Kish: Avalanches and Heroics

Today's One Life to Live was another action packed hour of great soap! Both Fish and Kyle were featured, although not together, of course, since Oliver is up on Llantano Mountain in a blizzard and Kyle is safe and warm at the hospital in Llanview.

Let's start with the Kyle scenes, which further strengthened the bond between him and his BFF Roxy. Kyle, who you'll recall told Roxy that Stacy's baby wasn't her grandchild at the end of last week, found Roxy still sitting in the hospital waiting room, lost in thought.

When he asked what she was thinking about, she told him that there were bad things about raising babies that you never think you'll miss- dirty diapers, crying in the middle of the night- but that there are a lot of good things that come along with that. She'd really been looking forward to being the baby's Grandmother.

Roxy said that at least Rex wouldn't have to deal with 'that slut' any more, but that she did feel sorry for the baby's real father and she wished she knew who it was so she could tell him to head for the hills.

Kyle told Roxy that he knew she'd have to tell Rex the truth and that if anyone found out it had come from Kyle he'd be kicked out of medical school. He knew, though, that Roxy wouldn't let that happen. Roxy asked how he knew that, and he told her that he trusted her and that she was his best bud.

Roxy: I never had one of those before.

Kyle: Well, maybe it's about time. I just worry that I made a mistake, because I hate seeing you suffer like this.

Sweet scene. I seriously love these two as friends! Anyway, Roxy told Kyle she'd be suffering either way and that she'd love to wring Stacy's neck. Kyle told her that she'd have to stand in line but Roxy realized that there was someone else she could confront immediately.

Roxy went to see Kim and let her know that she knew the truth. Kim, after trying to pretend that she didn't know what Roxy was talking about, threatened to destroy Kyle's future as a doctor if Roxy told anyone. She also told Roxy that she could take her and that she's been 'known to cut a bitch.' Ha! I seriously love Kim. She's vicious, but she's not a one note character. Her loyalty to and love for Stacy has been obvious since day one, and more so now than ever sine she's terrified for Stacy's safety.

Once she was alone, though, Roxy called Rex's cell phone. The scene with Roxy calling Rex was cut together with one of Kyle calling Fish's cell phone, and leaving a message to let him know that he'd told Roxy about the baby not being Rex's, but hadn't said anything about who the real father was.

That was all for Kyle today. Oliver's scenes, meanwhile, started with him wandering in the snow, calling out for Rex, Schuyler, or anybody within earshot. When no one answered him, Fish said "I think I'm in trouble, Kyle." I absolutely loved that moment, when Fish talked to Kyle as if he were there with him. It was very sweet and it really spoke to how connected the two of them are, as if Fish feels that Kyle is such a part of him that they're always together, even when they're miles apart. Yes, I know that's completely sappy, but I don't care! I'm a romantic.

Fish tried to get cell service again but wasn't successful this time, so he started heading farther up the mountain in the general direction that the others had all taken. Rex, meanwhile, had found and revived the unconscious Schuyler, while Gigi had stumbled upon Stacy buried under a blanket of snow and saved her.

The two pairs each heard a strange noise, as did Oliver, who was trudging through the snow on his own. Rex & Schuyler quickly realized that it was an avalanche (and Rex, God love him, expressed that realization for us viewers as only he could!). What they didn't see was that it seemed to be coming down directly on top of our guy Fish!

The next image we had was of Oliver's knit hat, in which he'd looked so cute, lying all by itself on top of the snow. Had he been buried alive?!

Meanwhile, as Gigi got Stacy back to the cabin (and managed to figure out that Stacy was lying about the baby's due date and thus its paternity), and Rex and Schuyler were forced by the avalanche blocking the path up the mountain to head back to the road (where Schuyler finally admitted to Rex that the baby was his), big things were happening at the old Geological Observatory.

Mitch, you'll recall, had been told by his God that he had to impregnate his own daughter, Jessica, with The Chosen One. Jessica, still in her zombie like state, didn't care for that idea, so Mitch drugged her into unconsciousness.

Brody burst in with his gun drawn before (I hope) Mitch was able to do much more than lay Jessica out on the bed. Mitch grabbed a syringe and threatened to kill Jessica if Brody didn't lower his gun, but Brody took the more sensible option and shot Mitch instead.

Not so sensibly, he shot him in the arm rather than in the head, but that still enabled him to get Mitch tied to a chair. As Brody was trying to wake Jessica up, Nurse Charles slipped a cord around his neck and began choking him to death from behind as Mitch gleefully screamed at her to "Ride him to hell!" Mitch is seriously the creepiest soap villain EVER.

Jessica came to, sort of, and saw her boyfriend being killed before her eyes. She started to reach for his gun, which was beside her on the bed, but was moving very slowly, as befit her drugged state. I, meanwhile, was yelling "Shoot the bitch!" Not my proudest moment, but then it's easy to get caught up in good storytelling!

Finally, just as Brody looked like he was close to losing the fight, a shot did ring out, but it wasn't Jessica who pulled the trigger. It was Oliver! He was alive and well, though missing his cute hat. Unlike Brody Fish shot to kill, so we'll be seeing no more of Nurse Charles.

It was a great moment, though. I was worried about Fish being buried alive and they diverted all attention to Jessica slowly reaching for Brody's gun, so when Fish turned up and saved the day, I truly hadn't seen it coming.

Now that Fish has saved Brody's life, aren't they bonded forever? I'd settle for seeing them as partners on the force!

Fish, ever the cop, informed Mitch that he was under arrest, but Laurence just sneered that he'd have Oliver's badge. Brody wanted to get Jessica (who, it seems, wasn't faking the zombie like state after all) out of there, but Fish told him that they were snowed in.

Fish filled Brody in on the explosion and that there hadn't been any sign of John or Natalie. He asked about Stacy and Brody said he hadn't seen her. Oliver demanded to know what Mitch had done with her and The Messenger informed him that she was in God's hands.

Oliver got angry (and he's just as hot as Kyle when he gets mad!) and demanded to know where she was. Mitch rambled on about her and her bastard child being turned out to the mercy of the mountain and Fish threatened Mitch if anything had happened to them. Mitch wondered aloud what a 'degenerate slattern' and her child mattered to Officer Fish.

Oliver told Brody that he had to go and look for Stacy. Brody thought he was crazy to go back out in the storm, but gave him a flashlight and urged him to be careful. As Oliver left, Mitch shouted that he'd pray for him.

That was all for today, but what a day it was! Oliver is truly the most heroic gay character featured in daytime soaps thus far. What I love is that he isn't a hero in the John McBain sense, where you never really see him express any emotion. Today we saw that Oliver didn't hesitate to kill Nurse Charles to save Brody, but the look on his face after he'd done so was definitely full of emotion. Scott Evans is playing this character perfectly.

Kish: Fish on the Mountain

Today's One Life to Live didn't feature Kyle, but we picked up right where we left off with Fish, up on Llantano Mountain with Rex in the middle of a blizzard.

After the action packed final days of last week, today was actually much more uneventful. The stories were furthered a bit, of course, but they're clearly saving the big moments for later in the week. Today was more about a few individual characters wrestling with their consciences, which took the form of imagined conversations with dead loved ones. Or Heavenly visits from said loved ones, depending on your point of view.

But back to our guy Oliver. We started right where we'd left off, with Rex wondering aloud why Stacy would have listed Schuyler as guardian of 'their' child in her will. Oliver nervously asked how he should know and Rex, with an annoyed roll of his eyes, told Fish that it was a rhetorical question.

Once he'd taken a good look at Oliver's guilty face, though, Rex realized that it might not have been so rhetorical a question after all and asked if Fish knew anything about it.

Oliver tried to sidestep the question, saying that Stacy and Schuyler must be close since they'd dated back when they lived in Las Vegas. Rex reminded Fish that Schuyler had helped expose Stacy's whole stem cell scheme and that she hated the guy now. Fish, who looked so cute in his knit hat that I had a hard time paying attention to the dialogue for a few seconds, said that Stacy may have found a way to forgive Schuyler.

Rex wasn't buying that, either, and I liked that they didn't have Oliver flat out lie to him, which would have been wildly against character for Fish, but rather stick to non-denials like "What would I know?"

That still didn't stop Rex from telling Fish that he was a lousy liar and demanding that Oliver 'give it to him straight'. Hmmm. I won't touch that one, it's just too easy.

Fish seemed to be on the verge of admitting that he knew something when he caught scent of the smoke from the nearby explosion that they'd both failed to notice. Fish realized a car must have gone through the guardrail and decided to climb down and see what had happened. Rex insisted on going with him, worried that it may have been the car that Stacy was in.

