Checking in with Nuke: ATWT's gay storyline a hit

This whole "first gay male kiss in daytime television history" thing certainly is living up to its hype. Let's see where things lie four days after Noah (Jake Silbermann) and Luke (Van Hansis), already lovingly dubbed "Nuke" by the fans, pulled off the groundbreaking lip-lock.

• The kiss has actually been shown three times, once a day since Friday (the first was the actual kiss, Monday's was the kiss repeated as a different take with the interrupting phone call, and yesterday Luke had a mini-flashback while talking to Maddie). Doesn't look like the show or network are shying away from the same-sex affection.
  
• Indeed, despite the haters, the most-played clip of the original kiss (among dozens that fans uploaded) was the #1 Most Viewed Entertainment video on YouTube on Saturday, with over 230,000 hits (not bad for a soap opera!). (Figure quoted by Soap Opera Digest. t/y Wayman for the tip!)
• Says ATWT Executive Producer Chris Goutman: "We are pleased that so many people are enjoying this storyline. We always strive to create intriguing storylines and relatable characters. Clearly the Luke/Noah story is one that is resonating with people, and is relevant to today's viewers. We will continue to evolve these characters as we'd planned and to provide our viewers with engaging storylines."
  
• Van Hansis did a great series of fan Q&As on the ATWT site, and in his profile on SOD he notes that his favorite actor is Sir Ian McKellen (good taste!) and his real middle name, Vanfossen, means "House of the Fox." I'll say!
  

In terms of actual story, Noah's dad is apparently on to his son's sexuality struggle and is basically using Maddie as a human shield to keep Luke away from him, which is going to come back to hurt Maddie more than anyone. Luke seems keenly aware of this and after the kiss he has been able to put his own emotions aside in the interest of his friends while still being assertive with Noah, which reinforces yet again what a solid character he is and how carefully the writers are treating his journey.