ATWT: Week of January 12, 2009

[MarkH]

They did it!

[All My Shadows]

That kiss was so sloppy. You don't put a kiss on someone while they're in the middle of a word that makes their mouth be all opened wide!

And Noah is NOT like Lucinda!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

He wishes he could be as fierce...

Jake Silbermann still has the whole, "Can I have a girlfriend PLEASE" look on his face.

What a pointless, and ill-developed relationship. I don't care that they've had sex, because there was nothing intriguing about them from the start. I can only imagine that the radical Nuke-ers out there must be throwing some type of parade.

[EastMA2]

Oh geez, now what are the Nuke nutties going to complain about now that they can't say anymore that this couple is being treated differently than other couples.

A big yawn because Silbermann still can't act.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

You know, "Nuke doesn't have sex as much as the other couples on this show!"

[All My Shadows]

"We want softcore porn-style sex for Nuke!"

I want Helen Wagner to just walk on screen one day and say "No. Just no. Nooooooo. Okay?" It'd be the single greatest moment in the history of all of television, ever.

[brimike]

I was waiting all day for this thread. I just knew the SON response would be worth it.

[winterguy125]

I think it was beautiful

[MarkH]

That one had me spitting my diet coke on the keyboard...which is a b*tch to clean up.

Well, while I have issues with Nuke, I am delighted that this happened. In part, so we can get past it. In part because it is still pushing an envelope on daytime that needs to be pushed. (With Reese-Bianca and Luke-Noah these days, we're FINALLY getting there!!).

For those who find them retchworthy, I hope I am not breaking rules by reminding us how cool today's scenes were!

Me too!

[brimike]

I think what happened on ATWT today was beautiful - it's about time daytime "went there". As a gay man, I suppose I'm thrilled.

But I guess I watch from a TV fan's perspective, as opposed to a gay man's perspective. Because WHY they chose to do it now (as opposed to after every other contrived argument they've had) is completely lost on me. And I still don't have the first clue who Noah Mayer really is.

I don't begrudge the Nuke fanbase the boys they love so much. I would never tell a fanbase "they're wrong". They love their couple, and I'm thrilled for them. But I just don't get it, personally. I keep trying to, and it completely eludes me.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

BINGO

I refuse to support them just because they're gay. If the radical Nuker-ers are calling for equal treatment amongst couples, then I just have to view Nuke as a typical soap fan would. This couple's relationship was botched from the get-go, and still, they're poorly defined as a couple and individual characters, which makes them just "blah" to me. It's nice that daytime "went there" but I just do not care as a soap fan, I feel the same way about the other instant couples on this show and on the rest of daytime.

[Soapsuds]

What did they do? They didn't do squat!! I am so glad I lost interest before this eppy appeared. The had zero sex. It was off screen. It was obvious the producers/writers weren't going to show them having sex. I don't know why everyone is so happy about nothing. Noah taking Luke passionately was laughable.

[Soapsuds]

Yup, Silberman cant act [!@#$%^&*]. Even La Hubbard looked bad around him. Any great actor he touches just makes the elite actor seem mediocre.

They still havent had sex. You call today's show sex?..LOL I wonder if the Nuke fanbases had orgasms watching today's show.

[MarkH]

I am not a radical Nuker, and I agree with you on all the dramatic points. But is ATWT handling ANY romance well right now? My sense is that Nuke is getting 'equal' treatment, even in the writing.

The point is that a gay man, who is a member of a core family, whom the audience has been allowed -- more or less -- to see grow up has also been allowed to become a fully embodied sexual being on his show. And that is major. Within the context of this single episode, it was also a good soapy setup -- from the fight in Midtown to the feverish kissing and locking of doors, to the post-coital tenderness. Since ATWT is trying to get us to view the show in a more "episodic" way, this was a good episode vis-a-vis Nuke.

Not only radical Nukers support this couple. Your final point highlights, IMO, the actual victory of this story. Nuke is no MORE botched than any other tale.

And it does matter -- even for those who are trying to separate the activism of the tale from the quality of the tale -- what happened. Walls are tumbling, and this is a very good thing.

I never wanted more. I never want more. This is more than I expected or needed. To paraphrase someone else in this thread, I never needed to see soft core.

For me, a sensuous kiss, fade to black, followed by references (however oblique) to sex that happened off camera would have been just fine! It's not the sex that matters...it is the representation of Luke as an authentic, fully embodied gay man. That moved forward today.

For my taste, it would be fine if Luke were never shown in a sex scene again...as long as we are made to understand that his life is AS full as those of his compatriots.

The other thing is that Luke--as a not particularly religious man-- borne of the crazy dysfunctional family he belongs to--simply WOULD NOT HAVE WAITED THIS LONG. And so, the artifice of the obstacles only made it clear that censorship was going on. (Or at least...trepiditousness due to fear of a certain conservative segment of the audience). This is major, for CBS and P&G to face 'em head on and defy them. So, yes, it matters.

I quibble with none of you regarding the storytelling...I can't even really judge that. But walls fell today. That is what matters.

[EastMA2]

I wonder if the Nuke fanbases had orgasms watching today's show.

Oh you know they did! And they have already started a postcard campaign to thank ATWT for the non sex. lol. I'm off to go print out at least 100 postcards and send them in or my membership will be revoked and I'll be banned from Nukeapalooza!