One Life To Live Discussion Group -- As a gay male, I am loving OLTL right now

One Life To Live Discussion Group

Topic: As a gay male, I am loving OLTL right now

Topic Posted by: TBS
Date Posted: Thu Oct 22 16:02:31 2009
Additional Comments: I realize the gay storylines are a bit, shall we say, farfetched, but I am still digging them. The writers on OLTL have always been very edgy and smart funny, and that shows on these storylines. I get it. The humor on this show is something AMC used to have, but lost long ago. Like when Amelia says she's going back to HQ (i.e. the gay and lesbian alliance "headquarters")....hilarious! People on this board who are not liking these storylines should relax a little and have some fun with them. I also love the way the writers on OLTL manage to find storylines for almost all of the characters and meld them together nicely, and keep the storylines moving fairly briskly. AMC deep sixes most of its juicier characters, like Opal, and the storylines plod along like dying turtles. Enjoy OLTL. It is, IMO, the best soap by far right now.

Posted by: pathfinder
Date posted: Wed Oct 28 13:02:28 2009
Message:

I was actually really bored yesterday watching the show. I started out watching Fish and Kyle, but ended up FF them. Then Gigi and (his name escapes me), and ended up FF them too. I never even finished watching the end of the show, which is unusual. I used to like Rex/Gigi, but the whole Stacey thing totally turned me off on all of them.

Also, if Starr and Langston get any more self-righteous and sanctimonious, I'll just give in and scream!!

Basically, I think about the only ones I care much about now are Jessica and Brody. I like Viki, but she's not on much.

I never liked Mitch and don't look forward to him coming back. He's like the ''Phoenix'' on DOOL.

Sigh, I just don't know how much longer I will bother tuning in. It's a shame, cause I really used to enjoy the soaps.//pf

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Actually, I also like the Matthew/Daniella and everyone else involved story right now, but I guess I forgot them because they weren't on yesterday, so I guess there are still a few that I like.//pf

Posted by: Gary
Date posted: Sat Oct 24 2:08:53 2009
Message:

Gay male here too and I am not happy with this show. They can't hire better gay male actors? Nick is awful and Fish isn't much better. At least the real life gay one who pretends not to be gay on the show (Tuc) can act.

The whole show is ridiculous.

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I think Nick is bad, but I just don't think Scott Evans' portrayal of Fish is bad at all. The thing I like about it is he seems so sweet. I think some of the situations his character has been put in are bad, but there is something about Fish that I like. eom/sea

Gary, ITA. Fish is horrible. but Nick is better.

Wow, I couldn't disagree more. I think all three actors are doing a great job. n/t

Posted by: Edward
Date posted: Fri Oct 23 14:16:52 2009
Message:
As a gay man, I think all of this gay marriage stuff is badly written and makes no sense. Why would a bunch of sham marriages help pave the way for the legalization of gay marriage? And aren't these rushed, sham marriages an insult to truly committed gay couples who want to get married? And Kyle should run as fast as he can away from that gay alliance guy because he's a fatal attraction just waiting to happen. I was enjoying the storyline of Fish coming to terms with being gay, and he and Kyle finding their way back to each other, and then this Dorian/gay marriage thing just turned everything into over-the-top silliness.

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Gay storyline

I still prefer realistic and identifiable to flamboyant and ridiculous. (Edward)

Oh, Edward! Finally someone else who thinks the way I do. I've said all along they are choosing to make a mockery out of a real-life issue, and I can only assume that if I were gay, I'd not be proud of this storyline. eom/sea

I agree that the two half-hearted marriages are poorly written and interefere with a good storyline, but the couples who accept Amelia's invitation to get married along with Dorian and her will take their vows seriously. It's not a ''bunch of sham marriages'' - it's 20 solemn marriages, one marriage with reservations, and one sham marriage. You ask how illegal weddings can change the law? It's a fact that most court decisions in favour of marriage equality (interracial as well as same-sex) have come from a couple applying for a license illegally, or getting married in a different jurisdiction to challenge the law at home. (E.g. the two Russian women getting married in Canada right now.) Experience also tells us that visibility is the key to getting justice. Dorian's stunt means that the media will cover the weddings and the whole city, state and country will see the human faces of the issue. When you asked whether the Dorian/Amelia and Nick/Kyle marriages aren't an insult to truly committed gay couples, did you mean that they're a negative portrayal (I agree, just as Todd's marriages are a negative portrayal of opposite-sex marriages) or that they devaluate real same-sex marriages? If it's the latter, the writers have already addressed that objection. As Amelia said, it's the same kind of prejudice that homophobic bigots use to argue that same-sex marriages shouldn't be visible because they're an insult to opposite-sex marriages. I like that this storyline makes viewers uncomfortable.

