It'sThat Time of Year Again

It's time again to vote for the AfterElton Hot 100! I can't believe a whole year has gone by already. I submitted my choices the other day, and this year some very hot celebrities (including more than one of my own nominees!) are sharing their picks with us.

Nicholas Rodriguez, the openly gay cutie who played Kyle's pre-Fish boyfriend Nick Chavez on One Life to Live last year and starred in the Washington D.C. production of Light in the Piazza last month, weighed in with his choices. Nicholas has pretty good taste in guys, I have to say, with the likes of Cheyenne Jackson, Hugh Dancy, and Jake Gyllenhaal on his list. I still don't get the Taylor Lautner thing, though! Even with an incredible body he doesn't do anything for me.

Today, Scott Evans (a.k.a. number one on my own Hot 100 list) shared his picks and as if it wasn't already enough that he's the hottest guy around, he won me over even further by leading off with the incredibly sexy Zachary Quinto. Just the thought of Scott and Zachary in the same room together is enough to make my pulse race!

Among others, such as out Olympic cutie Matthew Mitcham, Scott also chose Lee Pace and noted that he still can't believe Pushing Daises is gone! Wow, so Scott is beautiful, he has great taste in men, and now in TV shows! Where do I find a guy like that for myself?

Speaking of Lee Pace (whom I'd love to see on my TV screen again!), he made hottie Cheyenne Jackson's list as well. Cheyenne wrote that he'd met Lee at Promises, Promises, the new Broadway show that Lee's former Pushing Daisies co-star, Kristin Chenoweth is doing.

I love that Lee went to see Kristin in the show! Hey, is it too soon to start begging for a Pushing Daisies reunion movie?

John Amaechi, the out former NBA player, shared his top guys as well, and I really liked most of his choices. He, too, picked Zachary Quinto, and he threw in Neil Patrick Harris, John Barrowman, and two guys I wish I'd thought of when I was doing my own list: the smoldering Gael Garcia Bernal and Russell Tovey, the adorably sexy (and out!) British actor.

The list I found to have the most in common with mine, though, was that of Brad 'Cheeks' Bell. Cheeks is an Internet celeb who is also Adam Lambert's ex, and he chose Scott Evans, Brett Claywell, Michael Urie, Jamie Bamber, and Matthew Mitcham, among others. He also put Chris Colfer on his list, which I think is awesome! Chris isn't really my type, and yet I think when I'm watching him as Kurt I am sort of half in love with how funny and talented he is.

For the second year in a row, they're also taking nominations for the Hottest Out Gay/Bi Men poll, the Hottest Men of Color poll, and the Hottest Men over 50.

I can't wait to see the full lists! Go vote today (if you're a gay or bisexual man) and in the meantime, you can check out the first three years of the Hot 100 while you wait.

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: 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?

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.

Nicholas Rodriguez Interview

Daytime Confidential has a new interview with out actor Nicholas Rodriguez, the man who plays gay character Nick Chavez on One Life to Live. In addition to his role on OLTL, Nicholas is also currently starring as another gay character in a new web series called Then We Got Help.

Here's a bit of what Nicholas had to say about his role as Nick:

DC: You are definitely sharing your craft on One Life to Live. Your scenes this week where Nick is in the hospital after being beaten up by homophobic thugs have been riveting. Was it difficult taping those scenes?

NR: Definitely. First off, I was nervous as hell! Secondly, there was the pressure to represent it accurately for everyone who has gone through something like that, not just being gay bashed, but any kind of physical attack because of who you are. I didn't want to do anything that would disrespect anyone who had gone though that. Everyone I worked with in those scenes, from Scott Evans and Brett Claywell to Susan Haskell and Michael Easton were incredible. I mean, you're working with Susan Haskell, this Emmy-winning actress, and she just gives it to you! Everything she has. There's nothing like it. She makes you better.

DC: The scenes were incredibly well done. You mentioned Brett and Scott, who play One Life to Live's starcrossed gay couple Kyle and Fish, aka Kish. Your character, Nick, could have been a typical scheming interloper for soaps, but you have giving Nick rooting factor. Are you surprised that fans actually like Nick as much as Kish?

NR: You know, I can't say that I am surprised, because that was always the intention, at least for me! [Laughs]. It definitely humbles me, though that the fans are responding. At first, the character was only supposed to be on for a couple of days, but One Life to Live's executive producer Frank Valentini pulled me aside and said, "You can make this character what you want. The more likeable you make him the more possibilities there are." So I just sort of ran with that. I talked a lot with Brett and Scott about how to play the story. We all said, "Let's not do the typical, jealous, spurned lovers" story. I wanted to make Nick likeable and human. The more we go along, the more excited I am about the role, because a.) I love playing Nick and b.) I love everyone I work with and c.) I want to keep playing Nick!

Be sure and check out the whole interview! The web series is also worth watching. There's only one episode up so far (the series just debuted today) but it's really funny.

Kish: The Aftermath

Today's Kish scenes on One Life to Live started with a phone call between Fish, who was at his apartment getting ready for work, and Kyle, who was still at the hospital with Nick. Oliver shared the news that 'Layla and Cris are going at it again!' and Kyle was glad that somebody was getting lucky at least! He apologized to Oliver for cutting things short the night before.

Fish told him not to apologize and that they'd both been where they needed to be: Oliver catching the bad guys and Kyle being there for Nick. They both wished they could have been in two places at once, though.

Kyle told Fish that Nick was still hurting but in stable condition and Fish promised his boyfriend that the guys who did it would pay, and that he'd call with an update once he was at the station.

Layla and Cristian, meanwhile, were trying to sneak past Fish on their way to the bathroom, clad only in bedsheets. Fish spotted them, of course, and once Cristian had awkwardly excused himself to clean up for work, Fish offered Layla a variety of hearty breakfast choices, commenting that she must be starving.

Layla was embarrassed and asked if Oliver had heard her and Cristian, and he told her that the walls had shook. Layla apologized, but Fish told her that he was glad that she was getting 'her socks knocked off by someone who deserves them'. When Layla didn't respond right away Fish thought he'd put his foot in his mouth, but she quickly assured him that it was the most perfect thing he could have said in that moment.

Fish told her that he was really happy for the two of them and knew they'd waited a long time to be together. Layla asked how his date with Kyle had gone and Fish broke the news about the gay bashing, which struck a nerve with Layla beyond just the average person's horror at such a crime, since her sister Evangeline has been in a coma for the last few years as the result of a racist attack.

