Gays of our Lives (May 26, 2009)
This week, we’ve plenty of The Young and The Restless news and
information for you, starting with an interview with Thom
Bierdz. The out actor is returning to the show after a twenty year absence for a provocative storyline already being avidly discussed all across the daytime television landscape. Plus we’ve got the news about a Y&R actor rumored to have quit over a same-sex kiss. If that weren’t enough Y&R scoop for you, there’s some summer spoilers for the show that will guarantee that things will stay hot in Genoa City.
And as always, I've got GOOL Theater visits Waterloo Road, the latest news on As The World Turns and Hollyoaks, red hot SNAPSHOTS with the
boys from Forbidden Love — and a video spoiler from All That Matters that has to be seen to be believed!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Thom Bierdz Brings it Full Circle
Two weeks ago, viewers of The Young
and the Restless received quite the shock when Phillip Chancellor III, or
someone who looked an awfully lot like him, made a surprising appearance on the
show. Why is that so shocking? Because Phillip died in a car accident over
twenty years ago.
So is this actually Phillip? A lookalike? Or perhaps his twin?
I had the chance to interview openly gay actor Thom Bierdz about his return
to the show, as well as the past tragedies in his life, his success as an
artist, what he hopes to accomplish with his return to daytime television and
much more. (Thom gave us a fascinating interview and we elected to publish the entire conversation. If you're more interested in the rest of the GOOL, the interview concludes on page 6.)
AfterElton.com: Did you ever think that you’d be back on The Young and the Restless?
Thom Bierdz: Gosh, before February I wouldn't have expected this at all,
but because the twenty-year mark was coming up, twenty years of me being gone,
I think it's really relevant to me personally to be able to go back. To be a
new person and go back to that, I think is a great opportunity.
AE: What made you decide to go back after twenty years? Why now?
TB: It's a tough thing for me to answer because I'm only allowed to say
certain things. [laughs] Let's just say this is an amazing opportunity and I'm
privileged to have this part at this time.
special Christmas for Phillip Chancellor.
AE: How did it all come about? Did you contact them about returning or did
they contact you?
TB: I'm sorry that I'm answering this way, but it's very guarded both ways.
I very much wanted to come back, and because Maria Arena Bell [Y&R’s co-executive producer] is very interested in going back to a time
in Genoa City, with her favorite plotlines and characters. She very much wanted
me to take some time off from my writing and come back to the show.
We had wonderful discussions in a Beverly
Hills restaurant back in February about where this
could lead, and I'm just so excited and so honored to be me at this time.
It's been a rough road. At one point, I went back to bartending and waiting
on tables, even bartending at the Soap Opera Digest Awards ten years ago. For
me to make a living as an artist and make a name there, and then when I hadn't
thought anything about acting, for this to happen and for me to go back, it's
just like my friends from a couple years ago would never have believed that I
was even capable of this. It's just a wonderful time for me.
AE: What's it like getting back those acting chops after all this time?
TB: Well, here's the thing, man. I don't really want to act. I just want to
be, and that's why I haven't really pursued acting. What I'm really excited
about is I don't think this role coming up is going to require a lot of acting.
I think it's going to play on my real emotions across the board. There are some
significant emotions that I haven't dealt with, and this show hasn't dealt
with.
AE: I read in an interview where you said you would only be interested in
coming back to the show if they used real elements of your life, like your art
and your sexuality. Do you know if the show is going to go in that direction?
TB: I'm not allowed to answer that question and the truth is I'm not
certain. I've not seen any scripts that are definite.
AE: Did you have any input into the story at all?
TB: I believe I did.
AE: I'm sure you know this, but you're the first openly gay male actor to
be out on daytime television.
TB: Isn't that just amazing? In seventy years? That's just astounding that
it's taken this long.
Out lesbian Clementine Ford plays Mac
on The Young and The Restless
AE: It is pretty amazing, because I'm sure you know as I do, there's a lot
of—
TB: A lot of closeted actors.
AE: Exactly. Some that are very popular in soaps. But what's changed now to
make this possible? There was a time when it wouldn't have been possible to
hire someone who was openly gay.
TB: There are two different answers there. From a personal level, after my
brother killed my mom in '89, I went through a lot of personal grief and trying
to figure out who I was. The most important thing was coming to terms with
truth, with my sanity, which is all based in truth. Years ago, I decided
wherever my career goes, I'm not going to lie about anything.
Perhaps I'm in a different position than other actors who really have an
actor agenda. I don't have that anymore. I have more of an artist agenda. From
the Young and the Restless point of
view, I believe that time passing, and it being 2009, and us having so many reality
TV stars who are gay, and Ellen coming out, and so many role models after Elton
John. It's a new era. The young people don't have the prejudice that their
grandparents had. There's been a lot of support from homosexuals on screen in
the past ten years.
