carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 12, 2012 4:58:20 GMT -5
I don't go to that many places (I used to read some Livejournal but not in recent years, and I still can't quite figure out Tumblr; not into Facebook), but at Digital Spy, a number of fans, even fans who really liked Doug and the "Stug" friendship, seem upset, saying this is a gimmick, Doug was never gay, some saying they are giving up the show. Brendan has such a passionate fanbase and I can't see this working out for them at all.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 12, 2012 0:16:51 GMT -5
Unfortunately if Brendan did change, many would likely call him "boring." The show went out of its way to have viewers fall in love with and sympathize with Brendan as Brendan beat various men, over and over. They never tried to say his abuse was wrong. They romanticized it. And as a result, Ste always looks bad and weak - if he is with Brendan, he is there solely to be Brendan's toy. If he is not with Brendan, then he is there to be manipulated from afar and many fans are sad because Brendan is sad and they want to see more of the good old days when Brendan and Ste had sex in between beatings.
I think this relationship is a huge setup for viewers, because it will never be what many want it to be. Brendan will likely never change. Instead it is the same scene, over and over, until the actors leave, or the show is canceled.
If Ste/Doug could represent a permanent break from that, I would be happy, but instead, Doug is likely to be sacrificed, and become a hate figure for viewers.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 11, 2012 19:05:47 GMT -5
I agree that sexuality isn't shaped in real life, but in fiction, where we aren't dealing with reality, I think that the "oops I was gay all along" story can be tough to take. I think that part of the problem with the Ste story was that everything about the character changed at the time he realized he was gay - it's often like two different characters. It makes the idea that he was gay long before he met Brendan seem more like a tacked-on line.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 11, 2012 18:18:35 GMT -5
Doug also had sex with Texas last year.
We did hear about this old relationship Ste had, after he was with Brendan, but before that, he'd only been interested in women. Even after Brendan, he continued having sex with Rae, and had no problems doing this.
I think shows just don't want to deal with bisexuality so instead they say someone has been gay the whole time.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 11, 2012 8:33:57 GMT -5
Oh, and I could not get past how incredibly beautiful Doug looked in that scene where he got lost in that hug and began to realize what was happening. Sometimes PJ Brennan reminds me so much of the matinee idols of long ago. I really hope he gets a good career out of this show.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 11, 2012 8:09:29 GMT -5
I think they did a good job with Kris - they seemed to forget about Ravi being bi in no time at all.
I like the idea of Doug being bi, but not him being "turned," and not the story being about Brendan. I would rather see Doug in another story.
The show did a terrible job with Kris/Nancy/Ravi (totally OOC for Nancy) but I could see Doug in a story where he is involved with a woman and a man.
PJ Brennan did a fantastic job in the scene where they hugged and he realized how reluctant he was to be taken away from that.
The scene at the end when he was alone and disoriented/upset was tough to watch. I think he's going to end up destroying himself.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 11, 2012 5:52:24 GMT -5
Will's actual coming out story has been very poorly told (in my opinion), with key points rushed, so the show can focus more on the same scenes with Sami, Marlena, and EJ. They have given little to no reason for people to root for Will and Sonny as a couple. I have seen far more buzz over EJ/Will, which I assume was not intentional.
I just hope they do a better job with the story than MarDar did. I think many people wanted to give this story a chance and just gave up. The ratings went up when Will made out with the bit player, and they were back down in no time at all as the show just ignored that scene.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 11, 2012 5:02:32 GMT -5
I figure Doug is bisexual because he was really in love with Becca and this all seems new to him. Ste was in love with women before and yet now they claim he was never anything but gay. The main problem with any Ste/Doug relationship is it's all about Brendan. Brendan can do whatever he wants, and have various bonds, but Ste always has to be about Brendan. Many seem to be waiting for the happy fuzzy Stendan reunion where in between Brendan beating Ste unconscious, they will have cuddles and hot sex. The show also has this view, seemingly, so that means Doug will just be a means to an end. Everyone who has been in this Stendan story has been written out. Doug has no real ties to the canvas, so that means he could easily just be used up and tossed aside once Ste learns about his lies and goes pouting back to Brendan yet again.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 10, 2012 19:10:03 GMT -5
Viewers knew that John Paul was in love with Craig around December 2006 or January 2007, I think (John Paul had been around since September). At first there was a tease that John Paul wanted Sarah, so we wouldn't realize who he really wanted. He kissed Craig in February, I think. Craig rejected him, and their affair began in late March or early April.
