The Suds Report

[SFK]

I'm not trying to downplay the importance of personal responsibility and worth ethic, but I'd just like to point out that people will only do what you'll let them get away with. What an interesting coincidence that it's these two who happen to be the "irresponsible party boys" who "let fame go their heads." If any of that is even remotely true, maybe we should also look to the creative team who treated them like they hung the moon.

[Soapsuds]

I wonder if RC and FV have gone out on a date?

Maybe Branco should investigate.

[DRW50]

I'm glad to hear your thoughts on this.

Something else that annoyed me was the attempt to deflect negative attention for ABC is bringing up CBS. Yes, CBS or someone else at Y&R, ATWT, and GL were cowardly in how Adam/Rafe and Otalia and to a lesser degree, Nuke, were handled, but I can't forget that GL and ATWT both kept their gay couples around, never blamed them for ratings problems or for the axe falling, and never had anyone go to the press and spread rumors about the actors.

I think that the few months of Kish as a couple were better than anything I've seen on daytime regarding gays, but now they also seem like an experiment which someone deemed as being wrong and are ending as quickly as possible. It goes back to what ATWT and GL were once wonderful at and have lost sight of but still manage to do sometimes, which is having a family unit and embracing couples, straight or gay, under that family unit. Nuke and Otalia, even though the promise was never reached, were part of that family, to the end. Kish apparently were nothing more than a throwback to ABC's days of social issues, like Lynn Carson telling Devon she wasn't a lesbian, or Marcie's gay brother, or Lucas being gay bashed and then disappearing. They weren't an important part of OLTL, they were just a brief diversion to get awards and attention, they were an oddity, and now they have been cast out.

[SFK]

It means that the days they need him must be worked out fairly in advance. They don't just call the night before (well, they *could* should some last minute scheduling change occur, doesn't mean that they'll get him). But that's the thing, if we're talking about him being consistently unavailable as they tried to work out scheduling weeks before taping, they should have explored another avenue (contract or recast). But I agree that if he was scheduled and then coming to work unprepared, or CALLING OUT altogether (who does that!?), he should have been canned and replaced, end of discussion. There are too many actors waiting in the wings out there for them to put up with that kind of behaviour, and frankly, I don't believe that most fans who are interested in seeing a strong gay storyline unfold are that hard up for Kish to exist solely in the form of these two actors, they would have lived with a replacement.

[Ann_SS]

I wonder what Nellie's good friend, Jamey Giddens thinks of him smearing the actors since he has been outraged by their firing and ABC blaming them for the low ratings. I would love to see Giddens tear Nellie a new one for joining Michael Logan in ABC's smear campaign.

[dragonflies]

Blah, blah, blah. I don't believe a word Nelson reports, he has a tendency to smear actor's reps, and claim it came from an "insider"

[wingwalker]

Nelson is totally talking on both sides. So that way no matter how this goes, he looks good. If BC and SE come back and Kish continues, he can say he helped out the campaign, if they don't come back, he can remain buddy buddy with the ABC execs.

[DRW50]

It's just lip service. He probably knows this is it for Kish, and likely for gay characters on ABC Daytime. And we get this totally gratuitous smearing of the actors. They always say that gay men are one of the main reasons other gay men struggle in the entertainment industry, and I can believe it.

[Darn]

I think everyone knows that calling out for soap actors is a HUGE HUGE no-no. Do it once? Okay. Twice? Prepared to get fired. So I find it hard to believe that if any of this is true it was going on for very long.

[MoTheGreat]

I don't believe anything RC or RV said about BC & SE. So the other people OLTL let go was also partying with BC & SE.

come to think of it, I'll party too. Since I only will be seen once every other week.

[All My Shadows]

And to be perfectly honest, not to beat a dead horse, but Nelson wants to talk about being professional?! Jigga whaaaa?

[ChiTownBoi03]

Top storyline to watch Dr. Reid ATWT...ummm?

Renee Jones IS the biggest waste of talent.

Ron Carlivati is still pretty sexaaay.

[Bright Eyes]

Nelson is very professional. I mean, how would you act when your job is to be an idiotic, network pandering, shameless, disrespectfully horny, unknowledgable phony?

[Vee]

I'm not even bothering to rephrase my TWOP comments so here they are:

I think all that about the actors is bullshit. I think they're responding to fan backlash with their idea of a "good offense," which really isn't very good at all. Where was all this loose talk about Evans and Claywell being unprofessional before? Nelson Branco has no backbone, he acts a fool all the time and claims to be some rebel but in the end he'll say whatever the network wants if he thinks it will support OLTL. I want to see OLTL stick around too but I'm not going to pretend this isn't what it is, which is scapegoating and at best, mild bigotry.

Why no stories about Scott Clifton or DD? I think ABC is dragging the gay couple through the mud because they can - because there are enough ignorant people out there who will equate modern gay existence (even if only one of the actors is gay) with nothing but sex, drugs and endless hedonism, and therefore totally buy the story. It's a really shitty bit of business, and totally unnecessary; it's only going to make fan outcry more intense.

[All My Shadows]

Oh, I'm sure Daph was "difficult," a "diva" even.

Yet Fauxrah can engage in flame wars with fans and still sit high atop a stack of damn paychecks.