Towleroad Guide to the Tube #320

BEAUTIFUL WORDS: New McCain ad attacks Obama's oratorical skills.

ENERGY: New Obama ad showcases McCain-Bush embrace.

JUDGE DAVID YOUNG: The gay judge makes his acting debut on The Young and the Restless this Friday, July 11th. Flashback: Towleroad interview.

CHARLIE CRIST: Chris Matthews loves the Florida governor but he doesn't love him.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann Offer Kissing Lessons

As the World Turns' gay couple Luke and Noah recently offered contestants on CBS' unscripted casting series InTurn lessons on how to make out for the camera.

AFTER THE JUMP, watch the clip (via GLAAD's CineQueer)...

Nuke Give Casting Contestants Kissing Lessons [cinequeer]

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Flashback: Jesse Metcalfe's Passionate Run on the Beach

I came across these old screenshots of Jesse Metcalfe from the late 90's when he used to appear on Passions. Since I'm not a Passions watcher, I have no idea what role the plucked wonder is playing here.

Though you Passions fans can probably fill us in pretty quickly, I have to say it looks pretty lustful to me. More screenshots, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Luke and Noah Kiss: Long National Nightmare is Over

As the World Turns' Luke and Noah fans were pleasantly surprised yesterday when their seven-month wait for a kiss between the characters came to an end.

Earlier this month, CBS execs denied their strategy for the characters was homophobic. Said daytime chief Barbara Bloom, "The only thing you're going to get out of me is that the pacing is slower with Luke and Noah than it is with other romances on ATWT. But that's good storytelling. We're in the business of getting people to watch more."

Which makes the lack of promotion for the kiss all the more surprsing. Normally, a scene like this would have been teased relentlessly but producers apparently decided on an ambush this time. Surprise!

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Viva Hollywood's Vinci Has Crybaby Meltdown Over Gay Role

You may remember Vinci Alonso from the modeling reality series 8th & Ocean (above). Now he's in the new VH1 show Viva Hollywood! a reality show in which Latino actors compete to become the next telenovela (Latin soap) star (the winner receives a contract with Telemundo). The latest episode demanded that contestants Vinci and Berto do a gay scene together, which caused Vinci to lock himself in the bathroom and cry.

GuyTVBlog reports: "In the end Berto won the "lust" challenge which was a $10,000 shopping spree prize awarded for his "triumph" for playing gay. He then shared his vanity prize with Vinci for also being able to come out of this ordeal with their masculinity still in tact."

Watch the clip AFTER THE JUMP...

Viva Hollywood! | Vinci & Berto Flip The Fuck Out When Told They Have To Play Gay [guytvblog]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #273

ANNIE LENNOX: Her performance of "Many Rivers to Cross" on last night's Idol Gives Back.

VERBOTENE LIEBE: The German version of Luke and Noah, but these guys get to kiss, a lot.

PREVIOUSLY ON LOST: What? Yeah, I wonder the same thing most of the time.

DAFT PUNK BOYS: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Online Web Soap In the Moment Posts Second Episode

The second episode of In the Moment, the gay online soap opera produced by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in an effort to generate discussion about AIDS prevention and other sex-related health issues, debuted online today. They've also enhanced their site to make it more interactive.

Director and co-creator, Dave O’Brien explains the premise behind the online advocacy series: "Young people live their lives online. We’re trying to influence the YouTube generation, so it just makes sense for us to reach them this way. And with the premier of the second episode, we’ve expanded the opportunities for visitors to the site to interact with each other. Now they can create their own profile, interact with other users directly, start new discussion threads, and post video comments. The beauty of this campaign is that it reaches anyone with a computer, anywhere, enabling people to engage anonymously if they prefer."

The first episode, which has been viewed over 30,000 times, dealt with drinking, online sex addiction, and unprotected sex. The second episode expands on those storylines with questions about honesty in relationships where the partners have had unprotected sex with others.

Said Alton Carswell, program manager for the Center’s WeHoLife.org HIV prevention program: "We’re portraying these provocative situations to stimulate dialogue and because they’re real world issues some young gay men face. By getting people to think about and discuss these issues in advance, we hope they’ll make better decisions should they face a similar situation. Obviously we aren’t suggesting all these issues are common to gay men in general."

