Relaciones Peligrosas

Diego and Alejandro.

A while ago I watched the Alego storyline from Relaciones Peligrosas, a spanish-speaking telenovela from the USA-based television network Telemundo in Miami. I thought it was quite alright and got quite caught by the storyline. I googled the series a bit and imagine my surprise when I realised that it's a remake of my favourite series/storyline Física o Química! And I didn't realise that! Well, alright, in the beginning it was quite alike with a dead druggie and his best friend the gay guy, who later has a fling with a quite macho "straight" guy who has an unsupportive father. And there's a teacher who has a fling with a student. Maybe I have should have seen the resemblance...

Anyway, Alejandro "Ale" Portillo, played by the Puerto Rican actor Kevin Aponte, is Fer in this series and he is really sweet and cute. Diego Barón, played by the Venezuelan actor Jonathan Freudman is the David of this series, and he is quite like David. And he is also really cute. But I don't really get why they make another Física o Quimica, also in Spanish, that takes part in Miami of all places. With a lot of actors from everywhere. I just don't get it. What's wrong with the original? But the couple is cute and it's not a waste of time to watch it. Even though...

Gays with girlfriends

What I really don't get is when out gay characters in soap operas gets girlfriends. I mean, I know all about bisexuality and pansexuality and that it doesn't always have to be black or white and some people really are just not that scrupulous. But the straight relationships including gay men in soap operas seems kind of like train wrecks.

Javier Calvo and Andrea Duro.

I mean like Fer and Yoli in Física o Química. Who came up with that smart idea? Fer had already been out quite a while and he had already been together with David for a while when he started dating Yoli of all people? Well, Fer did still love David and he really didn't like girls so that romance didn't last long. And it kind of seemed like he started dating Yoli by accident and then didn't want to disappoint her. I really don't think that is a solid band for a relationship Fortunately he got to his senses.

Pete Lattu and Jasmin Hamid.

And how about Kalle and Katariina. That was really not the most fortunate pull Salatut Elämät made. But at least they were cute. Kalle would be cute with anyone, actually. Well, I guess they just really liked eachother. But things got kind of weird when they both dated the same man, Valtteri Elovirta, who as we know ended up raped Kalle. Actually, it happens to be that Valtteri, the bastard, was Kalle's first love, and that he wasn't really a nice guy back in the days either. I wonder if Valtteri was the first guy Kalle kissed, the kiss that made the Finnish people write lots and lots of mails of complaint? Oh why can't just there be more early SE DVD's so someone, like sininentomaatti, could keep uploading Kalle's story? I also read that they show reruns of older seasons of SE during summer in Finland, but I both don't live in Finland and still don't know any Finnish so...

Rami Rusinen, Pete Lattu and Jasmin Hamid.

Anyway, there was some kind of drama between Kalle, Valtteri and Katharina and there also was some kind of sex tape and it just didn't end well. Kalle got raped for one, and the relationship between Kalle and Katariina is only a memory. But they were some kind of friends even after that Valtteri drama, even though they drifted apart.And also, it seems like Ismo bashed Valtteri (yay Ismo) and Valtteri ws sent to jail. An now Kalle is dating Lari! Oh joy!

Caroline Tillette and Nicolas Herman.

And then there's the wonderfull Nicolas and the wavy Pauline. Ok, she was quite cute but, she ws just not Thomas! Ok, so Nicolas faked his death to save Thomas, Thomas moved on and met Florian, the he discovered Nicolas was alive and both Thomas and Nicolas had angst because of one another. Nicolas was of course hoping for Thomas to still be single. But he wasn't and he did comfort himself with a girl. Logical o what? I think not! He couldn't even mange to have sex with his ex wife to conceive a baby. Well, that didn't work out, Nicolas was still sulking for Thomas and Pauline went somewhere with a new identity. That is what happens to maffia-doughters who kill their fathers. And Nicolas also kind of sucked up for Celine when she was his client. What happened to Plus Belle la Vie and what happened to Nicolas? But I still love him.

Harry Reid and Lorna Fitzgerald.

