Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (February 29, 2008)

HEY, MICHAEL, ANYMORE HOT CLIPS FROM THOSE EUROPEAN SOAPS?
I'm glad that you asked because I do happen to have more! Last week AfterElton.com reader Frank filled us in about the German soap Alles Was Zählt. Frank had some other German soap news to share this time about a Verbotene Liebe which translates to Forbidden Love and is about two straight siblings in love. Oooh, incestuous siblings — that would go over well in the U.S., no?

Frank says the gay storyline is just getting underway and involves the gay Olli kissing the straight Christian's girlfriend then, when Christian is enraged, proving it didn't really mean anything by kissing Christian to whom he is really attracted. You'd think telling him would be so much easier, but no...

I think I got the right actors and their photos from the website, but I don't speak German, so I might have messed that up. Here is a clip of the two locking lips. BTW, what is it with German soaps and gay athletes? Last week it was a figure skater and a ice hockey player, and now we have a boxer.

Don't you love Christian's expression during the kiss? And how after Olli kisses him, Christian wipes his mouth in disgust as if thinking "Mein bratwurst nein schvingen dat vay!" Frank says the story isn't much further along yet, although Christian is dreaming about that kiss...

If you speak German or like making up your own dialogue, here is a link to their storyline so far. But I haven't watched and can't guarantee it's safe for work.

One final tidbit from Frank has to do with Germany's first daytime soap kiss way back in...1990. Oy. That was before Melrose Place's gay kiss cutaway was even a glimmer in Darren Star's eyes. The show was Lindenstraße and is supposedly based on Coronation Street in the U.K. Frank reports that the kiss was supposed to be shocking but that he doesn't recall folks getting their knickerbockers into much of a twist. Oh, those Europeans with their loose morals.

Today that character, Dr. Carsten Flöter (Georg Uecker) is still around and married to a man with whom he adopted an HIV positive kid. When Carsten's husband took off for a year, Carsten became drug addicted and had hook-up after hook-up. (Like I said, loose morals.) And Frank was kind enough to provide us a pic of that first historic kiss. Just looking at it makes me verklempt.

And if you still haven't had enough of European men playing tonsil hockey, AfterElton.com reader bitchplease wrote in to say that out actor David Paisley, whom I mentioned in last week's entry about Tinsel Town, played gay a second time in a show called Casualty where he locked lips with yet another actor. Here is a clip of that snog.

According to Wikipedia, David is out and is currently starring in another British soap called River City. He had a long-term relationship with co-star Alex Mercer. The two gave Britain its first on-screen gay threesome also in Tinsel Town and David was voted 'Britain's sexiest man' by readers of Gay Times magazine. It's not hard to see why.

Finally, AfterElton.com reader Paul wants folks to know that U.K. soap Emmerdale is about to air its first episodes about Paul Lambert (Mathew Bose) and Jonny Foster' (Richard Grieve) getting hitched in a civil partnership.

Richard Grieve, Mathew Bose

Paul says that storyline hasn't been without controversy and that Bose (who is out in real life) nearly left the show due to the way it was handled. Both actors are interviewed by the U.K. magazine Attitude this month and will supposedly explain what the controversy was all about. Stay tuned for details about all of it. In the meantime, here is an interview with Bose about the episode.

Once again, thanks to everyone who wrote in to share about new and old gay television storylines. Keep the tips coming!