AE: Given that, what would you say to closeted actors in the soaps or in
the industry? Do you think more of them should come out? Do you think it would
be easier for them now if they did?
TB: I'm still not sure. I'm not on the show long enough to give advice
there. I don't know how much sponsors have to do with the deciding factor.
Unfortunately, so much of it relies on who is putting money into the show, and
that's the advertisers. I don't think, today, that it does matter, but I'm not
an expert and I don't know at this point.
AE: When you were on the show before, were you out to your costars? Did the
show know you were gay or were you completely closeted to everybody?
TB: I wasn't completely closeted. I got the feeling that these people thought
I was gay because I didn't say that I wasn't. Afterwards, I had heard from
Eileen Davidson's [Ashley Abbott on Y&R]
agent, who was involved in the show in some way, that they knew like a week
after I was hired that I was gay. So I think the powers that be knew. I wasn't
sure who knew and I was too afraid to come out. When I did have relationships,
I didn't talk about it.
AE: Were you advised to stay in the closet?
TB: Yes. By my agent and my publicist, certainly.
AE: Why did you decide to leave the show?
TB: It was a three-year contract, and I wanted to do features. I come up
from Wisconsin. I'd never been on stage before, and here I was on this number
one soap opera. I was just full of drive and ambition. I said, "Okay, now
that I've done this, I can go and be Tom Cruise, be a big movie star." Of
course, all that changed with the family tragedies, and deciding what my
priorities would be after that.
AE: You've talked about your family tragedy, and you wrote a book about it.
What made you decide to do that?
TB: I had to write the book, man. I was sitting on a park bench in Reno in
1994, and I just knew that people would not be able to believe the events of my
life. It was just so much bigger than normal, my brother killing my mom in
1989. She was a wonderful mother. Then him going on the road and wanting to
kill me.
Years later, receiving a letter asking me to go to my brother in prison to
see if he needed help, then actually arriving at the prison and realizing he
was unbelievably sick and nonexistent, and really did need my help to acquire
medicine for him to come back. And then to see the journey of he and I
discussing schizophrenia, discussing paranoia, having so much in common.
Fifteen years later, I don't know if there's anyone I can relate to or love
more than my incarcerated brother.
He calls me twice a week, and I see him once or twice a year. He has grown
unbelievably. Seventy percent of boys who kill their mother never get to a
point of remorse. When I was visiting, I never pushed him for that or expected
that, but as it turns out, he did get to a point of remorse, and he got his
feelings back, which is astounding. I think some kids just cut it off. When you
kill somebody you love like that, you just can't deal with it.
AE: Was it hard for you to decide to go see him in the first place? A lot
of people wouldn't want to deal with that at all.
TB: Oh yeah. I didn't want to see him. Dude, I was terrified. When I got to
the prison, there was no dividing glass, so I had to sit right next to my
brother who had threatened to pull out my heart with his hands. He's a black
belt expert and he'd already killed our mom, so I felt like I was risking my
life to see him. That's what's so powerful about my story. I think I'm a pretty
self-centered guy. I think a lot of people in the entertainment industry are,
but I went there for very unselfish reasons, and I was the one who benefited
because I was there giving. I think it's a very powerful universal theme.
AE: How did your career as an artist get started?
TB: I've always painted. I always played with my Lite-Brite as a kid, dying
Easter eggs, and with my crayons. About six or seven years ago, someone came
into my apartment and said, "Why aren't you selling?" I'd never
expected to sell. It was just something I did because I loved it. I gave it to
friends and stuff.
He showed it to a friend who owned a Beverly Hills gallery, and she flipped
over it. She started to sell it, then in 2004, Scarlett Johansson, along with
the Art of Elysium charity, hosted a huge gallery opening where I had two
hundred and fifty art pieces up. I've been invited to paint at live charity
auctions, which I love doing. People have just taken notice of my art. I'm just
very fortunate. When I go to the canvas, I'm just fearless. I don't think,
"I can't do it," so I don't have any crippling fear there. In the
real world, there are many things I'm afraid to do, but when it comes to the
canvas, I'm not. I don't know what to make of that.
AE: You mentioned that another brother killed himself. Where were you in
your life when that happened and how did that affect you or change you?
