LANGFORDS PICKS AND PANS

Days of Our Lives (U.S.)

Remember when Melanie left town a few months ago? She took forever to leave, going all over town to have teary goodbyes with everyone, even her enemies. I wish Sonny had an exit even close to that. Instead he gets a quick, lame one episode rush job that not only didn’t make sense, was not fitting of the character we’ve watched for four years.

First of all, Will has done much, much worse in the past and Sonny always forgave him before the next commercial break. For Sonny to walk out now, what happened this time should have been much bigger, much more explosive. Second, Victor offering Sonny a job that would take him out of the country is totally contrived. Sonny has repeatedly turned down jobs and money from Victor. So why would Victor offer Sonny a job in Europe away from his family and his business? That the whole job offer thing happened off screen makes it even more annoying.

However, the Sonny/Paul scenes were terrific and electric and showed the chemistry between these two. But it only showed it's shameful the show did nothing to really explore things between them. That scene in the park should have happened months ago with Sonny admitting his feelings for Paul and the story moving forward from there. And not even a kiss between Sonny and Paul? Bull. If they were a straight couple they would have kissed and had sex ages ago. After all this time waiting for something to happen between these two, instead we got endless scenes of nothing happening and repeats of the same dialogue over and over. Bah.

I also don’t believe that Sonny would just walk out on Ari like that, though his goodbye to her was very sweet. It wasn’t that long ago that Sonny promised her he’d never leave her. The thing is, I think with better writing and more build up, Sonny’s decision to leave town like this would make much more sense and be more plausible. It was neither of those things this time.

And of course now with the new writers coming in, we’re left to wonder if the gays have any future in Salem. There are rumors that Guy Wilson has been fired, with Will being killed off in the process. And Christopher Sean has said publicly that he hasn’t worked much and he wonders about Paul’s future in Salem.

From what we’ve read and heard so far, there doesn’t seem to be much storyline for the gays, though Gabi is coming back. And we also know that Freddie Smith is returning for a couple of episodes. But that might be a setup for Will’s exit/demise. At any rate, the future for gay storytelling on Salem does not look bright.

I’m with Victor. Why is Adrienne still living in the Kiriakis mansion? She and Justin are divorcing, she’s sleeping with Lucas. I’m sure she’s got the cash. There’s no reason why she should be living there, other than lack of sets. In that case she should have an on screen apartment like so many other Days characters. But she shouldn’t be living in that house.

Will left the house with Ari and didn’t take a stroller or a diaper bag or anything? No parent does that ever.

LOL... I did love how when Abby said her paternity test ‘turned out like she wanted’, Will said ‘So Chad is the father?” Ha!

THANKS TO PINKYSWEAR FOR THE CLIPS!

Emmerdale (U.K.)

I thought that it was funny when Emma said that Moses was crying because the baby was missing its father, when Ross refused to have anything to do with the kid and Pete and Debbie were actually raising him.

In regards to his alleged role in Ross' disappearance, why would Moira believe anything Cain tells her about anything after all the times he’s lied to her?

Still don’t believe Ross is dead. Nope.

General Hospital (U.S.)

I think Lucas forgave Brad for lying to him and stringing him along for months awfully quickly. Oh yeah, it’s been a few weeks in real time, but on the show it’s only been a day or so since Lucas learned the truth or at least part of it. Maybe if these characters had decent airtime we’d have gotten more scenes of them working to where they ended up.

And I’m having a little trouble that Lucas agreed to get back with Brad with the understanding that they work through whatever is going on, because how can they can do anything if Lucas is kept in the dark? Not to mention Lucas getting back with Brad knowing he could have committed a terrible crime and not asking more. It know it’s going to be revealed in bits and pieces, but I find Lucas’ behavior hard to buy and contrived to keep the mystery story a mystery.

That said, I love that their goal is to get married and be together, just like any other soap couple. But this story was under the previous writers and we haven’t seen the new writers yet and I’m wondering if this plot will change... or disappear. We’ll see.

Hollyoaks (U.K.)

God, Parry Glasspool is simply stunning. Not usually my type of guy, but there are always exceptions.

Ste and Harry do have chemistry, I must admit. But I have trouble seeing why these two would connect. They have nothing in common at all. Harry is a teenage boy. Ste is a twice married, HIV positive, ex drug addict with three kids and tons more baggage. This sudden attraction makes little sense.

I thought it was funny how Harry avoided looking at Ste’s crotch when Ste was standing on his shoulders....

While I find it odd that Harry was so upset about Cleo sleeping with another since he’s gay and was only using her as a beard, I did like her being upset at having destroyed their friendship. They were good friends and it would be nice if they could get that back. They’re both going to need a pal.

Did John Paul really say he never thought he’d be the other woman in a relationship? By my count, this is the third time that’s happened.

John Paul passed up an interview for a promotion to buy flowers with Lockie? What? But only on Hollyoaks would JP be up for a promotion at a job he’d been repeatedly fired from.

How can Porsche kick JP and Mercedes out of a house Porsche doesn’t own?

Sinead’s outrage at Scott claiming he might have contracted HIV is hilarious since she did the same thing (twice).

None of Sinead or Ste’s friends were at the christening? There were plenty of day players and faces we’ve never seen though!

House Husbands (Australia)

I figured that Abi would change her mind and decide to carry a baby for Kane and Alex. But judging by the preview, it’s going to get very complicated, very quickly. From what I saw, though the preview tried to be cagey about it, I’m going to guess that it’ll turn out that Abi and Mark are already pregnant, dashing Alex and Kane’s dreams. But Gemma will decide to carry the baby for them instead and Louis will begrudgingly go along with it.

