2009 in Retrospect

What a year 2009 has been. The first African American President of the United States was sworn in, the first Hispanic Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court was confirmed, and three states and Washington D.C. decided to stop denying same sex couples their right to marry.

There were losses too, of course. Marriage equality suffered setbacks in California, New York and Maine and President Obama failed to live up to his campaign promises on the Defense of Marriage Act and on Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Adam Lambert, Jonathan Groff, Gavin Creel, Meredith Baxter, Kelly McGillis, and Wesley Eure all came out of the closet publicly this year, while Scott Evans was outed by his own brother Chris in The Advocate, not that he minded. Chris Colfer of Glee began his career this year as an openly gay actor. Am I forgetting anyone else?

We lost some amazing talent this year, from Bea Arthur to Natasha Richardson and John Updike to John Hughes, and an era ended in the United States Senate with the death of Ted Kennedy.

It was the year that was bookended by gay love scenes on soaps. In January, Nuke finally got to make love on As the World Turns after countless delays and while it was very exciting at the time, it still wasn't all it should have been as a payoff for fans of the couple. At the end of December,Kish fans were treated to the most incredible love scene between two men ever shown on American television, showing what a difference a year (and a different network, production company, and head writer!) can make.

Yes, it has been quite a year. Here are my picks for some of my favorite things of the year:

Favorite Classic Fiction Book I read this year: Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Favorite Modern Fiction Book I read this year: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Favorite Non-Fiction (History) Book I read this year: And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts.

Favorite Non-Fiction (Literary) Book I read this year: A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel.

Favorite Short Story Collection I read this year: All five of Ethan Mordden's books in his Buddies series.

Favorite Film I saw this year: Adventureland

Favorite Gay themed film I saw this year: tie Make the Yuletide Gay and Were the World Mine

Favorite Hour long TV Show: Glee!

Favorite Half Hour long TV Show: How I Met Your Mother

Best Daytime Soap: One Life to Live

Favorite CD: Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment

New Guilty Pleasure Addiction of the year: American Idol Season 8 thanks to Adam Lambert

Favorite Gay Website of the year: AfterElton.com

Favorite Gay Character of the year (Daytime): Oliver Fish, One Life to Live

Favorite Gay Character of the year (Primetime): Kurt Hummel, Glee

Hottest Actor (Daytime): Scott Evans
Hottest Actor (Primetime): Jared Padalecki
Hottest Actor (Film): Ryan Reynolds
Hottest Athlete: Andy Roddick
Favorite Actress (Primetime): Kristin Chenoweth

Favorite Actress (Daytime): tie Erika Slezak, Florencia Lozano, Hillary B. Smith, Susan Haskell, and Robin Strasser, all of One Life to Live.

Best Day of the Year: The day I saw Rent performed live with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal!

I hope 2010 is a wonderful year for all of you!

Fantastic Scott Evans Interview

We Love The Soaps TV has a fantastic interview with Scott Evans that you have to watch if you're a fan of Scott or of Kish. Fair warning, though, you'll probably fall in love before it's over!

I'm a huge fan of Scott, obviously, and it was interesting to see him just being himself, rather than playing a role. His voice is a slightly different from when he's playing Fish, and he really talks with his hands a lot, which I thought was very cute. Most of all, though, he just seems like such a funny, down to Earth guy, and a very nice one at that.

He talks a lot about the show and about being viewed as a gay role model. Check it out!

Year End Lists

I'm a sucker for all of the year end lists that take a reflective look back on the past twelve months, so I thought I'd share some links with you.

First up, the critics at The New Yorker.

Anthony Lane, Richard Brody, and David Denby each took a look back at the best films of the year. Among his top ten, Denby selected Adventureland, a film that I really loved and meant to write about when I first saw it, but which I somehow never managed to get around to mentioning!

Last year, I seem to recall that I'd only seen one of the films picked by these guys, so I'm doing better this time around since I also saw Up, another of Denby's selections, and Star Trek, which Lane mentions.

Nancy Franklin has a look back at the year in TV. While discussing everything from President Obama's inaguration to Tom Delay on Dancing With the Stars, Franklin also mentions the over the top reaction to Adam Lambert's AMA performance:

The “American Idol” runner-up, not the first gay contestant but the first to “do” anything gay, performed on the American Music Awards, on ABC, and went a little over the top, kissing a male dancer and mimicking oral sex. Then, on CBS’s “Early Show,” a replay of the kiss was fuzzed out (as was the oral-sex bit), as if this were 1909 and not 2009. Then ABC disinvited Lambert from Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show (sorry if I’m laughing at the idea that Kimmel’s show upholds any standard other than mediocrity) and “Good Morning America,” and a tentative booking on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” was scotched. No one knows exactly where the line is anymore when it comes to what you can say and show on TV, but, wherever it is, it’s already been a crossed many times in recent years by headline-hungry heterosexuals acting in terrible taste. There’s a word for CBS’s and ABC’s hot-potato treatment of Lambert, and it’s either “hypocrisy” or “homophobia.”

James Wood covers the year in books, none of which I've read. But then, I don't tend to read all that many books the year they come out. I think the only books I've read in 2009 that actually came out this year were Judy Shepard's moving book, The Meaning of Matthew and The Angel's Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's follow up to Shadow of the Wind. The latter only counts as a 2009 book in its English translation, of course.

Hilton Als has a look at the year's best in theatre and Claudia Roth Pierpoint has a list of the top ten cultural events of the year, which includes a range of things from short story collections to ballet performances.

There is a comprehensive list of all the year end picks in many other categories if you'd like to check that out.

Playbill has a list of the Top Theatre Stories of the year as well as a look back on the Broadway stars who left us this year.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello picks his Best Of in Television for the year, including Glee's Jane Lynch as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Ken Tucker made his picks for the ten best shows on TV this year (Glee was at number 9, while Modern Family was at number 3) and also the five worst shows.

Roger Ebert picks the year's best films, and once again I've seen none of them! What was I doing all year?

If you're a soap fan, Daytime Confidential has their picks of this years 10 Best Soap Couples (with LGBT couples leading the pack, Kish at number 2 and Guiding Light's Otalia at number 1) and 10 Worst Soap Couples. Semi-LGBT couple Rafe and Adam from The Young and the Restless made this list as the number 1 worst soap couple of the year.