The guys found the 'burned to a crisp' remains of the vehicle Natalie, John, and Brody had been in, but no signs of bodies. Fish found a tracking device that he'd rigged the vehicle with when he set it up for John's prison break (the new police commissioner is in Mitch's pocket, remember), so they knew that it wasn't the car Stacy had been in.

Fish, ever the good cop, told Rex that his job was to sweep the area and look for survivors, since they knew that John, Brody, Dorian, and Schuyler were all out there somewhere. Rex told Fish to do what he had to do, but Rex himself had to find Stacy.

And so, the two men parted ways, without a situation requiring the need for sharing body heat having arisen. Maybe tomorrow? I'm picturing something with an abandoned cabin (they seem to be plentiful on soaps, and John and Natalie have already found one) and a bear skin rug in front of a fire...

Rex joined the legion of people wandering around that mountain in the snow, while Fish managed to find a spot where he had cell service. Instead of calling Kyle, as I'd hoped he was about to do, Fish responsibly called Marty and asked if she'd heard from John. Dr. Saybrooke hadn't, and Fish filled her in about the accident before hanging up.

I think my second favorite moment of the episode was when Fish had just hung up the phone with Marty and asked aloud "Where the hell is everyone?" He just looked so worried and adorable, but the sentiment itself made me laugh, since there are now twelve characters wandering around that mountain, all managing to miss each other somehow.

My favorite moment from today's show had nothing to do with Fish. It was the moment when Schuyler, who'd been wandering around in the snow, seemingly delirious as he talked about being the father of Stacy's baby, suddenly saw lights up ahead and realized he was close to the cabin. A split second later, a tree branch fell on his head, knocking him out.

Was I the only one who watched that moment five or six times? It was hilarious!

Well, that was all we saw of Oliver today, but I'm sure the action and excitement are going to be building up all week. Hopefully Kyle will be onscreen soon, too. There's got to be room up on that mountain for him and Roxy still, right?

Kish: Now That's Great Soap!

Have I mentioned lately how incredible the writing on One Life to Live is? Okay, I know that I have, but it's worth repeating. All you'd have to do is watch this week's episodes to see how a well written soap opera should work: several different stories coming together perfectly all at once for an action packed series of February sweeps episodes.

Seriously, this is what good soaps are all about, stories that are well written and character driven. Other shows do Sweeps stunts that are all about a lot of otherwise pointless action, where plot comes before anything else. OLTL builds up to Sweeps with months of great storytelling culminating in exciting conclusions. Can we clone Ron Carlivati and send one of him to each of the other remaining soaps as Head Writer?

With that said, let's get started. Fish was on yesterday's episode of the show, but he didn't have a great deal to do, so I didn't blog about it. Basically, he got word that Mitch's henchwoman, Nurse Charles, had managed to kidnap Stacy, and he showed up at the hospital for a brief confab with Rex and Kim before going in search of Stacy up Llantano Mountain in the middle of a blizzard, with Rex at his side.

That brings us to today. Now, several other characters have headed up the Mountain as well: Natalie, Brody, and John were looking for Mitch's hideout; Charlie and Dorian were following Stacy and Nurse Charles so that Charlie could kill Mitch and save Jessica; and Schuyler was on his way up to meet Gigi at Viki's cabin and finally tell her the truth (or what he believes is the truth) about the paternity of Stacy's baby. Mitch, of course, was already up there in an abandoned Geological Observatory, holding Jessica captive and treating her to a little electro shock therapy to keep her docile and make her forget all he'd taken her away from.

The cars driven by Nurse Charles and Charlie had a little three way car accident with Natalie, Brody and John on the icy mountain roads. Nurse Charles' car made it through just fine, but Natalie & co went through the guardrail and over the side of the mountain and Dorian and Charlie had to abandon their car and proceed on foot.

Before you knew it, Schuyler came along and crashed into Dorian's abandoned car and then, after some time spent unconscious, stumbled out on foot, bleeding from the head and from the leg.

Got all that? As much as I love stories that blend together so perfectly, it does make it hard when you're trying to write about just one of the stories!

Back at the hospital, Kyle ran into Kim and she told him about Stacy's abduction and about how Fish and Rex were in cold pursuit. Kyle called Fish to make sure he was okay and advised him that he had to tell Rex the truth about the baby. Oliver was worried about Kyle's medical career, but Kyle told him to just do the right thing, like he always does. Fish didn't think the time was right, though.

Before they could say much more to each other, Oliver lost cell phone service, like everyone else on the mountain has. He and Rex soon came upon Dorian and Schuyler's crashed cars and checked them out, never noticing the hole in guard rail leading down to where Rex's sister Natalie may or may not have blown up a few minutes before. (Seriously, the explosion was what woke Schuyler up, but Rex and Fish see no sign of it just a brief time later? Okay, I'm nitpicking. When the show is this well written, you can suspend disbelief on the little things)

Rex and Fish realized that they couldn't go any farther in the car, what with the road blocked by the wrecks. Fish was adorably bundled up for winter (Scott Evans looks good in anything!), but Rex wasn't, so he started looking through Schuyler's car for gloves and found Stacy's will, in which Schuyler had forced her, in exchange for the promise to give her the Oxcytocin to induce labor, to name him as legal guardian of 'their' baby if anything happened to her and Rex.

As Rex wondered aloud why the hell Stacy would name Schuyler Joplin as the guardian of 'their' baby, Oliver looked guilty (and adorable) in the background. If I didn't love Kyle so much, I'd be hoping for Rex and Fish to get lost together and be forced to find a way to stay warm! Maybe they could run into a freezing Brody, who is out there somewhere in need of warmth, too!

Meanwhile, back in Llanview, Roxy showed up at the hospital with balloons and big cigar, looking for her new grandchild, since Stacy had faked going in to labor just before Nurse Charles nabbed her.

Kyle broke the news about Mitch having Stacy and Roxy immediately blamed herself and told Kyle that if anything happened to that baby, to Rex, or to Fish, it was going to be Roxy's fault. She reminded Kyle that he'd asked her how she'd ever ended up having a child with someone like Mitch and now, because all her lies had lead to this, she had to tell him the truth.

Finally! I've been waiting ages to find out the rest of this particular story. I'll have to wait even longer, though, because Kyle picked that moment to delay the telling of Roxy's secret by spilling his own: Rex wasn't the father of Stacy's baby. Thanks a lot, Kyle! Seriously, when someone says they're about to tell you the truth about what happened between them and a psychotic cult leader, just zip it and listen!

Still, it says a lot about how much Kyle really cares for Roxy that he put his career on the line to tell her the truth.

Roxy was devastated and told Kyle that she loved that baby, that it was supposed to be her grandchild, and that she was going to do all the things with it that she missed out on doing with Rex's son Shane. Her emotions quickly swung around to anger at Stacy, though, and she declared "That bitch is dead!"

Speaking of which, Mitch finally had Stacy and 'The Chosen One' right where he wanted them, but Nurse Charles did a little exam and told The Messenger that it looked like Stacy still had three or four weeks before she delivered.

Stacy tearfully repeated what she'd been trying to tell them since they attempted to kidnap her the first time: the baby wasn't Mitch's grandchild. This time, Mitch listened to her whole story (as did a zombie like, post electro-shock Jessica, whom I suspect is only faking her docility) and believed it.

The truth sent him over the edge and he declared Stacy 'The Whore of Babylon' and quoted some scary sounding scripture about bathing his feet in the blood of the wicked. He started to choke her to death, but Zombie Jessica (her latest personality?) stopped him, calmly pointing out that an innocent child shouldn't be forced to pay for its mother's sins.

Mitch decided to turn Stacy out in the storm and leave it up to his vengeful God as to whether or not Stacy and the baby lived or died. The Messenger asked his God (who'd taken the form of a flickering florescent light, it seemed) about the true identity of The Chosen One, and apparently God told him that he had to make the baby then and there, with his own daughter. Gross! Just when I thought Mitch couldn't get any more creepy.

After stumbling around in the snow for awhile, calling Rex's name, Stacy went into labor. Not to fear, I'm sure she'll run into one of the nine other people who are lost in the blizzard. It looks like Fish will probably be a daddy by this time next week!

Rest in Peace, Frances Reid

I just read the news that Frances Reid, the last original cast member of Days of Our Lives still on contract with the show, passed away yesterday at the age of 95 (though some reports list her birthdate a year earlier, making her 96). As someone who has literally watched the show since I was still in diapers, I honestly feel as if I just lost a family member.

I had two wonderful Grandmothers while I was growing up, but that didn't stop me from acquiring a surrogate Grandmother of sorts in the fictional character of Alice Horton, the matriarch of the Horton family on Days of Our Lives. Alice was always there with her homemade donuts, her advice, and her love for her family and friends.

