Gays of Our Lives Theater: Will Lucas and Edwin be Swinging on "Good Times, Bad Times?"

Welcome to this week’s edition of Gays Of Our Lives Theater. We’ve got lots of clips and commentary for you, including a big gay Easter on Coronation Streetand the shocking return of Brendan Brady on Hollyoaks. Let’s get started…

Hollyoaks

Welcome back, Brendan Brady, you’ve been missed. I loved Brendan’s return to the show and the writers crafted a fun storyline to bring him back with. It was great to see all the players in Brendan’s orbit back in action, especially the ongoing battle for supremacy between Warren and Brendan. It was a delicious twist to have Brendan buy into the club, once again bringing Warren and Brendan head to head and setting the stage for plenty of drama as they slug it out.

I also enjoyed getting some backstory on Doug, a character I’ve always liked, even though having Doug's one true love coincidentally be Brendan’s secret ally is the most hoariest of soap opera clichés. It also, alas, dashes my dreams of a Brendan/Doug hook up. Oh well!

Of course, I have to mention the most deliciously showy moment: Brendan publicly kissing Ste and outing himself in order to release any hold that Warren might have on him. I can’t wait to see where this story goes after this surprising plot twist. Brendan and Ste and the actors who play them continue to have sizzling, combustible chemistry, and their scorching scenes together have been missed. But it also shows that the show really botched things by not taking more care in making Noah a viable romantic partner for Ste. I know some viewers think that’s a good thing, but it’s really not. Having a real triangle where fans battle over their loyalties is far more interesting than an unbalanced triangle where it’s clear which side will win. It’s just a matter of time and plot devices before we get there.

Still, even as Hollyoaks creates juicy storylines, you can see the plot flaws all over the place. For example, Danny Houston died months ago. Why are we just now hearing about all this money? How did Warren (who didn’t even meet Danny until the night Brendan killed him) get it? And how did Brendan find out about it? I doubt if the show will ever explain these plot details as they would simply get in the way of story.

And it wouldn't be the first time a soap simply failed to answer the most logical of questions.

Another problem: as much as I enjoyed this past week, Hollyoaks proved what’s been obvious for a long time, the show just isn’t the same without Brendan at the center of a storyline, stirring things up. And that’s not completely a good thing. As wonderful as this character is... and Emmett Scanlan’s fearless, full bloodied performance may be, a soap opera can’t rely on one character alone. They need to have a multiple characters and multiple stories to draw in the viewer and keep their attention. But Hollyoaks doesn’t have that, especially these creatively troubled days. They need to work on that going forward.

Coronation Street Easter Special

Long time readers of this column know that I have never liked Sean Tully. I find him to be an incredibly annoying and unappealing character of whom a little goes a very long way. I continue to find this character's popularity puzzling, especially since the actor’s portrayal is weak and uneven to say the least. That Coronation Streetgenerally only uses the character as a background supporting player suits me fine because it makes it easier to not watch this show. But when he’s front and center in a storyline I have to watch. And I have to say that my opinion of Sean hasn’t changed. But I’ll get to that later. First, I want to discuss Todd’s return, which I had been looking forward to.