TB: It was in 2000, and it was a very difficult point in my own life. I was
at the height of my own nervousness to the point where I was inventing
characters for myself before I could go out of my house and deal with people at
the grocery store or at the post office. I wasn't sure if it was because of my
genetics, or if I was allergic to my dogs and had to use my inhalers six times
a day, plus being a chocolateaholic. I don't know if it all just combined, plus
my lack of sleep. It was just a difficult period in my life. I'm a very
different person today. I'm sleeping today, and I'm confident like I haven't
been in twenty years.
As far as my brother taking his life, I was there when the police knocked
down his door and found him. They didn't want me to see him, and I said please,
let me see him. They showed me him. He was just a shell. I didn't see my
brother in that body. He had put a gun to his mouth, apparently a day or two
before. There was no sense of who he was. For me, it reaffirmed my belief in
life after death, because it wasn't like it was him.
AE: What are you looking forward to the most now that you're acting again?
TB: If my suspicions of where this character is going to go are accurate,
I'm so excited to have such a timely, significant role.
AE: I can tell just by looking around the Internet that people are very
excited about you being back. They're all talking about it — trying to figure
out if you're Phillip, if you're somebody else — but have you gotten any
response since the reveal happened on Friday?
TB: I think I've gotten the same emails that you've seen on message boards.
People that write to me are flabbergasted and surprised. Not only is the story
suspenseful, but when you take a character that's been gone for twenty years
[pause] I can't say anymore.
Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor),
Y&R co-executive producer Maria Arena Bell and Jess Walton (Jill Abbott)
AE: A lot of the people you worked with are still on the show, so what's it
like being reunited with Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor), Jess Walton
(Jill Abbott), Tricia Cast (Nina Webster) and some of your former costars?
TB: It's been surreal. For anybody to go back to a job you had twenty years
ago and be able to invent new relationships with people as a grownup, it's just
such a wonderful gift, such a wonderful opportunity. I appreciate them so much
more because I've watched them as people over the years. They're not just
costars. They all have wonderful facets, stories of devotion, such beautiful,
caring people. Seriously. It's such an honor to be with these people again, and
of course, get paid for it. [laughs]
AE: Has the actual process of the job itself, the taping, changed at all
since you did it the first time?
TB: Yeah. It's a little more rushed, a little quicker. It's a four-day week
instead of a five-day week. They get out earlier.
Here’s a clip of Bierdz’s
return to the show as a ghost in 2004.
AE: Did you watch any of your old stuff from back when you were first on?
What did you think of yourself as an actor?
TB: My first year was really bad, I thought. I was so self-conscious. When
we got to the heavier stuff I was all right. It's certainly gone through my
head these past twenty years, that I was never the best that I can be. Now, I
really want to be the best that I can be, and I hope I have that strength and
confidence.
AE: You've been pretty open about the fact that you've had cosmetic
surgery. As somebody who is very attractive, why did you feel the need to do
that?
TB: I did it because I didn't like the way I looked. I still don't. I'm one
of those guys who goes home and my aunts say, "Oh, you've lost
weight!" No, I haven't! I've been this skinny my whole life. I look better
on TV. That's why. I never liked the way I looked. I will say, yeah, I do
photograph well, but I don't think I look that great in person.
AE: Your show has a gay character in it right now, Rafe. I don't know if
you've met the character or know anything about it.
TB: No, but I saw him on TV and I think he's very cute. [laughs]
Yani Gellman plays gay attorney Rafe
Torres
AE: Are you currently dating anybody?
TB: I'm not. I just broke up with a wonderful man. Well, I guess he broke
up with me. I can't talk that much about it, because it's just too long and too
boring a story. I've had some wonderful, wonderful men that I've loved. I'm
friends with most of my exes. It's just too raw right now for us to make the
transition to friends. There was a real surprising breakup.
AE: What do you hope to accomplish with coming back to the show after all
these years?
TB: At this point in my life, there are two parts of me. There's a man
who's got to make a living, and that is important to me, becoming successful. There's
another part of me that is about making a difference. That's very, very
important to me, and that's all I'll say. Hopefully, we're on the road for
that. We're steering in that direction.
AE: I read that you signed a one-year contract. Do you know if you're with
the show for a year?
TB: I don't know. That's really not my say. I told them that if the
storyline is going where I want it to go, I'm yours, baby.
GOOL THEATER
This week in GOOL Theater, All That
Matters continues its dark and twisted storyline revolving around Jenny who is
masterminding her own kidnapping. Meanwhile, Roman continues to be haunted by
Bulle, his gay basher. And we take another cute, but inconsequential visit to Forbidden Love. Finally, we say goodbye to
another gay character as Matt Wilding exits Waterloo
Road in its season finale.
All That Matters
*THANKS TO ESKIMOKISSPROJECT FOR THE CLIP!
