Gays of our Lives (December 9, 2008)

Wow, your look back at Dynasty really brought back memories. Steven Carrington was my first pre-adolescent gay crush, although my favorite Steven by far was SC#2 Jack Coleman (that feathered hair really did it for me back then!!). Oddly enough, my first thoughts of being gay were that sex consisted wholly of hugs, because that was all Steven and Luke ever seemed to do(those hugs did get me a little worked up though!).

One more note to the story though- while Steven didn't really have a love life post-Luke, he sort of flirted with one when he met Bart Fulmount.(no pun intended), the environmental hot shot running for senate and making life miserable for Denver Carrington Oil(Bart's & Steven's families were old enemies). C'mon, you must remember that lame fight/wrestling/stare down match the two had at the gym when they were denying their network censored "lust" for each other!!.

Anyway, it all ended when Adam (the jerk) outed Bart in the newspapers and Bart, now happy and gay, moved to Washington D.C. Eventually, our sexless Steven moved there to join him.

I do remember that quite vividly.  I what I remember most was that Kevin Conroy, who played Bart Fallmont, was hot. And like Bill Campbell before him, played the role with a ease and honesty that Coleman just didn't/couldn't. But then, I always liked Steven's boyfriends more than Steven.

I loved that scene where Bart talks about how happy he was about being outed because now he could live his life openly and honestly. But, I always felt that Steven was never really into Bart and it never qualified as a relationship to me. Luke had only been dead a few months and it was made pretty clear that Steven was still mourning that loss (cause of course, the show couldn't let him fall in love with another man).

But yes, Steven and Bart did eventually wind up together in Washington, and sadly Bart had been recast by the blandest of the bland blond pretty boys that the show could find.

I personally perferred Al Corely as Steven.  He was a better actor, but he played Steven as conflicted and torn... but he eventually became at peace with himself.   His Steven was very sweet and sensitive and I liked that take on the character. Coleman seemed to play Steven as if he hated the fact that he was attracted to men, even as he left his wife to be with one.  And he was always so angry.  Of course part of that was the acting though.  I don't think that's the way it was written. 

Thanks for the info on the Steven storyline on Dynasty, I never really knew much about it (probably due to the fact that the show ended before I was born). Al Corley was obviously a good actor, and it seemed that he really cared about the role, so it's sad he had to leave. But man, that "love scene" was ridiculous. haha, I liked how the music changed when Ted walked in the room. The murder was just...well, let's just not go there.

I agree that the "gay night" episode of HollyOaks was pretty lame. I never really liked Spike, and I'm really starting to miss John Paul. Oh, and Hannah's mad at Spike because when Spike and JP were dating she wanted JP back. I'm crossing my fingers for a Christmas miracle that things pick up on ATWT. with Olli gone, I have to settle for the frustratingly tame relationship that is Nuke, and now that they are broken up it's even more frustrating. I agree that Noah's character isn't the most exciting, but in some ways I'm thankful for that averageness on a show as crazy as ATWT. I just wish he would take his shirt off more! Maybe things will be better with Calvin (I really like that storyline, it's so cute!) or Riley on Degrassi (very excited to see where that one goes) *sigh* I think it's time to write my letter to Santa...

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

I'm not going to say that Dynasty is dated, because there are still many families who feel the way the Carringtons do, there are homophobes on TV shows (most of whom reside on FX), and few gay characters exist on TV, especially as anything but a joke. But the way that Dynasty presented Steven was always very unpleasant for me to watch. The implication was often that Steven was weak, was not a real man. That if Blake had been a better father, Steven would not have been gay. What bothered me more than Blake's homophobia was that Alexis and Fallon were also not very supportive of Steven. They saw his homosexuality as a burden, or something to taunt him with, or they loved him in spite of his being gay. There was always an undertone of, "Oh, if only Steven were straight," which the show was happy to indulge by repeatedly putting Steven with women. Eventually during the Coleman years, Steven was involved only in heterosexual storylines. That actually bothered me less, because he was still a weak, pathetic man, only this time it was based on his position in the family company, on his wife Sammy Jo preferring other men, not on his being gay. The funny part is that no matter how much Coleman may have disliked gay storylines, the ONLY person on the show that he really had chemistry with was Gordon Thomson, who played Steven's resentful older brother, Adam. They were big rivals and the more they would get in each other's faces, the more I wanted them to make out. It's also funny that the only show Coleman has found success in since Dynasty is "Heroes", which also likes to de-gay characters, although not Coleman's.