Watch the new episode, AFTER THE JUMP...

Find more videos like this on In The Moment

Comment on the episode, and visit the site here.

Previously
AIDS Prevention Web Soap and Forum Launched for Gay Men in L.A. [tr]

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CBS Exec Says 'Luke and Noah' Strategy Not Homophobic

CBS daytime chief Barbara Bloom responds to TV Guide about the outcry from gay As the World Turns fans and the ongoing complaints that CBS treats the love between gay characters Luke and Noah differently than it treats the heterosexual couples on the show. While the show has presented a groundbreaking storyline, fans say that while heterosexual couples are given graphic love and kissing scenes, Luke (Van Hansis) and Noah's (Jake Silbermann) affection takes place mainly off-screen, and passionate kisses are few and far between. Meanwhile, "pro-family" groups are campaigning to have the couple removed from the show.

Says Bloom: "I can assure you there is no homophobia on the part of the network, nor are we pandering to any group. We have not censored ATWT or asked them to hold back in any way. I really hope the show will continue to evolve the Luke and Noah story, and that they culminate their relationship the way all couples in love do. I understand why all this makes people scream. The only thing you're going to get out of me is that the pacing is slower with Luke and Noah than it is with other romances on ATWT. But that's good storytelling. We're in the business of getting people to watch more."

Daytime Boss Addresses ATWT's "Nuke" Fallout [tv guide]

Previously
Luke and Noah Kiss, or Lack Thereof, Getting Loads of Attention [tr]
Fans Protest Bias Against Gay Affection on As the World Turns [tr]
As the World Turns to Get First Teenage Gay Kiss [tr]

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Luke and Noah Kiss, or Lack Thereof, Getting Loads of Attention

The fan protest over CBS treatment of gay characters Luke and Noah on As the World Turns has been getting loads of attention, since word of the online petition broke in late February.

Monday night, Showbiz Tonight ran a segment on the protest featuring gay PR man Howard Bragman head-to-head with conservative radio talk show host Ben Ferguson. Listen to their debate AFTER THE JUMP...

The American Family Association has issued an "action alert" against Procter & Gamble, the show's owner and main sponsor.

Said Randy Sharp, AFA's director of special projects: "What Procter & Gamble has done by not having a neutrality policy on any controversial issue [is] they've now put themselves in the middle of this battle between homosexual activists and those who aspire to more traditional family values -- especially on network TV in the public forum."

OUT magazine sent a reporter behind the scenes at As the World Turns to get some answers.

Popnography reports: "Even the show's straight supercouple is calling foul: 'Austin Peck (Brad) and Terri Colombino (Katie) -- whose steamy, straight sex scenes are by far the most racy on the show -- don't mince words when asked about the Nuke cool-down. 'ATWT got scared off because there were two men,' Peck tells Out. Colombino says there's one simple reason her character's sex life won't suffer the same fate: 'I have a vagina.'"

Though actors on the show suggest the producers are building up to a Luke-Noah kiss during the all-important sweeps week. Said the actor: "There's an old saying in soaps -- make them wait. And perhaps that's been their intention all this time. Soaps are dying, and losing audience every day -- and they've been handed a life jacket. We'd be dumb not to put it on."

Check out the clip from Showbiz Tonight, AFTER THE JUMP...

Exclusive @ Out.com: Behind the scenes at ATWT [popnography]
Their soap smooch made history. Fans ask: Will it happen again? [boston globe]

Recently
Fans Protest Bias Against Gay Affection on As the World Turns [tr]

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Fans Protest Bias Against Gay Affection on As the World Turns

A group of As the World Turns fans have started an online campaign aimed at the show's producers and Procter and Gamble claiming that CBS treats the love between gay characters Luke and Noah differently than it treats the heterosexual couples on the show. While the show has presented a groundbreaking storyline, fans say that while heterosexual couples are given graphic love and kissing scenes, Luke (Van Hansis) and Noah's (Jake Silbermann) affection takes place mainly off-screen, and passionate kisses are few and far between.