Michael Fairman picked the year's 20 Worst Soap Moments and they included several LGBT related stories. Coming in as the number one worst soap moment of the year? The Z Twins on As the World Turns. Also making the list was the much bemoaned Bianca and Reese storyline on All My Children and the badly executed Rafe and Adam storyline on The Young and the Restless. Y&R also made the list for the botched return of Philip Chancellor III.

Fairman also picked the 20 Best Soap Moments, of course. Number 2 on that list was Olivia confessing her love to Natalia on Guiding Light, while Kyle telling Fish he loved him at the gay group wedding on One Life to Live made number 12. Philip's initial return and revelation that he was gay on The Young and the Restless made number 17 on Fairman's best of list, even though the subsequent story made the Worst of list.

That's probably enough list-mania for now!

Kish: Simply Beautiful

I'm in a state of bliss. That's the only way I can describe my feelings after watching today's Kish scenes. They were beautiful. There are a selection of pictures from the episode scattered throughout this post, all borrowed from Superherofan, but they are only a small sample of what he's got, so check out his complete post on today's show, which also includes a video of the scenes.

History was made today on One Life to Live. For the first time on daytime television (and I think quite possibly on Network television in general) two gay characters had a full fledged love scene that was treated exactly like any mixed gender love scene. There was kissing, caressing, sensual undressing of each other, and they were shown in bed together both before they made love and immediately afterward, in the afterglow.

Before I get too ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning. The Kish scenes opened with Oliver and Stacy at Ultra Violet, where she was afraid he might have overhead her talking to herself about how Rex isn't really the father of her baby (a common soap habit, muttering your darkest secrets out loud in public places). He hadn't, of course, but that still didn't stop Stacy from saying out loud three seconds later that if Fish found out he was the baby's father she'd be sunk.

Rex saw Fish and assured him that he'd set up the special seats for Oliver and 'his guy'. Fish glumly told Rex to give the seats to someone else, since Kyle had made other plans. Rex asked if Kyle was called in to the hospital and Fish told him no, that Kyle had chosen to be with someone else. Rex commiserated, since his own love interest was off in the mountains having sex with Schuyler at that very moment, and offered Fish free drinks. Fish declined, saying that the last time he'd been that upset he'd had too much to drink and done something very stupid.

Did anyone else think that if Fish had said yes to the drinks he'd have ended up drunkenly making out with Rex in his office at Ultra Violet? No? Okay, just me. But imagine how Stacy's head would have exploded if she'd walked in on that!

Meanwhile, back at Kyle's motel room, Kyle and Nick were still in the midst of a kiss. Unlike yesterday, when it looked like Kyle was pretty much going for it right along with Nick, today he pulled back from the kiss pretty quickly and asked what Nick was doing.

Nick asked what it looked like he was doing and Kyle angrily reminded him that he was with Oliver now. Nick pointed out that Fish wasn't there and told Kyle that the two of them had something really good together.

Kyle: We've been over this, Nick. Okay? I'm in a relationship with Oliver. I love him.

Nick: You love him. What I'm saying is that you can have me. Oliver doesn't have to know.

Oh, wow. Poor Nick. The way Nicholas Rodriguez delivered that line just made me feel so much pity for Nick. I mean, he's essentially telling the love of his life that it's okay for him to love another guy and just sleep with him on the side, to just use him. Ouch.

Kyle asked if Oliver had been right about Nick, if he'd been lying to him all along. Nick instantly denied this, but I loved that from this point on, during all the denials, he had trouble looking Kyle in the eye and mostly had his back to him. This is one character who knows that what he's been doing was wrong and feels terrible about it. It makes him very human and really endears him to me.

Nick insisted that he hadn't known about the other room and then suggested that he and Kyle forget that all of this had happened, saying that things had just become so stirred up for him and that Kyle had been so good to him ever since he was bashed. Then he made the mistake of saying that if Kyle wanted him to move to 'that guy Joplin's old room', he would.

Kyle pointed out that Roxy had never told them that it was Schuyler's room that was available and Nick was caught out in his lie. Kyle demanded to know what else Nick had been lying about and asked if he'd lied about not being able to stay with Amelia. Nick swore he hadn't, but exposed that lie as well when he grabbed Kyle's phone away after he'd called Amelia to find out for sure.

What came next eased all the worries I had about the direction they'd taken Nick in. So many soaps would have made him a one note character, but OLTL wrote a completely understandable, realistic reason for him to be acting so out of character and Nicholas Rodriguez delivered these lines in such a heartbreaking way that by the end of the scene, Nick was completely redeemed in my eyes and Kyle's as well.

Kyle: I trusted you! I defended you! I let you in my home!

Nick (crying): Because I freaked out! Because one minute, I had this terrific guy and the next minute I'm alone, in the back alley of some bar, getting beaten by thugs for being gay. And I was so scared, Kyle. I was lying there, thinking 'I don't want to die alone'. And then you showed up to the hospital and you were so great that all of a sudden 'I don't want to die alone' turned into 'I don't want to live alone'. I don't want to go to sleep alone, I don't want to wake up alone, I don't want to do all the things that... I convinced myself that I couldn't be alone. And you were there, this guy that I love and I trust. It was like I didn't have to be alone. And I just didn't count on how much you love Oliver. I'm so sorry, Kyle.

Kyle (starting to cry): I'm sorry, too. I should have made it more clear.

I'm all about Kish, of course, but my heart was breaking for Nick in this scene and Nicholas Rodriguez made me cry. I really, really hope that this won't be the last we see of Nick. I want him to stick around and find someone of his own to love!

Nick assured Kyle that he'd been nothing but great and Kyle said that he hadn't been that great to Oliver. Nick told him to go and find Fish and that he'd be gone when Kyle got back, that he'd either move to Schuyler's empty room or call Amelia.

Kyle headed to Ultra Violet, where Rex told him that Fish had already left. A little later, Fish returned to the club to retrieve his forgotten cell phone and ran into Kyle, who told him that the 14 missed calls on the phone were all from him and that they all said the same thing: that Kyle is sorry and that Fish was right about Nick. Kyle said that he'd been naive and a complete jerk and asked if Oliver could forgive him, saying that Fish was it for him, that he was the one. Awww!

