Ah the power of a recession! With daytime in an increasingly perilous state by the minute, several soap operas seem to finally be willing to pull out all the stops to attract new viewers and/or mainstream buzz by going gay, puritanical watchdog groups and skittish sponsors be damned.
As 72-year-old elder statessoap Guiding Light enters its last few months on the air, all anyone can talk about is the romance between Olivia Spencer (Crystal Chappell) and Natalia Rivera (Jessica Leccia) aka Otalia (sorry Josh and Reva). Will a baby come between them? How will the rest of Springfield react to their love? Will they be allowed to be truly intimate—or at least as intimate as any couple of teenage cousins on a P&G soap— before the soap wraps in September? These questions have message boards jumping.
GL's sister soap As The World Turns has been inspiring cult love— and a good dose of fury over kiss bans and offscreen sex scenes— for the last few years with Nuke (Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann). With Noah's psycho, homophobe dad Col. Mayer coming to Oakdale again this summer, will Nuke fans tune in for ATWT's umpteenth six-week battle between gay and evil?
The Young and the Restless, the soap everyone said would never go gay again, after an attempted lesbian storyline featuring grande dame Kay Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) in the 70's met with plenty-o-pitch fork wielding, is about to be knee (and other body parts?) deep in a twisted, same sex storyline that finds the devilish (and perfectly straight) Adam Newman (soon-to-be Michael Muhney) seducing sweet, homosexual attorney Rafe (Yani Gellman) to keep Rafe from turning him in for gaslighting Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson).
Side Note: Isn't it sadly ironic that The Bold and the Beautiful, a soap opera revolving aroung the Los Angles fashion scene and set minutes from West Hollywood is the only CBS soap not telling any gay storylines?
Then there's One Life to Live. The soap that previously told the groundbreaking tale of confused gay teen Billy Douglas, launching the career of some kid named Ryan Phillippe, yet was also responsible for the Daniel Colson story stinker, is embarking on a romantic comedy arc featuring, a secret past between seemingly-straight Llanview police officer Fish (Scott Evans) and his nefarious collegiate frat brother Kyle (Brett Claywell).
With so many soaps getting their gay on this summer, Daytime Confidential wants to know, which storyline are you most excited to see play out?
Comments
5 July 2008
45 min 10 sec
I'm All about Kish but I'm sure you faithful posters could have guessed that one, right?
9 June 2009
14 weeks 6 days
Had to vote for Kyle and Fish of OLTL. Second place would go to Adam and Rafe on Y&R.
23 April 2009
3 years 39 weeks
Duh, Otalia. Even though I had to choke back vomit clicking anything involving any sort of Frank spawn. I'm staying in my happy place until I get forcefully evicted.
Liz
27 January 2008
1 year 30 weeks
I voted for Nuke. Maybe the Col. Mayer thing isn't that exciting, but I'm really curious what the addition of a third gay character (Mason) will mean for ATWT/Nuke. Forbes March's first episode is July 14th, so that's still part of the summer.
2 June 2009
1 year 25 weeks
I love Otalia - Frank's Baby = Happy Viewers...
I had to vote for my Women...
19 April 2009
2 weeks 6 days
I vote for Otalia but the thought of a Frank Spawm makes me puke.
9 February 2008
3 years 9 weeks
Kish all the way, baby! Nuke lost me a long time ago, the stuff on Y&R is increasingly feeling like just a stunt and I'm afraid I don't watch GL; I started tuning into OLTL just to see the Fish/Kyle storyline and am totally, totally hooked: hot, good guy cop fighting his desires for hot, morally ambigious ex-college buddy? I am SO there!
27 January 2008
1 year 30 weeks
But what I'm looking most forward to isn't any of these 4. It's the return of Lucas Sanders to Dutch soap opera Good Times, Bad Times next week. This show had lesbians, bisexuals and a few bi-curious characters, but never a regular gay character. This (and also Elizabeth Hubbard's guest role stint) in combination with good writing makes me look forward to this storyline the most.
19 June 2009
1 year 50 weeks
Still sticking with Nuke. I, too, am waiting to see where this Forbes March addition will go and how it'll affect the boys.
15 April 2009
3 years 31 weeks
If by excited with the Otalia/Furts baby s/l you mean that suffering morning sickness everyday, then YES, I'm ubber excited!
I can't believe they're gonna ask us to think that Natalia didn't realize she was preggers for 4 1/2 months. She's been drinking more than usual too, so what? she's gonna lose the baby? That would be terrible for Natalia... and for Olivia as well.
This sucks.
5 July 2008
45 min 10 sec
Even though this poll is fun, I think us fans should be happy that there are FOUR soaps with gay and or Bi characters. It used to seem that only a soap at a time could tell a gay story-line. Well those days are over. THANK GOD!!!
12 June 2009
3 years 13 weeks
I've never been feeling Nuke or Otalia, so im PSYCHED about this summer's Kish and R&A
22 June 2009
3 years 44 weeks
WTF? This poll is ridiculous!! I want to vote for Otalia, but not if that means supporting the most RIDUCULOUS and INSULTING sl ever invented on the face of the planet, which is the Frank devil spawn!!!! This is what has most boards up in flames about NOT wanting it, and you put it as an option for 'exciting'?? How about asking what the fans have actually been saying they would be excited to see??
Otalia Kiss: YES
Otalia making love: YES; YES
Otalia getting married: YES
Otalia moving in back together: YES
Otalia having a baby from the nosey, infuriatingly self-righteous Frank the Goob Cooper??!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It's insulting that you even put that as an option of sl we wanna see play out, even worse because people want to vote for Otalia but not for that travesty of a sl, and yet they feel obligated to Otalia, as some have expressed above!! I will refrain from voting unless that option is modified. It's adding insult to injury with this horrendous pregnancy rumor. I thought DC was above pulling things like this!! Very disappointed in you...
