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Gays of our Lives (December 15, 2008)When you think about Justin Walker, with his permanent five o’clock shadow, his big puppy dog eyes and that helpless, hangdog expression permanently affixed to that handsome mug of his, ‘sweet’ is the word that usually comes to mind. Justin wouldn’t hurt a fly and doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’s got a huge heart and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his family, whether it be setting up Uncle Saul on a date or making a ‘donation’ so his brother Tommy can be a father. And he lovingly and loyally dotes on his girlfriend (though we’re trying to forget he used to think she was his sister) who can be a bit of a flake.
He’s not perfect by any means. He’s a mess, a recovered drug addict with no direction. Yet, amidst a family of overachievers, he does want to grow up and be a better person for himself and the people who love him. Justin’s problem is he isn’t quite sure how to go about it (I would suggest getting a job to start, but I digress). As the sweetest Walker sibling, you can’t help but love him, warts and all. We root for him to make it and we know he will … someday. And for all those reasons and more, he is our SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK. POLL ONE:
Submitted by on Sun, 2008-12-14 22:12. |
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In defense of the Desperate
In defense of the Desperate Housewives spoiler - and I'm trying to be as non-spoilery as possible in the comments - the impression I got from the promo is that Susan doesn't remember her drunken night, so Lee is just taking advantage of that and messing with her. It's mean... but mainly funny. It's such a Susan thing to jump to a conclusion like that.
And as much as I love Andrew and would love to see his plot extended, I can somewhat understand why his story is just a prop to Bree's. The show is about the housewives. EVERYONE else's drama is only shown in relation to how it affects the housewives. That being said, I thought the purpose in bringing in a gay couple last season was to make Lee a "housewife." That's the ball I really think was dropped.
What awful writing
Why would anyone, especially a friend, want to make a woman think she had sex when she didn't? How is that funny? This is almost as stupid as when they had Susan almost marry a gay man for health insurance. He was, of course, not only closeted, but obsessed with his mother, and his boyfriend was bitchy.
I think the only reason they brought Bob and Lee on the show was because of the well-deserved criticism the show has faced on how they have handled gay characters. So they end up bringing in these very unpleasant men who are only on the show to be nasty to people.
Since Andrew has always been poorly written and Shawn Pyfrom has issues with the character being gay, I had hoped Bob and Lee might be a fresh start. Instead, they somehow manage to be even worse.
Ollian
cute....
Kavan Smith
I would watch anything that has Kavan Smith in it.
I had one of those "your teeth inspire me" moments, in High School. My wood shop teacher had forearms that would make Popeye the Sailor jealous.
We've All Had That Teacher..
Sadly I hadn’t
Great column!
Ich muss einen haben!
afhickman
"The mountain has wings."
Yes, please, where can I get my calendar? I'm going to be in Berlin next week; will it be available in the department stores or in the book stores? The New Year just won't be as fun without a Verbotene Liebe calendar.Forbidden love calendar on amazon
The calendar has been around August. If you look for it now you are probably most likely to find it in some sort of bargain bin. I really reccommend ordering it from amazon. Just go to amazon.DE and search for "verbotene liebe 2009" and the calendar should show up.starkalendar.de is another online place that offers it.
Danke sehr!
afhickman
"The mountain has wings."
I shall purchase mine forthwith.
Nice!
A short guide to the calendar
Incidentally amazon put the wrong cover up. Once actual cover is likely going to look like this:
January: Ansgar and Tanja. You probably have never seen either character. They are sort of the villain and villainess of the show.
Feburary: Carla and Nathalie. You might remember Carla as the lesbian countess who helped Ollian get their article published. Nathalie is a close friend of Gregor but you probably haven't seen much of her. She is in the most recent helicopter episodes when Christian seeks her out to beg her to talk some sense into Gregor and she refuses. She is also married to Ansgar.
March: Leo and Ansgar. You probably won't remember Leo as the blink and you will miss it doctor who looked Olli over after the gaybashing. He is also the one who slept with Gregor's wife.
April: Sarah. Gregor's ex-wife. You might remember her as the second woman other than Coco who was around during Ollian's New Year's cabin trip last year.
May: Aunt Charlie and Angelo the head waiter.
June: Lydia and Sebastian the snoredom couple.
July: Lydia's parents Katja and Matthias.
August: Constantin, Sebastian, with Olivia in the background.
September: the count's widow Elisabeth (also Olivia's boss) with Arno (uncle of Lydia) and Adrian (father of Constantin and Leo).