Oliver said that he really hadn't wanted to be apart from Kyle when the clock struck midnight and asked his boyfriend to buy him a drink. Kyle had a better idea, though, and lead Fish out of the club and back to the now Nick-free motel room, where Roxy had supplied a bottle of champagne for her favorite gay couple.

The two lit candles and, as their beautiful song started playing again (My Confession by Rie Sinclair and Friends; it's an exclusive song written for Kish and is available on iTunes), the two did all that I wrote about up above: touching, kissing, undressing each other, finally ending up on the bed, where they stared into each other's eyes and were clearly ready for the big moment.

Later, as they lay side by side in the afterglow, there were literally fireworks going off outside the window over their heads as people rang in the new year. Oliver asked Kyle if it was always going to be like that and Kyle promised that it always would. The two moved into spooning position with Fish's arm around Kyle, who brought his boyfriend's hand up to his mouth to kiss it before they drifted off to sleep, both smiling.

Can you imagine a better first time? It was perfection. These scenes were so incredibly beautiful and well done. They completely exceeded any expectations I'd ever had.

After seeing the lengths that CBS and Proctor & Gamble went to for so long to keep Luke & Noah from even kissing, let alone finally making love (which happened almost entirely off camera, of course), I'd begun to wonder if we'd have to wait another decade before we finally got gay characters who were treated equally on a soap when it came to romance.

Then, along came Kish. Not only has their story been incredibly well written, but they've been treated with complete equality as characters from the very beginning right up to today, when the guys made love for the very first time. It's truly incredible and ABC deserves a lot of credit for finally allowing a show to tell a gay love story as if it were any other story.

Of course, there would be no Kish without Scott Evans and Brett Claywell, who both continue to do an amazing job making us care about these characters and who are both very committed to telling this incredible love story.

Let's not forget Ron Carlivati, either! He's the incredibly talented head writer who has not only given us the awesomeness that is Kish but also the best written soap on the air. I think I love you, Mr. Carlivati.

What a way to ring in the New Year. I hope 2010 brings even more amazing story for the best gay couple on TV.

Kish: First Fight

New Year's Eve has arrived a bit early in Llanview. Today's Kish scenes opened with Oliver waiting in Kyle's room for their big date, looking a bit uncomfortable while Nick lay in the bed, listening to his iPod and ignoring Fish. At first I thought Nick was glaring at Fish, but when I looked closer I realized that he actually had an expression of fear mixed with misery on his face.

The reason for the terror was explained when Kyle came out of the bathroom and told Fish that Nick had received word that his attackers' trial date had been moved up and Nick would have to testify in a few days.

Because of this, Kyle told Oliver that he couldn't leave Nick alone while they went out to celebrate the new year. Fish said that they'd only be gone for a few hours and pointed out that every time they'd tried to be alone over the past few days, Nick had needed Kyle. As the two started to talk, Nick surreptitiously turned down his music so that he could listen in.

Kyle asked what Fish meant and Oliver wondered if it had occurred to Kyle that Nick might be doing it on purpose. Kyle reminded Fish that Nick had nearly been beaten to death but before they could discuss this any further, Roxy showed up.

When Roxy spotted Nick in Kyle's bed she demanded to know what he was doing there and reminded Kyle that she'd told him on the phone that there was an empty room. Kyle, who naturally had no recollection of the conversation Roxy thought they'd had, wondered if Roxy had been overindulging in drink. Roxy told him to go ahead and play dumb, but that he shouldn't come crying to her when he screwed things up with Fish.

After she left, Kyle assured Fish that Roxy had never called with such a message. Oliver demonstrated his cop skills by pointing out that it may not have been Kyle who'd answered the phone. Maybe, he suggested, Roxy had delivered the message to Nick instead, thinking she was speaking to Kyle.

Why, Kyle asked, would Nick have not said anything? Oliver declared that it was because Nick wanted to stay there with Kyle and then both of the guys looked over at the bed, where Nick had removed one ear bud and was openly listening to them.

Nick insisted that he hadn't talked to Roxy and Kyle told Fish that as much as he loves her, Roxy's mind isn't exactly a steel trap. Fish seemed to let it go and said that they should probably start packing up Nick's things, since there was a room available.

Kyle asked Oliver if he could speak to him in private and they stepped out into the hallway.

Kyle: What is with you?!

Fish: He's working you!

Kyle: What?

Fish: He's trying to get you back.

Kyle: Wait, you think Nick did this on purpose?

Fish: Yeah.

Kyle: Okay, so, he decided to stay at my place, lies to Roxy, and pretends to have nightmares just so he can split us up?

Fish: Is that so crazy?

Kyle: Is this what happens when you become a cop, everybody's a liar?

Fish: Oh, shut up, Kyle!

Fish then asked if Kyle really thought that Nick's best friend Amelia would have turned him down for a place to recuperate. Kyle insisted that Dorian had been the one who said no to Nick's request, but Fish said that the new Mayor would have been unlikely to damage her very public pro-gay stance by refusing to house her wife's gay best friend, who'd just been gay bashed.

Clearly, Fish had been putting a lot of thought into this.

Kyle: So what are you saying?

Fish: I don't think Nick ever called Amelia.

Kyle: Yes he did! I was standing right beside him when he did it.

Fish (sarcastically): Okay, okay.

Kyle: No, it's not okay! I get that you're jealous, but if you remember I never ever would have got with Nick in the first place if you hadn't been so afraid to come out of the closet!

Low blow, Kyle! Poor Fish looked like someone had just run over his puppy. He told Kyle that he could have Nick and that he'd be at Ultra Violet if Kyle changed his mind. He looked like he was about to cry as he walked off.

I was left with conflicting emotions. First, Fish is so hot when he gets all worked up! If I were Kyle, I'd probably pick fights with him just to sit back and observe how sexy he was. Secondly, I was a bit ticked off at Kyle for being so naive. I get that he wants to see the best in Nick, who seems to be a really sweet guy outside of this plot, and that he hates what happened to him, but hasn't Kyle been involved in enough scheming on his own to be at least a bit suspicious of other people's motives?

I also liked that while Fish has clearly been suspicious of Nick from the beginning, he was a good enough boyfriend to not say anything before now. It's nice to see characters act with maturity and to know that Oliver trusts Kyle, even when he knows Nick may be up to no good.

Mostly, though, I just wanted to awwww over their very first fight as a couple!