What made Alice Horton more than just your run of the mill soap character was the wonderful Frances Reid, who brought more than just warmth and love to Alice, she also gave her an occasionally wicked twinkle in her eye and kept her grounded and somehow very real, even as the stories on the show became more and more fantastical and outlandish over the last few decades.

Her onscreen partnership with the late Macdonald Carey, who played Alice's husband Dr. Tom Horton until his own death in 1994, was something truly special. I missed the glory days of their pairing, of course, but have been able to see some clips of it thanks to the Internet. They truly made television magic together.

The show was built around the two of them in 1965, these two talented film and Broadway stars who provided a center of gravity and dignity to something that many looked down on then and still do today, the daytime soap. Can you imagine a show being built around two actors who are already in their 50's in today's youth obsessed entertainment industry? Maybe that's a big part of the reason soaps are in trouble.

Even though she remained a cast member until the end, her last actual appearance on the show was just over two years ago, on the Christmas episode in 2007. She hadn't been well enough to appear since then, though I'd read that scenes continued to be written for her, at least during 2008.

Frances was an incredibly talented actress who touched a lot of people with her portrayal of Alice. It was even more impressive when you heard the stories about how very different Frances herself was from Alice, as evidenced by her former co-star Deidre Hall in her tribute to Frances:

"Frances Reid, although the consummate actor's actor, was far from the donut baking, apron clad wife of Tom Horton most of America knew and loved. She was a saucy, wildly outspoken and politically incorrect woman. Frances was never shy about speaking her mind openly and passionately — even as we counted down to tape. She called it like she saw it, whether she was taking on the union, or critiquing your hairstyle — mincing her words was never an option. She earned the respect and admiration of her friends and peers with her candid approach to life, work, and philosophy. Whether you loved or feared her, you always respected her — and if you had the courage, she was a magnificent teacher, mentor, friend. I feel a strong sense of personal loss as Frances makes her way to Heaven, and know that we shall not look upon her like again."

For me, she'll always be Alice Horton, but I sure would have liked getting to see more of Frances herself! She sounds fascinating.

I'm certainly not the only one who thought of Alice as another Grandmother. It's truly hard to believe that we'll never be seeing Mrs. H on our screens again.

Jason47's Days Page has an incredible tribute to Frances, complete with several video clips. Check it out.

(Belated) Nuke Day: I Give Up!

Yesterday's episode of As the World Turns was a Nuke day, one that picked up right where Friday's episode left off, with Noah having just told Luke that they couldn't be around each other.

Luke told Noah that Dr. Oliver couldn't dictate who was in his life, but Noah said that he wouldn't perform the surgery unless Noah stayed away from Luke. Again, WHAT? That's not what Dr. Oliver said. He told Noah to keep Luke out of his (Reid's) orbit. He never said anything about Noah being with Luke.

Either Noah is lying to Luke, or he heard what he wanted to hear when Reid was talking to him. Either way, Noah sucks.

Noah said he had to go through with this and Luke pointed out that they were supposed to be partners. Noah claimed that it would only be for a few months and Luke told him that he was picking Dr. Oliver over his boyfriend but that Noah wasn't the only person in their relationship. Didn't Luke himself have a choice in all of this?

Luke insisted that Dr. Oliver, whom they'd just met, didn't know what Noah needed. Mayer said that he'd get by, but Luke reminded Noah that it wasn't just about him, that Luke needed Noah, too.

Meanwhile, Reid was checking out his new digs at Katie's place. Katie's ex husband/best friend Henry was not happy with this new development (join the club, Henry), and Reid didn't make it much better by commenting "You didn't say anything about a threesome!" before Katie explained that Henry didn't live there.

When Henry started in on some over protective questions, Reid smirked and told Henry that if he frisked him, Reid would expect Henry to take him to dinner afterward. Hmmm. They're still keeping Dr. Oliver's sexuality up in the air, which could be good sign.

Back at the hospital, Luke filled Noah in on Damian's sudden goodbye and how permanent it had all sounded. Luke still didn't know why Damian was on the run. Noah had the good sense to apologize and say that he'd been so obsessed with himself that he'd been completely ignoring Luke. Noah said that Luke should have just told him to shut up and listen and the two had a nice moment where they were holding hands.

Reid walked up at that point and said "Mr. Mayer, I thought we had an agreement?" Which could either mean "Why is Luke at the hospital with you when you said you'd keep him out of my orbit" or that the writers have decided that in spite of what they wrote for Reid to say in the actual scene we saw onscreen, he really did mean that Noah had to shut Luke out of his life.

Noah, again to his credit, told Reid that he couldn't cut Luke out of his life and that if that meant that Dr. Oliver wouldn't perform the surgery-

Luke interrupted, saying that he was okay with it and that the most important thing was that Noah see again.

Luke told Reid that he knew the rules and would abide by them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hate Reid for keeping him out of Noah's life when he needed him the most.

Instead of saying that he'd never said Luke couldn't see Noah, Reid said that it was just sound medicine. I guess Noah isn't to blame for mis-interpreting (wilfully or otherwise) Reid's statement, then. It was just bad writing on the part of the show. What a surprise! I give up. I will no longer attempt to make sense of this show. Space aliens could land and proclaim Lucinda their leader and I won't bat an eye.

The wonderful Agnes Nixon (creator of One Life to Live and All My Children, and a true soap legend) recently said, in reference to the cancellation of Guiding Light, "Too many people think they’re writers and they’re not. There’s so many people who think it’s easy. The people I work with are so into character, into character building. I didn’t have time to watch Guiding Light. I knew some of the people there, who were very nice. I just thought it wasn’t necessary. If someone had a little more intelligence or understanding of the craft and the medium, it could have been saved." She noted that she felt the same in regards to As the World Turns, and truer words have never been spoken.

Anyway, before he left Luke warned Reid that if he didn't live up to his own hype, he'd have to answer to Luke.

After this confrontation, Luke went to see Lily and filled her in on his odd goodbye with Damian. Lily had Luke take her home, where she filled him in on what Damian had done. Luke couldn't believe how Damian made him believe he'd changed and Lily told her son that his father had always had demons that came out when his back was against the wall, but that she'd always be grateful to him for giving her Luke and that it was okay if Luke still loved him in spite of everything.

Holden, by the way, may or may not have killed Damian.

Back at the hospital, Henry showed up to see Reid and to apologize. Henry filled Reid in on Katie's recent history, losing her husband the day their son was born, and told Dr. Oliver that being alone wasn't good for Katie, who was a little lost right now.

Reid: What do you mean by lost?

Henry: Well, how would you feel if the man that you loved was shot and killed before he had the chance to see his kid?

Reid: I'm not quite sure how to answer that.

Again, they could be hinting at something here, but the writers apparently can't have characters say what they mean even when they're stating it explicitly, so they're probably incapable of hints.

At any rate, Henry tried to scare Reid away by telling him about the wild mood swings Katie had been having since Brad died, but Reid didn't buy it. Reid told Henry that he didn't blame him for trying to keep a beautiful woman like Katie to himself and that even world famous brain surgeons have needs, and with a hottie like Katie on the other side of the wall....

I think Reid was just messing with Henry's head, which is clearly something he likes to do, but I'm still not sure one way or another.

Later, Katie met Reid back at Java with a lease for him to sign and the flirting was definitely on in full force this time. Damn it! I think I'm giving up hope.

Luke ran into Noah on the bench in Old Town, where he was waiting for Maddie to come out of the bookstore. Noah asked how Lily was and how Luke was doing. Luke told Noah that he couldn't get into it, because if he did he'd break down, and then Noah would comfort him, and they'd be breaking Dr. Oliver's rules.

Noah said that he didn't care (he's really done a 180 since the start of the episode!) but Luke said that he did care, that he wanted Noah to see again more than anything. They exchanged an awkward goodbye and then Noah tried to stop Luke from going, saying that this was stupid (yes it is) but Luke just said he had to go and walked away.

Oh, how I wish I could walk away, too.

(Belated) Nuke Day: Unholy Pairings and Fleeing Biodads

This is the first of two Nuke episodes of As the World Turns that I'm late in blogging about. It's last Friday's episode.

The show started with Luke showing up at the hospital to talk with Dr. Oliver, who immediately started in about all of the whiny hypochondriacs that populate Oakdale. Luke reminded him that there was one case in town that was 'worthy of his genius'. Reid sneered that he doesn't do charity cases but Luke offered to put in a good word with Bob Hughes if he'd take Noah's case, maybe get him out of Oakdale early and cover his legal fees.

Luke also pointed out that Noah's surgery wouldn't bore him (Reid: "You bore me") and would fill the time in which he was basically under house arrest.