October: Miriam the waitress with Kitty the secretary (a collegue of Olivia) and Justus the butler (he was in Ollian's group during the pub quiz)
November: Gregor, Rebecca and Olivia
December: Ollian and Judith
My favorite VL calendar was probably the 2007 one which had a very tropical type of feel to it and gorgeous pictures: http://www.starkalender.de/sk/kalender/rarit_ten/kalender_2007/jahr_2007__verbotene_liebe_2007__teneues_.html?p=80
Some other older calendars can be seen here if you scroll down to where it says "Verbotene Liebe Kalender": http://www.soul-searcher.net/cpg149/
Verbotene Liebe, slot change?
Forbidden Love, which recently changed its time slot, held steady in the ratings (with 11% of the audience) the first week of December, enough to keep the show in the top 10 Errr, no? They haven't changed their slot at least not in the last 5 years. In fact, I'm pretty sure they never changed the actual slot. They have moved to air earlier or later by 5 minutes twice (and the last 5 minute move took place before Ollian began as a storyline), but it is still the same slot.
The only German soap that recently changed their slot was Anna und die Liebe which airs on a different channel (Sat1). It used to air opposite AWZ and now airs opposite Marienhof. It has never aired opposite VL and still doesn't.
The Verbotene Liebe calendar can be purchased at amazon.de for 11 Euros. (plus of course postage) http://www.amazon.de/Verbotene-Liebe-2009/dp/3832730354/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1229327622&sr=8-1
Re: Desperate Housewives... it doesn't really bother me that we didn't see much of the romance and getting together part. In my memory Desperate Housewives never really focused on that. I infamously remember Bree and Orson's courtship being covered in a montage. Most other couples were treated as established from the start. The only young romance I can remember was of Bree's daughter with the black neighbour son who turned out to be evil. Julie had Edie's nephew but to me that never seems to have been dealt in a romantic way either. Susan and her new guy also appeared in the new season as already together though much of their getting together story was told in flashback. We also didn't really truly see the start of Mike and Dana Delany's character, it appeared mostly second hand when both of them made comments to their friends about being excited about dating again and then first showed up at a point where they were already having sex in Bree's kitchen. Lynette's twin and his older woman was another story we only got presented once they were already together. It just seems strange to expect to see some slow getting together romance here when that has never really been part of the DH way. Especially if the wedding is supposed to actually be romantic and happy, then in the world of DH showing a happy courtship makes very little sense. Since the courtships they showed in other side storylines (like Juli and Danielle) were always entirely about those things being total desasters down the line. I do agree that this turn of events was plenty of abrupt, but to me the appropriate build up would have been seeing Andrew mention dating other people on the side or being hown having unsuccessful relationships or relationships attempts before finding this right one. But IMO an actual courtship was never in the cards to me. Maybe we can hope that it will eventually be showed in recap/in flashbacks.
You Have A Point..
I can understand the
I can understand the frustration because everybody loves watching a good love story. But in this case it seems to me a bit like complaining that I don't know CSI doesn't have enough focus on doctors on hospitals. Yes, maybe on occasion a doctor or a hospital might be touched upon in a storyline, but in the overwhelming majority of cases that just isn't what the show is about.
If you think about it, almost ALL couples on the show, both old and new fell in love off screen with the exception of Susan's storylines. Gaby and Carlos, Lynette and Tom, Mike and Katherine, Susan and Jackson, Edie and the current villain, Parker/Porter and his friends mother. Even Bree and Orson mostly got a recapping flashback.
DH has always been about the romance that happens within the existing relationship, so yes, to me it is like complaining that CSI doesn't have enough doctors and hospitals. When that is just a completely different genre of show (the Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, ER genre rather than the CSI genre). DH might have some of the signs of a soap opera, but the focus has always been rather unique and different from most show. Older women. Established relationships. The problems in life that women encounter and how they deal with it. Whether it is just job vs. family (Lynette season 2), dealing with unruly children (Bree particularly with Danielle), the loss of power as a grandmother as opposed to a mother, how to deal if your children are less than perfect (Gabi and her overweight daughter), public humilation (Rex gets caught with a domina), loss of a spouse, being helpless in the face of a husband's midlike crisis, dealing with loss of money and status (Gabi and Carlos), etc, etc... As a show DH has always focused on a rather different part of life than most shows. And IMO that is what has made it unique. So it seems rather weird to actively wish for it to be more just like every soap you can see on daytime rather for them to do what they have always done and what they are good at.
They showed Andrew's bad relationships
They showed Juli and Danielle and Zach's relationships too
Andrew is a desperate housekid. Let's look at the other characters who with some imagination could be considered desperate housekids.
Juli
Danielle
Zach
Porter/Preston
John (guy Gabi slept with in season 1)
Juli got the romance with Zach, which turned out to be creepy and dysfunctional. The thing with Edie's nephew which ended with the guy cheating on her with Danielle. Danielle had her crush on the black neighbour kid who turned out to be a murderer and a psycho. Danielle slept with Edie's nephew who never cared for her and who left her pregnant with a child she loathed. Juli had a relationship in college where we never saw how they got together. Danielle has a husband where we never saw how they got together or how they got married. Zach in addition to Juli had a creepy one-sided crush on Grabrielle. Porter/Preston have this thing with the neighbour lady which is both unhappy and we didn't see how it started. John eventually found some young chick but we never saw how they met and it can't really be called happy either.
