find more reason for him to doff his top.   He's cute and he's got a nice bod, let's see it!  But... ATWT is one of those soaps that doesn't have their men walking around shirtless that often, unlike say Days of Our Lives where the men are always scantily clad (usually every episode).  I remember one DOOL where a character walked around in his boxer briefs for an entire episode while chatting with his mother!   Though I remember when Mark Collier (ex-Mike) was on ATWT, they always found a way to get his clothes off.
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jjose712's picture

In Spain is very common

Posted by
jjose712 (3675 points) (782 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 08:53am
to have some short seasons all over the year. Física o Química debuted later this year and have vey good ratins on a day that it's channel usually sucked (because the competition is very tough, dancing with the stars and specially CSI). The first season have 8 episodes. This season (14 episodes) begin quite slowly but ratings increased week after week, and they will start filming third season on february (it was anounced last week) and it will be on air on March or April. It seems that they will kill a character on the last episode of the season (the screenplayers are very fond of that because they almost kill Ruth at the end of first season) that will be aired next monday, but Fer is not the one (he is on the funeral showed on the trailer las night). It's curious because in one interview, one of the actors (the one who played Isaac) complaint about the lack of interest of his character. At the beggining he seems to be one of the main characters, in fact the series start whith him having sex wiht Irene (the teacher) but the truth is that the good guys in the serie seems to lack good storylines. And the surpise is that the exception to this norm is exactly Fer. When i read a brief description of the characters before the series start, i thought that all will be as always with gay teen characters, he will spend a lot of time to came out of the closet, and seems then he will become a barely there character whose only purpose will be the confesor of his best female friend. But the truth it was very different (and better), Fer came out of the closet in 4th episode (in 7th to his parents), he had his own storylines, and was very important to the other characters, specially Julio and Cova, but in Yoli and Gorka too. Right now, he is probably the character with more screentime (with Gorka, Cabano and Ruth, the love triangle of the series, and the favourite guys of the teen girls) even more than his straight friends, and he is with difference the most interesting character of the good guys
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's picture

Wasn't the first gay kiss

Posted by
Anonymous
on December 02, 2008 at 09:25am
Wasn't the first gay kiss between Jack and Ethan on Dawson's Creek?
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Anthony D. Langford's picture

Yes, You're Right.....

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 09:55am
That's right!  Jack dated Ethan first.  They kissed and then Ethan told Jack he was going back to his ex-boyfriend... or was back with his ex-boyfriend.  Tobey was someone Jack dated later in college and they broke up because Jack wasn't 'out' enough.  I guess my memory isn't as good as I thought!   Thanks for the correction.
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The Cole's picture

Clara Sheller 4th episode

Posted by
The Cole (42 points) (10 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 11:24am

I am watching the 2th season of Clara Sheller (I live in Switzerland) and my I say that it gets spicier. They show sex-scenes between men that the USA would dream to watch in a channel like ABC, NBC, etc). It makes me proud that a public, national Channel (France 2) that everyone in France is able to watch dares to show real love-scenes between men. Here's a link to the video (at the end, you can watch the scene I'm talking about).

SPOILERS CLARA SHELLER'S SEASON 2 :

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7khe4 (sadly this video has been flagged).

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miss_jaffacake's picture

Beautiful People

Posted by
miss_jaffacake (5 points) (1 post)
on December 02, 2008 at 11:51am
Although I do highly recommend Beautiful People, I feel I should take slight issue with the reference to it's "unerring eye for details of the period." If by 'the period' you are referring to simply 'the nineties' - then yes, these details are perfect. However as the show is set in 1997 (as mentioned in a few of the episodes) this means that the eye for detail was less unerring and more just totally wrong. A lot of the references to TV shows, music and celebrities span the entire of the decade, with little reference to 1997 specific events or moments (Princess Di aside). Although the name of the show eludes me, there was a reference in one of the early episodes to a television programme that had ended it's run by the least 1992. And don't get me started on the Steps references when the poster on his wall is clearly from the ill-fated 'H & Claire' duo that sprung from The Steps ashes. Having said all that, the surreal aspects of the show were highlighted by these inaccuracies in the time line, creating a show that appears to have come from the slightly rose-tinted memories of this Shop Dresser in Barney's rather than a completely accurate portrayal of growing up in 1997.
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joeyhegele's picture

Spangas

Posted by
joeyhegele (1727 points) (497 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 12:49pm

Great GOL as usual Anthony. It is always fun to read your views on the various going-ons of the many gay soap characters here and over-seas.