Dr. Oliver told Luke that while Noah may be the only blind guy in a hundred mile radius, there were other patients he needed to see. Luke sarcastically replied that he was sure the guy with a wicked case of Athlete's foot would enjoy having a world class neurosurgeon helping him relieve that burning itch. Ha!

Reid let Luke know that he'd been doing his research online about Luke's family and that Luke himself was certainly living up to the reputation, what with all the bribery and blackmail. Luke said that he didn't want to do those things, he just wanted Reid to operate on Noah, that's all. In other words, Luke isn't bad, he's just (badly) written that way!

Reid, who has already earned my undying love several times over, was mock surprised, saying "That's it? Why didn't you say so? Here, call my office in Dallas, schedule yourself an appointment, I should have an opening this time next year if you're lucky. You can wait in line like everyone else. No? Okay."

He then told Luke that he couldn't be bought or pushed around, so Luke all out of luck.

Meanwhile, the latest episode of The Blind and the Rageful was starting. Oh, no, sorry. That's just Noah. He was sitting in Lily's living room, listening to the DVD of the ceremony in which Luke's version of his film was winning an award. After throwing the DVD across the room, Noah called his ex girlfriend Maddie and asked her to come over.

This was good news for me, since Noah is far more watchable when he's in scenes with someone besides Luke these days. Plus, I just flat out love Maddie. Any scene with Alexandra Chando is enjoyable and I love the way that Maddie just refuses to feel sorry for Noah or let him feel sorry for himself.

Noah asked Maddie to take him to the hospital so that he could talk to Dr. Oliver without Luke around. He filled his ex in on how Luke was responsible for the doctor refusing to take his case and Maddie said that if Luke did give Reid 'the hard sell', it was because he loved Noah. Noah said that this was one time where Luke loving him had chased away what he needed and now he had to help himself.

Before they could leave, Luke returned. When Noah told him where they were going, Luke said he'd just been there and that Reid was impossible. Noah said that he had to try for himself, since he was the patient. He did soften enough to thank Luke for getting Dr. Oliver to Oakdale in the first place.

Reid, meanwhile, was at Java, where he ran into Katie and her crying infant. Katie was asking baby Jacob (who is Luke's cousin, by the way) if he had a fever and Reid told her that unless the baby was the next Mozart, he wouldn't be answering her. When Katie asked "You're a doctor?" to this stranger in hospital scrubs, Reid said "Clearly you're not the next Mozart either."

Katie asked Reid to look at her sick child, saying that he was bound by an oath to do so, and he pointed out that they were in a coffee shop, not the hospital. After Katie made some snide comments of her own and told her baby that she'd find him a real doctor, Reid relented and checked out the baby, saying it looked like an ear infection.

As much as I loved seeing Reid be snarky to Katie, I'm seriously worried. Are they going to make Reid straight?! Why else do they have him in a scene with Katie, who has had just about every other straight man in town that she isn't related to and who lost her most recent husband just a short time ago?

This isn't the type of well written soap where characters just run into each other and talk. If you have a scene with someone and it's not a Holiday episode, they're in your storyline bubble for the foreseeable future.

Their whole vibe, after Reid examined the baby, was a bit flirty. After Reid talked about how much he hated staying in hotels (a.k.a Germ Farms), Katie offered him a chance to be her new roommate, which he accepted. Damn it!

While all this was going on, Luke got a desperate call from Damian, who had just strangled Luke's crazy Aunt Meg nearly to death, held Luke's dad Holden at gunpoint, and accidentally hurt his mom, Lily. He told Luke that he had to see him at the office right away.

When Luke got there, Damian told Luke that he was leaving the country on a freighter and that he couldn't do so without saying goodbye to Luke. He then asked Luke to take over Grimaldi International, saying that it was always his plan for Luke to take over one day. You know, because it makes sense to turn over a huge international company to a young college drop out who has worked for the company for less than a year and who is hardly ever in the office.

Luke at least had the intelligence to point out how insane this was and then asked Damian just what he'd done, since he was running away without his wife and his son.

Damian told him that he loved him and that he had to know that everything he'd done was out of love for Luke and for Lily, and to remember that when he heard what people said about him.

Luke said that it sounded like they were never going to see each other again, but Damian said that they would one day, when the time was right.

Van Hansis totally broke my heart in this scene when he tearfully called out "Dad! Be careful." Luke never calls Damian 'Dad' so it was a big moment, one where Damian turned around and came back long enough to hug Luke.

Of course, I really haven't liked the way they've written Luke since he went to work for Damian, so I'm kind of glad to see Grimaldi go. Still, it made for a really great moment and Van knocked it out of the park.

At the hospital, Noah told Maddie that it was as if Luke had two sides: the grounded guy with solid parents, and the Grimaldi side that cut corners and took risks. Maddie spotted Dr. Oliver and made herself scarce.

Reid tried to blow Noah off, but Noah told him that Luke didn't speak for him. Reid realized that Noah didn't like the way Luke had blackmailed him (except, of course, that Noah hadn't really minded when he thought it was going to work in his favor!) and asked if that was the problem between him and Luke.

Noah told Reid about how the accident might not have happened if Luke had just listened to him and said that Luke was acting the way he was out of guilt. Reid seemed surprisingly understanding about that. Noah asked what Dr. Oliver wanted more: to get back at Luke, or to add Noah to his list of success stories? Reid said he hadn't decided yet.

Shortly thereafter, Reid was examining Noah and told him that he'd decided to go forward with the surgery as long as Noah responded well to the therapy and on the condition that Noah kept Luke out of Reid's orbit. Noah agreed and shook on it.

Luke, who'd called Holden to tell him what had just happened with Damian, showed up at the hospital to see his mother. He spotted Noah, who was by himself waiting for Maddie, and was overjoyed when Noah told him that Reid had agreed to take his case.

Luke wanted to drive Noah home, but Noah said that he'd wait for Maddie and that since Dr. Oliver didn't want Luke around him at all, it meant that Luke and Noah had to stay away from each other, starting now.

Um, what? Noah can't keep Luke out of Reid's orbit without cutting Luke out of his own life? What, is Noah moving in with Reid and Katie? Way to jump at any excuse to ditch your boyfriend, Mayer. My dislike of Noah (or, of the way Noah is currently being written) continues to grow every time he's in an episode!

I'm fine with Luke and Noah taking a break, as long as it means the chemistry between Luke and Reid is explored (and Noah could certainly date someone else, too), but if they're pairing Dr. Oliver with Katie and just leaving Luke and Noah broken up and single, I'm going to be very upset with myself for believing, yet again, that this story was about to become enjoyable.

The First Hearing on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

One of the strongest feelings I was left with after watching today's hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was of how glad I am that this country didn't elect John McCain to the Presidency last year.

Don't get me wrong, I've always been very glad about that, but today just drove home the point that no matter how much President Obama has been dragging his feet, things would have been far worse if McCain were in the Oval Office.

The Senator from Arizona had a letter signed by 1,000 retired officers and generals (i.e. people out of touch with today's military, much like McCain) who do not support repealing the ban on gays in the military. McCain actually referred to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy as 'effective'.

The true highlight of the hearing was the surprising testimony of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen:

"Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal and professional belief that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do. No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution. I also believe the great young men and women of our military can and would accommodate such a change. I never underestimate their ability to adapt. That there will be some disruption in the force I cannot deny. That there will be legal, social and perhaps even infrastructure changes to be made certainly seem plausible. We would all like to have a better handle on these types of concerns. And that is what our review will offer."

This is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, remember! Back in 1993, the Joint Chiefs were all very opposed to repealing the ban on gays serving, which of course lead to the 'compromise' we've had to live with ever since. I think it's pretty amazing that Admiral Mullen spoke out the way he did today.

The bottom line, of course, is that the Secretary of Defense and Admiral Mullen announced a year long study on how to end the policy. Now, taking a year to study this is ridiculous and Gates also stated that it could take up to a year to implement it after the study is finished, which means that we're probably still two whole years away from LGBT citizens being allowed to serve openly.

The only real upside to this was that Gates specifically stated that the study is not on whether or not to end the policy, but on HOW to end it.

Gates also said that in the next 45 days he'll be recommending changes within the existing Don't Ask, Don't Tell law to make sure it is more fairly enforced.

Given that it has already been stated that the law is unfair and needs to go, shouldn't they be ceasing to enforce it altogether while they do this year long study followed by a year long implementation? Why bother to 'more fairly' enforce something that is admittedly unfair in and of itself?

The truth of the matter is that President Obama could effectively end this policy today if he wanted to. As Congressman Joe Sestak pointed out after the hearing, the President could sign a stop-loss order halting any discharges under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In fact, he could have done that the day he took office.