So when exactly has DH EVER told a heartwarming romantic getting together story for ANY of the housekids? In fact, how often have they told that for any of the characters period?
Gabi/Carlos: Together since the beginning
Tom/Lynette: Ditto
Bree/Rex: established
Bree/Orson: Most romantic getting together moments recapped in montage
The closest to an actual meeting and growing together the show has ever done is Susan/Mike. And (1) they are the exception and (2) There is a reason the show jumped ahead so they could put them into divorceland.
Wanting a heartwarming young romance story is like having a cat and expecting it to bark. Well, the point is that it doesn't bark for ANYONE. Because in the DH definition of romance it's all about the moments that happen in the relationship, not before it. About love lasting and still being there after years.
There are a lot of things that are wrong on DH with the portrayal of gay characters (particularly Bob and Lee). This? Not one of them.
Jo & Thore coming to Canada...
This was posted a few days ago on Jo Weil's MySpace page (translation by Nanna):
Hola my friends,
Unbelievable but true- my dream of travelling to Canada will really come
true at the beginning of 2009. This is so awesome!!!
This is how it came to happen: My colleague Thore and I were invited by the
hosts of Winterpride 2009 to join this mega event in Whistler, BC. We'll MC
the presentation of the candidates for "Mr. Gay World" where we'll also be a
part of the jury and we'll take part in several other activities (e.g. meet
and greets etc). Aside from that, we'll party and enjoy the mountain air
and the snow.
This is the chance we've been waiting for so long to personally meet some of
our US and Canadian fans. I hope that those of you who have the time and who
have no other plans will grab their skiing gear and their friends so that we
can finally thank you in person. I'm already looking forward so much to
this!!!
Thore and I will be in Whistler between February 5th and 8th - I hope we'll
all have a great party there. I would also like to thank our production
company for supporting us despite all the organizational problems this
may cause them and for making it possible for us to be there for our fans in
this wonderful way. Thank you very much!
More info about this event can be found at www.gaywhistler.com
Take care, have a great time and more importantly SEE YOU!
Yours Jo
Unfortunately.....
Another great column
I forgot to mention that this was yet another great column, Anthony. Loved the Readers Choice Awards (and the results), however, on page 2, the bar for "Other Answer" in the graphic for Best Storyline seems just a little, um, off.
"It just shows how incredibly popular that the Christian/Ollie story has become that they'd be participating in such an event."
Agreed. Especially since Das Erste is letting them do this in the middle of the VL shooting schedule, and in a country that doesn't even air the show on tv.
so frustrating!!!
Why do they have to go to Western Canada!!! I live in Toronto and there is no way I can afford to go all the way to BC. :(
I was really happy that Ollian did really well in the polls, I absolutely love them! The are definitely the cutest couple, have the best storylines, the acting is fantastic, and Thore definitely deserves the title of hottest guy. I was really surprised though that Noah got so many votes as worst boyfriend. I think Noah is a great boyfriend! He really loves Luke, and wants him to be a better person. I'm actually kinda glad he dumped Luke, as I think Luke was being an ass of a boyfriend. God, I'm just so dissapointed with ATWT that I've stopped following it on Youtube. First the whole Ameera thing, now this? The way I would have handled to election storyline would have been that when Luke passed the envelope onto Casey that Casey would have gotten rid of it, and that Luke would have won fairly, though I would have made him resign because he had the intention of cheating, therby proving to Noah that he is a good person. but *sigh*, what do I know? I was really glad JP and Craig got their sunset ending, but I thought the way they did it, by killing off Kieron, was really rushed and sloppy.
Oh, and while Just a Phase was a cute idea, that promo was boring and tacky. I would never have watched that show.
I may be straight, but I'm not narrow.
Yippee!
Física o química and les bleus
Are les bleus on air? because i don't watch any clip yet.
Física o química break their record in ratings and beat for the first time CSI, wich is a remarkable fact because CSI is the most succesful series in spain
A few comments
I watched some of the clips from the first Clara Sheller and I couldn't really get into it. The tone bothered me, and I wasn't that bowled over by the actor who played JP. I couldn't believe he was supposed to be lonely or tied to Clara. I think the new version is much better. Gilles is hot hot hot, JP seems more believable to me, and I also like JP's boy toy Brad. I also like the balance of humor and drama more on the new version. The only downgrade is in the actress who plays Clara. It's too bad this version isn't doing well.