I would like to point you to a new show I discovered on the Gays Of Daytime site. It is called Spangas, and it is from the Netherlands (I think). It is about teens who are in the equivalent of high school, basically the Dutch version of Degrassi. Two of the main characters are gay and make a very cute couple. Even in ultra-liberal Holland these young boys face discrimination. On the Gays Of Daytime YouTube channel, you can catch all the drama (with helpful subtitles). Amazingly, these high school boys get more kissing action the Luke and Noah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdqtMazCy7k

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Anthony D. Langford's picture

Thanks!

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 01:25pm

I'm glad you're enjoying the column.

And, I appreciate the tip about Spangas.  I discovered this show myself about a week ago and there will be a feature article about it in an upcoming edition of GOOL.

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Marea67's picture

spangas

Posted by
Marea67 (620 points) (156 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 03:37pm

That would be nice. I look forward to that.

I was a bit surprised by the gay-story-line, because the series is popular amongst younger children as well and it's broadcast late afternoon/early evening. I, myself, watch the series occassionally over the shoulder of my 8-year old daughter.

But it is nice to see such a story-line included as it is a part of what happens in our schools.

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MarkNL's picture

Spangas

Posted by
MarkNL (248 points) (48 posts)
on December 03, 2008 at 10:13am

What I think is great about Spangas is that it's a show made for children. Plus, it's made by the NCRV, a Christian broadcaster.

 This year Spangas won the most important Dutch prize for TV productions made for children. I believe they're making a movie right now.

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Gravity81's picture

*le sigh*

Posted by
Gravity81 (178 points) (41 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 02:59pm
Anthony,thank you so much for this article. Very nice read indeed.As I told you before (it's me, the girl from Germany who contacted you on youtube!), I'm on the verge of becoming an ATWT-addict (only the Luke and Noah-story of course).And (although I should know), no Forbidden Love today? I'm totally oblivious to what's going on with Ollian! :)
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will26's picture

I am quite fascinated by

Posted by
will26 (145 points) (35 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 05:38pm
Casualty, my mum watches it and I have to say the few times I have happened to be around when she is I have seen Toby, he seems painfully shy and unsure of himself, this story should be quite interesting. Beautiful People also looks like it might be interesting too. Thanks Anthony for GOOL, I just have to find out when all these stories will be hitting Australian screens.
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j U d E's picture

Novinous! Read this! Quick!

Posted by
j U d E (3978 points) (1020 posts)
on December 02, 2008 at 07:51pm

Novinous, there is still a chance for you to see episode 5 and 6 tomorrow (Wednesday) evening on France 2! Don't forget!

The steamy scene between Gilles and JP at the end of episode 4 are hottt! And there is more in episodes 5 and 6 (I've seen it all on the Belgian channel (RTBF - La Deux) who aired the last 2 episodes already on Saturday). It got mixed reviews, but I loved it! Can't wait for season 3 if indeed there will be a season 3. Watch more making of here - http://programmes.france2.fr/clara-sheller/index.php?action=makingof

Yeah, about David Monahan or Dawson's Creek, there was that kiss between Jack and Ethan, before the kiss between Jack and Tobey. I was going to mention it too.