Layla made Fish promise that they'd throw the book at the animals who'd attacked Nick just for being who he'd been born to be.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Kyle woke Nick up from a nightmare and assured him that things were okay and that he was there for him. There were soon joined by Marty, who wanted to talk with Nick in her capacity as a psychiatrist, just to make sure he was dealing with what had happened.

Nick assured her that he was okay and ready to put the bashing behind him and move on. He started talking about the big door to door canvassing he had to work on for the LGLA (Llanview Gay & Lesbian Alliance) next month. Marty interrupted to tell him that he'd been through a very traumatic experience and that they needed to make sure that he could get a handle on things before they got the better of him.

Nick: What's going to help me get a handle on things is just getting back to work.

Marty: Okay, but sometimes getting back to work means hiding in your work.

Nick: My work is about being out. There's no hiding for me.

Marty: Let me ask you something. Do you feel comfortable with being out in public? (Nick looks suddenly terrified) Because it seems to me that what you do not only takes a lot of courage, but it also takes a lot of faith in your fellow man.

Nick became upset at that point and when Kyle asked him what was going on, Nick lashed out at him, telling him to stop. Kyle started to leave, but Nick took his hand and asked him to stay.

Nick recounted the story of what had happened to him once again, apparently at Marty's request since she was taking notes. When he was done, he said that he'd brought all of it on himself.

Kyle: What?!

Marty: No, it's all right. Let him talk. We're just talking here. Why would... what makes you feel that way?

Nick: If this would have happened even a week ago, I would have chosen my words more carefully. I would have never walked into that alley by myself at night, you know? But Llanview elects Dorian Lord Mayor and I'm acting like it's gay pride, morning, noon and night.

Marty: Well, Dorian's stand on gay rights is something to be proud of.

Nick: When I shot my mouth off, I put everyone in that bar in danger!

Kyle: You did not put anyone in-

Nick: A waitress got pushed trying to help me! And a bartender, he got punched standing up for me. I don't even know their names! And what if it was Amelia? What if it was her that got jumped? What then?

Marty: Nick, would you feel it was Kyle's fault if the same thing happened to him?

Nick: No.

Marty: It's okay to wish it didn't happen, but the fault for what happened lays one hundred percent with the people who attacked you. Everyone, everyone has the basic right to live free from attack.

Marty urged Nick to focus on that and save his strength for what was coming next: making sure the guys who bashed him were held accountable for what they did.

I have to say, this scene was very well done and Nicholas Rodriguez did a really great job playing Nick's guilt and self blame. Brett Claywell was also fantastic with Kyle's mostly non verbal reaction to Nick's dialogue. Of course Susan Haskell was also great as Marty, but that pretty much goes without saying!

It seemed very realistic that Nick would blame himself, as many victims of such crimes do. I thought it was especially poignant that in his mind, he'd 'shot his mouth off', when in point of fact, he'd been the one trying to just get away from the guys while it was Amelia who'd stood her ground and done all the talking.

Marty recommended that Nick see a therapist, at least for the first few weeks of his recovery, and that he not be afraid to lean on his loved ones for support. Nick told her that his family lived on the other side of the country and Marty, looking at Kyle, said that he obviously had friends he could count on.

Nick said that there was Amelia but that she wasn't there. Kyle explained that he hadn't been able to reach her, that her phone was turned off. Nick assured them he'd be fine, but Kyle told him that he was there for him, too, and not to forget that.

Fish arrived just at that moment, with some mug shots for Nick to look at. They needed him to identify his attackers and Fish told him that a positive ID would keep the guys locked up until their trial.

Nick sifted through the mug shots, visibly upset each time he came across one of his attackers, but he identified all three. Fish assured Nick that the three of them would be going away for a long time, but then looked nonplussed when Nick laid his head against Kyle's hand, which was resting on his shoulder, and Kyle responded by placing his other hand on top of Nick's head.

That was all for today. Strong scenes, once again, though I'm still swooning over yesterday's love scenes and probably will be for awhile!

Kish: Incredible Love Scenes

I was completely blown away by the Kish love scenes in today's episode of One Life to Live. Daytime TV has never seen anything like it for a gay couple and I honestly think that even in primetime you'd be hard pressed to find any show that treated a gay couple's love scenes in exactly the same way they'd treat a straight love scene.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. The show started with Kyle and Fish returning to Kyle's place after their date at Ultra Violet. Oliver was clearly feeling nervous and Kyle quickly assured him that they didn't have to do anything, and that they'd already had a pretty great first date, just finally being able to walk around in public holding hands like any other couple.

Kyle told Fish that it would feel right if it ended up being the night they made love for the first time, but only if Oliver was ready. Fish responded with a kiss and the two headed for the bed, holding hands. Oliver spotted a gift waiting on Kyle's bed and asked if it was for him. Kyle had never seen it before but it turned out to be from Roxy, along with a note telling him to 'have fun with Trout' and be safe.

Fish couldn't believe that Kyle had told Roxy about their night, but Kyle explained that Roxy is his best friend (awww!) and that he and Fish might not even be together if it weren't for her, since she was the one who'd kept encouraging Kyle not to give up on Oliver.

The present was a box of condoms, of course, which seemed to make Fish nervous all over again.

Fish: ...I'm just not used to this. I just came out and, you know, we never... (gestures towards the bed) we never did this.

Kyle: Okay, I know. But you don't have to be embarrassed Oliver. I love you. And you love me.

Fish: True. That is true.

Kyle thought some mood lighting would make Fish feel better and after he'd lit some candles and they'd adorably toasted to a happy first date, the love scene truly got under way. It was complete with a romantic song playing (anyone know what it was?!), and all the lingering looks, slow undressing of each other, tender caresses, and kisses that you'd expect to find in any love scene on a soap when a popular couple is about to make love for the very first time.

This scene was too beautiful to just describe, so do yourself a favor and check it out here. I'm not ashamed to say that this scene made me cry, in a good way! It was just so amazing to see this at long last, not just for Kyle and Fish, but as a groundbreaking moment in daytime TV.

A gay couple had never before had the kind of romantic, sexy love scene on daytime TV that is standard for mixed gender couples. Luke and Noah certainly never got a first time scene like this (or, for that matter, any love scene like this, period! They were too busy jumping up and down on the bed like five year olds!) but One Life to Live fully delivered, living up to all my expectations.

Here's the thing, though: they didn't actually make love! They've already had the best gay love scene in daytime history, and it turns out we're not even to the big moment yet! Just imagine what that will be like!

I was surprised to find out that the two had never actually made love in college, though. It always sounded as if they had, but I guess they must have stopped short of that, which makes this all the more special since it truly is going to be Oliver's first time with another man.

