Gays of Our Lives: A Watery Grave For Aaron on ‘Emmerdale’?

Eyewitness  (U.S.)

How old was Philip’s mom when she had him?  Five?

So I’m guessing the killer won’t recognize Philip because he didn’t see his face, but because of the jacket and he’ll kill the boy Philip loaned his jacket to?

So far, so good.  I thought the first episode was really nicely done in setting up the characters we’ve met so far and their relationships.

Julliane Nicholson is really good as Helen and Tyler Young and James Paxton do well as secret lovers Philip and Lukas.   The show is doing a good job of depicting these troubled gay teens who want to be together but are afraid of people finding out (or at least Lukas is).   I’m generally not a fan of coming out stories after having seen so many, but at least this has the twist of it being part of a crime story.

I could have done without the scene of them fighting so people won’t suspect their real relationship.  That is a gay trope in tv and movies I wish would disappear forever.

Kudos to the show for making Lukas and Philip’s love story so central to the plot, just as it was in the Norwegian version.  When I heard a US version of this show was being made, I assumed their relationship would disappear or be downplayed altogether.  Thankfully, it’s not.

Hollyoaks (U.K.)

I really think that the show needs to get Harry out of this relationship with Ste.  Their entire pairing is all about Ste and his problems.  Harry spends all of his time looking after Ste or his kids.  He has no life and isn’t his own person anymore.  That isn’t any good for a teenager.

Only on Hollyoaks is it always the nurse that gives you your diagnosis instead of a doctor.

I agree with Amy that Ste can’t be trusted with the kids, especially after the beat down he put on Ryan.  With his issues, he shouldn’t be allowed be around them without supervision.  He’s a danger to himself and anybody around him.  No telling what he’d do next.  

Yet, I’m not sure if Amy needs to go for total custody right now though.  After all, Ste is in no position to fight and the kids already live with her.  I’m hardly one to stand up for Ste, but why do it now?  Of course, the reason for that is so we’ll feel sorry for Ste and make him the victim in all this.  Which of course he is not.

Then again, given her own violent history with Ste, which the show hasn’t forgotten, I don’t blame Amy for her actions one bit.

But as I’ve said before, I’m not that interested in a ‘Ste suffers’ storyline.  Nothing I’ve seen so far has made me change that.

I find it implausible that Warren and Ste would have a conversation and not talk about Brendan.  He was a big part of their lives, something they had in common.  To not discuss him seemed like there was a big elephant in the room.

Neighbours (Australia)

I’m actually seeing a tiny bit of chemistry between David and Aaron. Maybe this story won’t be so bad after.  Still, I could do without yet another coming out drama.

David’s reasons why people think he’s gay is probably one of the most ridiculous explanations I’ve ever heard.  Please.

People of the Valley  (Wales)

After what happened last time, why would Tyler and Iolo ask Dani to have anything to do with their wedding?  Seems like a recipe for disaster.  I do like that we’re getting to see the wedding plans with the fun and the drama that it would entail.  

After that awful arc with Mel, we’re back to the buildup to the wedding.  Let’s just hope it actually happens and they don’t call it off — again.

Rownd a Rownd   (Wales)

One thing I’ve always liked about UK and foreign soaps is that they have these ‘slice of life’ storylines where not much happens, but it’s more about character development and building relationships and showing the town as a community of families and friends.  With that, I liked Rhys looking to bond with his brother.  

I don’t know all the relationships and backstories for the characters, but I assume they don’t know each other very well and it’s very real and relatable that Rhys would want to change that.  US soaps simply don’t take the time and effort to tell these type of human stories anymore, if they ever did.

I’m going to guess that drone is eventually going to come into play in a future storyline and see something that someone doesn’t want revealed.  I’ve got an idea what that might be.  We’ll see.

This Life (Canada)

If Oliver’s entire storyline this season is him dithering over whether he should be a surrogate dad to Romy or not I’m not going to be happy.  I do like his relationship with his niece, but shows far too often give gay characters children and then they don’t have time for anything else, like romance and love while the other characters develop full, multi-dimensional lives.  Though one interesting aspect of it the question if Oliver is doing this for himself, to make him feel better about his own life, or is he doing it for Romy?

Frankly I found the subplot about Maggie marrying her new roommate so he could stay in the country and she could have a place to live to be a more interesting story.  I loved how she broke the news to the family as if it were no big deal that she was committing a federal crime.   It was a funny scene and looks to be an interesting storyline.  I just wish I could say the same for what I see the show doing for Oliver.

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