A Shameless summer

Raynor Arkenbout & Ferry Doedens.

My mission this summer was to start watching the Ludwin storyline from Goede tijden, slechte tijden. So what happened to that? Absolutely nothing. I haven't started watching it yet. I watched a lot of things but not that, and now I have started working again so Lucas Sanders and Edwin Bouwhuis will have to wait.

Cameron Monaghan & Noel Fisher.

But what I have started watching is Shameless USA. Finally! My original plan was to watch the UK original first, but I dropped that and went straight to the remake. And that is usually so not me. But I like it! I am not very very in love, but a bit. Ad I do love William H. Macy. So, what about they gays? There's Mickey and there's Ian. I am not sure who I like the most. Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) is the less scab of them and Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) is the most. But I sense (and I have of course read some spoilers and seen some pictures) that that will change a bit. I have almost finished the second season and I guess it's going to be better and better. But I think there's to much attention on all the other characters and too little attention on the gays. More Gallavich for the people! At least the viewers!

Some Dutch

I forgot to tell you about the Dutch discoverys in my startiti-phase. Some weeks ago, when I just wanted something new and fresh with no spoilers and no prejudice I found a dutch storyline. E couple of weeks ago when I was on spring break I found another.

Ferry Doedens as Lucas Sanders in Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden.

The Nedtherlands hav produced more than just Lucas Sanders and his partners Edwin, Menno, Bilal and others in Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. (And I have to confess, I haven't seen the Ludwin storyline yet, but now I know where to watch it after a tip from a very kind reader, but I am saving that storyline for later.) Well, the Dutch also produced SpangaS.

Tobias and Flip in SpangaS.

SpangaS is a youth series about the students and staff at the Spangalis College somewhere in the Netherlands. In SpangaS we get to know Flip van Hamel (Jasper Gottlieb) and his twin brother Tobias van Hamel (Marius Gottlieb) who also conveniently enough are twins in real life. Flip comes out in the first season (at leat I think and dates Mick for a while but Flip is not really in love with Mick and it's in second season the magic starts.

Jasper Gottlieb and Derk Stenvers as Flip and Koen in SpangaS.

And, it's in the second season we are invited, because the Flip and Mick storyline doesn't really exist on Youtube. But in the second season Flip develops feelings for Tobias friend Koen van Wageningen (Derk Stenvers) and they start dating. It is really cute in a a bit gawky way. Really sweet!

Flip and Jeffrey Hamilton as Koen in SpangaS.

Well, a few months later there's a new actor in the part of Koen, which reminds me of another series I'm watching right now... Anyway, Jeffrey Hamilton replaces Derk Stenvers and it is still cute. I haven't watched the full storyline yet, but I really like it. I am a sucker for youth series, I have to confess.

Jörgen Scholtens as Sytze in ONM.

Well, and last week I discovered ONM. At least I discovered Sytze and Karif in ONM. ONM (Onderweg naar Morgen) is a now cancelled Dutch soap opera where Sytze Eyzinga (Jörgen Scholtens) comes out just a couple of months before the series ended. What a waste with a great storyline! At first it was a bit trembling and the scenes between the actors was a bit awkward, but I that's how it is in the beginning, for every couple when you're young and unexperienced. I guess. And the storyline really grew upon me! So, short story shorter, Sytze met Karif Baz (Soner Keskin) and realized he flirted with him, got interested, discovered he was engaged and muslim, didn't give a damn about that, snogged a bit, got gay-bashed, came out, broke up - the end. To bad. I liked it. And Jörgen Scholtens who played Sytze: great! If you do watch the storyline, beware of when he hunts Noa down and rails her!I do love that scene because Sytze is so brutal! In a good way. Unfortunately there's just crappy photos of Sytze and Karif, but here they are:

Sytze and Karif in ONM.

I really enjoy Dutch storylines because I am so fascinated of the Dutch language! And I do understand quite a lot. Dutch is quite simmilar to Swedish in some aspects. So I am really looking forward to watching the Lucas and Edwin storyline!