Ugh!
This show frustrates me so. One week it’s a fun, campy and spirited ride and
the next it all seems so silly and pointless with no direction. It’s as if they
don’t know where they are going with any particular story so they just make it
up as it goes along and hope it turns out okay.
I’m
liking Jenny’s do it yourself kidnapping, but that’s mostly because of the
actress’ spirited performance. Her reasons for doing it are unclear (at least
to me) and the triangle that is the basis for the conflict isn’t all that
interesting. So basically, at its core, the whole drama seems much ado about
nothing.
And
while last week Roman seemed like an actual part of the story, this week he again seems like an afterthought. And it’s not just in the writing, it is in the
way the characters treat him. He’s overly concerned about everyone else, but
they seem less than concerned about him. Is it a plot point? Who knows? With
this meandering show, it’s hard to tell.
Waterloo Road
Well, this was all pretty predictable, especially for anyone who has ever seen a movie or TV show about the underdog who rises to the top. It was nice to see Matt again, who has been barely used at all this season. I liked that he had a few nice moments and I thought the bit where the fellow teacher came on to him was cute, not that we’ll ever get to see their relationship progress. This is what happens to barely there characters, after all.
Unfortunately, that was the last we’ll see of Matt as the actor is leaving the show and it looks as if he won’t even get an exit. Given how little they think of the character, I bet that when the new season begins they won’t even bother to mention where he’s gone or why he left. Let’s face it, the show hinted at several stories for the character, but never went anywhere with them, so it’s no surprise he doesn’t get a decent goodbye.
Link: 
Well,
this was all pretty predictable, especially for anyone who has ever seen a
movie or TV show about the underdog who rises to the top. It was nice to see
Matt again, who has been barely used at all this season. I liked that he had a
few nice moments and I thought the bit where the fellow teacher came on to him
was cute, not that we’ll ever get to see their
relationship progress. This is what happens to barely there characters, after
all.
Unfortunately,
that was the last we’ll see of Matt as the actor is leaving the show and it
looks as if he won’t even get an exit. Given how little they think of the
character, I bet that when the new season begins they won’t even bother to
mention where he’s gone or why he left. Let’s face it, the show hinted at
several stories for the character, but never went anywhere with them, so it’s
no surprise he doesn’t get a decent goodbye.
Forbidden Love
What
is there to say that hasn’t been said before? Nothing has changed. The guys are
cute, they really love each other and they give great romantic advice to anyone
who needs it. And apparently everyone they know does. To say any more than that
… well, it’s pointless. Let’s just hope things change soon because Ollian fans have to be growing tired of seeing their favorite gay couple treated this way.
*THANKS TO ICHGLOTZUTUBE FOR THE
CLIP!
IMHO
time. It only took the writers the entire (though admittedly short) season, but we
finally learned that John has a boyfriend. And while I’ll always believe what
was done in the seventh episode could have been done in the first (as with the
other characters), I didn’t let it deter me from thoroughly enjoying what was
probably the best episode of the season.
Dewey’s downfall, the shooting of Russell and the standoff at Lydia’s home
added up to an exciting and emotional episode. Still, I could have done without
the boring subplot of one cop’s search for his drug-addled daughter or the dull
story about Ben’s relationship with an old flame. But all in all, it was a
great episode to close out the season. I look forward to this show’s return.
Let’s just hope they aren’t so timid about John and his personal life next
year.
humor, I suspect Glee will quickly be
one of my favorite shows on television come next fall. The characters are engaging, the
writing is sharp and funny and the music hits all the right notes. Besides, how
could I not love a show that uses a song from Journey as its climatic moment?
However, I could enjoy it more if the gay character wasn’t such a stereotype. Ugh!
Why couldn’t he be the high school jock? Why does he have to be the
stereotypical gay teen featured in so many of these series?
Ugly
Betty – In a stellar episode
that was sweet, funny and sometimes moving, Ugly
Betty closed out what, has frankly been an uneven season, on a high note.
One of the best moments was the standout scene between Marc and Justin where
they talked about what it's like to grow up when you are ‘different’. And while
I’ve never been a fan of Matt and Betty as a couple, I did find the new twists
in their relationship intriguing.
On the other hand, I was glad to finally see the Molly and Daniel story come
to an end. Unfortunately, since they were such a chemistry free pair, her death
rang sort of hollow when it should have been touching. Finally, I’m so glad the
show is finally letting Betty evolve and grow, yet still remain with Mode. The episode did what a season
finale should do: end some stories, leave us with a few cliffhangers and set up
things for next season. Other shows (yes, Brothers
& Sisters, I’m talking to you) should have tried it.