The L.A. Times reports:

"It all started last Christmas, when Luke and Noah, the young gay couple on 'As The World Turns,' were about to kiss. Though fans had seen them kiss before, this time the camera panned up to the mistletoe. Over the next few months, while heterosexual couples were kissing, Nuke (as fans call the couple) was restricted to holding hands, playing with one another's neck scarves and sharing meaningful looks. Ensuing complaints of discrimination to CBS and the show's producer and sponsor, Procter & Gamble, had no effect. And the last straw apparently arrived on Valentine's Day, when every other couple but Nuke shared a kiss. They hugged instead. Online fans began a nationwide media blitz on Feb. 20 to bring attention to the show, which has been twice nominated for an award from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). 'Presenting a gay couple on television only to relegate them to insulting hugs and slaps on the back is the 21st century version of putting African Americans on the back of the bus,' wrote one disgruntled fan named Tony. 'We're simply supposed to be happy that we got the ride at all. This is 2008, and yet CBS and Procter & Gamble are clearly stuck in the past.' GLAAD media spokesman Damon Romine agreed with them that, 'while tremendous strides have been made on soaps, it's clear that we're not at a place where gay and transgender people are treated the same on daytime as they are on prime-time or cable.'"

AFTER THE JUMP, a fan-created video called "Luke and Noah: (A Distinct Lack Of) Passionate Kisses" set to "Passionate Kisses" by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

The fan who created this video wrote on its YouTube page: "This is a protest video of sorts for the way that Luke and Noah have been treated on As the World Turns. The show's continued intimation that affection between two gay guys in love is shameful is itself shameful. I chose this song because the lyrics say it all, whether they are construed as being from one boy to the other or from the fans to the show."

Support Luke and Noah [official site]
Soap fans claim bias against gay characters [la times]

Previously
As the World Turns to Get First Teenage Gay Kiss [tr]
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #160 [tr]
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #159 [tr]
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #150 [tr]
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #141 [tr]

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As the World Turns to Get First Teenage Gay Kiss

A preview of tomorrow's (Friday) As the World Turns, which is set to feature daytime's first same-sex teenage kiss. The show's storyline between Luke and Noah has been building up to this moment. Van Hansis, who plays Luke Snyder, was nominated for a daytime Emmy for "Outstanding Younger Actor" earlier this year.

Previous clips we've featured can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

You may have missed...
Van Hansis Grabs Emmy Nomination for Portrayal of Gay Teen [tr]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #141

PUBLIC LYNCHING: Paris Hilton hung out to dry by Sarah Silverman at the MTV awards.

VAN HANSIS: Luke (Hansis) meets his future boyfriend Noah (Jake Silbermann) on last Friday's As The World Turns.

BEN AFFLECK: Speaks the truth about the weak Democrats on Bill Maher.

SURFIN' USA: A summer distraction.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here!

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Passions Takes it into the DL Gay Bedroom

Sure, it's daytime TV, but this down-low scene between Passions' Chad and Vincent is probably not SFW in most situations.

This is certainly the most steamy gay action I've seen on a soap, complete with a groan-worthy Brokeback reference.

What you don't see in this clip, and what I gathered from the synopsis at the show's website is that Chad (the one who's getting up to go) threatens Vincent with the gun moments later for threatening to spill the beans on their affair.

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Scissor Sisters Conjured Up on Passions [tr]

(via Slog)

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Scissor Sisters Conjured Up on Passions

The Scissor Sisters will make their daytime TV debut in February, on two episodes of the soap Passions airing February 8 and 9.

Kevin Tachman, the group's photographer, sent in these shots and provided this synopsis of the storyline:

"In this two-episode arc, young witch Endora (Nicole Cox), a big fan of Scissor Sisters, conjures them up in Tabitha’s (Juliet Mills) living room. The band, extremely disoriented, plays their first song and then suddenly disappears into thin air, leaving Endora wanting more. After Endora is put to bed, she decides she wants an encore. This time she makes them appear at the hottest club in Harmony, The Blue Note, where she is dressed as a Scissor Sister groupie. Realizing they are no longer at their concert, the band is once again confused, but decide to keep on playing for the excited crowd."

A few more shots from the set after the jump...

You may have missed...
Scissor Sisters Wrap Up UK Tour [tr]
Scissor Sisters Soar in U.K., Struggle in U.S. [tr]

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