Still trying to drum up some fans for BBCAmerica's daily online airings of UK soap Hollyoaks! This week's episodes (which start with number 126) feature John-Paul's family (The McQueen's) trying to "help" him as he's just come out to all of them. GREAT fun stuff the type stuff US soaps avoid doing or do badly in my opinion! After the rough couple weeks of coming out episodes these were just awesome...below is the link to the full episodes on BBCAmerica.com where they air for a week and are put up daily...

http://discussions.bbcamerica.com/content/232/webcasts.jsp

If you want a taste of just the last couple day's John-Paul plots then here you go...

This is the link to the edited version of Monday's episode (number 126) from YouTube...it just features the gay storyline about John-Paul and The McQueen family...check it out and if you like what you see click the link above and check out what happens next...I guarantee this is good soap!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YhMgDncTJk

JUST in case you're still not ready to commit to a whole episode...here's John-Paul's first trip to the gay bar...episode 127 edited down to just the gay plot...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO7eBLSmc68

From there hit that first BBCAmerica.com link and catch the full episodes or jump in on 128 which will post mid-day on Wednesday...this is SUCH a great soap and there are SO MANY NUKE fans (who got me into ATWT) I just want to share this with them as well!

Kade

It's brilliant, I've been following it on youtube since last year. But I hate all the ocmparisons people have between the two--they're on VERY different shows with VERY different audiences (one's a fairly cutting edge youth soap the other is a 50 year old soap) in VERY different soap marketplaces.

Does BBCAMerica air full eps? I wonder if BBCanada does--might actually make me get it. Can people outside of the US watch the full eps online there too? and do they only air online? *confused*

It's brilliant, I've been following it on youtube since last year. But I hate all the ocmparisons people have between the two--they're on VERY different shows with VERY different audiences (one's a fairly cutting edge youth soap the other is a 50 year old soap) in VERY different soap marketplaces.

Does BBCAMerica air full eps? I wonder if BBCanada does--might actually make me get it. Can people outside of the US watch the full eps online there too? and do they only air online? *confused*

I agree they are totally different types of stories, It's just cool to me as a gay young adult to have TWO soaps currently airing gay plots!

I've seen all the NUKE vs. JP/C videos on YouTube comparing the two couple's first kisses, coming out, etc. I just think all the enthusiasm is so freaking cool!

Personally I find the OAKS storyline WAY closer to what I've been through! Never been paralyzed after being shot by my boyfriend's father...BUT I have had friends and family try too hard ("Is a fag hag the same thing as a lipstick lesbian?"), and have had crushes on friends that got way out of hand much like John-Paul and Craig, etc.

BBCAmerica.com (THE WEBSITE) airs full-length new eps. every weekday and they stay up for seven straight days to watch for free...The TV station has aired a group of 65 eps. for two cycles but are now only concentrating on the online eps. The online eps. were also recently "renewed" so the fear of getting hooked and having it taken away is gone for now!

Also as far as I know if you can log onto the site you can watch the eps. The first link in my post is the link to the area with the online eps.

The entire show is on fire right now and it's a PERFECT jumping on point, alot of big arcs just ended (Becca/Justin, Amy's pregnancy, Round one of Clare vs. Max...) and alot of new stories arcs are starting up...I like ATWT but I think overall OAKS is a much better total package...AND you can watch it anytime you want online!

Kade

HAHA I'll agree there, it is way more relatable--but I expected it to be (I had already followed Corrie's gay coming out story a few years back, etc)

I'll see if I can log on from Canada--sometimes there are probs... Still kinda odd it's online only but I guess we shouldn't complain

i prefer the soapness of being shot by your boyfriends father who hated the fact this his sonw as gay uptil the day he invited you out to a remote cabin in the woods with a shotgun plot. can i relate? nope. but it sure is soap great soap.

i prefer the soapness of being shot by your boyfriends father who hated the fact this his sonw as gay uptil the day he invited you out to a remote cabin in the woods with a shotgun plot. can i relate? nope. but it sure is soap great soap.