Other than for a moment when he wordlessly ran into Stacy at Ultra Violet, we didn't see Fish again during the episode. Kyle and Nick, however, had one more scene. Kyle had returned to the room and apologized to Nick for Fish's behavior. He helped Nick sit down on the foot of bed and once they were seated, Nick didn't take his arm off Kyle's shoulders, but instead started to rub them, noting that Kyle had a knot that needed working out.

Again, Kyle's sudden naivete reared its head. Even if he was completely without suspicion before, he now knows what Fish has been thinking. Yet, having his ex boyfriend, the man who wanted to marry him less than two months ago, sitting very close and rubbing his shoulders doesn't seem to raise any red flags for him.

Kyle: Hell of a New Year's this turned out to be, huh?

Nick (looking at Kyle with a very lovesick expression): Hey, it's not over yet.

At that point, Nick moved in for a kiss that was telegraphed well in advance but which Kyle did nothing to halt either before or after their lips met.

That's where we left them today. I feel really sorry for Nick, but I'm glad that he's made his intentions clear instead of continuing to plot. I'm still hoping that once things are out in the open, Nick can have a love interest of his own.

Well, Kish have now had their first fight, so I guess the question is, will make up sex come next?

The Men Who Made 2009

At the end of 2008, I made a list of some of the hottest guys that I'd become aware of during those twelve months. I can't quite believe an entire year has gone by since then, but it's time once again to ponder which hunks caught my attention the most this year. These are guys who I became aware of either for the first time in 2009 or who began to appeal to me in a whole new way.

If you've been following my blog at all this year, I don't think there will be many surprises in store for you with this list. So, in no particular order, let's take a look at my top five 'new' hunks of 2009! (Many of the pics are borrowed from Superherofan)

Last year, I opened with an actor from One Life to Live (Mark Lawson, who made this year pretty damn hot, too!) so I guess I should continue that tradition. The first guy who came to my attention in a major way this past year is Scott Evans, the openly gay actor who plays the newly out cop Oliver Fish on the show. I have to say that while the Evans boys are both incredibly hot, I'd pick Scott over his brother Chris any day of the week. Here's a look at why:

Not surprisingly, my second pick is also from One Life to Live and happens to be the other half of Kish. Brett Claywell wasn't even on my radar at this time last year, but he's completely won me over with his portrayal of shades of gray Kyle and his onscreen chemistry with Scott.
Moving away from daytime, there was one guy who really came out of nowhere and made me pay a lot of attention this year. In fact, he got me to do something I'd never have believed I'd do: watch almost an entire season of American Idol! It's odd to think that at this time last year I'd never even heard the name Adam Lambert. Today he's one of my favorite singers and definitely a trailblazer as an openly gay musical artist.
My next pick is someone else associated with music and with the Fox network: Glee's Mark Salling. I already thought Matthew Morrison was incredibly sexy before I ever saw the show but the true surprise out of the cast was Mark, who had me drooling over his bad boy character Puck week after week.
Finally, a guy who I was well aware of before this year, but who I came to appreciate in a new way in 2009: Michael Rady. I first saw him towards the end of last year when he began his run on Greek and while I found him to be completely adorkable on that show and really liked him, it wasn't until this fall, when I saw him on the new Melrose Place, that I came to appreciate just how hot he truly is! The last picture isn't from Melrose, sadly, but from Sleeper Cell, where he played a gay character.
There we have it, the men who made 2009. Bring on the men of 2010!

Kish Song on iTunes

I just got a comment from a reader, Savioy, letting me know that the song that played during Kish's love scene earlier this month (the one they were having before they were interrupted by news of Nick's bashing) is now available on iTunes!

It's called My Confession and is by Rie Sinclair and Friends. I've just bought it myself and it's a really beautiful song that was apparently written just for One Life to Live. I think we'll be hearing it again in the near future in other Kish love scenes.

If you liked the song when you heard it on the show, please consider buying it. It's only 99 cents and is an exclusive song put out by ABC Daytime as Kyle and Fish's song, which means that by purchasing it you're sending a message about how much you love the Kish story!

Nuke Day: Bah, Humbug!

There was no Kish this Christmas, but there was a bit of Nuke. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a heartwarming holiday for the guys.

This year's Christmas episode was the last of its kind on As the World Turns, since the show will be going off the air next September. It focused entirely on the Snyder family, with a voice over narration from veteran cast member Don Hastings, who plays Dr. Bob Hughes.

The Snyder kids were pretty miserable this year, with the three younger kids upset over their parents' 184th divorce from each other and their mother's remarriage to Damian. Luke, meanwhile, was depressed and missing Noah, who was still off learning how to live his life as a blind man at the clinic Luke found for him.

Luke's grandmothers, Lucinda and Emma, teamed up to make the holidays brighter for the kids and to try and reunite Holden and Lily. It turned out that part of that plan included Lucinda sending her jet to pick up Noah so that Luke could spend the holiday with him.

Noah seemed thrilled to be with the Snyders again, with one notable exception: as soon as Luke tried to embrace his boyfriend, Noah took a step back and the smile with which he'd greeted the rest of the clan faded instantly from his face.

Noah later warned Luke not to read too much into the visit: he'd just really missed the idea of Christmas with the Snyders. Luke reminded Noah of how much he loves him and of all they'd overcome before this but Noah said that they'd at least known all of the other obstacles would be overcome eventually, whereas his blindness probably isn't going away.

Still, the two managed to have a nice moment in spite of Noah's attitude, at least until Luke presented Noah with his gift. Luke had put together a box of things that highlighted Noah's other senses: a bag of coffee from Java to represent smell, cookies for taste, a pair of wool socks that Luke wears to bed at night to represent touch, and a mix CD (with their picture on the cover) to represent sound.

Noah, instead of appreciating what Luke was trying to demonstrate to him (i.e. all that he still has going for him), snapped at him, reminding Luke that there are supposed to be five senses and then declaring that he can't live his life like this.

I'm sorry, I'm sure it sucks to suddenly have to deal with being blind, but I'm kind of hating Noah right now. I think it's mostly the writing but also partly the way Jake Silbermann is playing it. I'm just not getting much sense of Noah's pain or despair, but rather just a sense of Noah acting like a jackass towards Luke. Everything he's doing seems to be on the surface, whereas when Luke was paralysed and pushing Noah away, Van Hansis did a really great job of letting the audience see and feel how much Luke was hurting and still wanting to be with the man he loved.

