The End Of Kish

There were those who said it wouldn't last and I had so hoped they were wrong. But apparently the powers that be at ABC's One Life To Love have decided to get rid of their sole gay couple, even after making daytime history by having the first gay love scene on TV.

And this won’t go down well with the LGBT community.

Brett Claywell [Kyle] and Scott Evans [Oliver Fish] will be written off the show and gone by mid-April. OLTL executive producer, Frank Valenti says: “We are concluding the story that we set out to tell with Kyle and Fish. We are very proud to have broken new ground with a same-sex couple on daytime.”

Not happy here in Smallville. it was nice to see a gay couple on the show, and apparently many people liked the duo, dubbed Kish; the show has won numerous awards from gay-advocacy groups, and new fans in the LGBT community.

But some say the duo failed to resonate with the mainstream audience, and ratings for the soap have been particularly dismal of late, though ratings for almost all soaps are way down. Still, the show paved the way for a same-sex love scene, and even had the mayor of the fictitious town where the show is set legalize same-sex marriage, and perform hundreds of gay weddings.

So,m how does Kish say godbye....SPOILER.....SPOILER....SPOILER.....On the March 29th episode, Fish will learn for certain what viewers have known for quite a while—that he’s the biological father of baby Sierra Rose, via his drunken one-night stand with psychotic stripper Stacy Morasco. With Stacy now dead--she fell through the ice on Llantano Lake--there will be a custody battle with Stacy’s sister Gigi, though, ultimately, the law is on Fish’s side, He and Kyle become the two gay dad's and start a new life.

Their characters won't leave the town, though, because Fish is a cop, and may pop up in a crime-related capacity down the line.

It's a sad day for Gay TV Soap Opera Baby Daddies.

Straight Talk From A Soap Diva

I like my stories.

Yes, I sound like an old woman in a housecoat, hair in curlers, terrycloth slippers on my feet, sitting in an overstuffed chair with crocheted doilies on the armrests, watching my favorite soap and eating bon-bons.

Sue me.

But I like me some One Life To Live. And I like that they've added some gay characters to the mix. And then tossed in a mayoral election and a scheme for Dorian to get elected by declaring herself gay and wanting to be married to the woman of her dreams.

Politics as usual, even in my stories.

But they will be having a symbolic, mass gay wedding this week on the show, where twenty-two gay couples will be married, and Robin Strasser, the actress playing the mayoral candidate pretending to be gay, has some interesting things to say about a lot of things.

On equal rights for the LGBT community:

"[I]t has never done any factor of our society any good or given true gain to suppress, discriminate or do harm to another group. You can’t give me historical evidence that it ever made anything stronger to isolate or try to destroy another group. It shouldn’t even be up for debate. Particularly when the nit-picking over what should be allowed and what shouldn’t negates the willingness of the gay community to be of service, as in to become parents of children who are not necessarily the first ones adopted. There’s no win in that, and it’s shameful. I got a lot of dividends that I was hoping would come in on Obama. Gay rights was one of them.

On the continuation of war in the Middle East and our military service men and women:

[....] I’m a product of the ‘60s. Amongst the promises besides his commitment to gay rights was the idea that we were going to go get the boys and girls, men and women fighting for us home. I’m deeply concerned that what’s being discussed is how many more we are sending. Vietnam -- they said we want to bring them home with dignity and honor. How about bring them home alive? -- there’s a concept. Or, if they are wounded, give them everything they need to heal. If someone has died, see that their family and their children are taken care of in the sense of no foreclosures. I don’t think there should be foreclosures on military families -- period. It should be impossible in any financial agenda that a family that has a husband or a wife, son or daughter fighting for us, die for us, that they can’t get a 24-month grace period to dig themselves out of some hole that was crafted by questionable banking and lending practices. "

Won't Play Gay.....Or Even Gay Friendly

clockwise from upper left corner:
Patricia Maucer, Saundra Santiago,
Brett Claywell, Scott Evans

I have been a fan of One Life To Live since Viki was married to Joe. or was it Clint? Or Sloane? Or Ben? Charlie?

I forget.

But I remember when OLTL did the first gay teenager storyline about a young man coming out of the closet. it was very well handled, and well told. So, I was happy to hear that OLTL was going to have a new gay couple on the show. Officer Fish, played by openly gay actor and brother of Chris Evans, Scott Evans, and his old college buddy Kyle, played by Brett Claywell..

They're calling them Kish. I hate when they do that.

And I was even more surprised to learn that Patricia Mauceri has been fired from the recurring role of Carlotta Vega on OLTL due to her protests about Carlotta's small role in the upcoming gay storyline. Apparently, OLTL wanted to go against stereotype and show Carlotta as a gay friendly Latina mother.

Mauceri objected to Carlotta's positive attitude about homosexuality, saying it conflicted with her personal beliefs. So, Mauceri was fired and the role was recast with Saundra Santiago, who has no trouble separating her religious beliefs and the part she plays on a soap opera. I wonder how Mauceri would have felt if an actor chose to be fired rather than play out a scene with a Latina. It's called acting, dear; it isn't real life. You can still be a homophobic hater on your days off. It's all good.

Here's how it all went down:

When Officer Fish (Evans) decides to come out to his very religious family, he purchases a book on how to come out to your parents. Somehow this book ends up in Cristian's possession and Carlotta mistakenly believes Cristian, who is her son, is gay, leading to a comedic scene where she is shocked, but then begins to accept "her" son's sexuality citing his sensitivity, artistic temperament and concern for his appearance.

The scene was meant to be played as a comedy of mistaken identities, with Cristian continuing to insist he isn't gay. The laughing stopped when Patricia Mauceri went to the producers and demanded the scenes be re-written, or she wouldn't play them. Patricia felt Carlotta would never accept her son's "gayness".

When the producers informed her the scenes would play out as is, Patricia persisted and the decision was made to recast the role.

Patricia Mauceri has worked extensively with gays in theater and on film over the years, but her personal religious beliefs have changed.

Again, dear, it's a job. Not a lifestyle.