The Rainbow Campaign

[DinerLandlord]

Dammit! I was hoping you were talking about Joey Rainbow. :\

Ha!!! Maybe Joey can come back and have turned gay!!!

[Level]

Dammit! I was hoping you were talking about Joey Rainbow. :\

Ha!!! Maybe Joey can come back and have turned gay!!!

Yeah! Schizophrenia made him gay. What a plot twist!

[Perry]

I do still think it would turn viwers off though, the ratings would suffer. I just think they would. I dont think they would áccept them' as easily as that..,I'm talking about the millions that watch and dont discuss it on a forum.

Look at how popular Noah and Luke became when "As the world turns" introduced that couple (I've just started watching the storyline )

You get heaps of fansites if you google "Luke and Noah" and they seem like one of the favourite couples, and after watching that storyline I'm convinced that Home&Away could pull something like that off. It's doesn't require a perfect storyline that is the most original thing ever, it basically requires a standard love storyline. A normal, good storyline is all it takes.

And how good are they together? You almost forget that they are two guys but the fact that they are both steaming hot reminds me. Luke and Noah are proof gay characters can work in soaps. Now what is stopping you HAA?

[Eli]

That's exactly when you know it's a good gay storyline. I've watched that storyline only, and I've only seen a little of it, but you don't even think about the fact that they are two men eventually. As a Queer as Folk fan I'd have to say it's the same there, if I was to describe Brian Kinney I would probably forget to mention that he was gay. There's a difference between a character that is gay and a gay character. Brian's not a gay character, but his character happens to be gay.

[Felix]

... As a Queer as Folk fan I'd have to say it's the same there, if I was to describe Brian Kinney I would probably forget to mention that he was gay. There's a difference between a character that is gay and a gay character. Brian's not a gay character, but his character happens to be gay.

I stopped watching QAF and lost all interest when I found out that Gale Harold was straight. The same way I would feel if I found out that Sally, or one of the other H&A female cast members, was actually played by a man in drag.

[Perry]

The kiss seen ’round the world

YouTube turns soap’s gay couple into worldwide sensation

By DAVID ALEXANDER NAHMOD

Thursday, February 07, 2008

“Days of Our Lives” had Doug and Julie. “All My Children” had Tara and Phil in the ’70s and Angie and Jesse in the ’80s. General Hospital's Luke and Laura became a legend in the ’80s.

Soap opera "super couples” are a staple of daytime drama. In the soap world, super couples are onscreen pairings like no other: they generate heat, ratings and fierce fan loyalty.

Twenty years ago, Holden and Lily (Jon Hensley and Martha Byrne) were a super couple on “As the World Turns.” Now, as the characters segue into middle age, their teenaged son Luke (Van Hansis) is poised to be the 52-year-old soap's next heartthrob. But unlike soap hunks of the past, the character of Luke Snyder is openly gay.

On Aug. 17, 2007, Luke helped his close friend Noah (Jake Silbermann) adjust his tie. Their eyes met. Without warning, and in close-up, the two young men kissed full on the lips. It was the kiss seen around the world — thanks to the internet video sharing service YouTube. In fact, the now legendary kiss stands as the most viewed selection in the history of YouTube with over 1 million hits and counting.

Now, more than six months after the ground-breaking kiss, Luke and Noah have overcome Noah's sexual confusion and his stern, homophobic father, who shot Luke on a camping trip, temporarily confining him to a wheelchair. Noah nursed Luke back to health and helped him get back on his feet again. From there, their affection for each other blossomed.

"Nuke,” as the fans have dubbed them, are now daytime TV's first live-in gay male couple. They seem poised to be the show's next super couple, and were recently acknowledged as such by no less than TV Guide.

Since their love story began, the ratings for “As The World Turns” have risen considerably. The serial, which was near the bottom of the ratings heap one year ago, now runs neck and neck with the ever-popular “General Hospital.” On one recent week, “ATWT” even surpassed “GH” in the daytime Nielsen's. Not bad for a show that, in 1989, sent a gay character packing after protests from religious groups.

Actors Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann take it all in stride. Both claim that kissing each other was far easier than dealing with the Paparazzi that invaded the set the day the smooch was shot.

"I don't see it as that big a deal," Hansis says. "I was just stoked to get a steady job as an actor."