The reason they didn't get to have their first time today was that the badly beaten Nick had managed to get himself to the hospital, where he promptly collapsed in front of Dr. Marty Saybrooke. Marty, even though she's a psychiatrist and not an emergency room doctor, sprang into action to help Nick and when she asked him if he knew who'd beaten him up and why, Nick told her it was because he was gay.

Marty called her boyfriend, Detective John McBain, and reported a hate crime and then asked Nick if there was anyone he'd like her to call.

That's when Fish and Kyle's evening was interrupted by dueling cell phone calls: John calling Fish to tell him that a guy he knew had been gay bashed and Marty calling Kyle on Nick's behalf.

Kyle and Fish rushed to the E.R., where Marty told them that Nick had two broken ribs and a concussion and that they were still waiting for test results to see if there were any internal injuries (there weren't). John arrived shortly after that and Fish told him that he wanted in on the case.

Nick told John (and everyone else) what had happened, how it had started in Angel Square and how he and Amelia had been followed to Rodi's and then he'd been jumped in the alley. Nick assured John that he'd be able to identify them and Fish remembered seeing the three guys at the swearing in and said that he'd definitely recognize them if he saw them again.

Fish and John left to try and find the guys, while Kyle stayed behind with Nick, who apologized for ruining his big date with Oliver. Kyle assured him that Fish understood and Nick told Kyle that he just hadn't wanted to be alone. Kyle assure him that he wasn't.

John and Fish made quick work of finding the bashers, who were apparently drinking in the park. They'd barely made it into the police station before Oliver lost his cool and slammed the ring leader up against the wall.

Fish: You beat a guy up for being gay! You kicked the hell out of him just because he's different than you?

Basher: You think we'd touch a queer?

Fish: Yeah, well, you're touching one now!

Basher (affecting a lisp): Oh, stop it, you're scaring me sweetheart!

Fish was about to punch the guy when John intervened, saying the basher wasn't worth it. McBain sent the three down to the holding cells and ordered the cop on duty to 'put the big mouth in with Mitch Laurence'! That little comment, just tossed out in the middle of an otherwise dramatic scene, made me laugh so hard!

McBain: You okay? It's gotta be hard to see something like that happen to a friend of yours.

Fish: Yeah, I grew up with it.

McBain: I'm sorry.

Fish (visibly upset): I felt just like them, except it was me that I hated. The same way that they hate me, and Nick, and Kyle, and Amelia, and everybody like us.

McBain: It's not going to be like this forever.

Fish: Yeah, you know, I'm not so optimistic. I don't think it will ever change.

McBain: There was a time when nobody even knew anyone who was gay.

Fish: Yeah, or they thought they didn't. I should have come out a long time ago.

I liked the message behind this scene, that each person's coming out, while deeply personal, helps bring about real change for all of us. With every single person who comes out, the perceptions and preconceived notions of everyone in their lives are being changed, or at the very least challenged. I thought it was a great way to deliver such a point without really forcing the issue.

I also think that there may well be people watching the show who've never known anyone gay in their personal lives (or realized that they did) and who may be seeing things in a new light now because of Kyle and Fish. That's a pretty amazing thing.

Oliver headed to the hospital to let Nick and Kyle know that the bashers had been caught. After they'd both thanked Fish, Kyle went back to tending to Nick and Oliver went out in the hall alone and looked plaintively at the door. Hmmm. Was the look because Kyle was with Nick, or because Fish was still feeling shaken over the bashing?

That was all for today. I still can't get over how amazing the love scene was, prior to interruption! It certainly helped build the anticipation for their actual first time to a fever pitch! These two are hands down the hottest couple on daytime TV, gay or straight!

Kish: First Dates and Bashings

Kyle & Fish's much talked about official first date took place today on One Life to Live, alongside some truly terrible circumstances for poor Nick.

The show started with Oliver still on duty, finishing up escorting Dorian to her cell. The evil Mitch Laurence (who happens to have once been married to Dorian) was in the jail's other holding cell and when Dorian wasted no time in making a veiled threat against him, Fish told Mitch that he hadn't heard a thing. Fish promised Dorian he'd try and get Laurence moved somewhere else and thanked her again for what she was doing for the cause.

Meanwhile, Nick and Amelia were still surrounded by the three homophobic louts in Angel Square. When Nick told the trio to leave them alone, the guys spouted the usual sort of crap about gays putting their trash in everyone else's face and men marrying dogs being the next step after men marrying men.

Amelia was ready with a quick retort, not being in the least willing to just stand there and take crap from the men.

Thug: You've got a smart mouth on you.

Amelia: Well, I talk for a living. I'm a human rights advocate and I fight for my rights.

Thug: Yeah, we got your position.

Nick: Let's go!

Amelia: Does this make you feel like real men?

Nick: Amelia, there's no point!

Amelia: You're right, because some people just can't be educated.

Thug: Yeah?

Amelia: Yeah. Because to convince people to change their minds, they actually have to have one.

Nick and Amelia left after that, leaving one of the thugs to note to his friends that 'Tinkerbell' (Nick) was nervous and that 'those queers' needed a teaching moment.

I have to say, Amelia pretty much rocks! Of course, in real life it would probably be smarted to just do what Nick did, and get out of there as quickly and with as few words as possible, but I always love seeing LGBT characters standing up for themselves.

As all of this was going on, Kyle was at Ultra Violet leaving a message on Fish's phone to let him know that he'd got to the club early and was waiting at the bar. Oliver walked up behind him while he was talking and surprised him and the two shared a sweet kiss before Fish apologized, saying that he'd had to go home and change first and that Kyle wouldn't believe the crazy day he'd had, what with arresting the Mayor and all.

Fish brought his boyfriend a beer from the bar and Kyle was touched that Fish had remembered what he drank. Oliver explained that for years, every time he heard someone order that brand of beer, he'd instantly be back at the lake with Kyle, and then he'd have to order something stronger to help him forget. That's so sad!

In response, Kyle offered a toast to making new memories. Awww! Kim and Stacy (who is, lest we forget, secretly pregnant with Oliver's baby) were across the bar watching the guys and commenting on what a cute couple they made. Kim felt the credit for them finally getting together belonged to her and Stacy, since it was Stacy's seduction of him that lead to Oliver finally admitting to himself that he was gay.

Kyle hoped that Fish wouldn't be called back in to work that night and Oliver assured him that he was completely off duty. Kyle was glad, saying that he'd been looking forward to this night for a really long time.

