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Post by justinate on Oct 17, 2018 10:15:41 GMT -5
What the hell? What the ACTUAL HELL?
This LAME story - the LAMEST of any show this year - manages to win an award? For having a random gay boy come out and immediately leave town, without so much as a love interest or kiss, while its competitor Neighbours gets snubbed despite giving Aussie TV its first gay wedding?
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Post by justinate on Apr 23, 2020 11:02:47 GMT -5
This is the closest H&A will come to having a male same-sex romance ... not on the show, but on a completely-unrelated music video where Lukas Radovich (the actor who plays Ryder) appears as a secret gay lover.
(I like how the thumbnail is Lukas shirtless, which only happens for a split-second in the video itself!)
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Post by kevvoi on Apr 22, 2021 7:39:17 GMT -5
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Feb 15, 2022 2:44:29 GMT -5
There's a very odd story in the Australian-airing episodes right now, with Ryder, and Leah's nephew Theo. Theo and Ryder were rivals over the affections of Ryder's girlfriend, Chloe, leading Chloe and Ryder to break up and Theo to taunt Ryder over sharing a kiss with Chloe soon after said breakup. They worked together on various Youtube challenge videos to get money, as Ryder was in debt, and Theo just liked to show off. They were not friends, and we were not supposed to think they were friends. At the break last December, Theo buried Ryder alive for a challenge. Theo went to get food, and also spent some time with a shattered Chloe (she had found out she was conceived by rape), and on his way back, tripped, fell, was knocked out, and his leg was tangled in vines, meaning he couldn't break free...all as Ryder was slowly suffocating underground. Once the show started up again a few weeks ago, Ryder and Theo were rescued, but Ryder was unconscious for a while. Theo got the big scene of standing alone at Ryder's bedside, full of emotions as Ryder woke up. And suddenly we began hearing about what "best friends" they were. Alf, Ryder's grandfather, was going through myriad family problems, leading to a boiling point with the buried alive incident, leading him to be filled with irrational hatred for Theo (not helped by what a twat Theo had been up to that point). He forbade Theo from going near Ryder, and when Theo and Ryder kept trying to change his mind, Alf had Theo arrested for stealing a cart from the beach club a month earlier. This led to a scene where Ryder rushes to the police station, wanting to help Theo, only for Theo to respond that the only way to help him is if they stay away from each other. Chloe has been nowhere to be found in their story since returning from the break, and they don't even mention her. Chloe and Ryder parted on very bad terms, but he still cared about her, and Theo is also meant to care about her. She is obviously going through a terrible time - her stepfather has been arrested for murdering her father - and yet neither of them ever talk about this. Before you say it for me, I know - H&A is not going to have gay men in major storyline. Ryder is a major character, and Theo is being built up as a major character too. Two gorgeous men who naturally have puppy-dog eyes and pouty lips smiling and looking sad at each other and about each other is unavoidable in this case. And I'd guess that the absence of Chloe, for now, is down to block taping (the complete lack of mention of her makes less sense to me). Still, it feels like they have been going through the tropes of a romantic pairing, just without the romance. It also shows how much the stale canvas would benefit from a relationship with two men who have natural chemistry together. Given the strong rumors, due to some photos taken on the set of a goodbye party scene, that Ryder is leaving, it would be a good story choice to have him question his sexuality before he heads off into the larger world. And it would mean the show would not have to have a queer man on the canvas, which is clearly a big deal for them...
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Post by justinate on Feb 15, 2022 6:04:09 GMT -5
Honestly, we all know H&A will never meaningfully explore gay male characters, so I'd rather they don't even try. I would hate for them to pick up the Best LGBTQ+ Representation award yet again for a throwaway storyline, especially in what may well be Neighbours' final year on-air when they are actually committed to LGBTQ+ representation. It would also be incredibly lazy to have Ryder come out just because the actor has gone public about his boyfriend, when they already shut that down years ago when he had that story with Ty and turned him down without an iota of interest. I'd rather have Ryder reject Theo's advances, joking about how he must be catnip to gay boys, and leave behind an actively queer boy on canvas who's poised to be the new juvenile male lead. But like you said, that will never happen. I've often wondered if part of the reason H&A maintains better domestic ratings than Neighbours is because it panders to a different audience segment, one that is not as welcoming of diversity. With Neighbours now facing the axe, I doubt H&A will want to rock the boat.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Feb 15, 2022 14:32:17 GMT -5
Honestly, we all know H&A will never meaningfully explore gay male characters, so I'd rather they don't even try. I would hate for them to pick up the Best LGBTQ+ Representation award yet again for a throwaway storyline, especially in what may well be Neighbours' final year on-air when they are actually committed to LGBTQ+ representation. It would also be incredibly lazy to have Ryder come out just because the actor has gone public about his boyfriend, when they already shut that down years ago when he had that story with Ty and turned him down without an iota of interest. I'd rather have Ryder reject Theo's advances, joking about how he must be catnip to gay boys, and leave behind an actively queer boy on canvas who's poised to be the new juvenile male lead. But like you said, that will never happen. I've often wondered if part of the reason H&A maintains better domestic ratings than Neighbours is because it panders to a different audience segment, one that is not as welcoming of diversity. With Neighbours now facing the axe, I doubt H&A will want to rock the boat. I didn't know that about Lukas. I guess because I hadn't checked his social media - there was no announcement but a few of the recent photos do seem very couply. If that is the case I'm happy for him, they make a cute pair. If he is queer then I hope someday he can talk about the show's reticence on these issues, if he wants to...
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hfolk
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Post by hfolk on Feb 15, 2022 18:40:49 GMT -5
Are y'all just assuming about Ryder & Theo because I can't find anything about that
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Feb 15, 2022 20:25:39 GMT -5
Are y'all just assuming about Ryder & Theo because I can't find anything about that That's why I said I knew it wasn't happening. I just thought the whole story was odd because the last few weeks they have been written with all the trappings of star-crossed, romantic angst, just without the romantic aspect. Even very close friendships between men like Colby and Dean were never quite that way. I assume it's just down to some sort of wonkiness behind the scenes at present (the whole Parata family story in general right now, which Ryder and Theo were a key part of last year, has that feel), rather than any plans.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 17, 2022 4:49:39 GMT -5
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Post by justinate on Mar 17, 2022 7:51:21 GMT -5
Dan Bennett, who worked at Home & Away for a number of years, recently talked about the original plans for Brody Morgan (if you watch the current show, you will know him best for being Justin's brother, and the cheating ex Ziggy had a bitter parting with) gay. This was, of course, kiboshed. I'm sorry to hear what could have been, but not even remotely surprised. On another forum, I saw Neighbours fans grumbling about their show losing nearly all its Aussie viewers (unlike H&A which still has a loyal following there), to the point where it was no longer sustainable to fund it domestically. And they wondered how H&A, which is stuck in storytelling more suited to the 1950s, can still be going strong. I would wager that its antiquated approach to diversity and inclusion is precisely why.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 29, 2022 3:44:22 GMT -5
Watching the April 20th episode (Australian pace), where Ryder, when seeing Tane Parata and his girlfriend Felicity walk in, talks about how wrong it is just hot how they look. Not just her, and not followed up with an, "I'm not gay" type comment either. I wonder if, since Ryder has no real story at this point and is likely leaving soon , the writers have decided to just let little moments like that slip through, which normally wouldn't.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on May 5, 2022 19:50:20 GMT -5
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 4, 2023 7:39:28 GMT -5
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Feb 19, 2024 4:41:52 GMT -5
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