If the show wasn't ending in less than a year, I'd want to see Luke meet someone else, explore another relationship even if Noah turns out to be the man he eventually ends up with. I don't think there's enough time to really do that now, though, so I hope they don't drag Noah's attitude out too much longer.

Happy Holidays!

I probably won't be posting much over the next few days so I just wanted to say that I hope you're having a wonderful Holiday season if you celebrate anything at this time of year. Maybe if you're very lucky, a part of your Holiday will look something like this (pics borrowed from Superherofan):

Belated Fish Day: Baby Mamas and Psychos (Same Difference?)

There were a few Fish scenes on yesterday's One Life to Live, ones that didn't involve Kyle or Nick but rather Stacy (the woman who is secretly carrying his child) and the nefarious Mitch Lawrence.

Fish showed up at the hospital for his shift guarding Mitch's door and wasn't happy that the cop he was relieving had left his post to walk Mayor Lord (who'd just been ordered by Mitch to fire the Police Commissioner and replace him with a candidate of Lawrence's choice, or he'll go after her family) to the elevator.

While the door was unguarded, Stacy had snuck in to meet Rex's father for the purpose of her own crazy scheming and he'd promised her that he'd make sure his son ended up with her if she gave him her unborn child in return, a child he could then take back to his flock and mould in his own image.

Mitch seems to know everything that everyone is up to in Llanview, even when it's a big secret, so I was surprised that he didn't know that Stacy wasn't actually pregnant with his grandchild.

At any rate, Fish came in to make sure Mitch was still present and accounted for and quickly ushered Stacy out of the room. Fish advised Stacy to keep herself and her baby far away from Mitch Lawrence and mentioned that he felt a connection of sorts to the baby, since if things had been different, it could have been his child. Needless to say, Stacy made a hasty exit at that point.

Fish went back in to Mitch's room, where the psychotic and truly creepy (which is a credit to Roscoe Born since most daytime villains seem to be more of a joke than truly scary) preacher was waxing ecstatic about how he'd never truly die because his blood was flowing in this unborn child and how he's sorry that Fish, as a homosexual, will never know that joy.

I guess the joke is on you, Mitch!

I wonder what the reveal about the paternity of the child will do to Kyle and Fish? I'm hoping that Mitch will have Stacy killed right after the baby is born and Kish will then raise the baby as their own! Now that would be groundbreaking.

Kish: Roomies!

Today's Kish scenes started with Kyle helping Nick into his motel room while Roxy, Kyle's BFF and landlady, demanded to know what was going on. Kyle explained to her that Nick needed someone to look after him while he recuperated.

Roxy: Doesn't he have a mother?

Nick: Well, yeah, but she's not nearly as warm as you are.

Roxy asked Kyle what Fish was going to think about all of this, which was Oliver's cue to walk in carrying Nick's bag. Roxy watched Fish's reaction while Kyle helped Nick over to the bed and then she asked to speak with her friend alone.

Left with Nick, Oliver asked if he could get him some water so he could take his meds and Nick said that he had to take them with milk. Oliver wasn't sure if Kyle had any milk there or not and Nick wasted no time in demonstrating superior knowledge of his ex by noting that if he did, it would probably have gone bad since Kyle never paid attention to expiration dates.

Out in the hall, Roxy demanded to know what Kyle was thinking, moving his ex into his bed. Kyle, more amused than anything by Roxy's concerns, assured her that it wasn't like that at all, that Nick just needed a friend to take care of him and that Oliver understood. Roxy said that was because Fish was a good guy, unlike "Nick 'The Home Wrecker' Chavez!"

Kyle assured her that Nick knew he was with Fish now and Roxy retorted that Nick may know that, but he doesn't like it. She reminded Kyle that Nick had wanted to marry him not so long ago.

Kyle promised Roxy that it was just going to be for a few days and Roxy advised him to heal Nick quickly, or he'd end up losing the love of his life.

I know I've said this before, but I truly love Roxy and Kyle's friendship. This show does friendships so well, and this particular one is my favorite. I also love that Roxy is so willing to go to bat for Kyle and Oliver's relationship.

When Kyle returned to the room, Oliver raised a question that had clearly been on his- and my- mind since the whole situation arose: where exactly was Kyle planning on sleeping? Nick looked mighty interested in hearing the answer to this as well.

Kyle assured Oliver that he'd throw a sleeping bag on the floor, but Nick was having none of that, pointing out that Kyle is a med student who barely gets enough sleep as it is. Nick offered to find someplace else to stay, but Kyle insisted that he stay with him, pointing out that it wouldn't be for long.

Oliver chimed in to say that he hoped not, and then quickly added that Nick wouldn't want those creeps who attacked him to think they'd sidelined him. Nick agreeded and told Kyle that he didn't want to be waited on, that he had to start getting around and doing things for himself. He said that he still knew where everything was in the room, leaving Fish looking less than pleased at another reminder of Nick's familiarity with all things Kyle.

Kyle helped his ex into the bathroom and Nick oh so subtly flashed Kyle a peek at his abs while noting that his ribs only hurt when he laughed. He asked if Kyle still had the organic soap he liked and Kyle told him he did and not to use it all up this time.

Poor Fish was clearly feeling like a third wheel in the background and once they were alone he told Kyle that he didn't know that he had organic soap or that he let his milk spoil. Kyle, referring to his boyfriend as Ollie for the first time I've ever heard, playfully asked if Fish was getting jealous.

Kyle reminded Fish that he lives with Layla, who as his ex probably knows a lot about him that Kyle doesn't know yet. He reminded Fish that he and Nick are just friends, like Oliver is with Layla.

While this is true to some extent, I somehow don't think that Kyle would be as blase about it if Cristian were the roommate who was Fish's ex. There's a difference between living with an ex who you aren't physically attracted to and living with one who could still easily turn you on. Still, it all comes down to trust in the end.

At any rate, Fish conceded the logic in Kyle's analogy and explained that he just wished they'd had a chance to be together before all this happened with Nick. Kyle agreed that he was disappointed, too, but promised that they'd find the time to be together. Kyle then pulled Fish into a kiss, which Nick walked out of the bathroom in time to not only witness but interrupt with his injured stumbling towards the bed.