Kyle: I don't know if I've told you this, but uh, I love ya.

Fish: No, I know.

Kyle: Yeah?

Fish: I love you too.

They are so incredibly sweet together! This scene left me with a huge smile on my face. The way they were both grinning and looking at each other, it was just perfect.

Nick and Amelia, meanwhile, had gone to Rodi's to get something to drink after their encounter in Angel Square. Nick asked Gigi where everyone was, since the place was so quiet. She explained that they'd all gone to Ultra Violet to see the All American Rejects perform and Nick sadly told Amelia that Kyle and Fish were there, too, on their first date.

Amelia offered a toast to new love and Nick reluctantly joined in, just in time for our three homophobic thugs to join them at their table, asking when Rodi's had become a gay bar. Nick said that they didn't want any trouble and stood up, suggesting that he and Amelia leave.

Amelia insisted that she would not be run off and one of the thugs sneered that they now knew who the man in the group was. At that point, Nick's patience seemed to be running out.

Gigi: Excuse me, can I help you?

Thug: Yeah, you serve anything but fruit salad?

Nick (finally getting angry): You know what, back off!

Thug: Or what, you gonna bitch slap me and risk your manicure?

One of the men wondered if Gigi was queer, too, and when she asked him what if she was, another of the guys grabbed her, saying that he could show her how to be a real woman. That's when Schuyler broke in, earning himself a punch in the face (after which one of the guys told Nick "You're next, Mary!"). The thugs then decided to go and find a bar with some 'real men and women' and left.

Gigi wanted to call the police, but Nick and Amelia asked her not to, saying that it was all over and that this wasn't the story they wanted to come out of the day's events. Gigi wondered if things like that happened a lot and Amelia told her they happened too much. Gigi was surprised, pointing out that Llanview was a nice town, and Amelia said it still happened. Gigi hoped that Dorian could change things as Mayor and Amelia told her that was their plan.

Nick suggested that Amelia go and visit her wife in jail and said that he was going to head home. Amelia assured him that things would get better and Nick offered her a ride, saying he was parked out back. Amelia said that wasn't necessary and as soon as Nick headed out alone, it was obvious what was going to happen.

Sure enough, Nick was jumped by the three thugs behind Rodi's and they quickly beat him to the ground and began kicking him. They paused long enough for one thug to ask his buddies "Should we?" which made me worry that this was going to be something even worse than a bashing, that we might be about to see daytime's first male/male rape.

The show ended with the All American Rejects playing at Ultra Violet as we saw a montage set to their song, mostly of happy couples (including Kyle and Fish), but also including scenes of Nick being beaten in the alley. It didn't appear there was any rape involved, though, which is a relief (though, at the same time, it could have made for a powerful storyline and is certainly something that hasn't been done yet on American soaps).

To add insult to injury, the guys dumped the contents of one of the garbage cans behind Rodi's over Nick after they were done beating him, leaving him crying and bloodied in the alley with half eaten food all over him.

For a long time it seemed as if there were only three stories anyone was willing to tell about gay characters, especially in Daytime: coming out, having AIDS, and getting bashed. Thankfully, that has changed, and because, as Kish and Nuke have demonstrated, there are now other stories being told about gay characters, it doesn't seem quite as cliched to have a gay character get bashed, especially since there's no denying that it does happen in real life far too often.

In the context of this story, with Dorian's campaign and her legalization of gay marriage, it does make sense that some insecure, homophobic people would want to lash out. That doesn't make it any easier to watch, however.

I'm glad that it didn't happen to Kyle or Oliver, but at the same time I hope that they didn't keep Nick around just to be bashed. Since they chose to write this story for him, I hope there's more coming for the character beyond just being bashed and the aftermath of that.

So, to sum up the episode, the Kyle and Oliver date scenes were beyond cute, I found Amelia to be pretty awesome in her response to harassment, and I felt terrible for poor Nick. I really want to see him overcome this and land a boyfriend of his own, someone who loves him the way Kyle loves Fish.

Kish: Fight For Your Rights

Today's One Life to Live featured some truly awesome scenes in the gay marriage storyline. We picked up where we'd left off, Dorian about to sign what turned out to be her and Amelia's marriage certificate in front of the crowd, with the state Attorney General interrupting to announce that he was 'shutting her down' by order of the Governor.

The AG said that the Governor had understood the 'gesture' of the symbolic ceremony, but gay marriage was against the law. "Not in Llanview. Not anymore," Dorian said, to cheers from the crowd. Well, cheers from most of the crowd. Three drunken louts yelled for the rest of the crowd to let the Attorney General talk, one of them sneering that "the whole town's gone gay!" (Quick, someone tell Rex and Brody!)

The crowd, including two of the shows leading teen characters, Starr and Langston, began chanting "Gay, straight, black, white, Marriage is a civil right" in response.

The AG told Dorian that if she signed the license she'd be going to jail. Dorian pointed out that the state constitution of Pennsylvania doesn't actually say that marriage is between a man and a woman, and the Attorney General said that it was implied. Not according to her lawyers, Dorian retorted, adding that she'd see him in court.

Amelia asked Dorian in an aside if she was sure she knew what she was doing. Dorian: "I had you sign a prenup, didn't I?" I love it! Pure Dorian.

Dorian and Amelia proceeded to sign their marriage license and Dorian, as Mayor, gave it the official stamp making it the first legal same sex marriage in Llanview. In response, the Attorney General ordered Fish, who was working crowd control, to arrest the new Mayor. When Fish asked what would happen if he didn't, the AG told him he'd have his badge.

AG: Officer, you have your orders. Place the Mayor under arrest.

Fish: No, sir.

AG: What?

Fish: I can't obey your order.

AG: She's breaking the law.

Fish: Yeah, well, some laws need to be broken.

AG: That's not your call, officer.

Fish: God, with every single civil rights movement in this country, somebody, somewhere had to break an unjust law to make things right. And that's exactly what Mayor Lord is doing. So that couples like her and her partner, and me and my boyfriend, can have the same rights as every other couple out there. We want to get married someday! Well, maybe. You know, if we ever have a date first.

At that point, Fish took off his badge and started to hand it to the Attorney General, which was a huge decision since being a cop means everything to Oliver. It really shows how far he's come, since a few months ago he was terrified of coming out and losing his job, and now he's willing to sacrifice it in the fight for civil rights.

Dorian stopped him, however, and told him to keep his badge and to arrest her. With the press lapping up every second of the show (and Markko catching it all on film for his documentary) Dorian announced that she'd go to jail proudly for the cause.