And once again, meet ben Mitchell and Abi Branning. Ben nows that he is gay, everyone else knows that he is gay, his new lover Paul nows that he is gay and I even think Abi knows that he is gay. Otherwhise she wouldn't be so suspicious of Ben and Paul. The only one who doesn't know that Ben is gay is his father Ben Mitchell. And I even think that he knows that Ben is gay, but he is in big denial. He doesn't wat a gay son and ben doesn't want to disappoint him. Kind of. So, Abi is a beard, but I think that Ben is really fond of her, that he do love her, but she just doesn't do it for him. I hope that he will ditch her soon and be with Paul full time. At least Paul seems to want that.Ad it is way to long since Eastenders had an interesting gay romance. EEven if you do count Tina's.

Stephanie Davis and Kieron Richardson.

Bläch. Ste and Sinead. That is really so low from Hollyoaks. Ste's just gay. He has been since Brendan's moustache. I just don't get it! Ok, they have a baby, ok they had sex, but how could Ste choose Sinead before John Paul? I just don't get it! Ok, John Paul dumped Ste, but that was after he had put John Paul second for so long. Sinead is just a really comfused rebound! The only comfort is that Ste will snog Harry soon and that just have to be the end oh Stinead or what they are called. And also, Stephanie Davis has been sacked from Hollyoaks so it has to end quite soon. Oh thank gods for that, because this straight romance was just a low-water mark. Even worse than Fer and Yoli! I'm even quite keen on Starry know. I can't be worse than Stinead!

Halo

Some time ago I blogged about some favourite fanvids, among others a special one with Lucas and Edwin from Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. Well, as I told you a couple of days ago I haven't seen that storyline yet but I love the video anyway. And there's something very athmosphearic about that fanvid combined with that music. That is Halo with Beyoncé. Well, there's more great fanvids with that music.

How about my favourite couple of all time: Fervid? Ok, it's not the best picture quality, but there's Fer and David and what's not to like?

Well, there's another one. A little shorter, but a little better quality.

An there's a really great WilSon fanvid. WilSon when Chandler Massey played Will. I love that time. Ok, Will and Sonny are not my favourites, but they're really cute. Esecially in their early days.

But McDean are among my favourites. I think they're lovely! John Paul is lovely, whoever he is with! I really loved him with Craig and it breaks my heart again and again that Craig left him.

And speaking of Hollyoaks, here's Ste and Doug, that is: Stug. A really lovely couple. I loved them together, even though I was a Stendan shipper all through the storyline. Ste and Doug where good for eachother. I insist on that.

Another couple that was (or is because they're still together) good together was Christian and Syed in Eastenders. Even though there were lots and lots of angst and agony, they evolved eachother in a good way. Really really good for eachother.

And last but not least: Chrolli! One of the most amazing couples ever! Christian and Oliver was made for eachother and I will never forgive Verbotene Liebe for ruining that beautiful Romeo & Romeo lovestory!

And there's another one.

And another one. There can never be enough wonderful fanvids. Especially such as these.

Javier & Javier

Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo.

I saw in some tumblr account a question about Javier Calvo (Fer in Física o Química). The question was if he and Javier Ambrossi (another actor) is dating. The answer was no, because Javier Calvo is not gay and that they are just friends and working together. Eh, they have bought a dog and are doing everything together so I believe they are... And also, I saw a clip where Javier Calvo called Javier Ambrossi amore so I really think they are. FYI.

Kiss me

When you are feeling a bit morning after, the morning after, and you just happen to stumble over a really cute fanvid of you favourite gay couple, the morning after gets just a little bit better. Or even a lot better! This is a new favourite and I have just fallen in love with Fer and David again. I think I have to rewatch the storyline. Again.

Gays in knitwear

Or actually, they are not necessarily gays because it's the actors wearing the knitwear and not the characters. But anyways. Knitting and all kinds of yarn related handicrafts are a big passion for me so if I stumble over a picture with a favourite actor wearing suspiciouly hand-knitted (or even really nice machine-knitted garment) knitwear I will notice it. Here are some examples:

Igor Dolgatschew.

At first, one of my absolute favourites and that is Igor Dolgatschew who plays Deniz in Alles was zählt in his grey cowl. I'm not sure that it is hand-knitted, but it is well-fitting. He looks stunning!