Fish said that it was time for him to go, since he had to be on duty in twenty minutes, and Kyle walked him out. Once they were in the hall, the kissing continued and Oliver told Kyle that he was driving him crazy. Kyle, in a very sexy half growl, told Fish that that was the whole point.

This scene was incredibly hot, the chemistry between these two was on in full force and Brett Claywell can really play smouldering, sexy scenes very well! I love the combination of Kyle's sexy confidence and Oliver's shy, nervous, and yet eager energy.

Back in the room, Kyle's cell phone rang and Nick answered it. Roxy was calling from the front desk downstairs and, believing she was talking to Kyle, told him that another room had just opened up in the motel and that Nick could move in there so that Kyle could check on him every hour and still have his own bed free.

Roxy hung up without waiting for a response and when Kyle came back in and asked if he'd heard his phone, Nick lied and said that Roxy had just called to see if they needed fresh linens. I really liked that Nicholas Rodriguez played this scene with a look of guilt stricken desperation on his face, since I'm not willing to see Nick as a heartless schemer but rather as someone acting completely out of character because of love. I need to know that Nick knows that what he's doing is wrong and feels bad about it, and Rodriguez is doing a good job of conveying that.

Of course, I don't know how Nick thinks that he's going to get away with keeping Roxy from talking to Kyle about the available room since she's a force to be reckoned with when her mind is made up about something.

Great scenes today, as always I can't wait to see what happens next with this story.

Looking Back

It's getting to be the time of year again when we all start looking back on the last 12 months and become reflective.

AfterElton has published their 2009 Visibility Awards and topping the list as Men of the Year are the four guys who've helped create the Kish storyline: actors Scott Evans, Brett Claywell, and Nicholas Rodriguez and One Life to Live Headwriter Ron Carlivati.

I'm sure that you won't be at all surprised to read that I am in full agreement with their selection!

I also applaud their choice of The United States of Tara as Best Drama, Glee as Best Musical, Prayers for Bobby as TV Event of the Year and Adam Lambert as Musician of the Year.

I have to confess that I love reading all the Best Of lists for the year that is coming to an end and that I also love making my own. Look for those throughout the next week.

Secretary Clinton on Uganda

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at Georgetown University earlier this week on the subject of Human Rights and addressed the issue of Uganda, where legislation is pending that would make being gay or lesbian punishable by death. You can check out the full video of the speech on LGBT POV.

I've always admired Hillary Clinton a great deal (I supported her in the primaries over President Obama) and I think she's been far stronger on LGBT issues within the confines of her role than the President has been with far greater power at his disposal.

Speaking out on Uganda is crucial, especially at a time when even the BBC seems to think they can pose the question 'Should Homosexuals Face Execution?' as if there were a legitimate discussion to be had on the matter! Genocide doesn't come with a pro and con list. Uganda isn't the only place where LGBT people are facing grave Human Rights violations, though, and Secretary Clinton demonstrated her awareness of that fact.

After the speech, the Secretary of State was asked a follow up question by one of the students attending the event:

QUESTION: Hello, Secretary Clinton. Thank you so much for speaking to us today. You spoke about the situation in Uganda. Could you please talk to us a little bit more about how the United States can protect the rights of LGBT people in areas where those rights are not respected?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes. And first let me say that over this past year, we have elevated into our human rights dialogues and our public statements a very clear message about protecting the rights of the LGBT community worldwide. And we are particularly concerned about some of the specific cases that have come to our attention around the world. There have been organized efforts to kill and maim gays and lesbians in some countries that we have spoken out about, and also conveyed our very strong concerns about to their governments – not that they were governmentally implemented or even that the government was aware of them, but that the governments need to pay much greater attention to the kinds of abuses that we’ve seen in Iraq, for example.

We are deeply concerned about some of the stories coming out of Iran. In large measure, in reaction, we think, to the response to the elections back in June, there have been abuses committed within the detention facilities and elsewhere that we are deeply concerned about. And then the example that I used of a piece of legislation in Uganda which would not only criminalize homosexuality but attach the death penalty to it. We have expressed our concerns directly, indirectly, and we will continue to do so. The bill has not gone through the Ugandan legislature, but it has a lot of public support by various groups, including religious leaders in Uganda. And we view it as a very serious potential violation of human rights.

So it is clear that across the world this is a new frontier in the minds of many people about how we protect the LGBT community, but it is at the top of our list because we see many instances where there is a very serious assault on the physical safety and an increasing effort to marginalize people. And we think it’s important for the United States to stand against that and to enlist others to join us in doing so.

Kish: Psychics and Schemers

Kish and company were back on today's One Life to Live. It started with Amelia finally showing up at the hospital to visit poor Nick. She'd brought him soup to make him feel better and he told her that he was being released that afternoon. Amelia apologized for having been too busy with Dorian to take care of Nick but he told her that Kyle had been there ever since the night it happened.

Kyle, who at that moment was being all Med Student-y and checking Nick's wrist, told him that he was just doing his job and asked if someone was going to be taking care of Nick once he was out of the hospital. Nick assured him that his Aunt was going to be looking after him.

After Kyle left the room, Amelia noted the lovesick look on her friend's face, something even a blind person would have had little trouble seeing and interpreting. Nick assured her that he'd tried to get over Kyle and when Amelia responded with sarcasm about how well that was working, Nick told her how Kyle had been there for him, taking care of him, ever since he was hospitalized.

Amelia interrupted to tell Nick that he had to get over Kyle and he turned it around on her by asking "Like you got over your ex?" What's this? Amelia has an ex! I love how the writers on this show take seemingly minor characters and slowly develop them into something more. This happened with Kyle himself, who was just a lab tech involved in a DNA story at first. It works so much better than just thrusting new characters right into the action.

At any rate, Amelia reminded Nick that his advice to her was to get over her ex, and now she's telling him the same thing. Nick pointed out that Amelia still loves her ex, though, and Amelia made her escape without commenting further on the subject.

Elsewhere in the hospital, Fish was standing guard outside Mitch Laurence's door when a random nurse brought him a cup of coffee, flirted with him, and then asked if he was seeing anyone. I guess she doesn't watch the international news stations and missed his world wide coming out?