What I love about this is that Dorian's motivations are purely self serving,and really what could be more realistic? Most politicians don't make stands for causes just because it's the right thing to do.

Fish escorted Dorian all the way to her cell, where he thanked her for what she was doing for the community. I love that Fish, after so many years of feeling so alone, is already feeling that he's a part of a community.

Back in Angel Square, most of the rest of the crowd had dispersed but Nick and Amelia were still there. Nick asked his friend if the whole thing they'd just witnessed had been a publicity stunt, seeming almost offended by the idea that it might have been. That is kind of odd, since he and Amelia were in on the whole marriage thing from the very beginning of Dorian's campaign and their objective was to get publicity for the cause. But, I won't quibble.

Amelia reminded Nick that, while they certainly wanted publicity, Dorian had just gone to jail for them. Before their conversation could continue any further, they were surrounded menacingly by the three drunken louts from earlier, who referred to them as "Mary and her little lesbo." Uh, oh.

Great scenes today, though. I'm so proud of this show for what it's doing with this storyline. No other show that I'm aware of, not even in prime time, has tackled the gay marriage issue in such a head on way. It's truly amazing.

Kish: Politics and The Ex

Today's One Life to Live was a Kish episode that also included the return of Nick and saw the gay marriage storyline move forward. As if that weren't enough, this episode featured one of the most over the top, deliciously soapy scenes I've seen in ages: evil Mitch Laurence crashing Jared's funeral by popping out of the coffin mid service! It's not really part of the Kish story, so I won't say more about it, but it was fantastic! God, I love this show so much.

Today's Kish scenes started with Fish and Layla at the station. Layla brought up the fact that Kyle and Oliver's big first date was that night. Fish tried to downplay the importance of that milestone, but Layla told him that millions of people saw him get together with Kyle on TV and they all want to know how it works out for them. Yeah, no pressure there!

We soon saw how right Layla was, though, when Markko Rivera screened for his friends some of the footage he'd shot at the group wedding (he's making a documentary on Dorian's campaign). His girlfriend Langston was sighing over how romantic it was when Kyle & Fish got together and how sorry she felt for Nick at the same time, even though she doesn't know any of them.

Anyway, Layla realized that Fish was nervous and asked what the problem was, since he and Kyle both love each other. Oliver admitted that he just didn't want to disappoint Kyle. Layla pointed out that Kyle had been in love with Fish since college and knew exactly what was he was getting, but Fish explained that he'd only dated women since then, while Kyle had been out since high school and was used to guys who knew what they were doing.

Layla realized (out loud, and with great volume, much to Fish's embarrassment) that Fish was worried about the sex. After pulling her into McBain's empty office so they could talk without the whole station overhearing them, Fish told Layla he was more than ready to be with Kyle, but was afraid that he'd mess it up.

She told him that if it made him feel any better, she'd had a very good time during their night together. Oliver blushed adorably and thanked her, but said it would be different with a guy. Layla told him that the feelings would be the same.

These were great scenes, I have to say. I love that Oliver and Kyle's love life is being treated (in conversation, at least) like that of any other couple on the show, and I think it was a very strong message to send, that no matter what the differences when it comes to sex, the emotions behind it are the same, whether it's two men, two women, or a mixed gender couple.

While Oliver was having this heart to heart with his ex, Kyle was cutting through Angel Square on his way to the hospital and finding himself face to face with his former boyfriend, Nick, who was there to help set up for Dorian's swearing in as Mayor.

Nick was nervous about whether or not Dorian would live up to her campaign promise to issue legal marriage licences for all those who'd participated in the wedding ceremony and told Kyle that he'd learned not to get his hopes up about anything after Kyle had left him at the altar. Ouch!

Poor Nick! It really did suck, the way things ended up for him. I'm glad we're seeing more of him and I'd love to see him stick around and find a guy of his own. Maybe Rex could get tired of the Morasco sisters? I'd suggest Brody, but as hot as that would be, I really do love him with Jessica.

Seriously, though, I really like Nicholas Rodriguez as Nick and I hope the show decides to expand the character and keep him in Llanview. I should also point out that when I mentioned the other day that Scott Evans was currently the only openly gay actor working in daytime, I didn't know that the out Nicholas Rodriguez would be making a return as Nick.

Anyway, Kyle told Nick that he should never have let things go as far as they did, that the two of them hadn't dated long enough to really be in love, and that when he'd heard that Dorian had promised to legalize the marriages he just knew he couldn't make that kind of commitment.

Nick accused Kyle of sounding like a straight guy with all that commitment stuff, but Nick said that he'd actually just realized that there was someone else he loved and wanted to marry someday, and he'd been standing just a few feet away. Awww! But, again, ouch for Nick!

The two then had the old awkward "How are things with the new boyfriend?" talk. Kyle told Nick about the big first date and how, even when they were involved in college, they'd never actually gone out together.

Nick was surprised that they were just getting around to the first date after having been together for a month, but then guessed that they'd spent the ensuing weeks making up for lost time. Kyle told him that they'd actually been taking things slowly and trying to get to know each other again.

Nick was shocked that the two hadn't slept together yet and started to remind his ex that when they'd first been together... Kyle interrupted to say that this was different and Nick said "Oh, right, you weren't in love with me." Nick was really working the wounded angle today! I have to say, it kind of works for him. He's got these big puppy dog eyes that do sadness/hurt/longing really well. You just want to comfort him.

Kyle started to leave and Nick stopped him, apologizing for implying that Kyle only sleeps with guys he doesn't care about. Nick explained that when they'd got together, he'd really felt something for Kyle that he doesn't usually feel, and was hurt when Kyle dumped him (did I mention it was on live TV in front of millions?).

Kyle apologized and Nick said that he'd like to still be friends, that he respected that Kyle was with Oliver but would like to be able to see Kyle. He suggested that the three of them get together for dinner sometime. Personally, I can't imagine anything worse than having to sit and make conversation with someone I really cared for and the guy he loves, but maybe that's just me.

The two shared a hug, which was Oliver's cue to show up to work crowd control for the swearing in and see his boyfriend in his ex's arms.

Nick spotted Fish watching them and quickly told him that it wasn't what he thought. Fish was very calm about the whole thing (he clearly trusts Kyle, which is good) and Kyle explained that Nick wanted them all to be friends. Nick told the guys they were both very lucky and that maybe, if Dorian kept her promise, the two of them could get married.

Kyle and Fish laughed that off, saying they weren't ready for rings yet, and Nick blurted out that of course they weren't, they hadn't even slept together yet, at least not since college. I couldn't quite decide if Nick was trying to stir up trouble with that comment or if he was just nervous and stuck his foot in his mouth.