The Republicans seem to be jumping on the 'We can't afford to change the policy while fighting two wars' bandwagon (because anything that increases the ability of people to serve hurts the military in wartime?!), and Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama even implied that Admiral Mullen was influencing the outcome of the study by stating his own opinion. I loved Mullen's reply:

"This is about leadership, and I take that very, very seriously."

Putting leadership above politics, what a novel idea!

For more details on all of this, check out David Dayen's assessment of the hearing or watch the hearing itself.

Thoughts on the Oscar Nominations

I know that I'm pretty out of it this year (the only film that was nominated for anything that I've actually seen is Up), but the nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards seem kind of... (insert shoulder shrug here). There just doesn't seem to be a lot to get excited about this year.

I am glad to see that Colin Firth was nominated for Best Actor for his role in A Single Man, but that was the only nomination the film received.

I'm also thrilled to see Nick Hornby, one of my favorite writers, nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for An Education! I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even know he'd written the screenplay for this film before today.

Other than those two nominations, though, I see nothing to get excited about. This is probably because I've seen none of these films, I'm sure, but even so it seems that there is usually someone or something that I'm really rooting for at the Oscars. This year, not so much.

I'm sad that there were no nominations for Joseph Gordon-Levitt or (500) Days of Summer. After the Golden Globes, I'd thought there may be.

I think increasing the number of Best Picture nominees to ten makes some sense, but I think in practice it's going to be about nominating a lot of films that are just filler, with no real chance to win. Of course, that might lead to some great upsets in the future if enough people get behind one of the filler nominees at some point and upset the favorite. It will be interesting to see how much longer it makes the ceremony, too.

Well, I guess I'll have to try and see some of these films between now and March 7th. Maybe that will give me something to care about here.

An Essay on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

After a very busy few days, I have two Nuke episodes of As the World Turns to catch up with. Hopefully I will be writing about those episodes tomorrow.

In the meantime, I wanted to direct your attention to the matter of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It is expected that the Obama Administration will be announcing their plan for moving forward on the matter tomorrow before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Karen Ocamb has a very insightful essay up on LGBT POV about what she calls President Obama's 'Clintonian Compromise' on repealing the policy:

'Let’s face it: the Commander-in-Chief and Congress are secretly afraid of the old men in the military. And the old men in the military, so accustomed to automatic deference by all branches of the US government, are afraid of losing their power as times and the culture change. They cannot fathom that younger soldiers and leaders, the ones the old men are sending to fight two wars, are no longer afraid of dropping their soap bar in the shower.

How else explain the compromise the Obama Administration, the Pentagon and Congress are expected to announce at Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing?

...............

But what will that hearing do? Will it be an hour where Gates simply announces the “stricter” evidentiary rule for discharges? Or will discharged personnel be able to testify how DADT ruined their lives when all they wanted to do was to serve this country? Will evidence be admitted from the Joint Force Quarterly which called “don’t ask, don’t tell” a failure and said openly gay servicecmembers do not undercut unit cohesion? Will the Rand Corporation report – requested by Clinton and Congress in 1993 – be admitted? That report concluded that sexual orientation has nothing to do with military service.

During his State of the Union address, Obama talked about providing greater support for veterans and made note of how First Lady Michelle Obama and the Vice President’s wife, Jill Biden, have taken on a special mission to help military families. Monday, Obama followed through on those promises in his new budget.

But will the Armed Services hearing include evidence about how gay and lesbian veterans are left to fend for themselves – and how the families of the estimated 65,000 gay servicemembers currently serving under DADT are not receiving any support and are not allowed to talk about their loved one for fear that such information could lead to a witchhunt and discharge – in a time of war! Will the hearing include testimony about how any new policy or repeal legislation should include retroactive funding to support vets and LGBT families?'

This is just a small highlight of the essay. The whole thing is very much worth reading. Ocamb goes into a lot of detail on how the original 'compromise' that created Don't Ask Don't Tell came about in 1993 and on the progress of President Obama's own campaign promise to end the policy, as well as what we can expect tomorrow at the hearing.

Alice Walker on Howard Zinn

Novelist Alice Walker was one of Howard Zinn's students at Spelman College in Atlanta back in the early 1960's. She's written a moving goodbye to her friend and former teacher, who died this past week.

Walker wrote of the impact that Zinn had on her both as a professor and as an activist:

'Howard Zinn was magical as a teacher. Witty, irreverent, and wise, he loved what he was teaching and clearly wanted his students to love it also. We did. My mother, who earned $17 a week working 12-hour days as a maid, had somehow managed to buy a typewriter for me and I had learned typing in school. I said hardly a word in class (as Howie would later recall), but inspired by his warm and brilliant ability to communicate ideas and conundrums and passions of the characters and complexities of Russian life in the 19th century, I flew back to my room after class and wrote my response to what I was learning about these writers and their stories that I adored. He was proud of my paper, and, in his enthusiastic fashion, waved it about. I learned later there were those among other professors at the school who thought that I could not possibly have written it. His rejoinder: “Why, there’s nobody else in Atlanta who could have written it!’’

It would be hard not to love anyone who stood in one’s corner like this.

Under the direction of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) many students at Spelman joined the effort to desegregate Atlanta. Naturally, I joined this movement. Howie, taller than most of us, was constantly in our midst, and usually somewhere in front. Because I was at Spelman on scholarship, a scholarship that would be revoked if I were jailed, my participation caused me a good bit of anxiety. Still, knowing that Howard and others of our professors, the amazingly courageous and generous Staughton Lynd, for instance, my other history teacher, supported the students in our struggle, made it possible to carry on. But then, while he and his family were away from campus for the summer, Howard Zinn was fired. He was fired for “insubordination.’’

Yes, he would later say, with a classic Howie shrug, I was guilty.

..........................

I was Howard’s student for only a semester, but in fact, I have learned from him all my life. His way with resistance: steady, persistent, impersonal, often with humor, is a teaching I cherish. Whenever I’ve been arrested, I’ve thought of him. I see policemen as victims of the very system they’re hired to defend, as I know he did. I see soldiers in the same way.'

The end of Walker's piece, where she mentions the plans she and Zinn had for upcoming get togethers and events, and then writes of what is clearly a very personal loss for her, left me with tears in my eyes.

Nicholas Rodriguez Article

We haven't seen Nick on One Life to Live since the New Year's Eve episode, when the truth came out and he moved out of Kyle's room. We did get a mention of him a week or two ago, when high school senior Langston mentioned some writing advice that her teacher, Mr. Chavez, had given her. You may recall that Nick was a teacher at the high school in addition to being an activist.

The mention made me hopeful that we'll be seeing him again before long, but in the meantime I've been getting my Nicholas Rodriguez fix in with his web series Then We Got Help!, which I completely love. If you haven't watched the series yet, check it out. It's very funny.

The New York Daily News had a nice piece on Nicholas a few weeks ago. I always love hearing about behind the scenes stuff that shapes what we see onscreen, so I found this especially interesting:

Rodríguez, whose mom is white and whose father is Mexican-American, said that when he arrived at the auditions for “One Life to Live,” the show’s executives were looking to cast a white, all-American type, whom they were going to call Griffin. Dark-haired and brown-eyed, he didn’t know what he was doing among the dozens of blue-eyed blonds.

He got the part, though he was told that he was clearly not a Griffin.

“So they changed my character’s name to Nick Chávez,” he said. They even added a middle name, Roberto, while shooting the marriage proposal scene, because, Rodríguez explained, the actor playing Kyle suggested that drawing out his acceptance — “Nicholas Roberto Chávez, I would be honored to marry you” — sounded that much sweeter.

I really hope we'll be seeing Nicholas back as Nick on the show soon. I'd like to see some sort of follow up to what happened with his bashing. The last we heard, the court date for his attackers had been moved up and he was going to be testifying. It would also be very interesting to see a story revolving around being a very publicly out gay man teaching in a high school. There is plenty of story still to tell with Nick!

As for Nicholas, be sure and check out his video interview for the In Bed With series at Out.Com, too! You'll totally fall for him, if you haven't already.

Kish: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Today's Kish scenes started with Oliver standing guard outside Stacy's door and Kyle showing up with some breakfast for him. After Fish told Kyle that he was sweet for surprising him like that, Kyle replied that he hoped Oliver still thought so after he got in Stacy's face again about the baby's paternity.

Fish told Kyle that they'd been over this already- why would Stacy tell Schuyler the baby was his if she wasn't sure? Kyle astutely pointed out that Stacy had something on Schuyler, that he'd lose Gigi if she found out the truth. Didn't Fish want to know if he was about to become a father?

Oliver said that he'd never even thought about being a dad before and Kyle told him that maybe he should start. Fish told his boyfriend that it wasn't the time or the place to be discussing whether or not he wanted to have kids, and Kyle asked when the right time would be, when Stacy's child graduated high school?