Fish told her he was taken and after she left Kyle came by on his rounds or whatever it is he's doing at the hospital. Fish asked how Nick was doing and Kyle filled him in on things and mentioned that it was nice of Fish to care. Oliver admitted that he had selfish reasons: Kyle had been busy with Nick and Fish himself had been busy with the Mitch Laurence case, and he missed Kyle.

Kyle admitted that he missed Fish, too, and Oliver pointed out that they still hadn't had their first date. Kyle grinned and said that it would be a shame to waste Roxy's presents and Oliver got the most adorable half embarrassed, half excited look on his face when he asked if Kyle had kept 'those'. Kyle said that he had, so that they could pick up right where they'd left off.

Changing the subject, Kyle asked what Oliver was doing for Christmas this year. Fish didn't have any plans and Kyle was shocked, seeing as how Fish owns two reindeer sweaters! Oliver explained that his mother had given him those, but then went on to say that since his parents never even called him back on Thanksgiving, he'd be spending his first Christmas without them.

Kyle saw Fish's distant parents and raised him one dead sister, noting that he'd always spent the holidays with his sister Rebecca. You know, before she helped her boyfriend kill several people, including Fish's partner Talia, and then blew herself up.

Like any good boyfriend, Fish sweetly overlooked that whole serial killer thing and brought up a happier memory, recalling that Rebecca had taught Kyle how to make paper garlands. Kyle told Fish he'd show him how to do that, if he wanted to come over on Christmas. Oliver happily accepted the invitation and then asked Kyle to meet him in the hospital cafeteria when their shifts were over. Aww! The eye contact and goofy, lovesick smiles in this scene pretty much made me melt.

Around the same time, Nick got a phone call from the Aunt who was supposed to be picking him up and taking care of him. Apparently, she'd taken sick and wouldn't be able to. Nick assured her that he'd get someone else to watch over him, and it didn't take a psychic to figure out who he had in mind.

When Kyle returned to check up on his friend and Nick had explained about his Aunt, Kyle suggested Amelia might be able to help, noting that there should be plenty of room at Dorian's place. Nick, to my disappointment if not my surprise, then pretended to call Amelia and lied to Kyle, saying that Dorian had claimed there wasn't enough room in the mansion.

I don't really like that they have Nick lying and scheming now, but I guess this is relatively minor and could be put down to the fact that he's desperately in love. This also marks the start of the first official all male love triangle in daytime, so that's pretty cool.

Nick nobly suggested that he'd hire an aide to care for him, but Kyle pointed out that he couldn't afford that and then did what Nick had been hoping he'd do, which was to offer to take care of him at his place. May I point out that Kyle lives in a small motel room with one bed? How is that going to work?

Nick pretended to decline, saying that Fish wouldn't like that very much, but Kyle assured his ex that Oliver would understand. When Kyle met Fish to cancel their cafeteria date and explain what was going on, Fish wasn't exactly thrilled, but clearly was trying to be understanding. He told Kyle he just wished someone else could help Nick, and Kyle promised that he and Oliver would find some time to be together.

Fish: Yeah, when you're not making him breakfast in bed.

Kyle: I don't make breakfast.

Fish: But he'll be in your bed.

Kyle: Okay, then maybe I'll be in yours!

I really liked that while Fish was clearly uncomfortable with the situation and the fact that Kyle would essentially be sharing a bed with his ex, the above scene was played very lightly between the two of them and not for heavy dramatic effect.

Meanwhile, Mayor Lord had made her triumphant return to her mansion after spending some time in jail. She quickly vowed to her daughter and niece and their respective boyfriends that she was going to be taking her marriage license and her fiance down to City Hall to make the marriage legal. (Wait, I'd been under the impression that it had already become legal when she'd stamped it during the swearing in ceremony. I guess not.)

No sooner had Dorian made this vow than Madame Delphina, Llanview's resident psychic, burst through the door, warning that there would be death for someone in the room if Dorian went through with the wedding.

I should explain that Delphina has been a recurring character on the show for about the last year and a half and is played by out comedienne Lea Delaria. I always love it when Delphina pops up in a story, she's a lot of fun.

Delphina has never been wrong before in any of her predictions, which Dorian knows, but Mayor Lord vowed to fight on for marriage equality, even if it meant death. Delphina got a bit more specific and told Dorian that she'd be the one who died, but before she could scare Dorian any further, Amelia returned home and asked 'Del' what she was doing there.

When Dorian asked if they knew each other, Amelia explained that Delphina was her ex-girlfriend!

Dorian: Delphina, this means you're a...

Delphina: A psychic.

Dorian: A lesbian!

Delphina: Wow! You must be a psychic, too!

The Llanview teen crowd was bearing witness to all of this and at that point, Cole asked his girlfriend Starr "Is everybody gay?" Because, you know, if they are, then it would be totally okay for him to admit that he feels more than just bromance for his buddy Markko!

Seriously, though, I've really liked that they've involved the teen crowd in this storyline so much and had them be very in favor of marriage equality. Starr and Langston have been especially supportive, but their boyfriends have been as well. For instance, they all attended the mass wedding, where a protester who knew Markko's mother mistakenly thought that he and Cole were getting married. Instead of being offended or rushing in with insecure denials, the guys played along, letting her think they were in love and demonstrating that there was nothing wrong with that.

Back to Delphina and Amelia. Delphina admitted to making up the prediction about Dorian's death to stop her from filing the license. It turned out that Delphina had been very insecure about her relationship with Amelia, constantly listening to her spirit guides about all the potential ways she could lose her. In the end, Amelia had loved gay marriage more than she'd loved Delphina.

Amelia insisted that she'd only agreed to marry Dorian so that she could one day marry Delphina legally, as she'd explained to Delphina before when she'd promised to come back to her. Amelia said that she couldn't be with someone who didn't have any faith in her.

Delphina admitted that she didn't know what to believe and the teen crowd jumped in, with Cole pointing out that no one gets any guarantees and then each of them pointed out the things that have threatened to get in the way of their own relationships: drugs, interfering parents, psycho cousins, crushes on sexy teachers, and, in Langston's case, "Hot guys pouring water over their bodies in the barn!"

In spite of all the risks, though, the kids assured Delphina that people can get through anything as long as they love each other.

Delphina: Mel, I still love you.

Amelia: And I still love you, too, Del. You believe that, don't you?