I had a lot of problems with "McDean" based on Craig's physical and emotional abuse and the way he just treated John Paul and Sarah as sex toys, at times. But that was pure romance compared to how Brendan treats Ste (with the show telling us all of this, especially the beatings, is the truest of true love).
Any of "Stug" is likely to be about Brendan, and how Brendan suffers, and will Brendan make Doug pay, and so on. I think Doug's part in this will be mostly plot device. I just hope they do a better job of "suddenly gay" than they did with Craig and Ste.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 9, 2012 21:02:08 GMT -5
I think it would make great drama if this was actually a triangle, but Kieron Richardson is already going around saying Brendan is the love of Ste's life. This seems like a stall to have Brendan do what people love (smirking, plotting, controlling), without doing what makes some uncomfortable, and what he would do if he were actually with Ste (beating him into a coma).
People liked Doug as the goofy friend and as Brendan's minion, but something tells me now that he's going to go near Brendan's territory, he will become hated.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 9, 2012 19:09:46 GMT -5
I wanted to apologize to harmonium for doubting this with Doug - I thought they would avoid yet another insta-gay storyline, especially since the only reason I see most fans having an interest in Ste is because of Brendan. I think most of the reaction is going to be, "But what about Brendan?" and Doug will become hated or derided. The writing also seems likely to ruin Doug in order to keep giving Brendan story and keep Ste as Brendan's property.
I really think this is a big mistake. Doug was a very interesting character who never had a chance to break out on his own. Now he likely never will. No one in a story with Brendan will ever be anything other than a weak prop. I dread seeing Doug, one of the very few tolerable characters on the show, as more roadkill for the Stendan "love" story.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 7, 2012 14:12:08 GMT -5
I don't think they plan to have any characters turn gay. Even Ste turning gay was solely for Brendan's storyline, not because they wanted to tell a story about a gay man. I think they will keep on with Brendan/Ste, and not much else.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 6, 2012 15:14:01 GMT -5
I agree that EJ blackmailing Will because he's gay would have been a very interesting plot, though a very controversial one . They didn't wanna risk to get into trouble because of it. The other thing that the writers must have taken into consideration (to not go there) was the fact that evil EJ is one of the most popular characters of the soap. And blackmailing a confused teenager would've been too much, even for him ... Just my take The way the story played out, blackmailing him would have made far more sense, especially when he was blackmailing him over the shooting. Instead they had Will wanting to work for EJ, loving it, and saying that he'd known EJ his whole life and EJ meant more to him than his own father. I think this story struggled mightily when they decided to focus more on Will's relationships with Sami/Marlena/EJ. This led to an overnight personality change, and I think he became an extremely unlikeable character, with way too many scenes of yelling, crying, and pouting, along with the strange smirking. There was little motivation for this change, other than the show wanting to set up some grand dynamcis of Will as Sami and Sami as Marlena. The gay part of the story has always seemed like an afterthought to me, especially when they bring in these bland extras for him to hang out with, with no followup. Even making out with Neil had no followup - that should have been a huge moment. The treatment of Sonny was nonexistent and I think another reason there was not a bigger response to this story. Not because Sonny is this incredible character (although I do like him), but because there was no real contrast to Will. I have no idea why we were supposed to care about Will's relationship with some man he barely seemed to have a bond with beyond some random lust and PSA scenes. Hopefully Tomlin will write more for Sonny, and his parents, and Lorraine Broderick can make Will a likeable and less schizophrenic character. She did a good job with Michael Delaney and Kevin Sheffield on AMC in the mid-90's.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 3, 2012 4:49:58 GMT -5
Jason47 wanted to reply to something Hawthorne wrote, about the clues not being too accurate.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Apr 1, 2012 14:27:48 GMT -5
Great! Thanks to Jason for clarifying! Does he know why they are listed in more episodes than what they actually appeared at IMDB? Did they get edited out? Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I just got on a few hours ago. Here's his response.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 31, 2012 21:41:08 GMT -5
The wonderful Jason47, who, as we all know, has so much great info on DAYS, asked me to post this. I wasn't sure whether to post it here or in general discussion, but I decided on here.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 28, 2012 9:38:49 GMT -5
I really like Sean and I'm constantly surprised at the ugly comments folks post about him. It's no meaner than any of the other characters on the show and he's actually a really good friend and a good dad. But he's not a cute little masc jock twink so I guess that makes him worthless. Sigh... Considering that Marcus isn't a "cute little masc jock twink," and yet seems popular, I don't see your point. Sean is an unpleasant character, selfish, played by a terrible actor. There isn't much reason to like him.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 27, 2012 21:29:16 GMT -5
Where was this great love for Adam when he was terrorizing the Bartons after Cain's attack, or when he spent the last year clinging to Hazel's leg?