Fish told him to stop, that everything was just hypothetical so far. They were interrupted by Stacy and Rex at that point, and Kyle made a hasty exit, directly followed by Rex. Once they were alone, Stacy asked Oliver what the lover's quarrel she and Rex had just walked in on was all about and he told her that Kyle wasn't convinced that the baby was Schuyler's.

Stacy reiterated that she was completely sure Schuyler was the father, but Fish reminded her that she'd had sex with him just a few days after she'd been with Schuyler. How could she be sure? Stacy claimed that a woman just knows, that she'd felt something that night with Schuyler, and then she proceeded to claim that medical technology is so advanced these days that they can practically pinpoint conception down to the minute, and her doctor had confirmed the day she'd been with Joplin was indeed the big day.

Stacy told Fish to relax and do his happy dance, he wasn't going to be a father. The only baby daddy her child was going to know was Rex. Fish bought all of this a little too eagerly, I have to say, but I can't really blame him. The alternative is pretty scary, after all.

Oliver admitted to being relieved, saying that after so many years of being in the closet he was finally with Kyle and having an unplanned child could really put pressure on a relationship.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Kyle unwittingly witnessed Schuyler's reluctant theft of a prescription pad so that he could get Stacy the meds she'd need to induce labor a month early. Kyle wanted to know if Schuyler was sure that he was really the father of Stacy's child.

Without reveling Oliver's involvement, Kyle asked Schuyler how he could be so certain when he knew that Stacy had also tried to sleep with Kyle himself. Who was to say she didn't sleep with someone else to increase her odds of getting pregnant? Before they could discuss it any further, Kyle was paged and had to leave. It seemed for a moment like Schuyler might actually be considering the possibility Kyle had raised, but then he filled in the prescription pad for Oxytocin.

Later, Kyle called Fish and told him that he'd just assisted in an appendectomy in which they were complications. Though they didn't lose the patient, the experience made Kyle realize that he wouldn't know what to do if he ever lost Oliver. Fish assured his boyfriend that he wasn't going to be losing him, and Kyle apologized for their argument. Fish apologized, too, and told Kyle that he'd talked to Stacy again and she was sure the baby wasn't his.

On his end of the phone, Kyle's facial expression indicated exactly what he thought of Stacy's statement, but he told Oliver that he was glad he'd talked to her again. Fish said that he was, too, and that he just wanted their lives to be about the two of them for awhile.

Uh oh, that was very ominous. I always get nervous when a character on a soap tells a loved one that they don't know what they'd do if they ever lost them. It usually means that something bad is about to happen to said loved one!

There's plenty of reason to worry about Oliver's safety. Mitch Laurence and his henchwoman Nurse Charles have kidnapped his biological daughter Jessica Buchanan and have a crib all prepared in his lair for Stacy's baby, a.k.a. The Chosen One or The Prince of Peace, if you will. Mitch informed Jessica today that she'd be the child's mother. Oliver could be the only thing standing between Mitch and the baby when he comes for it. Gulp!

A Few Thoughts on the State of the Union

It's still a bit shocking, after eight long years of George W. Bush, to tune in to a Presidential address and come away from it moved by the President's eloquence. There is no doubt that President Obama is a wonderful speaker who can alternate between a relaxed and amusing moment and soul stirring rhetoric with ease.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the way he hammered the failings of the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress by pointing out the massive Deficit that he inherited from the supposedly fiscally conservative right.

The freeze on Government spending he declared for 2011 really worries me, though, as does the fact that in spite of what the President said tonight, the Democrats seem to be backing off Health Care reform once again out of fear for their jobs.

I have been gravely disappointed over this past year with this administration's lack of action on any of the campaign promises the President made to LGBT Americans. Tonight, he once again brought up ending the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy so that LGBT Americans can serve openly in the armed services.

It was a brief line in the speech, but I for one will be paying close attention to see if this time he will live up to what he promises:

"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are."

No mention was made about his other campaign promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

The other moment in President Obama's speech that really pleased me was when he addressed the heinous decision made last week by the Supreme Court which will allow corporations or anyone else to spend as much as they like on political campaigns, sounding a death knell for any chance at real Campaign Finance Reform in this country.

"Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well, I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that's why I'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong."

I've never seen a President take on a Supreme Court decision during the State of the Union before, but it certainly needed to be addressed. Watching Justice Alito sourly shake his head and grumble under his breath while those around him stood to cheer was icing on top of the cake.

The end of the President's speech was certainly stirring, but then so were the campaign speeches. The first year hasn't been very promising, but there is still time for this Administration to turn itself around. I'd like nothing more than to see President Obama become a great leader and really bring about change for the better.

Rest in Peace, Howard Zinn

I just read the sad news that author and historian Howard Zinn died today at the age of 87. Reading his book A People's History of the United States completely changed my way of looking not only at my own country and everything I'd been taught in school, but at history in general.

As big of an impact as it had on me, though, I wouldn't call it my favorite of Zinn's works. That honor belongs to his own personal history, his memoir You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train. If you haven't read anything of Zinn's and are daunted by the size of A People's History (which you really shouldn't be, since it's a very engrossing read), start with this memoir, which details Zinn's time as a pilot in World War Two and his teaching days in the south during the Civil Rights movement, his anti-war efforts during the Vietnam War and much, much more.

Zinn's voice was an incredibly important one and while his work will live on, I'm truly sorry that he won't be around to write and speak out any longer about what's happening now or about all that's still to come.

Nuke Day: Ironically, Justice is Blind

We started off in the hospital parking garage, where Reid and Kim had just had their little accident. Bob and Luke both rushed to Kim's side, while Reid began to pointlessly honk the horn of his (or rather, Luke's) car as if that would make them all get out of his way.

Luke called the police while Bob wanted to take Kim in for tests and she insisted she was fine. Reid had apparently decided to walk to the airport, or maybe hitch a ride, but Luke stopped him, telling him that he'd caused an accident and wasn't going anywhere.

Reid insisted that all of this was Luke's fault, not his, because of the whole kidnapping, private jet, surgery that most people wait a year for thing. Kim told Luke to just let Reid go, but Luke informed a newly arrived cop that Reid had just caused an accident and was trying to flee the scene.

Reid, referring to the cop as Officer Fife and condescendingly explaining to him what a neurosurgeon was, told him that he had patients who needed him waiting in Dallas and had to go. When the cop asked for his license and registration, Luke explained that the car was his and that Dr. Oliver had snatched the keys and taken it without his permission.

The cop handed Reid a summons and then, after he tossed it aside, told him he was taking him in to the station. Luke watched the whole thing with a huge grin of his face, clearly enjoying every minute of the show. After Dr. Oliver was gone, Luke picked up the summons and read the charges to Bob & Kim: driving with an expired license, operating a stolen vehicle, attempting to leave the scene of an accident, and resisting arrest.

Meanwhile, Noah was asking a nurse to get him his discharge forms. When she said she'd give them to his boyfriend, Noah told her that he wasn't waiting for Luke, he just wanted the forms and then a cab to get himself out of there. Great boyfriend, huh? I'm starting to really dislike Noah most of the time.

Luke returned before Noah could make his getaway, though, and found him trying to button his shirt. Luke tried to help, but Noah knocked his hands away, telling him that he could do it himself. Noah also told his boyfriend that he'd called a cab and needed to get away from Luke.

Ouch! But Luke was surprisingly calm and told Noah that he knew this was frustrating but that it might help if Noah didn't take everything out on him. Finally! I've been waiting for Luke to stop being Noah's emotional punching bag ever since the senseless lashing out began.

Noah claimed that he was just being honest and that Dr. Oliver had been his one shot at getting his sight back. Luke told Noah that Reid was an arrogant jerk and that Luke didn't believe that he was the only doctor who could help Noah.

When Luke reminded Noah that he was just trying to help, his boyfriend railed at him, saying that his idea of helping was taking him back to his Mommy's house and making sure his socks matched for the rest of his life. He added that he'd lost his one shot because Dr. Oliver hadn't been able to stand being around Luke.

Luke demanded to know how Noah could turn this around on him, and Noah said that this was what he was stuck with. Luke said that he himself didn't feel stuck, in spite of what Noah thought, but Noah said that he wasn't the same person that Luke fell in love with and that things had changed.

Luke took Noah's hand and said that he was right that things would never be the same, but that Noah was still the man he'd fallen in love with. Noah said that he wished he could believe Luke as much as Luke believed himself.

I'm sorry, but at the moment the Luke and Noah scenes are either painfully repetitive and boring, or they're making me hate one or both of the guys and leaving me wondering why they're even together in the first place.