Either way, Nick quickly excused himself and an upset Fish asked if Kyle had told his ex that they hadn't done it yet. Kyle explained that all he'd told Nick was that they were taking it slow and that they were having their first official date that night. Fish didn't think it was any of Nick's business at all.

Kyle: It's not, okay, I agree, I'm sorry!

Fish: He's the one that should be sorry.

Kyle: He wasn't being nosy, Oliver, it was just talk.

Fish: About stuff that's private!

Kyle: Yeah, and you know how guys can be.

Fish: Yeah, I do! I hear it every day at the station, okay? Guys, gay or straight, guys can be pigs.

Kyle: Oliver, I would never disrespect you. Okay, you know that, right? This is too special.

Fish: You think?

Kyle: What happens between us stays between us, Oliver.

It was totally in character that Oliver would be nervous about being talked about, especially since he's already worried about letting Kyle down in the bedroom. Of course, it was also a bit hypocritical of him since he'd just been telling his own ex the same stuff, but I guess Layla doesn't count because she's a woman?

I thought this was a nice scene, though, and it was made all the better when Fish admitted to being nervous about their date and Kyle said that he was, too. As if knowing that Kyle was equally nervous eased his own mind, Fish assured Kyle that he didn't have to worry, that it was going to be great.

I love these two together so much. They manage to be incredibly sweet and sizzling hot all in the same moment.

Meanwhile, Dorian Lord was preparing to become Llanview's newest Mayor, even though she'd lost the election to Viki Banks by a single vote. Family troubles forced Viki to step aside before she'd even begun her term, though, and the city council selected Dorian as her replacement.

Dorian's campaign manager/symbolic wife Amelia was still on hand, hoping that Dorian would live up to her promises. Dorian, never one for modesty, was caught up in being the star of Markko's documentary, which was to be 'like The Life and Times of Harvey Milk... only hopefully with a happier ending" and was pushing for it to be finished in time for Sundance!

After the swearing in, Mayor Lord was beginning her remarks to the crowd when a day player charged forward to demand to know if she'd be living up to her campaign promise. Dorian announced that she would indeed be issuing marriage licences to everyone who'd been symbolically married the month before, and even held up a licence to prove her point.

That's when she was interrupted by the state Attorney General, who informed her that he'd been sent by the Governor to shut her down.

I again have to say that I'm really impressed with the fact that One Life to Live is taking on a hot button issue like gay marriage in real time! Social issues were, once upon a time, a staple on soaps and I think One Life to Live is leading the way for a return to that sort of storytelling, the kind that can be over the top, fun to watch, and still have meaning.

A Whole Lotta Kish

Being sick in bed for a few days had one benefit: I was finally able to get close to being caught up with my backlog of One Life to Live episodes. Close enough, in fact, that I've been able to finish catching up in the days since. For the first time in about six weeks, I'm completely current with the show as of tonight!

I wish I hadn't fallen behind and had been writing about the incredible Kish episodes as they aired. This is the best LGBT storyline daytime has ever seen and having marathoned over thirty episodes of the show in a week's time, there's no chance of me writing up each Kish episode individually, as I would have liked.

So, I'll provide an overview of what's happened since I last wrote about Fish & Kyle and then hopefully stay current enough from this point on to once again write about each of their episodes as they air.

When I'd last left the guys, Oliver had just come out to his far from approving parents and Kyle was dating Nick, the cute teacher he'd met at the gym.

The show dealt with the aftermath of Fish coming out to his homophobic parents in a very realistic way, I thought. Instead of having Papa Fish go psycho and invite Kyle on a killer camping trip, or rushing to some sort of heartfelt happily ever after resolution, the show had Fish's parents leave town, with the lines of communication between them and their son strained but still open.

At first, Oliver's dad was already telling people that he no longer had a son, but Mrs. Fish went back to visit Oliver the morning after and made it clear that while she didn't understand or approve of his 'lifestyle', she still loved him. Before they left town, she even got her husband to stop in to say goodbye, thereby acknowledging that he did indeed still have a son.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the future between Oliver and his parents, but I was impressed by the fact that they opted for such a realistic turn of events as the aftermath of Fish coming out to George & Barbara.

Having told his parents, Fish also came out to his mentor at work, Detective John McBain (who actually already knew, having run into Oliver's Dad while he was still in his 'I no longer acknowledge my homosexual son is alive' phase), and also let Kyle know about what he'd done.

Kyle was proud of Fish, but still focused on his relationship with Nick. Even when Oliver, with Cristian's encouragement, told his ex how he still felt about him, Kyle shot Fish down, explaining that they were in different places. Fish was newly out and still not comfortable being completely open, and after years of waiting around for Fish, Kyle had finally moved on and needed someone out and proud like Nick.

Around that time, things took an interesting turn thanks to city politics, with longtime rivals Dorian Lord and Victoria Banks running against each other in the Mayoral race. After Vicki made it clear to Nick (who, in addition to being a teacher, also turned out to be a key player in the city's LGBT organization) that she fully supported marriage equality and had LGBT staff members working in key positions on her campaign, Dorian decided to take things a step further to win the LGBT vote.

First, Dorian hired an out lesbian (Nick's friend Amelia Bennett) as her campaign manager, and then, when her pledges of support for marriage equality were greeted with skepticism, Dorian announced that she had fallen in love with Amelia and would be marrying her in a symbolic ceremony just before the election to highlight the lack of marriage equality in Pennsylvania.

Dorian, of course, is not really a lesbian, but I was still pleased with how this whole story worked out. They could have played it for laughs, but they didn't, and Dorian, in spite of mainly wanting to win the election, did also care about equality.

The very fact that a daytime soap would even make the issue of marriage equality a front and center storyline is impressive. Soaps, including One Life to Live, used to tackle relevant social issues as they were happening, but those days have seemed long gone in recent years. This story, though, proves that this doesn't have to be the case.

Amelia was more than willing to go along with the sham marriage, as long as it served the fight for equality. She and Nick arranged for the ceremony to be about more than just Dorian when they convinced her to make it a mass ceremony for all the LGBT citizens of Llanview who were being denied their right to marry the person they loved.

That was when Nick proposed to Kyle (just in time, of course, for Fish to walk in and see). Kyle was wary of making such a decision so early in their relationship, but Nick reminded him that it was a symbolic gesture since they couldn't legally marry in their state and that it was part of the fight to ensure that they could marry legally one day, if they wanted.