"There aren't many gay characters on daytime," Silbermann adds. "It means a lot to know that this story is part of something."

The young stars recently attended the GLAAD Media Awards together, where “As The World Turns” was nominated for Best Show. Hansis also taped a public service announcement for GLAAD with actress Martha Byrne, who plays his mother in the show. The PSA was taped after the May 8, 2006 episode in which Luke came out to his parents, which featured some superb acting by Hansis, Byrne and Jon Hensley, who plays Luke’s father.

In addition to his TV role, Hansis has been moonlighting in the New York theatre world. He has recently appeared in a couple of gay-themed productions — “The Laramie Project” and a revival of “Die Mommie Die!” with Charles Busch.

“The audiences for ‘The Laramie Project’ were incredibly mixed: gay, straight, everybody," Hansis says. “The play is a very powerful piece about a town coming to terms with a hate crime — the murder of Mathew Shepard — and asking themselves, ‘How could this happen in our community?’ I don't see it as a gay play. It's pretty universal.

"Die, Mommie, Die!" was more of a gay play, and it was a blast!” Hansis says.

Thanks to the internet, both actors have received mail from viewers in countries that do not air “As The World Turns.” YouTube now hosts a version of the Luke and Noah storyline that is edited by fans. In countries where it may not be OK to be gay, people hungry to see themselves accurately portrayed onscreen can go to YouTube and follow the “Nuke” storyline in sequence.

Some producers balk at having their material posted at free sites like YouTube. Producers of the former NBC soap “Passions,” which now airs on Direct TV's The 101 as a subscription-only service, recently pulled its episodes off of YouTube. Likewise, episodes of British soap “Coronation Street” were also pulled off of YouTube.

But CBS is happy to let the Luke and Noah love story stay on the file sharing sites because it’s good free publicity for the show. Many gay viewers, for example, who are introduced to the Luke and Noah storyline on the internet may become interested in the whole show and start tuning into the CBS broadcasts. CBS also offers its own online broadcast of the show and www.CBS.com/daytime /ATWT.

"But we prefer people to watch the CBS airings," says Lisa Lugassy, press representative for “As the World Turns.” "It's the CBS audience, and not the online viewers, who give us our ratings."

Though both Hansis and Silbermann would like to do other projects when time permits, they're quite happy to be where they are.

"I hope to be playing Luke for a long, long time to come," says Van Hansis.

“As the World Turns” airs weekdays on most CBS stations. Viewers can also read Hansis blog at CBS.com.

And to catch up on the "Nuke" love story, search Luke & Noah at www.YouTube.com.

Source: http://www.expressgaynews.com/2008/2-7/arts/feature/4396.cfm

[Perry]

This is the letter I'm sending today with my rainbow:

IT'S TIME FOR A REGULAR GAY CHARACTER IN THE BAY

It's time for AUSTRALIAN SOAPS to get REAL! Kudos for the Cassie HIV Positive and pregnant storyline, the acting, the approach the emotion ALL REAL!

Now if only you can do a GAY STORYLINE right! How about this? Forget the GAY STORYLINE have a character so wonderful, so honest, so likeable that they just happen to be gay and proud. It doesn't have to be an issue. It can be but it doesn't.

Everytime there has been a gay character on Home and Away in the past, the moment their sexuality is accepted (either by another person or themselves) it's time for them to leave the Bay and never come back. Is that what you want your gay audience to learn? That its ok to be gay just not in this town? The only instance of this being different is in the case of Zoe/Eve, now that is a character the gay audience can learn from.

If you are worried about the ratings don't be. American soap "As the World Turns" has been doing just fine since the already established 'Gay' character, Luke found love with his coworker Noah. Their first kiss has been seen by over 1 million people worldwide on YouTube.com and the ratings for “As The World Turns” have risen considerably since. And that is only one of many examples.

This letter is just designed to let you know that there are some viewers are ready... I hope you can realise this too, why can't we have Home and A Gay?

Thankyou for taking the time to read this.

[Traceve]

Brill letter

I've sent my rainbows & letters :D

[Perry]

Thanks for the support

[Miranda]

I don't see why they shouldn't have a gay character/s. They don't need to show them in bed or kissing do they [if that is SO offensive to people ]? They can just be 'a couple' who are gay and have the same problems that everyone else in H&A has [i.e. being kidnapped, getting lost in the outback etc.]