Javier Calvo.

Next up is Javier Calvo who plays the part of Fer in Física o Química. I suspect this sweater is not hand-knitted because of the complexity in the pattern, and I also think I heard somewhere that knitting is not that hip in Spain, but I can be wrong. Javier, if you read this, would you please tell me if your wonderful sweater is hand-knitted or not?

Ronny Roslöf.

Ronny Roslöf, Lari in Salatut Elämät, wears a really nice and bulky scarf and he should be. Because he lives in Finland and it's really cold up here in the northern countries. It's a shame he wears such a boring beanie.

Jo Weil.

One person who doesn't wear a boring beanie is Jo Weil. The actor who plays Olli in Verbotene Liebe wears a beanie knitted by Susi Strickliesel. Susi Strickliesel is a German knitting designer who design and knit beanies and caps. Very nice!

Alexander Becht.

Lenny in Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten, played by Alexander Becht, wears more than one nice knitted scarf in the series. One especially caught my attention, and that's this double-knitted red and grey thing. Very nice! I am actually thinking of knitting something similar. But I doubt that it is hand-knitted though...

Alexander Becht again.

This beanie on the other hand is handmade for sure. Because this beanie is crochet, and crochet can't be made by a machine. And this beanie looks well-used so it looks like he likes it. I like it!

Favourite fanvids ep.1

There is a lot of well-made fanvids on the tube that I can watch over and over again. Here is a handful of them with two of my favourite couples: Fervid and Larias.

If I would like a Fervid moment, and a little bit of a cheer up, I am watching this. This contains everything you need of Fervid, if you don't have time to watch the whole storyline again, that is; all the kisses. And it ends where the story really should end, where David snatches Fer from Borja at their wedding. I don't know anything about death. I am in denial. And also, it contains two good songs. And this song by The Script is really suitable.

This one is also a cheer-up. This fanvid is about the actors, Adrian Rodriguez and Javier Calvo and you can see what a great the two of them had back then. Love it!


Larias, that is Elias (Petteri Paavola) and Lari (Ronny Roslöf), from the Finnish soap Salatut Elämät (secret lives) are also a big favourite. Also a youtube-discovery that made me really unsocial one weekend because I just couldn't stop watching. My favourite fanvid at the moment is the one with the nice cuts.

I really love how the maker of this vid has cut the scenes perfect to the music! And the music! Ed Sheeran's Give me love couldn't have been more beautifully visualized than this. It's a shame though that we couldn't have the whole song...

And I really love the song Some nights by Fun and I love Larias. Do I need to say more?

The first big crush

One day in August 2012 when I was youtubing Luke Fuller/Stephen Carrington (Dynasty)  and Jack and Doug from Dawsons Creek I stumbled over a fan video that left didn't leave me untouched.

I absolutely fell in love with Fer and David from Física o Química! And the story contains everything a gay storyline in a TV series should contain: denial, an alibi girlfriend, secret snogging, blackmailing, unsupporting parents, jealousy, on-and-off, and in the end even death.

Física o Química means physics and chemistry and take place in a high school somewhere in Spain. The series was broadcasted in 2008-2011 on Antena 3 and had 7 seasons. The character Fernando "Fer" Redondo (Javier Calvo) was in it from the start while the character David Ferrán (Adrian Rodriguez) turned up in the third season. The Fer/Fer and David storyline with english subtitles is to be found here.

Fer and David in a classical scene fron season 3.

To make a long story short, Fer comes out quite early and in the third season he falls in love with David, the football playing friend of Julio. There is a bumpy road until they finally get together, and then of course, the on-and-off begins. And here there is no happy ending. As written before, Fer dies, and all the FoQ fans around the world was really pissed about that. But even though, it's worth watching. The series is great in general and the love story between Fer and David is really cute. And it is quite remarkable that a catholic country produces such a naturally told gay story. Javier Calvo, Adrian Rodriguez and Sergio Mur who played the bisexual teacher Jorge even got an award from the gay magazine Shangay for best TV performance.

Fer and David in the Buzz-scene. 