Just before the ceremony, Amelia convinced Dorian to take things a step further and announce that if she was elected Mayor, her first act would be to issue actual marriage licenses to everyone who'd participated in the group wedding.

At the ceremony, Fish was assigned to help keep the assembled protesters under control, which of course put him on the scene to watch the love of his life marry another man, symbolically or not.

For his part, Kyle clearly had reservations about marrying Nick after just a few months of dating, especially when he heard the part about getting an actual marriage licence if Dorian won the election.

When some of the protesters assumed that Oliver would much rather be on their side of the line, rather than with the 'pervs', and when he overheard a fellow cop expressing just that opinion, Fish had finally had enough. Oliver came out loudly and proudly, not only to the assembled protesters and participants, but to all of the television cameras:

Fish: What is wrong with you? What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid of me? Because guess what? I'm one of those 'pervs'! That's right everybody, I'm one of those queers. I'm gay! And I'd rather be over here with people who love each other than standing over here with all of you people who thrive on hate! I'm gay! The same guy who you just thanked for protecting you. Do you hate me now? Do you?

Protester: We don't hate you, we pity you.

Fish: Don't, don't! Do not, God, do not pity me! Pity yourselves! I used to be just like you, I used to be afraid. But you know what? I'm not afraid any more. I'm proud. And I'm proud of all of these people who love each other so much that they're willing to stand up and fight for their right to marry. And you know what? I'm proud to be one of them. And I don't really care what you think is wrong. You know what, I don't really care much about what you think of anything. Because some day, I want to marry the person I love. And I hope, no, God, I pray that I'll be able to do that.

Pretty powerful stuff, if you ask me!

Kyle seemed decidedly impressed by this, and right after the commitment ceremony started, he brought things to a halt, apologizing to Nick and telling him that he couldn't go through with it. In an incredibly romantic moment, Kyle turned to Oliver in front of the entire crowd:

Kyle: I know I said that it's over between us. But here I am at a wedding, in a tux, surrounded by all these people who are just proudly sharing their love with one another. And I just keep thinking that I'm standing with the wrong man because all I want to do is share my love with you. So what do you think? Do you want to give it another shot?

Fish: I do.

Kyle: I love you, Oliver. I always have.

They sealed it, of course, with a kiss. I was moved to tears (though, I think I did have a fever at the time!) as their own voices broke with emotion. Both Scott Evans and Brett Claywell were fantastic in these scenes.

I was cheering for them, but also feeling really sad for Nick, who ran out looking like his heart had just been cut out. Poor Nick! He was a sweet, sexy, romantic guy who not only got his heart broken, but had it happen on his wedding day, in front of television cameras that were apparently broadcasting it globally. I hope they keep the character around and give him a love interest of his own.

Roxy, Kyle's BFF, tried to get the guys to join in the commitment ceremony, but they agreed that they weren't ready for that yet and should probably go on a date first!

Overall, even though Dorian was only pretending to be a lesbian, I thought this story was incredibly well done, especially for a daytime soap, where having marriage equality and gay rights as a focus of a major storyline like this is definitely a first.

After the ceremony, the guys spent the entire night up on the roof of Kyle's motel, talking about their past, present and future, and decided to take things slowly, starting out with a real date since Oliver hadn't ever actually been on one with a guy before.

As it turned out, their first date didn't quite go as planned. Right after Kyle arrived to pick Fish up, the station called and Oliver had to go investigate a little grave robbing incident. Kyle waited for him, though, and after Fish came back and took a quick shower, the sight of him in his towel had Kyle suggesting that they could just stay in instead.

These scenes, by the way, were smoking hot! Both of these men are incredibly sexy all on their own (and it only gets hotter whenever Scott is shirtless, revealing that trademark Evans hairy chest!), but their chemistry together is off the charts!

The guys were well on their way to making up for lost time when Layla and Cristian returned home early. After the interruption, Kyle and Oliver talked and decided to take things a bit more slowly to start with, and they ended the evening on a double date of sorts with Cris and Layla, the four of them watching a movie together in their living room.

Seeing Kish go from scalding hot to incredibly sweet in just a few scenes convinces me beyond a doubt that this is a classic soap couple in the making.

Word is that the guys will be making love before the New Year, so there's no worry that we're going to veer off into Nuke territory, with the show finding a million ways to keep them chaste. The only real question is how much of their love scenes will end up onscreen.

I knew that when OLTL, as written by Ron Carlivati, did a gay story, it would be the best daytime had ever seen, but this is proving to be beyond what I'd hoped for. Fish & Kyle have the most amazing chemistry together and their story has been so incredibly well told so far! I can't wait to see what happens next and I'm so glad I can finally watch in real time again!

Kish: Steamy Kisses and a Painful Coming Out

Let's start Friday's scenes with the Kyle and Nick action, since their part of the show was incredibly hot! Kyle was alone in his motel room, reading the newspaper story about Fish again, when Nick showed up. Most tellingly, Kyle hid the newspaper under a chair before he answered the door.

Nick came bearing champagne to celebrate his, and I quote, hot boyfriend being admitted to med school. Kyle pointed out that actually he'd been re-admitted, and Nick said that his mom always wanted him to end up with a hot doctor. Nick then pulled Kyle into a hot kiss that looked something like this:

Their kissing continued as Nick unbuttoned Kyle's shirt and then the two of them moved towards the bed. As Nick kissed Kyle's neck, Kyle caught sight of Oliver's picture in the paper, peeking out from under the chair. Kyle pulled back, saying that he couldn't do this.

Nick wondered if it was something he'd said or done, but Kyle assured him that he was great. Why, then, was Kyle pulling away from him? Kyle covered, saying that he was on duty soon at the hospital, explaining that fourth year students are exturns who take medical histories, draw blood, things like that. (I thought he was finishing med school this year? Doesn't that mean seven years? Of course, this is a soap, so he'll be a full fledged doctor performing brain surgery next month!)

Nick pointed out that Kyle was an old hand at all of that, from his work at the lab, and started unbuttoning Kyle's shirt the rest of the way, saying that he should show up for his first day relaxed and focused. Again, very hot. I'd love it if they kept Nick around and paired him up with someone else.

When Kyle still put the brakes on, though, Nick said that there was something Kyle wasn't telling him and asked if this was about Oliver. Kyle insisted that he just couldn't be late to work and suggested that Nick hang out and wait for him, since he wouldn't be that long, and they could go out to dinner when he got back. Nick softened and agreed to stay, but as soon as Kyle was gone he spotted the paper under the chair and looked like he was going to cry. Out in the hall, Kyle looked like he was escaping from something that he just wasn't ready for.