Neighbours (Australia)

During that Aaron/Joshua scene, I couldn’t take my eyes off the extended crotch shot. Speaking of crotch shots, that skintight yellow suit Aaron poured himself into later was completely gratuitous. And was Aaron wearing any underwear? The way his package was bouncing around it didn’t seem like it! The look on Nate’s face was hilarious. This show is completely shameless in how they show Aaron’s body off. No complaints here though.

I know the show isn’t going to pair Josh and Aaron, but they are hot guys and have terrific chemistry. Josh has chemistry with Chris too, more than any of his female love interests. I still think Nate and Aaron are totally unsuited for each other, but I did like that scene where showed Aaron how to use the toy car. It was dripping with sexual overtones and it was cute how they were holding hands without realizing it.

Wait. So Aaron went on a five mile run, then had drinks with his family and later with Josh and never changed his clothes? He wasn’t sweaty either!

I knew when Russell came to town he would buy the garage and the Brennan brothers would be working together there. Let’s hope it’s shirtless and covered in grease. Often.

Shortland Street (New Zealand)

After that long cancer battle, I never expected the show would kill of Pixie like they did. Very sad. And the acting was actually pretty good.

I don’t know anything about Maouri funerals, but that was a very nice touch.

Edwin and Jack are serious? That must’ve all happened off screen. And for a ‘serious’ relationship, how come Edwin hasn’t dropped by to support his boyfriend through his sister’s death?

THIS WEEK IN SPOILERS

Coronation Street - The Grimshaws are shocked at Jason’s grim diagnosis. leaning that he may never walk again and might need a kidney transplant. Despite the fact that his family doesn’t want him around, Todd refuses to leave the hospital. Eileen later overhears Todd speaking to the hospital nurses, offering to donate a kidney to Jason, if needed. Eileen can’t help but be affected by Todd’s decision, but will it be enough to forgive the past?

Emmerdale - When a body is found, Pete believes that Ross’ corpse has been discovered. Guilty and expecting to be arrested at any moment, Pete confesses to Debbie, Finn and the family that he murdered Ross. Everyone is stunned by Pete’s actions. When the body at the morgue turns out not to be Ross, James forces Pete to take him where he left Ross’ body. But what will they find?

Hollyoaks - Ste has bad news for Sinead. He tells her that during sex, the condom broke and she needs to get an HIV test. Ste and Sinead head to the hospital and get Harry to cover at the Hutch for them. When Tony shows up and wants to know where they are, Harry tries to keep a secret, but eventually tells Tony the truth. Tony goes to the hospital and has a few choice words for Ste about his messy relationship with Sinead. Ste gets upset and leaves, bumping into Harry. It isn’t long before things get steamy between Ste and Harry and they start kissing.

Neighbours - Nate rescues Aaron from a gay basher by using some of his karate moves he learned in the military. Later, a grateful Aaron thanks Nate and asks Nate for Tai Chi lessons so he can protect himself. Nate agrees and despite the circumstances the guys find themselves enjoying each other. But an eager Aaron gets too excited and accidentally kicks Nate in the nuts, putting a damper on things between them.

TEASERS FOR NEXT WEEK

Lawrence is accused of gay bashing...

Emmerdale - As the truth about Katie’s death starts to surface, Aaron leaves town in fear; Lawrence is accused of gay bashing...

Hollyoaks - After they share a steamy kiss, Ste runs from his feelings for Harry, prompting Ste to ask Sinead to marry him...

House Husbands - Alex and Kane’s baby plans fall apart....

Neighbours - Nate’s wildest fantasy turns out to be a nightmare for Aaron....

River City - Will and Robbie’s break up is complicated by Will’s jealousy, which gets ugly....

Secret Lives - How will Kalle react when he learns Lari is the father of Sanni’s baby?

Shortland Street - Jack makes a shocking move when he can’t handle his personal turmoil...

NEWSBEAT

US soap The Bold and The Beautiful has spent most of its years only telling the lives and loves of straight folks, even though the show is set in the gay friendly fashion industry. But that all changed earlier this year when it was revealed that Rick Forrester’s lover Maya was transgender and used be a man named Marvin. As you would expect there was some drama about Maya’s revelation, but it led to a happy ending (for now) and Rick and Maya were married a few weeks ago. However B&B isn’t finished telling the stories of GLBT characters.

Last week it was reported that The Bold and the Beautiful was in the process of casting a bisexual fashion designer named Christian. a white male in his late 20’s. The buzz is that , Christian would become involved in a romantic triangle with a male and female on the show. While there's plenty of women for Christian to romance, B&B currently has no gay or bisexual men on the canvas. That could all be about to change.

Is Zende Forrester about to become daytime’s newest gay?

According to this article, there are rumors that Christian will play the spoiler for burgeoning couple Zende and Nicole when he gets a job at Forrester.

At first, Christian strikes up a romantic interest in Nicole, but soon finds himself drawn to Zende. However, as Christian and Zende grow closer, Zende becomes confused about his sexuality and denies he's gay. Zende refuses to give into his feelings, however, and decides to have sex with Nicole. But when that goes bust, Zende realizes that it’s Christian he really wants.

Is this the story that B&B is going to tell with their new bisexual character? At this point, this is just rumor and who is going to play Christian hasn’t even been announced. But if it does work out this way, it’s certainly going to be new territory for daytime, much like the transgender storyline. We’ll have more updates as they come.

That’s it for this edition of Langford On Soaps. See you next week. Please leave your comments and thoughts below.