----------------------------------------------------- 

  • R.I.P. - Heath Ledger [1979 - 22 January 2008]
  • R.I.P. - Sayif [2006 - 12 June 2008] - my cat, run over by a car..
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Ripp_J's picture

clara

Posted by
Ripp_J (5 points) (1 post)
on December 03, 2008 at 03:33am

I'm also looking forward to the season finale of mademoiselle Sheller, airing this evening in France.

Didn't care much for the first two episodes, which I found lacking of strong plots and a little bit redundant. But episodes 3 & 4, that aired last week, were a great improvement (to name a few, Catfight & HOT gay erotic scene!!) and finally allowed me to fully appreciate the new face of Clara, the lovely (et amie belge, pour jUDE ;-)) Zoé Felix.

Concerning a third serie for the show, France 2 actually give the green light for a new season's writing to the production, back in march (see the link here: http://www.series-news.com/news5029-saison-3-en-vue-pour-clara-sheller.html). That's not an official renewal statement, but it's more than nothing.

As for the ratings, they've not been that great with only 3.8 million viewers for the first 4 episodes, that's pretty much a 50% drop from the first serie, but they did improve from one week to another (up 14%) and are in the average of what France 2 usually do.

We can only hope the improvement keeps going on for the last episodes and push France 2's decision makers to renew their best show on the schedule in years. If they're not... well, that just prove how much silly public channels can truly be.

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jjose712's picture

Fer's first sex scene

Posted by
jjose712 (3675 points) (782 posts)
on December 03, 2008 at 06:44am
It's like a return to the origin (because he had to come out because an erection in the showers), in that episode he met Carlos in a conference with gay associations in the school, and Carlos was the first guy who kissed Fer. In this episode they meet again, and it seems there are some chemistry. This is the first time they show Fer in a sex scene, even we know he had sex with his ex (Hugo), but they only show hugs and kisses. The scene is short but it's more action that Luke and Noah had in more than a year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_SOmk9o3No
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BSGnut's picture

Go Fer!

Posted by
BSGnut (709 points) (141 posts)
on December 03, 2008 at 10:14am
I'm so glad they picked up Fisica o Quimica for another season. With Hollyoaks pretty much over and VL on hiatus for Jo's play, this has become my new fave. Now we just need an interview with Javier Calvo in English!
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Anthony D. Langford's picture

The one thing that I've

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 07, 2008 at 11:14am
The one thing that I've enjoyed about writing this column is discovering new shows and watching FOQ has been a treat.  I love the show and I'm very glad that it will be back for another season.  Don't give up on Hollyoaks or Forbidden Love though.  The gay action will pick up for both shows in the new year.  And.... (it feels so tacky to plug myself, but hey......) check out this coming week's GOOL for a little bit of scoop on what's ahead for Christian and Olli as the new year begins.
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jjose712's picture

Javier Calvo

Posted by
jjose712 (3675 points) (782 posts)
on December 07, 2008 at 03:30pm

There's only a few interviews of Javi, he doesn't seem very interesting in appear in teen magazines and he isn't one of the official hotties, so i only found a pair of interviews. He seems very confortable playinf Fer (he even give a surprise kiss to Adam (the guy who plays Gorka) when they're talking about the kiss on the play).

He only did amateur theatre before Física o química, and he said that he thinks that he improve a lot in this second season (i agree). And we know that he doesn't like video games, Gonzalo (julio) said that in one interview, it seems that all the cast used to play at play station on the free time and Javi complaints because he prefers to talk.

The series is a big surprise, because they succeed in a very tough day in spain, it creates a lot of controversy (sex, drugs and teens is a mix that some people don't like) and the screenplayers are working in the third season for more than a month. In fact there are castings for more characters (some of the main characters won't be in the third season).

And Fer is a surpise himself, i thought when i read that they have a gay character on the series, that he will be the typical gay teen, that when he came out of the closet he only will appear to be the confident of his best female friend. But Fer never develop that way. He always was a main character, and in this second season, he probably was (with Gorka) the character with most screen time.

I just saw the last episode of this season and it was very sad and emotional, very different of the last of the first season (with Ruth's overdose)

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Chuckles's picture

Où est Les Bleus??