GOOL SCOOPS
AND SPOILERS
Noah Mayer saves the day – again – on As The World Turns,
Calvin plays advisor to his straight friends – again – on Greek and Rafe remains clueless while
Adam pulls another cruel trick on Ashley on The
Young and The Restless – again – and more!
Stop reading if you don’t want the scoop on all your favorite soaps
and dramas!
All That Matters – Roman
saves Axel's life and Axel just can't stop thinking about it ... or
Roman. Maybe it's because part of Roman's life saving technique
included a steamy kiss? At any rate, Axel starts to have dreams about
his savior. Very vivid dreams. To see just how vivid, check out this clip
from an upcoming episode:
Link:
The Young and The Restless – Cane
continues to enjoy his life in Genoa City, happy with his new marriage and his
stolen life as Philip Chancellor III. Elsewhere in town, the three women who
knew and loved the man they thought was PIII become lost in their memories of
the man who died some 20 years ago. Meanwhile, far off in an Australian bar,
Cane’s Uncle Langley (who may be the real PIII, alive and well) toils away and
is starting to get a little frustrated with the way things are going. Hmm…..
Finally, back in town, Adam, continuing to fool Rafe (his lawyer) as well as
everyone else, launches a new and even darker scheme against Ashley. Can anyone
stop him before it’s too late?
As The World Turns – Good
grief, what can that cutie pie Noah Mayer not do? If he isn’t cleaning that
cappuccino machine within an inch of its life, he’s disarming would be attackers
with his thighs of steel or taking down gunrunners with one shot. What will
Noah do for an encore?
Well, next week, with Luke’s cousin Eliza still in the
hands of her crazed father, Paul, Noah comes up with an idea that just might
save the day and bring the baby home safely. No wonder Luke Snyder loves him
so. That and all the free coffee, of course.
Instead of disarming thugs and saving babies, maybe
he could try
appearing shirtless more often? Shallow, yes, but effective
EastEnders – Christian
has always been there for his family when they needed him and he’s really going
to be needed this time. His sister and her husband go on holiday and they leave
Christian to take charge and run the business all on his own. But will he prove
to be up to the task?
Isn’t it
much more fun watching Christian do this
than worry about his family?
Beautiful
People –
In the premiere of this colorful camp musical comedy, we meet Simon,
a young London boy who dreams of being a fashion designer. Think he’ll grow up
to be gay? Anyway, in this first episode, we meet Simon’s quirky family and
find out how he came across a cherished vase. And it all starts when Simon
steals a dress. Plus, when Simon’s mother stops drinking, will the family be
happy about it? Oddly enough, no. (Read our review here.)
There’s
quite a story behind how Simon got that vase …
Forbidden
Love –
Another week, another couple of episodes of Christian and Olli worrying about
other peoples’ problems. Olli shows Charlie the newspaper that has a picture of
her and Stella’s kiss. She isn’t very happy about being outed by the press
and Olli does his best to advise her. Meanwhile, things are tense at the flat
when Lydia wants Sebastian to move in. However Christian, Olli and Judith don’t
exactly welcome Lydia’s boyfriend with open arms. But why their hesitation?
Christian and Olli don’t want
Sebastian to move in.
Apparently, they haven’t seen him with his shirt off
Greek – It’s back to having little to do for
Calvin as he becomes immersed in Rusty’s love life. A girl Rusty is
interested in joins their study group, creating headaches for everyone
involved. I’m sure at some point Calvin will give some sage advice and then
disappear off camera.
Paul James as Calvin
GOOL NEWSBEAT
Did a Young and the Restless actor quit over a
same-sex kiss? Why did Heather Locklear turn down the Melrose Place gig? Plus times are changing for Ugly Betty and Southland,
trouble on the set of Coronation
Street, Hollyoaks’
bisexual Ravi Roy is set for a hot summer storyline – and more!
You gotta admit, the kiss would’ve
been pretty hot…
Last week the drama on the set of The
Young and the Restless was as provocative and scandalous as anything
playing out on screen. Actor Chris Engen, who played the role of dastardly Adam
Wilson for over a year, walked off the set and quit after allegedly refusing to
do a same-sex kiss with co-star Yani Gellman, who plays Adam’s gay lawyer Rafe
Torres.
Engen reportedly was reading a new script when he found out about the
intimate scene between himself and Gellman. This led to a confrontation with
the show’s producers and resulted in Engen leaving his job. Apparently
this was only the latest in a series of frustrations the young actor had with
his role.