Gay weddings

Sonny Kiriakis and Will Horton at their wedding.

This week the first gay male wedding i a daytime soap in USA happened. There are a lot of daily, and long-running, soaps in USA so it was about time. The supercouple Will Horton (played by Guy Wilson, previously by Chandler Massey) and Sonny Kiriakis (played by Freddie Smith) from Days of our lives finally tied bands. The couple has been an item since 2012 and finally there was a wedding. It was just as sugery and sleazy as to expect from an american wedding. This with own wedding vows is nothing we are used to in Sweden. We are quite sparing with feelings. But it was cute and we do need lot's and lot's of same sex weddings in american TV.

Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell in Brothers & Sisters.

It has happened before, but not in a daytime show. In 2008 Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty Wandell (Luke Macfarlane) got married in the ABC series Bothers & Sisters. They even had Calista Flockhart (Kevin's sister Kitty) as a wedding officiant. The couple are cute as hell and they even got children. We need more of those role models in american TV.

There might be more gay weddings in american TV-shows but they are few. And we have some here and there in the world, but it is not naturally obvious that a same-sex couple can get married, not even in soaps. It is not for instance not allowed in Finland and Germany, the home of Larias, Chrolli and DeRo among others. But that didn't stop Christian and Oliver to get married - twice.

Jo Weil and Thore Schölermann as Olli and Christian.

In Germany it is allowed to enter into partnership since 2001, and that's what Christian Mann (Thore Schölermann) and Oliver Sabel (Jo Weil) did in 2010. And then again in 2012 after a divorse they regretted just a couple of days afterwards. But in Verbotene Liebe, Christian and Olli never talked about anything else than that they were going to get married. The first wedding was even in a church, with a homosexual priest. You can make a "real" church wedding, even though you are not allowed to. But it is really about time for Germany to institute same sex marriage while being such a modern and gay-friendly country.

Menno Kuiper and Lucas Sanders in white.

The Netherlands was the first country to institute same-sex weddings in 2001 and this year they even got a soap gay wedding. Lucas Sanders (ferry Doedens) finally got to keep a love and gets to marry Menno Kuiper (Dave Mantel) in white, in a church (it seems) with Lucas father as a wedding officiant. Beautiful!

Christian Clarke and Syed Masood.

And there finally was a wedding between Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and Syed Masood (Marc Elliott in the British long running show Eastenders. It almost didn't happen, but Syed appeared just in the last second before the wedding officiant left. This happened in 2012, but it was not until this year, 2014, the law about same-sex marriages has became reality for the citicens of England, Wales and Scotland. Northen Ireland still has som leaps to go. In the Christian and Syed wedding Christian said in his (yet again quite cheesy) vows to Syed that he loves him more than all the stars in the heaven. If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

David and Fer kissing, after David's been steeling one of the grooms.

There almost was a gay wedding in Spanish Física o Química in 2010 between Fer and Borja, but just as the couple was going to say yes, David entered the chapel and Fer got doubts. After kissing in the rain and becoming wet, fer decided to go for David instead (yay!) and the couple even asked the wedding officiant to marry them right there and then. But she didn't want to. Bummer. The home country of the actors Adrian Rodriguez and Javier Calvo has gender neutral marriage since 2005, so it could have become reality, right there and then. Unfortunately Fer dies in the next season. Bummer again.

Stefan Holmberg and Micki Sandell.

Exept for the wedding between Jens Erik and Thomas Wallin in Danish 2900 Happiness I am not aware of any gay marriages in a nordic soap opera or TV-series but the one between Micki Sandell and Stefan Holmberg in Rederiet in 2000. But, and there is a but, same-sex marriages was not instituted in Sweden until 2009, so this was actually a registered partnership. Why do we always have to be so slow in Sweden? We need more same-sex marriages on Swedish television, and in television in general. Love is beautiful and we really do need to teach our children that lova has multiple faces and why not on TV? I borrow the words from Tiamat and say that: It's about time we all get out and vote for love!

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!