Gays of our Lives (December 22, 2008)

When it comes to soaps, 2008 was a year of much drama and passion (though not so much for everyone). It was also a year of tragedy and plenty of tears (especially for the ones with no passion) and even some laughter and happiness, though it never lasted long. From Wolford Square to Port Charles, from Emmerdale to Oakdale, soap operas and the gay men who inhabit them brought us hours of entertainment and much needed gay visibility. In our Year in Review 2008, I look at the highlights and the lowlights of the past year. (Warning: There is one potentially NSFW photo from Clara Sheller on page 5.)

FORBIDDEN LOVE RISES TO THE TOP

There’s a reason why Forbidden Love topped our polls in last week’s Readers Choice Awards. It simply had the best to offer gay fans of soaps and even those who just appreciate good television.

From the first kiss between Christian Mann (Thore Schölermann) and Olli Sabel (Jo Weil), one born of fury and passion, the romance between these two men captured audiences with a beautifully told love story. Yes, it had the elements of your typical coming out drama: the denial of attraction and the angst over dealing with one’s newly discovered sexuality. But that was only a small part of the story. Once Christian and Ollie declared their love and slept together for the first time (in one of the most sensual love scenes this year), they didn’t look back.

Against the backdrop of their love story, another rather unconventional storyline played out – Christian’s struggle to make it in the boxing world. Many beats were played in this arc: Christian caught between desperately wanting to be a success at his sport and his need to be open and honest about his love for Olli (a nice touch because usually, it’s the more public figure who is desperate to hide his homosexuality), his temptation to take steroids to get a leg up in the boxing arena, and his intense rivalry with homophobic boxer Axel.

Unlike most soap couples who make up and break up with dizzying speed, Christian and Olli fought each battle together. That ultimately made their love stronger and made us cheer for them all the more. All these threads came together in one wonderful, romantic moment after Christian defeated Axel in the boxing match and openly declared his love for his man.

And as with the best soap operas, there was fallout from that magical moment. Olli was attacked, which led the boys on a quest for justice. Medical complications ensued and Christian was there for Olli. There wasn’t a false moment, a badly played plot point or a twist that didn’t make sense for the entire storyline. The show never let plot take precedence over the relationship and the writers never forgot that at its heart, this was a love story. If only every show handled their gay storylines half as well.

WHILE AS THE WORLD TURNS SINKS TO THE BOTTOM

Criminal is the best word that can used to describe how As The World Turns has handled, or bungled, the relationship of Luke Snyder (Van Hansis) and Noah Mayer (Jake Silbermann) this year. Someone should be doing time for what has been done to this pair … though handing out a few pinks slips would be satisfactory as well.

Most notable  is that despite having dated for a year and lived in the same residence, Luke and Noah have yet to have sex, which for many viewers casts a pall over everything else. Then, of course, there was the kissing ban, now thankfully over. But in truth, the sexual issue isn’t the biggest problem that this couple faced this past year.