I personally thought that ATWT cut off alot of potential plot with that twisted mess, everyone running around in the woods and such, while it may have been a great plot full of excitement, it raped alot of dramatic real life character moments that could have come more naturally out of all of this. Years of story could have come from Noah's father's uneasiness with the whole gay thing and there have to be more interesting ways to accelerate a romance plot than paralyzing (for the moment) Luke. It's all good but oh so unreal and I guess I like my soaps a bit more relatable.

Still Luke and Noah have SUCH chemistry that they do overcome stuff like that.

Hollyoaks gay story has just been SO REAL to me, that may be the problem the UK soaps have getting a foothold in the US, so many plots are just too real, the bad guys are not on the level of the US bad guys. OAKS big bads (Clare and Will) are more grounded in the sort of mischief that they get up to!

The current online eps. (that I have set up links to) are so close to the same sort of things I have experienced (I'm 23) in coming out, falling for the first time, going out for the first time, etc.

Kade

I personally thought that ATWT cut off alot of potential plot with that twisted mess, everyone running around in the woods and such, while it may have been a great plot full of excitement, it raped alot of dramatic real life character moments that could have come more naturally out of all of this. Years of story could have come from Noah's father's uneasiness with the whole gay thing and there have to be more interesting ways to accelerate a romance plot than paralyzing (for the moment) Luke. It's all good but oh so unreal and I guess I like my soaps a bit more relatable.

Still Luke and Noah have SUCH chemistry that they do overcome stuff like that.

Hollyoaks gay story has just been SO REAL to me, that may be the problem the UK soaps have getting a foothold in the US, so many plots are just too real, the bad guys are not on the level of the US bad guys. OAKS big bads (Clare and Will) are more grounded in the sort of mischief that they get up to!

The current online eps. (that I have set up links to) are so close to the same sort of things I have experienced (I'm 23) in coming out, falling for the first time, going out for the first time, etc.

Kade

see, i prefer over the top soapness to realistic storylines. but i like realistic elements in my over the top and soapy storylines. if its to real i dont wanna watch it. if i want real ill go lvie life, not watch it. but i do see people wanting the realisticness.

what i really want is a gay soap opera bad guy. because we all know us gays can be a little wicked to sometimes..

In general, Hollyoaks is excellent. I don't think there is a single storyline I don't like. I know I'm in the minority, but I find Nuke overrated. Luke has been watered down, Noah still can't act and they ruined it with all the cheesy soap twists.

In general, Hollyoaks is excellent. I don't think there is a single storyline I don't like. I know I'm in the minority, but I find Nuke overrated. Luke has been watered down, Noah still can't act and they ruined it with all the cheesy soap twists.

Amen. That's exactly why soaps are getting killed in the ratings. Reality tv and other scripted shows have embraced believable ideas, while daytime dramas are chock full of insanity. Kade is right about the story potential cut off by having Winston flip out and turn homicidal. We lost the chance to see a homophobe come to terms with a gay relationship over a number of years, whereas Lucinda's objections to Holden and Lily were a focal point for years. They started that notion with Damian and Lily, and wrote it away quickly because they can't imagine making those characters unlikeable, even in the short term. I've read about Hollyoaks, but I'm concerned that I'll be more annoyed with Nuke than I am now if I tune in.

Not to make this a pissing match, but John Paul/Craig wipes the floor with Nuke. Better acted, better written, funnier, sexier. (IMO, of course.) And I agree, all the insanity on soaps forces writers to come up with an EVEN MORE INSANE story to top the last one. It's a bad game to play, and sooner or later, a show's fans will simply shake their heads at the madness and tune out.

I kept thinking this subject line read "Jay Sandrich" (noted Mary Tyler Moore Show and Cosby Show director)

In general, Hollyoaks is excellent. I don't think there is a single storyline I don't like. I know I'm in the minority, but I find Nuke overrated. Luke has been watered down, Noah still can't act and they ruined it with all the cheesy soap twists.

Big freakin word to what you said. In the words of Katharine McPhee....I'm so "Over It". "It" being Nuke.

Big freakin word to what you said. In the words of Katharine McPhee....I'm so "Over It". "It" being Nuke.