 

BTW, I think Steven did have one more go-round with Sammy Jo after he broke up with Bart Falmont. I remember they were married and she got involved with a football player (Steven was the team owner) who was also a drug addict. This was Steven's last season. I think he may have also been with another woman after Bart, he met her at playgroup or something.

I'm going to have to defend Clara Sheller 2 a tiny bit here, as its light-years beyond a lot of shows that will remain nameless... I'm also disappointed by the way Toby's storyline on Casualty is being treated. Yes, I appreciate another gay character to fuss over, but in the closet again??? Is there nothing else to have as plot? We're getting enough of that on Hollyoaks with the Ravi and his very teasing bisexuality. Oh, and on a lighter note, Gregor is sooo hot! I don't know if you made a note of it before, but there was a very nice episode a little while back with a gratifyingly long scene involving a nude Gregor by a lake... pure T.V. ecstasy!

Sorry if this was mentioned in the post and I overlooked it, but the gorgeous Richard Grieve is returning to Emmerdale briefly to wrap up his estrange husband Paul's story. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a137792/jonny-foster-to-make-emmerdale-return.html I'm hoping Paul and Jonny will reconcile and leave together. Even if they never had a very affectionate relationship, the actors worked well together and made the couple believable. I'm really disappointed that they wrote Jonny out in the first place, as this is probably what convinced Matthew Bose (Paul) to leave. And now the producer talks about how popular they were? Hypocrisy.

 

The saddest part is when they go, Emmerdale will have NO gay characters, for the first time in almost 20 years!

yesterday was the season 2 end (it breaks their record with almost 4 mill and 22,5%) and it was very very sad and emotional. Very different from first season finale (with Ruth overdose). But the screenplayers need to stop killing characters because the death rating in Zurbaran start to seem the same of Sunnydale high school

Am I the only one with Al Corley's Square Rooms stuck in my head now?! BTW this is becoming one of my favorite features on AfterElton!

1) There are 11 Parts of this story up so far with subtitles/annotations, Go Check Them Out at http://www.youtube.com/user/matan4il.

Mantan4il is the Queen of All Things.

2) Harel's sister isn't a lesbian, she's not even closeted. She is the one who's getting married (Til The Wedding) to the man in the backgroud who's talking to her when Harel is sitting on the couch talking about his feelings about Amir. The other woman who walks through telling him to listen to his sister is the sister's roommate (who is also not a lesbian.)

3) Harel works at a coffeeshop and is friends with a radical anarchist girl (the one with the crazy red dye job) we don't know if she is a lesbian or not but she's not related to Harel.

4) Harel breaks up with Amir because Harel's just came out and doesn't want to have to lie about being in a relationship with Amir.

5) Harel get's hit on while he's having a cup of coffee at the cafe where he works but he TOTALLY turns the guy down because he's too into Amir.

6) Harel's mother is completely supportive of Harel. Harel's father is a separate issue. Harel asks Amir to drive him to his parents house to make a point.

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

Some of this stuff is unclear since the clips only show Fer's scenes.

1) The students aren't having a party after the play they are doing a protest action spearheaded by Cova.   Homophobic skinheads have been tagging horrible anti-gay stuff all over the walls of the school as a response to the school play. Cova decides to counteract their actions by having everyone cover the school with gay positive signs and banners, etc. The big banner says "We are all gays"

2) The boy talking to Fer in the bathroom is Carlos (the first guy to every kiss Fer in season one). What is significant is that both Carlos and Fer are now single at the same time. so there is hope maybe for next season...

3) Fer made plans to go see his best friend Julio (Julio wants to get back together with Cova but is nervous and needed to talk to Fer first).   In the excitement of the protest stuff and hooking up with Carlos, Fer completely forgot he had plans that night with Julio. Cova didn't want to interrupt Fer and Carlos so she went to see Julio to explain and they get back together but Julio is now mad at Fer.

4) Julio is upset because he feels like Fer ignores him whenever a new boy comes into the picture .

5) Some backstory that might be helpful with the whole Julio/Cova/Fer thing.

Julio's younger brother (who was Fer's best friend) killed himself in season one.   The brother also slept with Cova before Julio and Cova began to date (something Julio strunggles with).

Fer used to have a huge crush on Julio and after the suicide, they became very close and Julio helped Fer to come out to his parents, etc.  Fer is no longer in love with Julio and behaves differently around Julio since he's become more confident about being gay and out)

Hope that's helpful to folks.

http://www.dailymotion.com/DMousheVids

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

Steven Carrington was the original "Lonely F*ggot"... that token gay character who is not allowed to be romantically involved (cuz that makes us think of icky gay sex) or get into romantic entanglements (because that would mean *gasp* MORE gay characters would have to exist!)

