Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (April 18, 2008)

ANNOUNCING OUR UNITED KINGDOM AND BERLIN BUREAUS
Okay, We're not really opening bureaus overseas, but given the interest in the gay storylines taking place outside the United States, I'm certainly tempted. In last week's BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER!, I polled folks as to how interested they are in reading more about Germanys Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love). 91% of folks indicated they were either very or pretty interested in the adventures of Christian and Olli. And with scenes like these...

...it's not hard to see why. Just looking at those pics makes me frantic to learn German. The other 9% of those taking the poll said they were utterly obsessed with Ollian (or Chrolli), and couldn't stop thinking about them, or sleep or eat because they keep watching the clips. Or is that me I'm thinking of?

I also polled folks as to how interested they are in other European shows including Hollyoaks (U.K), Coronation Street (U.K.), The Blue Ones (France). All That Matters (Germany) and Skins (U.K.). Again, you're a very inquisitive bunch as 43% wanted us to track all of the shows, while another 25% went just for Hollyoaks, 11% Skins, and 10% All That Matters. So going forward, look for us to keep track of the gay happenings on all these shows. And for those who voted for The Blue Ones, we posted the first subtitled clips yesterday.

And to get us started on Hollyoaks, I've spent a bunch of time catching up with John Paul and his gay adventures. What's that you ask? Why, yes, I do get paid to watch this stuff. So sue me!

Anyway, when we last left John Paul (James Sutton), his erstwhile boyfriend Craig (Guy Burnet) had skipped off to Dublin while John Paul stayed behind because Craig insisted he wasn't really gay, but just in love with John Paul. Not surprsingly, John Paul wasn't so down with that.

John Paul (James Sutton), Craig (Guy Burnet)

While there was a tearful parting at the airport that seems to have left room for a possible reconciliation, John Paul has moved on including developing an attraction to a Catholic priest living with his family. Here is a clip when John Paul learns something surprising about Father Kieron.

If you'd like to follow the whole storyline (and I recommend you do), then head over here. I find John Paul's storylines on Hollyoaks to be worthwhile for several reasons. First is James Sutton who is simply marvelous as John Paul. He handles the material in a very straight-forward way that is believable and not the least bit self-conscious. And I find him utterly convincing as a young gay man who seems gay without resorting to stereotypes and affectations.

I also appreciate Hollyoaks for keeping John Paul in the mix. So often a gay character gets one relationship and when that goes belly up, well, so long, we've done our part for "diversity". But John Paul has actual gay friends and is somewhat involved in the local gay community which gives him opportunities for actual romance unlike, say, Men in Trees, where poor Teri (Mario Cantone) is the only 'mo in the village.

Nor does Hollyoaks sugarcoat coming out and gay life. At one point, John Paul gives a great little speech about how he thought coming out would be the hard part and once he'd done that, then everything would be easy-peasy. Yeah, cause that's just how life works. Anyway, if you're interested, check out those clips and then stay tuned for more developments as they happen!

Next page! Hot grown men groping each other! At least that's how I see it!