Wow. Talk about Least Popular Opinions I Couldn't Agree With More!

I've been petrified of admitting this on such a pro-Nuke board, but as much as I loved them over the summer, they're just completely intolerable to me now. I don't know if it's that the novelty's worn off or what... but I started to turn when the Colonel went psycho, and once Luke was paralyzed, I just rolled my eyes. I *like* Jake Silberman as an actor, but let's face it... he is SO NOT experienced enough an actor to sell motivational speeches to paralyzed Luke about how much he loves him without it sounding like an afterschool special. I like him, but he never wows me. Van is leagues beyond him in ability, and it's starting to be distracting.

Phew. Now that I've got that off my chest, I think the biggest problem with late-in-life-dabbling on the soaps is that we have SEEN most of these vets every day for the last 15-20 (and many times, twenty-plus) years. And we've seen them IN LOVE and IN THE BEDROOM. So the fans would see it as a blatant history rewrite.

That being said, something like Kim Hughes' college roommate showing up in town, and we find out Kim experimented in college or something (this is a ridiculously extreme example, and I don't really want to see it, but you get my drift) IF TOLD CORRECTLY could be a fascinating story. But it would have to be VERY carefully told, and I'm not sure there's any writer in daytime right now (or any EP/network, I should say) that could tackle it respectfully. Otherwise, the fans would completely revolt and it would turn into probably one of the bigger bombs on daytime.

Interesting topic...

If I had a fast computer, I'd definitely watch these episodes, but I don't, so I can't.

As far as gay stories and coming out stories, I've already said before how I feel about that storyline. This whole Mayer drama should have been avoided by all costs in order to not add to the stigma that gay teen storylines can only be done as coming out plots or "discovering one's self" plots.

That's why I loved it when Andrew on "Desperate Housewives" first revealed to everyone his sexual orientation. He was still a mean, badass, son-of-a-bitch who was headed on the wrong path in life, but he just happened to get his kicks with guys (Ryan Carnes at that...yum). He didn't have to "find out who he was" in the storyline...everyone else did. He was never confused about his sexuality...hell, he even twisted and lied about it just to get what he wanted.

I also loved it when Jack from "Dawson's Creek" came out. Again, it wasn't more of him finding himself, but him wanting to tell everyone else. He had years of bottled up feelings in him and those are what came out. We didn't see the played out idea of him denying who he was or anything like that.

But, with ATWT, we had to endure several months of 2006 with Luke finding the courage to come out to his parents. Which, I mean, that was some really good stuff. Luke wasn't too confused about who he was. But it was still drenched in drama and was very serious in tone. So what sense did it make to throw the audience back into another seriously dramatic story about a gay teen coming out? And this one even has to come out to himself before he comes out to others. Why couldn't we get something lighter than that? I'm not too familiar with the "Hollyoaks" plot, but doesn't one of the guys live with all female relatives and pretty much none of them had a problem when he came out right? Except for a sister, I think. But see, that's the kind of thing that I would have loved on ATWT. It would have been a perfect balance of drama and comedy.

Phew. Now that I've got that off my chest, I think the biggest problem with late-in-life-dabbling on the soaps is that we have SEEN most of these vets every day for the last 15-20 (and many times, twenty-plus) years. And we've seen them IN LOVE and IN THE BEDROOM. So the fans would see it as a blatant history rewrite.

That being said, something like Kim Hughes' college roommate showing up in town, and we find out Kim experimented in college or something (this is a ridiculously extreme example, and I don't really want to see it, but you get my drift) IF TOLD CORRECTLY could be a fascinating story. But it would have to be VERY carefully told, and I'm not sure there's any writer in daytime right now (or any EP/network, I should say) that could tackle it respectfully. Otherwise, the fans would completely revolt and it would turn into probably one of the bigger bombs on daytime.

Interesting topic...

ARGH!!!! SOrry.... I thought I was still under the late-in-life post. Whoops!!!!!

Ignore me. :-)

Big freakin word to what you said. In the words of Katharine McPhee....I'm so "Over It". "It" being Nuke.

Hopefully the show will make you like them again soon.