Blahblahblahblah

About Dorian's stunt: she didn't have to do that at all to garner the attention. The vetting process of all candidates, big or small (and I'm going out on a limb here and saying the Llanview Mayoral race numbers among the small), will certainly pick up on a slight discrepancy in Dorian's sexual history. Did she suddenly turn gay? She is allowing herself to be used by Amelia and Nick for her own cause. They are all very distasteful characters. eom/sea

sea, I agree with you that Dorian could have gotten plenty of attention simply by agreeing to challenge Pennsylvania law by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples (which is how Amelia wanted to use her in the first place). I haven't heard Dorian make that promise publicly (just vague ramblings about not resting until everyone has equal rights), so Amelia hasn't succeeded in using her yet. Instead, Dorian is pressuring Amelia into marriage for the election, which makes Dorian the primary user. Amelia may be wrong to agree to marry Dorian instead of her real partner, but she's generously sharing the spotlight with real same-sex couples whose legal struggles wouldn't be visible otherwise. I don't see that as Amelia using Dorian; Dorian chose to define her campaign by her wedding all on her own, and that makes it Amelia's professional duty to attract more publicity. Nick hasn't done anything wrong by not outing Dorian; her sexual orientation and her reasons for marrying are irrelevant to the right to civil marriage, just as it would be irrelevant if Viki and Charlie had separate bedrooms and a prenuptial agreement. Anyway, it's ridiculous that David and Dorian declared her gay rather than bisexual, and that The Sun hasn't found Amelia's partner.

Posted by: Crane Tolliver
Date posted: Fri Oct 23 13:34:49 2009
Message:

I don't like the Dorian gay marriage goofiness, but OLTL is a great soap and has been for the past few years. I would compare the current run to Michael Malone's first stint as headwriter in the mid-'90s and the late '70s era when Karen Wolek was around. We should enjoy this while it lasts. AMC and GH are the pits.

Posted by: Gallagher
Date posted: Fri Oct 23 11:52:45 2009
Message:

You can't even compare AMC and GH with OLTL these days. Even at it's worst, ONE LIFE TO LIVE is still the best of the three (which is my only point of reference, as I don't watch the other networks and don't plan to).

Humorless, dry, and completely void of history and character driven shows, the other two shows that bookened ONE LIFE are really awful shows these days, imo. Yes, OLTL might have an episode or two a week that might be off, but even then I can almost find something to enjoy - if it's a character, a story, or some of the writing.

And, yes, the David and Dorian and the GAY MARRIAGE storyline is a bit of a campy fiasco, but I will really watch these two do and say anything to each other, because the alternative (of them not sharing scenes) is not as good. And occasionally we get scenes like the ones on Wednesday when they talked about their love for one-another - really dug it.

Not buying or enjoying all of the stuff with the gay storyline. As a straight man, I don't have a problem with gay or provacative or even agenda driven stories, and there are aspects of this one that I find amusing (because I'm curious how they plan to get out of it), however I do wish that things might be grounded just a little bit in the real world - where not every liberal gay person is virtuous and every conservative is an evil biggot.

I think it might be going there - I don't think that Nick and Amelia are SUPPOSE to be popular/good characters - classic soap characters who do the wrong things for the right reason (at least in their minds - reminds me of Dorian, Todd or Adam Chandler and Erica Kane, back when AMC was at its best).

Posted by: tweety
Date posted: Fri Oct 23 7:47:21 2009
Message:

I appreciate the fact that they have finally moved beyond making gays or their parents, homicidal maniacs as they insisted on doing when they had the previous gay storyline.

Posted by: Brhannada^sArmour
Date posted: Thu Oct 22 20:45:24 2009
Message:

I think most of the jokes have been forced, crass, and campy - I'm irritated that OLTL has allowed the antics of David and Dorian encroach on the space that the serious storyline deserves. There should have been more screentime to establish why Kyle is willing to marry Nick. However, I think that the writers are doing an overall good job: whenever the silliness gets to be too much, Amelia says something thoughtful that challenges people on both sides of the issue to question our assumptions.

It's also nice that the ignorant and homophobic characters are more human, moral and articulate than many of their kind in real-life society or in online communities.

Posted by: Herb Callison
Date posted: Thu Oct 22 16:46:01 2009
Message:
Well I'm a gay man too and I couldn't disagree more with your assessment. I looked forward to the gay storyline and liked Kyle and Fish and even the introduction of Nick. And addressing gay marriage is interesting...the kind of social issues OLTL has long been noted for. But all the stuff with Dorian and Amelia and the whole town seemingly a-ok with it is just too much. There needs to be more conflict and less silliness IMO.

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couldn't agree more......so glad iam not alone in thinking that there needs to be a balance between those that oppose and favor gay marriage in llandview

Sure, OLTL is a PC mess