I'm surprised anyone was surprised by Kieron's death on Hollyoaks, as it was spoiled before the character even arrived. I wish I were more surprised that they so happily wasted a great character and a promising actor all in a pointless attempt at shock value, at a time when the show isn't exactly having good luck with new characters. And that they made the SE such a huge anticlimax. But hey, we've still got Ravi...
I'm surprised to hear the headwriter of Forbidden Love is with AWZ now. Roman has no storyline, he no longer even shares scenes with Deniz, and Deniz is in love with a woman.
That makes me mad about Shortland Street degaying a character thanks to complaints. New Zealand recently elected a conservative government, so I guess the homophobia will be further amped up. The whole thing makes me sick.
As for ATWT, I think they DO want people to not root for Noah and Luke. That way they can continue to keep Luke and Noah from having sex. They can just focus on the creepy, weird relationship between Brian and Luke. What a great image of middle-aged gay men this sends out.
Shortland Street
I wouldn't necessarily say that the producers "degayed" the character, and, real-life controversy aside, I think it is cool that they have included an asexual character. Besides, why did he have to declare himself as asexual right from the beginning...if we can have storylines like Christian on FL discovering his attraction to men, then why not a gay-seeming man decide he doesn't want sex?
This show has been on for a good 16 or so years now, and they have included multiple gay, lesbian, bisexual - and even a transgendered - characters....asexuals, as far as I am aware, were previously unrepresented.
And let us not forget, this _is_ a soap. I'm sure that we'll see Gerald being enticed by someone sooner or later.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about the ruling either, buuuuuut the fact remains that what we have on screens now is an asexual male character, so we should be forward thinking and look forward to interesting storylines (and not forget that Shortland Street has, and continues, to include other GLBT characters).
How strange the sound
I hate Desperate Housewives.
Verbotene Liebe
YES! I'm so happy VL took away the best awards. It totally deserved it, it was definitely the best gay story of the year.
As for Just A Phase I totally would have watched a lot more. It seemed very cute and you don't see a lot of that around here. But it is quite clear why it was never picked up, a coming of age gay story...showcasing gay as normal...yea right that was gonna happen. It had a lot of potential. But America isn't ready, maybe it'll have a chance in the 2102 season. sad.
but not even that can ruin my VL high! Yay
Thanks!
ATWT blew the best storyline ever...
i've been a fan of ATWT since, well, the last century. it always was risque and trend setting, but it really has fallen off all the way around.this Brian thing is one of the worst story lines they could have come up with. i suppose they think they are doing someone a favor by dealing with an older man deeply closeted and his struggle to identify who he is.
however, they blew the best possible storyline! when Kevin showed up from Luke's past and they got into the election contest thing, Kevin strongly denied he was homophobic; he also said he had nothing against Luke; he over-compensated being macho; and he did everything short of punching Luke out.
with a set up like this and the past history between the two, the logical story development should have been Kevin coming out to Luke totally confusing him; Luke and he hooking up (all the way, not just a peck on the cheek); and Noah walking in on them!this would have followed the usual story that is used in most straight soap lines. somebody is always sleeping with someone else and getting caught and then they have to go through the entire process to get back together. IT HAPPENED TO LUKE'S PARENTS, Lily & Holden, FOR CRIPES SAKE! as well as all kinds of other couple on the show over the years.i think that they were too afraid to do this. it's another "the queers have to be different" thing. bullfeathers! if they really wanted to push a normal couple thing between two guys, they should have followed their own tried and true soap opera formula - someone screws someone they shouldn't have out of the passion of the moment and the attraction they used to have!
besides, we would have been able to see a lot more of Kevin! and with Jade coming back into the picture all hell could have broken loose! Luke and Jade were like hell on wheels. like i said, "ATWT blew the best storyline ever..."
This is great news!! Ollian
This is great news!! Ollian swept most of the categories, and it is well deserved. Olli and Christian was without a doubt the best gay storyline of last year. It's so beautifully written and acted. Both Jo and Thore have this uncanny chemistry on screen which just blows you away.
I think what makes Ollian so unique is how their love has triumphed against all odds. We followed their year long storyline as they dealt with...Homophobia and humiliation curtesy of Christian's boxing club, Olli getting beaten to near death and having to hide their relationship behind false girlfriends. Through all their hardship neither of them had an affair, had one night stands, got addicted to drugs, lied to each other, flirted or became tempted by another person...their love for each other never once faultered. We just saw this unabashed romantic love story for the ages.
And how great is it that both Jo and Thore will be over at the Whistler Resorts in Canada for Winterpride 2009. I would love to be there and meet them but it's just not possible.
Thank you Anthony for a great column. I always look forward to reading up on the lastest SOAP gossip from around the world.
And thanks for posting that beautiful picture of Jo Weil at that award event. What a gorgeous man.