20 April 2009
38 weeks 2 days
Also, wasn't there a rumor that John Driscoll's character on Y&R will become involved with Rafe when he joins Y&R later this summer? Or am I making that up? I thought I read that here somewhere.
22 June 2009
3 years 44 weeks
Otalia fans, for the love of god don't vote on this poll, even if you want to support the ladies, but TPTB will actually think we want this travesty and abomination of a pregnancy sl play out....
15 April 2009
3 years 41 weeks
I am most excited to watch Otalia play out. Even if Natalia is pregnant I am trying very hard to maintain the faith in Jill Lorie Hurst and Ellen Wheeler, who have thus far given us one of the most beautiful soapy love stories I have ever seen. As far as same-sex/queer/lesbian storytelling is concerned, GL has the following going for it: neither character has gone insane, been predatory, committed suicide, and at this point, I doubt Olivia or Natalia will die from a mysterious illness or gun shot wound. If they were required to introduce one stereotypical trope of lesbian storytelling in the Otalia saga to appease the Script Writing for Homosexual Stories Handbook (original publishing date: 1927... oh, and entirely made up), I guess pregnancy is the best one. At least they won't be sperm shopping now, though that would be GREAT a year or so from now .
12 June 2009
3 years 13 weeks
I really wish Chris Engen would have said on for the R&A story. He was current favorite actor in daytime. Well I guess Brett Claywell takes over that position now, until I can figure out whether I like Michael Muhney now.
13 June 2009
1 year 34 weeks
I'm curious about Kish. I like the way it's been laid out so far. I really like Otalia, but I've been a little hesitant to invest.
8 May 2008
7 weeks 7 hours
Otalia first aka hello kitty-GL
adam and Rafe- Y&R
Kyle and Fish- oLTL
NuKe- ATWT
22 June 2009
3 years 47 weeks
Voted for Otalia of course but would like to voice my dissent to the Natalia pregnancy storyline. With GL ending Sept. 18th we simply do not have time to waste on pondering an ex-boyfriend's role in the lives of these two women. They haven't even kissed yet for God's sake, and how many images of two happy, fully-fledged lesbian characters do we have out there? Jill Lorie Hurst and Ellen Wheeler managed to pull off the run-away bride cliche; I'm hoping they can do the same with this one. Though, even if they do not, both of those women should share a Nobel Peace Prize with Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia for all the good they've done for the world with the Otalia storyline. Truly, lives have been changed and so much healing has taken place. They have my eternal gratitude.
12 April 2009
29 weeks 6 days
You forgot to add a box for those of us who didn't want to see any gay story lines to vote.
Noah and Luke make me want to puke.
At least Natalia is having a battle with her faith because she knows it is wrong.
15 April 2009
3 years 31 weeks
Thanks daytimeconfidential for adding salt to injury with the wording of Otalia option. I believe there are few things I want to see less than that...
25 December 2008
1 year 10 weeks
despite a frankenbaby I voted Otalia.
I can't stand Nuke, CE is leaving and I don't think that it will exactly be a romance between Rafe and Adam and OLTL is between two people I have no idea who they are.
4 May 2009
3 years 22 weeks
I totally agree with Pozo Blue...I will usually vote for otalia no matter what, but this poll?...no I'm not excited in fact I pray and still hope that is just a rumor...please I don't want that TPTB get the WRONG idea that Otalia fans want Nat pregnant with baby cooper cause we don't. I may accept the fact that I can not change this when I actually watch it but for the love of god I'm not gonna encourage such thing.
16 December 2007
17 weeks 6 days
I have a crush on the actor who plays Fish on OLTL so I'm kinda interested to see him in a storyline but I don't trust an ABC soap to do a storyline like this justice. I can't get into ATWT these days and I'm not excited about yet another over the top Nuke vs Colonel crazy storyline.
16 December 2007
17 weeks 6 days
Oops. Sorry about the double post.
8 April 2009
38 weeks 12 hours
Normally, I'd click the Otalia box without hesitation, but the thought of Natalia carrying Frank's child just bothers me so much that I can't even stand it...
I adore Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia, don't get me wrong, and I'll try to support them in whatever else they do, but if the writers at GL think I won't walk away from this storyline in a hot minute over another Cooper spawn, they should think again. Hell, I stopped watching All My Children after what they did to Bianca...and I don't love Olivia or Natalia nearly as much as I love Bianca.
Please, please, don't let this be true.
*Deep Breathe*
At any rate, I'm anxious to see how the Kish storyline plays out. I'm loving the slow build so far and can't wait to see the exploration of Fish's coming out process.
23 May 2009
3 years 10 weeks
I'm waiting eagerly for both Y&R and OLTL so I was a bit hesitant on voting but at the end I voted for Kish because I think Kyle & Fish have the best potential for a great love story.
I think that Rafe prince charming isn't arrived yet in Y&R so for now I concentrate on OLTL
Please bring new writers ATWT I can't get why Nuke always have the worst storyline repetead over and over
16 October 2008
3 weeks 1 day
I voted for Y&R. Funny how the once groundbreaking ATWT is in last place. Goutman and Passanante fucked up what could have been gold!
22 April 2009
14 weeks 4 days
I agree with Valso. Kyle and Fish have the most potential for a good SL. I'm excited to be here at the start instead of coming in late.
I love Nuke but the writing is awful - the actors make that coupling "must-see".
But I love how it's hitting multiple soaps. Maybe it will spur each to do a great job.