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 27, 2012 10:12:06 GMT -5
At least the writers live up to bad stereotypes to the end - Aaron sacrifices all for the straight man he can never have.
I remember that scene of Adam and Aaron walking away together, in a field, at the end of his first court case. And how we saw that as the close of a story. Little did we know that a year later, Adam and Aaron would be completely destroyed as characters and their relationship would be a schizophrenic, pathetic mess.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 27, 2012 10:07:44 GMT -5
ETA: I think you touch upon something very important, everettb100. Will's story so far is being written for straight audiences, primarily to educate them and give them some insight into the gay self-identication and coming out process. If the same story had been written but with gay audiences as the primary target, I think we would have seen things unfold differently. I don't think the problem is hesitancy due to wanting to appeal to straight audiences. If that was the main reason, they wouldn't have had that random scene of Will smashing his face against a bit player. I think the show just loves the idea of Will hating Sami and raging at her. They love the idea of Will being enthralled by EJ, and the conflict this is supposedly going to cause (depending on the day of the week, as, depending on the day, Sami is either yelling at EJ or drinking with him and telling him what a good lay he is). The rest just seems like an afterthought. So you get day after day of the same conversations with Marlena, the same stop-and-start melodrama of how he can't be gay, wait, he's going to go grind against some random guy, or Sonny-the-plot-device, wait, he's still not gay, he just can't be. This is all to stall until Sami learns he's gay, which I assume will lead to more weeping and shrieking between mother and son. The use of Kate and Lucas in this is so clumsy too. Unfortunately these writes don't seem to be able to properly pace or characterize anything.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 27, 2012 7:09:37 GMT -5
The whole story is poorly put together. It's ludicrous to have Will and Gabi break up, rarely interact for months, and then have this type of scene together. I think the show is just intimidated by and not all that interested in the gay aspect of his storyline.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 27, 2012 6:33:14 GMT -5
Why would Ed want to spend his life helping an unstable guy he barely knows who is constantly involved in serious crimes?
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 21, 2012 15:08:40 GMT -5
I thought Oscar had already left in the season finale. It's all so confusing.
I wonder if Thomas is done with the sister now. I can't see a new boyfriend putting up with that.
I am so tired of the poorly told gay stories on most shows that I thought the story on this was a breath of fresh air. I hope they won't just go back to the usual type of story.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 20, 2012 20:02:39 GMT -5
Will has never had a problem with gay people, he just doesn't want to be gay himself. He was one of Sonny's staunchest supporters when he first showed up. It wouldn't be about having a problem with gay people as avoiding a close bond with a reminder of what he doesn't want to be.
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carld2
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Post by carld2 on Mar 20, 2012 19:10:44 GMT -5
They have Will as the new Sami, and Sami is the same way - she has no friends, just people who sometimes listen to her complain.
The Will/Sonny relationship seems mostly like a PSA to me. If the story was about how Will can't accept being gay then I think it would be more believable if he shunned Sonny, who is out and proud, and just spent time having random encounters with men he will likely never see again, like Neil.
I think one reason it's being stalled is because they have no story planned for him once he does come out. Everyone in town is ready to throw him a parade. I'm sure they will have Sami be upset, but he's already shoved Sami, called her a whore, she's screamed and wept, he's screamed and wept - the whole relationship has been played out.
It would actually be more interesting if she didn't have a problem with him being gay, and he resents her for that.
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