Chris Engen
According to The Suds Report,
which broke the story, Engen had been unhappy for months with the villainous direction his character had gone and, as a result, had been calling in sick for work and had several
meetings with Y&R brass to
discuss his future on the show.
Engen’s character, Adam Wilson, is currently
embroiled in a Hitchcockian plotline in which he pretended to be blind in an attempt to drive his father’s pregnant fiancée
mad.
While Engen wasn’t happy with his storyline, it was apparently the upcoming
kiss that was the last straw, according to several sources. Engen’s character,
while straight, was reportedly to embark on an affair with Gellman’s Rafe as a
way to keep him quiet about his evil schemes.
Several of Engen’s co-stars are
believed to have tried to convince the actor not to leave his meaty, attention-getting
role for fear of how having walked off a show while under contract might affect
his future. Clearly, their efforts were to no avail.
Upon Engen’s sudden exit, show producers scrambled to recast the role and
quickly replaced him with Michael Muhney, formerly of Veronica Mars. Muhney is thrilled with his new gig, saying on his
website that “the new job is the likes of which I
have never done ... and I get to indulge in some interesting, perverse, warped
scenarios.”
Michael Muhney is the new Adam Wilson
And after his first day of work, he added:
My first day on the set was crazy and fun and quite a wild ride. I had to
hit the ground running at full speed. I think I need a new pair of shoes, but
in these economic times I'll just have my shoes re-soled. I'm honored to be a
part of such an iconic piece of work and I can't wait to sink my teeth into
this thing.
The show’s producers are reportedly very happy with Muhney, saying he “is a
very good actor.” His first episode will air June 25th.
Muhney with a script on his first day
on the Y&R set
As for Engen, Y&R says that
the actor is still under contract and that they are seriously considering
taking legal action. Engen’s managers have refused to comment on the situation. The irony is
that until this latest plot written for Engen’s character, there were strong
rumors that the actor would be let go due to lack of storyline.
Of course, we’ll continue to follow this story and have all the latest updates
here in GOOL. And you can find all the latest clips of Rafe and Adam’s story
each week in GOOL Theatre.
What’s oddly interesting about all this is that the brouhaha came to light a
day after Gellman appeared in an interview with Out.com to discuss his character. Gellman didn’t know that Rafe was
going to be gay when he was hired to play Rafe and only knew his character
would be a young lawyer.
Yani Gellman
But after having been with the show for a month, the writers called him in
to discuss the direction of his character where he learned about Rafe’s
sexuality. Gellman said that he wasn’t bothered by it, nor was anyone in his
family.
“Yeah! They’re all
happy. I have a lot of friends in the gay community, and a couple family
members who are gay,” Gellman told Out.com.
“Everyone’s really proud to be a part of this experience because it’s quite
the landmark role. And it’s about time.”
In regards to a love life for Rafe, he said:
“I’m not allowed to
really talk about anything that hasn’t aired. I think Rafe would be very
disappointed if he didn’t find love down the road.“
Gellman was also asked if he felt Y&R
treated his romantic life the same as they do the straight folks, to which
he replied:
“I don’t know. I haven’t
been on the show long enough to know how the top brass deals with these things.
Having said that, I’m pretty much down for anything.”
You can find the full
interview HERE.
expect on screen this summer for Y&R? First off, we’ve heard Rafe will have a love interest, but of course,
the show ain’t talking about who it could be. The candidates are: the newly
returned Phillip Chancellor III or Langley or whoever that guy is (played of
course by out gay actor Thom Bierdz). Or it could be Phillip Chancellor IV
(played by the delicious John Driscoll), who joins the show in June and has
been rumored to be Rafe’s fella. Perhaps it might be the aforementioned Adam.
Or possibly none of the above. Hmmm …
Could Phillip Chancellor IV be Rafe’s
new love? He would be if I had a vote!
Meanwhile, it’s pretty obvious that Rafe will play a role in Adam’s
dastardly and dark schemes, which will kick up a notch over the summer months.
Look for Adam’s plots to lead into some dark and twisted territory as they not
only affect poor pregnant Ashley Abbott, but other unsuspecting Genoa City
dwellers as well. Not to mention poor Rafe.
Adam’s father Victor (Eric Braeden)
and foe Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman)
are only two of evil Adam’s targets
And of course, at some point the man with Phillip Chancellor III’s face is
bound to show up in Genoa City and while the reveal of his true identity will
come in short order, the ramifications of that reveal will play out over the
summer and into fall. Lots of deep dark secrets about the Chancellor family are
going to be at long last exposed. And needless to say, lives will be changed
and, in some cases, destroyed.