I'd like to see them apart for awhile. Noah was much more watchable in his scenes with Maddie and Hunter last week, and Luke's scenes with Reid are burning up with potential and with chemistry. When they're together, though, Luke and Noah are starting to feel like scenes I'd fast forward through if they were any other characters.

Meanwhile, Reid was already before a judge (the legal system works fast in Oakdale, unless they're dealing with a crime that matters, like a serial killer stalking the teens of the town or when someone has been kidnapped by their wacko Grimaldi cousin and her gay twin brother/boyfriend) and was holding nothing back as he informed the judge that the doctors in the town had gone to clown college and that the cops were dumber than rocks.

Reid asked for his cell phone back so that he could book the next flight out of 'this town that time forgot' and the Judge informed him that he'd just revealed himself to be a flight risk. He ordered that Reid be held in custody until his trial, which was scheduled for the next month.

At that point, Dr. Bob Hughes showed up in court and asked to approach the bench. Addressing the Judge by his first name (which caused the usual snide comment from Reid), Bob told him that Kim had been in the car that Dr. Oliver hit.

While Bob tried to get a word in edgewise, Dr. Oliver kept interrupting with accusations of cronyism and of Bob trying to make the accident sound worse that it had been, until Dr. Hughes finally told him to do himself a favor and keep his mouth shut.

Bob told the Judge that Reid's skill as a surgeon was in direct proportion to his ego and that people could use his help. Dr. Hughes suggested that the Judge release Dr. Oliver to Bob's recognisance so that he could practice at the hospital in Oakdale under Bob's guidance while awaiting his trial.

Wait, an arrogant big city doctor sentenced to practice in a small town for damages caused in a minor auto accident? Isn't this an old Michael J. Fox movie called Doc Hollywood? Maybe next month, when Noah's eyes are all better, they can do a plot where our Mr. Mayer gets a job in the mail room of WorldWide and then sets himself up as an Executive on the sly! (Secret of My Success? Anyone?)

Back at the hospital, Luke and Noah were finishing up the paperwork to get Noah discharged. Noah said that he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life at Lily's place and Luke said that he wasn't, either, and that while they'd had to give up their mythical apartment, they'd get another one, equally mythical, when they were ready.

At that point, Reid stormed in, asking Luke if he was proud of himself and saying that he was stuck in 'OakHell' for a month because of him. Luke rather smugly told him that if he needed to get a surgery fix in during that time, Noah's case was still available. Dr. Oliver started to say that he wasn't taking Noah's case, but Luke chirped out that they'd call him for a consultation and then wheeled Noah away before another word could be said.

I like that Luke is starting to give as good as he gets when it comes to Reid. I love watching these two go round for round.

Rest in Peace, James Mitchell

I've written before about the relatively small number of openly gay actors on daytime television. At the moment, there are only two out gay men acting on soaps, both on One Life to Live, and neither is actually on contract: Scott Evans, who plays Fish, and Nicholas Rodriguez, who plays Nick.

The Young and the Restless boasts the only out lesbian cast member, Clementine Ford, though if we count Lea Delaria's recurring role as Madame Delphina on One Life to Live, the number goes up to two. Ford is the only out actor or actress working in daytime with a contract.

Of course, there are plenty of actors and actresses in daytime whose sexuality is more or less an open secret, people who are widely known to be gay but who have never officially come out of the closet. These are people who don't hide their sexuality with fake relationships with the opposite sex, but who never address the issue publicly, either.

Earlier this week, actor James Mitchell passed away at the age of 89. Mitchell spent the last thirty years playing All My Children's Palmer Cortland.

Mitchell was one of those actors who never publicly discussed his sexuality, so I was surprised to read in the Associated Press article about his passing that his death had been confirmed by his longtime partner, Albert Wolsky, an academy award winning costume designer. Their relationship was also mentioned in The Advocate.

It's not surprising that Mitchell never opened up to the public about his sexuality. He was from a generation that largely remained closeted their entire lives, even to those closest to them. On top of that, he worked in a medium where almost all of the younger gay actors are still staying in the closet today, forty years after Stonewall. Some are even actively hiding their sexuality, rather than just not discussing it at all.

From what I know of him, Mitchell at least had the courage to live his life openly with the love of his life at his side, and that's no small thing.

I have never been a regular viewer of All My Children, but the few times I have tuned in over the years and seen Mitchell's work, he always seemed to have a sly, amused air about him that made me think that Palmer would probably be one of my favorite characters if I watched the show.

I know he'll be greatly missed by all the fans of All My Children. Rest in peace, James.

(Belated) Nuke Day: It's Not Brain Surgery! Oh, Wait...

Yesterday was another Nuke day on As the World Turns. Their scenes opened with Dr. Oliver returning to Noah's room at the hospital to launch a full on snark fest towards everything from the food in the hospital cafeteria to how white bread and self satisfied a place Oakdale is.

The bottom line was that Reid wanted to do Noah's surgery as quickly as possible so that he could get the hell out of town. I figured that the show would treat brain surgery as casually as, say, a fake green card marriage, so I have to admit that I was completely surprised when Luke got all logical, pointing out that Noah had already had something to eat and couldn't go under anesthesia for twenty four hours, not to mention the fact that Dr. Oliver didn't even know anyone at the hospital yet.

Reid's view was that a brain was a brain and the rest didn't matter. Yeah, that's the attitude I'd want from my brain surgeon! Luke told Reid that Noah wasn't ready, but Noah declared that he was calling the shots and had been ready since the day of his accident.

So much for logic. Reid found the Chief of Staff, Dr. Bob Hughes, and filled him in on his needs ("You! You look important. I need...") Bob was understandably nonplussed by this, but Luke quickly introduced the two, leading to Reid snarking at Luke "Of course you're on a first name basis." Love it!

Luke wanted Noah to think about things a bit more before rushing into the surgery and was not pleased with Reid for pressuring Noah because of his own time constraints. Dr. Oliver pointed out that Luke had certainly been in a hurry when he'd 'kidnapped' him and forced him to come to Oakdale.

Bob, overhearing this confrontation, took Reid aside and told him that his Chief in Dallas might put up with his arrogance, but that he wasn't about to sign off on the surgery until Noah had thought all the consequences through. Reid accused Bob of coming to this decision because Noah's boyfriend was a family friend,"Or maybe a donor?"

Bob told Reid that both 'the patient and his partner' were under informed and scared to death, and that Dr. Oliver was going to have to take the time to reassure them before he had Noah sign the consent.

Don't mess with Dr. Bob! Reid went back in to see Noah and Luke and informed Noah that there were serious risks, including death as Luke pointed out, and nothing could be guaranteed, but that if Noah wanted his sight back, Dr. Oliver was the best man for the job.

Noah said that he wanted to have the surgery and when Luke pointed out again that he didn't have to do it that very day, Noah said he needed to get his life back. Luke told him that he had his life, but Noah said that it was A life, not His life and Luke reluctantly helped Noah sign the form.

After Reid left to get things prepared, Luke and Noah had a heart to heart talk that felt more like the real Luke & Noah than anything we've seen for ages.

Luke: How scared are you?

Noah: Very. Not as scared as I am of being blind the rest of my life.

Luke: Well I'm not going to let that happen. You believe me don't you?

Noah (actually touching Luke for a change): I'm starting to.

At that point, Luke and Noah shared their first kiss in some time, which was sweet and yet awkward since it was Noah's first kiss as a blind man. It was interrupted by Reid's return to take Noah off for surgery.

Luke was nervously pacing in the hospital hallway a short time later when Bob and Kim Hughes suggested that he take a walk with them, since there wouldn't be any news for hours. Luke had just agreed when Reid came out of the O.R. and informed him that there was bad news. I thought the half sick, half terror stricken look on Luke's face as they faded to commercial was a nice touch on the part of Van Hansis.

Reid informed Luke that he'd checked out Noah's latest scans as he was scrubbing in and realized that there was more vascular involvement than he'd thought. Noah would need multiple surgeries with IV drug therapy in between, and that was more of a commitment than Dr. Oliver was willing to make. On top of all that, he informed Luke that he'd have his office bill him for his time that day.

Luke protested that Dr. Oliver hadn't done anything and Reid reminded him that he'd been forced to come and that his time was valuable: just ask any of his many patients waiting for him back in Dallas.

Luke didn't know how he was going to tell Noah about this, since he'd been counting on the surgery. Bob and Kim suggested that it would at least be easier for Noah to hear it from Luke. Uh, have they met the new Noah? Or heard that expression about killing the messenger? After Bob and Kim left, Reid returned to ask if Luke had got him a car for the airport yet.