Posted by
Chuckles (1152 points) (241 posts)
on December 03, 2008 at 06:25pm
Its been a while since I've seen any information or videos concerning Les Bleus Season 2. Is it actually airing? Does it have a later premier date? Just a curious fan... P.S. Loving Til the Wedding, although I don't know how I feel about Amir having a fling on the side, plus Harel is being a little too wishy-washy for my taste...
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Anthony D. Langford's picture

Les Bleus 2

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 07, 2008 at 11:07am
Perhaps one of our French readers can weigh in on this, but as far as I've been able to tell, the series was supposed to begin in November, but I'm not sure if it has or not.  We'll have some spoilers and some behind the scenes stuff in an upcoming edition of GOOL, but hopefully we'll get some subtitled episodes soon as well.  This is a show I'm anxious to see more of as well!
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Madeleine's picture

Great blog!

Posted by
Madeleine (2831 points) (579 posts)
on December 08, 2008 at 12:47am

First let me say that I very much enjoy your blog!

I've followed the Nuke storyline on youtube for a while now (can't stand actually watching the show) and while it isn't my favourite storyline, I think both Jake and Van are doing a fabulous job with their characters, especially given the sometimes ridiculous nature of soap characters. I just wish these two had more action! I mean, c'mon, they're a young, out couple with plenty of time to be alone with each other...why aren't they having sex! At least give the audience an explanation for this lack of sexual activity. But I digress...

I also love the Ollian storyline on Verbotene Liebe (again, youtube videos), and I sure hope Olli comes back soon! Not sure about HollyOaks now that JP and Craig are gone. They were dysfuntional but loveable.

I think I'm most excited for the Riley storyline on Degrassi. I never really followed Degrassi (which is sad, because it is a fantastic show, with great acting...and I'm Canadian!) but this storyline caught my eye. It looks to be an interesting take on the whole struggling with sexuality in high school story. I like the fact that Riley's character is the archetypal straight male jock, but yet he initiated the kiss with Peter. And Argiris seems quite comfortable with his role, which is refreshing (plus he's gorgeous!)Hopefully there's more to come!

Oh, and somebody already pointed this out, but I did catch that primetime tv's first male gay kiss was between Jack and Ethan on Dawson's Creek (played by Kerr Smith and Adam Kaufman respectively), not Jack and Tobey. *sigh*, I miss the Creek.

Anyways, keep up the great work!

I may be straight, but I'm not narrow.

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brothasoul's picture

Soapcentral...

Posted by
brothasoul (150 points) (48 posts)
on December 21, 2008 at 07:17pm

...recently reported

http://www.soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2008/1110-cbs_diversity.php

that CBS is looking to up the diversity quotient on its daytime offerings.

But I'm hesitantly optimistic about the addition of gay character to my favorite daytime soap

because earlier this year when a contract African American character was added to the roster of The Bold And The Beautiful, for the first time in at least a decade, I was overly optimistic

and his storyline left much to be desired.

Here's to hoping hesitance yields more satisfying results.

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Anthony D. Langford's picture

Longtime Viewers....

Posted by
Anthony D. Langford (8847 points) (1950 posts)
on December 21, 2008 at 08:03pm
.... will remember that ATWT used to have a healthy amount of African-American characters who were front burner players and were intergrated in the town.  They have dwindled over the years and for the last year we've had Bonnie and Dallas, who were barely seen and ill used (Bonnie for example, had a semi-romance with Holden, which was icky because Holden has known Bonnie since she was a baby and saw her grow up).  Bonnie and Dallas are still around and they've added Derek as a love interest for Bonnie and brought back Jade and introduced her as Derek's long lost daughter.  So they've got more AA characters than they've had in years and they're tied to the core of the show.  But will they use them?  Will they use them effectively?  Given this shows habit of bringing on people and then not knowing what to do with them, I don't hold out much hope.
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