Kyle and Nick aren't even the main couple the show is aiming for, and they've already had scenes that are pretty much hotter than anything we've seen in other gay soap stories, at least in a long while. Imagine how hot it will be when it's Kyle and Fish!

Now, on to the bigger, if far less hot, portion of the Kish story for Friday. We picked up right where we left off, with Fish's father having found the book. Oliver hastily said he could explain but his Dad, glancing at Cristian, said that he thought he understood already.

Fish looked like he'd just seen the light at the end of a very long tunnel as his father, who didn't seem at all upset, said that it wasn't much of a surprise and that they'd pretty much figured it anyway. Oliver looked so relieved and happy as he asked how they'd known, and my heart just hurt for him, knowing that his dad was actually talking about Cris.

George told his son that he wasn't blind and that when you'd been a cop as long as he had, you'd seen it all. Fish said he didn't know what to say and George said he didn't have to say anything, that it was as clear as day that Cristian was a homosexual. I loved the look on Cris's face as he was mistaken for gay in the second time in a few days. It's great that he's not actually bothered by this, I have to say.

Anyway, George said that things finally made sense, like Oliver not wanting them to come and visit. He'd been having a hard time ever since he'd moved in with Cristian.

Cristian: Because I'm gay?

George: Well look, no offense, but it's not as if he has a lock on his bedroom door. Anybody would feel uncomfortable.

Fish: I'm not uncomfortable, Dad.

George: You've been acting strange since you got here. (to Cris) Oliver was not raised that way.

Cris: What way is that?

George: Look, I know it's not politically correct, but I'm not going to apologize for it. Our family does not believe in the homosexual lifestyle.

George went on to tell Cris that he seemed like a good guy and that it was going to be hard to tell his parents that he was a homosexual. Cris wryly responded that some parents were worse than others.

George advised that he think twice before telling them, saying that he was going to break their hearts. Cris told him not to worry, and that his father had died when he was a kid.

George: That explains it.

Cristian: Explains what?!

George: Well, you never had anybody show you how to be a man. It's time to fix that. You know, we have a group at our church, meets every Sunday morning, and I'm sure you could find something like that in Llanview.

Cristian: So I can get fixed?

George: It's a sickness, son.

The pain on Oliver's face as he listened to all of this, especially after having momentarily thought that his father was accepting him for who he was, completely broke my heart. Meanwhile, Cristian's growing anger at George's narrow minded bigotry totally endeared him to me more than ever before. Fish finally jumped in to tell his father that this was none of his business.

George: I'm trying to help your roommate.

Fish: You don't know anything about him!

George: Do you think he enjoys being like this?

Cristian: There's nothing wrong with me, sir! You know, as far as I'm concerned, you're the one with the problem.

George: You like living this lifestyle?

Cristian: It's not a lifestyle! Look, this is who I am, okay? And I'm not going to change for anyone. (turning to look at Fish) No one should have to change.

George replied that that was too bad and then called his wife and son to his side, saying it was time to go. Fish asked where they were going and George said they were finding him a new apartment, that he wasn't staying with 'these people'. Fish protested, saying that he liked these people and George told him that he only thought he did.

Fish informed his dad that he was a grown man who didn't need his father telling him what to think. Cristian suggested that it was George and Barbara who needed to leave.

George: I'm not going anywhere without my son.

Fish: Then stay! Stay, Dad, and let's talk about this.

George: There's nothing to talk about! Your roommate is a degenerate, he's going to hell.

Fish: So am I, then!

George: What?

Fish: Dad, Cris isn't gay. I am.

Fish explained that he'd though he never tell them, but they'd found the book and it wasn't Cristian's. He told his parents how Cris had bought the book for him because he'd seen how scared Fish was of telling his parents the truth.

George told his son that he was a good guy for trying to help his roommate, but that lying wasn't the way to do it.

George: He's got to stand up like a man and he's got to do it himself.

Fish: I'm doing this for myself!

George: What, saying that you're a homosexual?

Fish: I was always afraid to. Cris and Layla are basically the first people that I've ever told. Dad, I'm gay.

George: They know about this?

Fish: Yeah, and they've been trying to help me ever since, even though I don't deserve it. Dad, I hurt so many people pretending to be something that I'm not. But I can't pretend any more.

Layla jumped in to say that after the shock wore off, they'd see that Fish was the same person he'd always been. George informed her that she didn't know anything about his son.

George: Enough! I know who Oliver is.

Fish: No, Dad, you don't. But Mom does.

Barbara had been silent for the entire episode until this point and was in fact standing off to the side, reading the framed front page extolling her son's bravery and courage. From the moment they found the book, it was clear from the look on her face that she, unlike her husband, knew exactly what was going on.

George: What is he talking about, Barbara?

Fish: Tell him, Mom. He won't listen to me, but he'll listen to you. Tell him the truth.

Barbara claimed not to know what Oliver was talking about and Oliver told her that it was okay, that he'd tried to forget, too.

Barbara: There's nothing to forget.

George: What's he talking about Barbara?

Fish: I was a senior in college and you and Dad came up for parents weekend.

George: Yeah, I remember. We got up at five thirty to make the drive.

Fish: You wanted to take a nap at the hotel before my game and I told you I was going to the library to study.

George: What does this have to do with anything?

Fish: Mom forgot her gloves, and when she came back... You walked in on me and Kyle.

George: While I was at the hotel?

Fish (starting to cry): And you looked at me like I was a complete stranger. And then you took off.

George: Barb?

Fish: You know, I broke up with Kyle that day. And ever since, you and me have pretended that it didn't happen. And I can't do that anymore. Can you?

Wow. Knowing that this is the actual reason that Fish broke up with Kyle, that it wasn't just some tenuous worry that someone would find out eventually, completely changes my perception of their past. I can see how something like that would send Fish running more deeply into the closet than ever before.

George insisted that Barbara tell him that this had never happened, while Fish begged her to tell the truth, promising that it would be a relief. Barbara finally admitted that she'd thought it had been a phase that her son would grow out of. Upon hearing this, George left the apartment without saying another word. Barbara followed, telling her son that she was sorry. Fish was left crying in the doorway, his worst fears having been realized.

Poor Fish! Still, they were great scenes and made all the more interesting by the fact that Barbara is being played by Scott Evans' real life mother. Scott himself did a fantastic job.

Once again, I can't wait to see what happens next with this story. Let's not end on a down note, though. How about another picture or two of Nick and Kyle's (Nyle? Kick?) steamy kiss?