Luke was suddenly in Dr. Oliver's face, telling him that he wasn't going anywhere until he'd helped Noah. Reid told Luke that he'd only give Noah a 20% chance of getting off the table if he did operate since he needed months of surgery.

Luke snapped that Reid that he wasn't using the Grimaldi jet and could find his own way back to Dallas. Reid sneered that Luke was taking his toys and going home since he didn't get what he wanted and told him to have a nice life. The pissed off look on Luke's face was priceless, not to mention hot! These two have intense chemistry together. I love it.

We didn't see Luke actually tell Noah the bad news. Instead, we arrived in the middle of the conversation, with Luke urging Noah not to give up hope just because Dr. Oliver couldn't operate. As expected, Noah lashed out at Luke and blamed him for blackmailing Reid, saying that it wasn't that he couldn't operate, it was that he didn't want to because of Luke.

It's funny how Mr. Morality, who had such a problem with Luke after he stole the election, had no qualms about threats and blackmail the other day when it seemed to have benefited him! His tune has certainly changed now.

Luke said that this wasn't over, but Noah ordered him out of his room. To his credit, the way that Jake Silbermann sort of curled into something resembling the fetal position after he told Luke to go away was a nice touch and did make me feel bad for him.

Out in the hall, Luke discovered that Reid was unable to get a commercial flight to Dallas due to bad weather. Luke asked him to at least stay and explain to him and Noah what they could do to make this better, even saying that they could get a place in Dallas.

Reid: I don't know how to make this clear to you. I'm not taking your boyfriend's case. I'm done. So quit ordering me around like I'm one of your servants. I don't need your money, it doesn't impress me.

Luke: Well then what will?!

Reid: Your car.

Luke: What?

Reid: You're driving me to the airport. Come on.

Was I the only one who thought, just for a second, that Reid was going to make Luke an indecent proposal? Something like "Be my love slave and I'll help your boyfriend." Their chemistry was off the charts in this scene.

In the oddly empty parking garage, Luke (who looked really cute; Van always looks great all bundled up in winter outdoor scenes, like those he had last year on the hospital roof between Luke and Noah) told Reid that he wasn't driving him anywhere, that he had to stay and help Noah.

Reid said that he was tired of Luke's command performance and that no matter how rich Luke was or how used to getting his way, it wasn't happening this time. He took Luke's keys and told him that he could pick up his car at the airport.

All during this scene, too, I kept waiting for Reid to kiss Luke or something. There's just this strong vibe between them.

Luke jumped in front of the car, leaning against the hood, but Dr. Oliver wasn't about to let that stop him. He started forward anyway, making Luke jump aside, and causing Reid to miss the fact that Kim Hughes was backing out of her own parking spot. Fender bender!

Both parties seemed fine, but clearly Dr. Oliver's trip back to Dallas is going to be delayed. That was all for Friday's show, but I have to say that for the first time in quite awhile, I pretty much enjoyed all of the Nuke scenes. Or, maybe I should say the LuReid scenes? Oluke? Luliver?

The chemistry between Van Hansis and Eric Sheffer Stevens has me on the edge of my seat in a way that I haven't been with this show for a long time. More please!

Kish: Stripper Showdown

Today's Kish scenes picked up at the moment where yesterday's ended, with Fish asking Kyle if he was saying that the baby could be his. It shouldn't come as any surprise that Oliver was freaking out just a little bit at this point.

Kyle suggested that Fish treat this like a police case: what would he do if he had a bunch of evidence that could mean different things? Fish said that he'd track down every lead to try and figure out the truth. Kyle, being strong for Oliver's sake, said that they'd do exactly that and figure out the truth together.

Fish wondered aloud how this could have happened, noting that he'd slept with Stacy once (I guess he meant once that night, since we all know that he slept with her early last year, too) and Kyle pointed out that it could have been a lot worse.

When Fish wondered how things could possibly be worse, his boyfriend pointed out that he'd slept with someone without protection. Oliver protested that he'd been wasted and Kyle asked if that was supposed to make it okay. Fish rather lamely added that Stacy had told him it was all taken care of. How, he asked rhetorically, could he have been such an idiot?

Kyle and Fish went over the details again and confirmed that the timing was exactly right for the baby to be Oliver's, but Fish hopefully pointed out that Stacy had also slept with Schuyler and who knew how many others, since she was 'trolling for baby daddy'.

Fish thought the baby had to be Schuyler's since it didn't make any sense for Stacy to have told him it was if that wasn't true. Kyle reminded Fish that Stacy only does what's good for Stacy and wondered why Schuyler would cover for her with Rex.

Fish: Kyle, I don't know what to believe. All I keep thinking is that I could have a baby.

Kyle: I know.

Fish: What am I going to do?

Kyle: I know what we're not going to do is panic.

Fish: I think it might be too late for that.

Kyle: Listen to me. We're going to deal with this together. Okay? No matter what we find out.

Fish: Okay.

I loved this scene! I thought it was fantastic how Kyle just calmly let Fish know that he's there by his side, no matter what, and that Oliver is not going to have to deal with all of this alone. You could see Fish just calm down a little as he looked into Kyle's eyes. These two are so amazing together.

Kyle asked Oliver what their first step should be, how they should deal with a 'lying, scheming bimbo' and Fish said they had to do it head-on.

They did so by showing up at the Buchanan mansion, where Stacy and her partner in crime Kim (who is currently living with her boss/potential sugar daddy Clint Buchanan) were in the middle of talking about who would get custody of the baby if something happened to Stacy and Rex thanks to Mitch.

Stacy told Fish that she didn't need any protection while she was at the mansion and Kyle chimed in, saying that what she needed was an 'ass whuppin'. Stacy and Kim were outraged and Stacy demanded to know for what, exactly, her ass needed to be whipped.

Fish: For telling me that's not my baby inside you when you know damn well it could be!

Fish asked Stacy if the baby was Schuyler's or his, but Stacy reminded him that he'd been wasted the night they spent together and claimed that they'd never actually had sex. Fish pointed out that she'd told him they had the next morning.

Stacy: Oh, come on Oliver! You've known me long enough to know that just because I say something doesn't mean it's the truth!

Fish said that he knows when he's had sex with a woman and Kim piped up, telling him that he wouldn't know his way around a woman with a GPS. Ha! I love Kim. She's the only good thing to come out of this Stacy Morasco mess. Although to be honest, Stacy herself hasn't irritated me nearly as much lately as she used to.

Stacy said that it didn't matter what had happened that night because the baby was Schuyler's. Kyle asked how she could know that when there was nothing on her chart about a CVS. After receiving three rather blank stares, Kyle explained that it was a fetal paternity test.

Kim ordered the guys out, saying that the stress wasn't good for Stacy or the baby, but Kyle told her that if they left without proof of paternity, they were going straight to Rex and Schuyler.

Kim: You'd better go see your friend Roxy, Kyle. Your roots are showing.

Kyle: What's that supposed to mean?

Kim: Once a blackmailer, always a blackmailer. You really give gays a bad name.

Kyle: You and Stacy ain't exactly doing strippers and sluts any favors, either.

Love it! It's awesome how Kyle is the one who is taking the lead on this, fiercely protecting his man. Plus, he's really hot when he gets all worked up!

When the women weren't forthcoming with any more info, our guys started to leave, heading for Rex and Schuyler as promised. Kim stopped them by saying that Kyle would be the one who suffered if they said anything.

She told them that her boss, Clint, had hospital board members in and out of his office all the time and she'd make sure they found out exactly how Kyle got his information. Stacy offered Kyle a reminder that using patient information for blackmail was against the Hippocratic oath.

Fish and Kyle were speechless, leaving a triumphant Stacy to utter the immortal words "Check and mate, bitches."

Kyle started in about all the people Stacy was hurting, like Rex and Roxy, who thought the baby was their family, and then told Stacy that she was putting herself and the baby in danger by letting Mitch Laurence believe it was his grandchild.

Kim decided that it was time to call security to have the guys thrown out, but Oliver said that wouldn't be necessary. After the guys went outside, Kyle said that he was still going to go to Rex and Schuyler, that they couldn't let Stacy get away with this.

Fish didn't want Kyle to risk his career, but Kyle said that Stacy possibly being pregnant with Oliver's child was more important than anything else. Fish refused to let Kyle throw away his future for something they weren't one hundred percent sure about and said that they'd have to wait until the baby was born, at which point they could get a paternity test.

Kyle asked if Fish could wait that long and Oliver said he could, but that they'd have to keep quiet in the meantime while he protected Stacy and what could be his child.

Pretty awesome scenes today! I loved the Stacy, Kim, Kyle, and Oliver confrontation and I love how there for each other Kyle and Fish are. Most shows would have used the baby as a road block for the new relationship, but it really seems like it's bringing Kyle and Fish even closer together.