Delphina: Of course I do. Come here.

(They kiss)

After they'd made up, Delphina and Amelia agreed that they wouldn't be needing Dorian and Amelia's marriage licence any longer (but, why not? the fight for equality suddenly doesn't matter?), but when Delphina tried to take it from Dorian to rip it up, Dorian was having none of it.

That was all for today, but what a big day it was. First of all, we saw a new side to Nick, one that I hope won't go too far. I don't mind a bit of desperate scheming that he'll later see was wrong, but I hope he'll still be sweet Nick with the puppy dog eyes underneath it all and not go all Stacy Morasco-esque. Once he realizes that he and Kyle are not meant to be, I want him to find a boyfriend of his own, not wind up crazy or irredeemable as a character.

We also found out that we have another lesbian character on the show, bringing the total of LGBT characters currently on the show to five, which has to be a record not just for daytime, but for any American show outside of specifically gay themed shows like Queer as Folk or The L Word. Talk about groundbreaking!

Marriage Equality in D.C.!

Today the City Council of Washington, D.C., the Capitol of the United States, voted 11-2 to allow same sex marriage. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill into law.

As with any laws passed in D.C., the U.S. Congress has 30 days in which to review it, but Congressional leaders have apparently indicated that they won't be weighing in on this particular law. This means that Washington D.C., though not a state in its own right, will be joining the five states that currently (or, in New Hampshire's case, will soon) have full marriage equality.

The leading force behind this was Council Member David Catania, who is himself openly gay and who voted "I do!" today.

It would be easy, of course, to remember this year for the setbacks in California (where Prop 8 was upheld by the State Supreme Court), Maine, and New York, but let's not forget that it was also the year that saw Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and now Washington, D.C. legalize same sex marriage.

Even more notable was that most of these states (including Maine, where it was later overturned) legalized it not through the court system but through the legislature. The only exception to this was Iowa, where the victory was won in the State Supreme Court. Even there, though, the majority in the legislature refused to overturn the State Supreme Court's ruling by changing the state constitution.

It's nice to end 2009 with a victory in the fight for Marriage Equality to remind us of what a big year it really was. Let's hope that it is a sign of more to come in 2010!

Award Season Begins

The Golden Globe nominations were announced today and if I were given to making bad puns I'd say that they were very Gleeful.

Yes, the show that has become such a favorite of mine (some might say obsession!) received nods for Best Television Series, Lead Actor for Matthew Morrison and Lead Actress for Lea Michele, all in the Comedy or Musical category.

The incomparable Jane Lynch also got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Television (if she hadn't, I think outraged Glee fans would have stormed wherever it is that the Hollywood Foreign Press has its headquarters), a category which includes Drama, Comedy or Musical, and TV movies and Mini-series, so it's a huge field. She's nominated against Chloe Sevigny, Jane Adams, Rose Byrne, and Janet McTeer, and I'd be shocked if that Golden Globe wasn't hers on January 17th.

Glee should win hands down in the rest of these categories as well, though there is some tough competition. Lea Michele is nominated against Toni Collete for her brilliant work in The United States of Tara, for example, and comedy heavy hitters like Courtney Cox and Tina Fey, as well as Edie Falco for Nurse Jackie, a show I've been meaning to check out. Lea is definitely the new kid on the block in this category.

The same goes for Matthew Morrison, who is nominated against Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, David Duchovny, and Thomas Jane.

The show itself is nominated against 30 Rock (which has won enough awards for one lifetime, if you ask me), Entourage (is that really still on?), The Office, and another freshman series, Modern Family. I've been meaning to check out that last one, which has a gay couple who have adopted a baby in the supporting cast, but I haven't yet.

The only thing that really made me sad about the nominations, as far as they related to Glee, was that Chris Colfer wasn't included in the list. He's truly done some amazing work as Kurt, and I can't believe that anyone seeing his performances in the episodes 'Wheels', 'Preggers', and 'Ballad' would disagree. Well, maybe next year.

There were some other, non-Glee related nominations that thrilled me. For instance, Neil Patrick Harris was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in Television for How I Met Your Mother. You may recall that he lost the Emmy this year to Jon Cryer (!), so hopefully the Golden Globes will make up for that bit of ridiculousness.

Colin Firth and Julianne Moore are both nominated for their roles in A Single Man, the new film adaptation of the wonderful novel by Christopher Isherwood.

Another favorite of mine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is finally getting some Award attention! He was nominated for Best Actor in a comedy or musical for his role in (500) Days of Summer, which I have not yet seen. But having seen him in The Lookout, Mysterious Skin and Brick, I'm convinced that this is but the first of many nominations for him. In fact, I'm surprised that it has taken this long!

Finally, Sigourney Weaver is getting another chance at recognition with a nomination for Best Actress in a TV movie or mini-series for her stellar performance in Prayers for Bobby. Once again, though, she's up against the amazing Jessica Lange, who won out over her at the Emmys. I'm hoping that this time Weaver will go home with the prize.

Just when you thought that this was enough excitement in the Awards world today, The Writers Guild of America also announced their nominees! Glee was nominated for Best Comedy (up against Modern Family, The Office and 30 Rock again, with Curb Your Enthusiasm replacing Entourage; are we sure that show is still on?).

The WGA awards have a category for Best New Show (I like that idea! So many Emmys and Golden Globes go to shows that are nominated again and again, while a lot of new shows barely get noticed!) and Glee was also nominated in that category, too, along with Modern Family, The Good Wife, Hung, and Nurse Jackie.

Dustin Lance Black got a nomination for Pedro, the film he wrote about Real World star and AIDS activist Pedro Zamora.

The WGA Awards also recognize Daytime Dramas, and this year's nominees were One Life to Live, The Young and the Restless, All My Children, and... As the World Turns?!

How on Earth anyone can justify the nomination of As The World Turns in a writing category is beyond me, and from what I understand about the current state of All My Children, the same applies there. Days of Our Lives has been far better lately than it has been in recent years, certainly far more deserving of a nomination than As the World Turns.

I understand that there aren't that many shows to nominate and since most of them aren't very well written at the moment, there are bound to be badly written shows included. But why go straight for the bottom of the heap?

Truthfully, though, there should be no competition at all. The writing on One Life to Live blows all the rest of the daytime soaps out of the water.