Y&R: Pretty big Phillip III spoiler...

[Cheap21]

Will anyone even care that he is gay? Maybe Nina but I dont see his family disowning him for that. Talk about taking things to the extreme. Stupi plot twist

[DRW50]

Peter Bergman looks younger than his age, at least to me. The most significant age difference for Victor was the relationship with Sabrina, and fans complained heavily about how they didn't want to see him macking on a young woman.

Yani Gellman looks younger than Rafe is supposed to be. When the only gay stories on Y&R involve older men being put in situations with this guy who barely looks 18, it will probably cause some comment.

[MTSRocks]

It's like Death of a Salesman. The father thinks his family would be better off if he was dead, rather than alive, so he kills himself.

The thing is, this story is deeper than what people are acknowledging it as. I'm not sure how the writing is, but being bisexual, and even gay is EXTREMELY hard for many people still today. Yes, your family may love you and all that unconditional love mantra, but growing up in a society where it is looked upon so negatively, and maybe even seeing your friends being disowned by their parents because of this makes it that much harder. The faking death is extreme, but Phillip being afraid to admit to his loved ones that he is gay (especially after having a wife AND kid) is far tougher than what most here would want to believe.

[MTSRocks]

A lot of people look younger than their age though, so I don't get the big deal. I look younger than my age, but that doesn't mean I'm going to date someone that looks as young as I am just to be socially acceptable. I get what you're saying though, and agreed that the casting could have got someone that looked a bit older than Yani. However, look at Thad Luckinbill.

[CSF]

I'd rather Phillip III stayed dead!

What a slap in the face to so much history. For someone who really cares about Y&R and it's history, MAB is pretty twisted to not only bring someone back from the dead and change the history behind it, but she also misses the opportunity to have Jill relive all those horrid memories when she finds out Philip III really is her son and he is still dead and everything with Cane was a lie and false hope and she can go back to feuding with Katherine for taking yet another loved one away from her.

[CSF]

Actually, I don't even think Nina would care that he is gay. Kay won't care, Jill won't care and Nina loved him so much obviously that I think she'd rather have the father of her son back and would careless if he were gay. I think the only real anger would be that he just never told them and put them through so much hurt. But whatever, MAB's still an idiot.

[MTSRocks]

^^^I think the story is more about honoring Thom Bierdz, and I do think MAB has good intentions with this one. She knows Bierdz hid his sexuality when he was on Y&R years ago, and lived a very tragic life. Now, if she resurrected Cassie, THAT would be a mistake. Long lost twin included.

[DRW50]

The big deal from my viewpoint is that this is the first, and possibly the only, gay story Y&R will tell. It's bad enough that I don't think Rafe has been developed as a character. To then put him with two men who look much older than he does is jarring, and adds a strange undercurrent. I have no idea why Rafe and Phillip even have to be put together. They could bring a longtime partner for Phillip, or they could just have Phillip stay single. Rafe is barely even staying afloat in the one story he has, much less being part of two.

[CSF]

But this is a show about the residents of Genoa City, not about an actor who once played one of those characters. Yes, I know he had a difficult life with a lot of tragedy but if she really wanted to honor him, she'd use her brain and write his character's son as gay and do a story there where he is accepted by his family who could careless about his homosexuality because they love him regardless. Do do a story on don't ask don't tell and use what little writing abilities she has to ask serious questions about this story and help viewers to understand the changing of the times and how we should accept people. Just because one is gay, that does not make them any different from someone else. If she wants to honor her late father-in-law's vision, maybe she should do what he did, and ask a serious question through his writing, address an issue like when his wife would pass on hot topics to him from her former talk show.

She's right, she's gonna show gay character's in a way other soaps don't. She's gonna have one man seduce his gay best friend and then she's gonna bring a legacy character back from the dead who "killed himself" because he was gay and was doing god knows what in Australia. Yes, kudos to MAB.

[Sapounopera]

Would any of us buy Cassie faking her death because she was a lesbian?

I remember Phillip as a nice, shy boy who loved his family, there is no way he would do that to them and even if he wanted, how did he fool the hospital? Everyone was there when he died!

As for TB's performances not even CLOSE to a straight macho man.. a) not all straight men are macho should characters whose actors can't portray them as straight all come out? That would be kind of fun..

So Phillip was afraid that the two drag queens who adored him wouldn't accept him??

[CSF]

Make that three since Brenda Dickson was the first Jill to play his mother!

[MTSRocks]

I agree with you. But there is a difference between writing his onscreen son as gay and Bierdz himself.

I just don't have a problem with this story as much as others do. I'm not hating on those who dislike it, but I'm just going to enjoy seeing it play out itself onscreen myself.

Yeah, but Camryn Grimes wasn't hiding being a lesbian while working on Y&R... Like I said this story is more about Bierdz, whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

[lmfan]

I agree it is more about Bierdz and MAB's being a fan of his, but should this be a reason to rewrite 20 year old history and focus a large chunk of screen time to this story while other vets get little to nothing to do because obviously MAB does not have the same attachment to their potrayers.

Maybe this story will end up decent, especially with actresses as capable as Jeanne Cooper, Jess Walton and Tricia Cast centering. I hope they play the beats of the family story and don't just use this as a way to bring on Phiip IV.

[MarkH]

I'm pretty forgiving where Y&R is concerned. A lot of these twists don't really bother me.

But I'm also an empiricist. What I am seeing, in all the places I look, is growing fan dissatisfaction with these twists. Right now, in other places, Mary Jane's "killer kiss" is getting the most outrage, and for many (harming a child) permanently ruins her potential.

Thus, I feel Y&R's writers have lost the pulse of their audience...not me...but most viewers.

[CSF]

But the story shouldn't be about Bierdz. If Bierdz wants a story about himself, his life and hiding personal things about himself while working on Y&R, then he should go on E! True Hollywood Story. I mean come on now, is the new trend in daytime going to be honoring actor's personal secrets? I liked Phillip and I like Tom Bierdz, but I don't understand why they have to go and do this. MAB just needs to get her head out of her ass.