Of course I was addicted to Dynasty - whot mo in the 80's wasn't? And of course I was thrilled to see the first recognizably gay character I can remember on TV. So when the DVD came out, I didn't walk I ran and bought it... and found Steven intolerable. It is worth watching to remember how far we've come, but it makes one squirm to see even an out gay man shrieking that he's a monster! Even when Luke came on, all he did was look gay (hair gel and lip gloss) and gaze longingly from 20 feet away.

Other notable Lonely F*ggots include Doug Savant on Melrose Place -- the other straight characters are banging each other with almost perverse abandon and bitch can't get a single date?

The modern solution is to have the safe gay couple (Kevin & Scotty, Luke and Noah) -- sure it means writing TWO gay characters, but because they are 'married' types we still don't have to think about that icky gay sex!

PRESCRIPTION: Have ex-Miguel from Passions, Adrian Bellani, as a gay hustler moving into Oakdale.... STAT!

Future epitaph: "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

I came into the show late (hell, I was all of 14-15), so I barely saw any of the Al Corley stuff, until they started re-running the series in the afternoons in the late 80's; for me, Jack Coleman was the original Steven. He wasn't a great actor, but in a weird way I found his stolidness to be attractive and rather masculine. At the time, it seemed to my teenage perception that most gay people on TV or in movies were very flamboyant or campy, so it was oddly refreshing to watch Coleman's take. It even seemed to psychologically make sense for Steven's coming out mentality: "Well, I'm not a flamer, I'm a "man's man," and so I can't really be gay." (However, I think the show pushed the envelope having him be involved not just with Claudia, but also Sammy Jo.) It's fascinating to go back and watch these very awkwardly written and directed scenes between two men who were supposedly intimate, and compare them (unfairly) to the easy affection and romantic ha-cha-cha Kevin has had with his various partners on "Brothers and Sisters."

I remember Bart Fullmont being a very hunky strawberry blonde, and certainly Corley and Coleman were easy on the eyes (Coleman in a Ken-doll way). But Billy Campbell! I think my jaw may have actually dropped the first time he came onscreen, and when I saw him in "Tales" doing his love scenes, I about had cardiac arrest. He was so ridiculously good-looking, it wasn't until "Once and Again" that I appreciated what a truly fine actor he is, and I was so glad he got an Emmy nod for his work on it. It's very interesting to go back and watch these old clips now (they left out the one where Steven goes to Luke's apartment and stays over for the first time)--Campbell plays them like a man desperate for a drink of water, and looks at Coleman like he's a fresh, cold spring; Coleman can't even begin to match his sincerity or intensity. Thanks for the memories!

Okay, I totally remember some scene where Steven was in a car (a cab? a limo?) and there was some guy there with him (cutie) and someone else from the front seat was taunting his attraction to the guy - holding it over him...there was some element of entrapment, or blackmailing him - It's a vague memory, but you brought back so many other "first-gay-sighting" memories, I thought maybe you'd recall this one.  And thanks - you included some scenes I don't think I ever saw before. It's fascinating to look from today at where we were on TV in the 80s. Namaste, Lee

Did anyone notice in the background of the first Til' the Wedding clip you could hear Six Feet Under playing? Two gay-friendly shows for the price of one. 

Had a crush on him and watched Dynasty only because of him! I must have been around 14/15 or so when here in Belgium, I think it aired on a German channel. I remember my mother watching Dallas and I thought it was c*ap and I though Dynasty was going to be the same thing. But when I found out about Steven, the gay son - not sure how, because I wouldn't watch it, but it was probably by reading the oh so popular German teen magazine 'BRAVO' - I had to watch!

And gosh, yes! do I hear 'Square Rooms' in my head right now! Oooh.. no.. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyZHXVJ9hp4

The other first 'gay' role I saw for the first time around the same time of Steven Carrington, was when I secretly watched 'Death in Venice' once, even though the film aired past my bed time! But my mum wasn't home and I saw most of it, until she did get home. I had to wait quite some time (years) before I saw it again and until the end. Fell in love with Thomas Mann's writing then though! He's still one of my favourite authors.

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

Hey Anthony, Thanks - now I can try to see that car seduction scene again (season 2, off to search for it!)- I'm curious what all this time will do to that first memory... Namaste, Lee