We haven’t seen Hollyoaks’
bisexual Ravi Roy in a while, but that’s all about to change when he – finally –
gets a new storyline this summer. Things have been tense between Ravi
and his brother Ash ever since Ravi found out Ash caused a motorcycle accident
that nearly cost someone his life.
Hollyoaks’ Ravi Roy (Stephen Uppal) is
back
with a new storyline this summer
And just as the conflict between the two brothers reaches a critical mass,
Ravi gets some horrible news that not only affects his own life, but sends his
entire family into upheaval. As Ravi struggles to deal with the crisis, his
family struggles to keep things together … but it could end up ripping them
apart.
And what about bisexual Kris Fisher (Gerard McCarthy)? He’ll also have a new
storyline as well when he graduates from college and has to go out into the
real world where he’ll discover his transvestite shtick isn’t what it once was. The news he will catapult him into an identity crisis.
Meanwhile, it’s summer in Oakdale so look
for an upcoming story for Oakdale’s favorite gays to focus on the troubled
past of Noah Mayer when filmmaker Noah decides to make a movie about psycho dad
Col. Winston Mayer. But how will the reappearance of Col. Mayer (Daniel Hugh Kelly
returns to the show June 23rd) affect his plans?
Can Noah turn a movie about his father
into box office gold?
We can’t give any further details about this story, but we’re hearing it’s a bit of a change of
pace from the typical mystery in which Nuke usually finds themselves immersed.
Supposedly, it’s more of an emotional story that might elicit a few tears.
Are Luke and Noah one of daytime’s
most fascinating soap couples ever?
In other ATWT news, Soap Opera Digest is celebrating their
20th anniversary of publication and they are doing so with a number
of polls where readers can vote for who they feel is the ‘Most Fascinating’ in
each category. The first week, As The
World Turns’ Luke Snyder was listed as one of the 20
most intriguing characters in soaps and then gay supercouple Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer were among the
choices of the 20 Most Fascinating couples of the past 20 years. Readers can
vote on the SOD website.
The new Melrose Place was
officially picked up by the CW Network and will begin airing next fall. But
that’s not the big news. Remember we told you last week that the premiere
episode had something so shocking in its opening minutes and that only a few knew
about it? Well, now everybody knows the show starts with a murder when a body
is found floating in the infamous pool. And it’s the body of none other than
original MP returnee Sydney Andrews,
played by Laura Leighton (who actually died in the first MP).
Her murder will serve as a main plot point that will run throughout the season
with all the cast members as suspects. But Sydney will continue to
appear in episodes via flashbacks, where her supposed first death (and where she’s been all these years) will be
explained. However, that’s not all there is to this story.
We previously reported that Heather Locklear, who played Amanda Woodward in
the original MP, was offered a gig on
the new series, but turned it down. Well, it seems the above scenario is what
she was offered. Locklear passed, which is how Leighton got the job. But will a
very much alive Amanda Woodward someday make her way to Melrose Place? If the ratings don’t hold up, what do you think?
ABC made their announcements for the fall season and the news is pretty much
as expected. Desperate Housewives and
Brothers & Sisters will return
for their sixth and third seasons, respectively. Both shows will remain in
their Sunday night timeslots. Meanwhile, Ugly
Betty will be back for a fourth year.
Ugly Betty lives to see a fourth
season. But will it be its last?
However, in what is an ominous sign for the show’s future, it has been
plucked from its comfy Thursday night time slot and placed on Friday nights,
where ABC’s scripted programming traditionally goes to die and be replaced by
reality shows. As for the reason for the move, ABC is using UB’s former time slot to pimp one of their
highly touted new series, Flash Forward,
and they say they have hopes that UB will
flourish in its new home.
Meanwhile, NBC also announced their fall schedule and as we told you a few
weeks back, Southland will return for
a second season of 13 episodes. However, while the show was expected to return
as a midseason replacement, new episodes will air starting this fall. And like Ugly Betty, it has been moved to Friday
nights as well. In fact, the two shows will air opposite one another. So which
show will survive? Ugly Betty? Southland? Or neither? Give us your
opinion in the QUESTION OF THE WEEK!
Who Mike Delfino married wasn’t the
only question left
unanswered about the DH season finale
Remember that Desperate Housewives character
from the show’s first two seasons that was supposed to make a surprise
appearance at the end of the season finale? Me too, which is why people were
wondering what happened since that character never reappeared on the show. As
previously reported, Jesse Metcalfe, who played John Rowland, did tape scenes
for the show back in March that never saw the light of day.
However, as it turns out, the buzz is that he was never the returnee the
show was promising to begin with. So who was? The show isn’t talking, but
sources at DH say that whatever
producers planned simply didn’t fit in with the finale, so it was never filmed.
