Van Hansis (left) and Jake Silbermann play the gay couple on daytime soap ‘As the World Turns,’ which fans says is dropping the ball on their physical relationship. (Photo by Johanna Bradford/CBS)
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DAVID ALEXANDER NAHMOD
Friday, March 07, 2008
It was a historic television moment, akin to Ellen’s coming out 10 years prior.
When Luke (Van Hansis) and Noah (Jake Silbermann) first locked lips last summer in full close-up on CBS soap opera “As the World Turns,” fans were stunned. It was daytime TV’s first man-on-man kiss. And “Nuke,” as fans of the show have dubbed the couple, have gone on to become the soap world’s first ongoing gay male couple with front-burner storylines.
Compare Nuke to “All My Children’s” Bianca (Eden Riegel), daytime’s first contract lesbian character. ABC allowed Bianca a quick, single dry mouth kiss in 2004, a full four years after she came out. Those “World Turns” boys smooched long and hard before they had their first date. Now, more than six months later, they’re a bona-fide soap super couple.
Yet many fans are crying foul because of a noticeable lessening of kisses since Christmas (neither Hansis nor Silbermann have talked much about their sexual orientation in real life; a CBS exec wouldn’t comment on the matter for this story).
“As The World Turns had the opportunity to make TV history,” says Mark Booher, a viewer from Atlanta. “They made history of sorts last August. I thought it was a big breakthrough.”
But Booher bristles at what he calls “mistletoe-gate.” On the show’s Christmas episode, Luke and Noah discreetly kissed off camera while a lone mistletoe graced the screen. And don’t get Booher started on “World’s” now infamous Valentine’s Day 2008 episode. All of the show’s couples were seen in a variety of lip locks that day, except the gay couple, who merely hugged.
Jeannie Tharrington, a spokesperson for the show’s producing company Proctor & Gamble Productions Inc. (a subsidiary of the company behind popular consumer products), admits that the 52-year-old series has a diverse fan base, some of whom might be called “conservative.”
“We are intentionally doing this slowly,” says Tharrington. “We’re trying to respect all viewers. We want to present what’s best creatively and what’s best for our diverse audience.”
“It’s sad that they don’t have confidence in their audience,” Booher says. “It’s almost as though they’re regressing.” Booher refers to the Valentine’s show as “a slap in the face. They’re playing footsie with Nuke’s sex lives, yet they allow straight characters to rip each other’s clothes off in tasteless elevator scenes.”
Backlash against the gay storyline in conservative circles has been relatively mild. CBS execs have said negative reaction among soap fans has been minimal. None of the conservative media watchdog groups have called for a boycott of Proctor & Gamble because of the storyline.
IT COULD BE ARGUED that Luke and Noah saved the show. One year ago, “As the World Turns” was at the bottom of the daytime ratings. Since the big smooch aired, the ratings have shot up. The series now routinely gets higher ratings than the ever-popular “General Hospital.” In Australia, fans of the Down Under soap “Home and Away” are using Nuke’s popularity to petition producers of their show to give them a gay couple.
Vicky Mora, a straight female fan from Florida, chimed in on the controversy.
“The fact that people don’t take offense to hetero immoral behavior but take offense to two young men expressing love makes no sense,” she says.
Mora says a lot of women are supporting this story.
“I enjoy the romance and drama. It’s about the story. It’s important to tell the story. They’re good, respectable kids who love each other. It’s important to see that as normal and natural.”
Mora is involved in a campaign to get CBS to allow “the boys” to express more onscreen intimacy.
“I sent Hershey’s kisses to CBS,” she says, “Brief kisses in the right place go a long way.”
In a courageous move on the Feb. 28 episode, CBS showed Noah under attack from a vicious gay bashing. Luke jumps in to help him.
Later in the hospital, Luke expresses love and concern for his boyfriend, but they barely touch. Some fans argued the two would be clinging to each other after an attack.
“Did you see the whole show?” Tharrington said. “At the start of the episode, before the attack, they did nuzzle each other. There was an intimate moment.”
But they never kissed.
Tharrington repeated the production office’s commitment to respecting the show’s diverse audience, hinting that not all of them were gay supportive. Some viewers, she acknowledged, were “uncomfortable” with Luke and Noah.
“The fact that we keep telling the story is important,” she says. “Yes, the ratings spike is partly due to Luke and Noah. We’re proud that we created a relatable couple.”
New York’s Roger Newcomb, who runs the fan site and message board www.VanHansis.net has a message for Tharrington.
“Don’t sell your audience short. Fans will accept a well-written story. Give them a chance to embrace Luke and Noah as a full-fledged couple.”
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