The characters are easy to like, especially Fer, and the actors Javier Calvo and Adrian Rodriguez have a really good interaction which makes sparks. My favourite season is the third where the couple first got together, and after that the sixth season is my favourite where they got together the second time. It is quite obvious that I like the part where the couple is heading against getting together the most, in most storylines. The following picture is from seasom six and is one of my favourite scenes just after David interupts a wedding and steals one of the grooms.

Fer and David before it's starts raining. Season 6.

 
It's really a shame the series was cancelled in the seventh season. And that Fer dies. I for one would have liked more Fervid. I happens at least once a year that I rewatch the Fervid storyline and it will always be my first and biggest crush. If you haven't seen it yet, just do it! Bara gör't!

Why can't they just be happy?

Storylines with gay couples in soap operas often seem to contain a lot of unhappiness. Love stories in common contains a lot of unhappiness in soaps of course, even the straight ones, because of the drama. But it beats me that gay love stories have a lot of ingredients in common. It often starts with one parted love and a lot of denial from one of the characters and not seldom a little bit of abuse between the lovers. And when they finally becomes a real couple at least one of them just have to be unfaithful, there is a lot of on-and-off and then of course, the death comes. Don't get me wrong, straight people also dies in soaps, but for me it kind of hurts more when the gay person, who never really was happy because of the ingredients mentioned above, has to die. And leaves devastated partner behind. Just as i Brokeback mountain. There are exceptions of course, but there has been a lot of dead gays:

Fer Rodondo played by Javier Calvo.

Fernando "Fer" Redondo - Física o Química (ESP)

Well of course Fer has to die! They'd only just decided to cancel the show beacause of decreasing audience and they had just two more episodes two film when they decided to kill Fer. He is getting shot by a bullied student who thinks it's a good idea to bring a gun to school and lock the doors a little bit. In the same episode that him and David finally made up and got back together realising what is inportant in life - that is: love. They just wouldn't go for a happy ending. No, that is mainstream. Upsetting! Poor David has to live without the love of his life, but hey, shit happens when you are gay!

Roman Wild played by Dennis Grabosch.

Roman Wild - Alles was zählt (DE)

Deniz and Roman. Another on-and-off couple. Hey but of course, they are gay. A wonderful figure skater who dies from a brain tumor on the ice in the arms of his great love. Beatiful but unnecessary. Beautiful figure skaters doesn't deserve to die, not even in soap operas. Romans and Deniz's story contains a lot of beautiful, hot, happy and funny scenes, but there still is a lot of cheating and hurting. And we want Roman to live and love and skate! Bloody brain tumor. 

Doug Carter played by P J Brennan.

Doug Carter - Hollyaoks (GB)

This is one of these annoying deaths when the person in question is in a big disaster (bomb explosion) but survives, then survives another disaster (collapsing building) and then dies anyway. Unnötig as they would say in Germany! Oh and I forgot to tell you, Doug and his big love Ste was just about to leave for a new start and a new life. We can't let that happen can we?

Edwin Bouwhuis played by Raynor Arkenbout.

Edwin Bouwhuis - Goede tijden, slechte tijden (NL)

Edwin could be really happy with his love Lucas (after some on-and-off, of course) when Edwin catches some kind of deadly virus and dies, just as him and Lucas reunites. Enough said!

Luke Fuller played by Billy Campbell.

Luke Fuller - Dynasty (USA)

Ok, now whe are talking the 1980's in USA. It is not surprising that this storyline is really chaste and miss a lot of juicy details. I can't even recall that the couple of Steven Carrington and Luke Fuller gets to share a kiss. There were a lot closing doors in the most exciting moments this time. I think they finally got to hug each other in Moldavia when they decided to move in together. But of course, there is a terrorist attack in the middle of Amandas wedding and Luke gets shot in the head and dies. So much for that happiness. But a plus for a gay storyline in a 1980's soap. They were rare.

As devastating as it would have been to see Fer, Roman, Doug, Edwin and Luke to leave the series without their great loves, I rather would have wanted them to live. A good gay is a gay who is alive, even if it's off screen. Unnecessary deaths are just that - unnecessary. Därmed basta!