In other DH news, the show is
currently working on a spinoff starring Lily Tomlin and Kathryn Joosten, who
play sisters Roberta and Karen McCluskey. The series will be a modern day Snoop
Sisters about two elderly women who solve mysteries. ABC is said to be high on
the spinoff.
As if worrying about losing their jobs or being accused of leaking spoilers
to the press wasn’t bad enough, the cast of Coronation
Street has to deal with a new set of rules laid down by the show’s
executive producer Kim Crowther; rules that if they are not followed will lead
to the violator being fined.
According to Digital Spy,
a smoking ban has been implemented and the cast and crew are not allowed to
smoke anywhere in the studio, including the actors’ own dressing rooms.
Furthermore, actors have been asked to keep visits by family and friends to the
set to a length of half an hour and permission must be obtained beforehand.
Actors have also been asked to limit the number of times they bring their
children to work and actors’ pets are no longer allowed in the studio. Finally,
actors who are late to work will be fined no matter what the reason.
Naturally, the cast is unhappy about the rules and some are considering a course
of legal action.
BITS AND PIECES
The CW Network has officially and finally canceled Privileged after a lot of talk about the future of the series … The
BBC is developing a teen oriented soap opera called The Cut that will air in five-minute daily bites on the BBC website
and in a weekend omnibus on BBC Two. Written and developed by EastEnders writer Al Smith, the show
will debut later this year … The new season of Waterloo Road, its fifth, began filming on May 11th.
The second season of Gossip Girl,
which features little-seen gay Eric, will be released on DVD August 22 … Gilles
Marini, the runner up of Dancing With The
Stars who is joining Brothers &
Sisters next season, will play a love interest for Rachel Griffith’s Sarah.
He is signed for an undisclosed number of episodes … Openly gay film
director/producer Pedro Almodovar is working on a television version of his
cult classic film Women on the Verge of a
Nervous Breakdown for FOX TV.
Pedro Almodovar
RATINGS AND RANKINGS
The season finale of Desperate
Housewives won its time slot, but just barely. It was the top
rated program of the night with some 13 million viewers, down 24% from last
season’s finale … After a few weeks as the top rated soap in New Zealand, Shortland Street has slipped back down
and is the second highest rated soap behind Coronation
Street, with SS getting 556,000
viewers and CS grabbing 579,000
viewers.
Glee won’t be for long if it gets ratings like this when it debuts in the
fall…
The debut of Glee was third in its
time slot, with 10.75 million viewers … As
The World Turns gained about 37,000 viewers last week and a percentage
point in the ratings. Still, it remained in the 7th spot while The Young and the Restless lost about
175,000 viewers from the previous week. Of course, it remained at number one …
The season finale of Waterloo Road won
its time slot, with 4.5 million viewers or 20.5% of the audience.
Both Ugly Betty and Southland, which both had their season finales
this week, are going head-to-head
against each other come fall. Unfortunately, the ratings for both shows last week weren’t
especially good considering both aired mostly against reruns. The only new
programming UB faced was So You Think You Can Dance and it was
beaten handily, coming in second with a little over 6 million viewers.
Meanwhile, Southland was beaten by a
rerun of Flashpoint, grabbing 6.3
million viewers for its season closer.
SNAPSHOTS - Where is This Beach? Here are some pics from an upcoming episode of Forbidden
Love set to air in June.
Going to the Chapel …
Openly gay actor John Partridge
(Christian, EastEnders)
heads for the
wedding of a castmate
SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK
Billy Miller (Billy Abbott, The Young
and The Restless)
Just who is Billy Abbott sleeping with? When you’re this hot, the question
should be: who isn’t he sleeping with? And this dude gets plenty of play,
having bedded nearly a half dozen women since he came in town late last year,
though they’re they usually women who happen to be involved with one of his
brothers.
For example, he was dating his brother Cane’s ex-girlfriend when he
wound up having to help with the birth of her child – a child that turned
out to be his, oddly enough. Upset by that news, he got drunk and slept with
his other brother’s wife. Nothing like keeping it in the family, eh?
Eventually, Billy decided to be a responsible fella and he married the
mother of his child. But as fate would have it, his one true love, Mackenzie
came back into town the day of his wedding. Oh and that one night stand he had
with Jack’s wife? Well, now she’s pregnant and he could be the father. So could
two other guys, but that’s a whole other drama. Maybe Billy should try celibacy
for a while. Or at least a condom.
So for all those reasons and more he is our SOAP STUD OF THE WEEK.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK #1
QUESTION OF THE WEEK #2
RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
