Great points and analysis on the shows,
Kelza &
Bette!
Really, shows like
LHDP, VL, Bad Girls, with prominent gay character development storylines put American shows to shame! Really! :zorn: I wonder when they'd pull their fingers out of their arses and start being tolerant and just to diversity!
Anyway, my dilemma was between "
Bad Girls" and "
VL" 'coz I always thought that "
BG" had such a strong love story between
Helen/Nikki which was depicted with such deep conviction that despite all the hardship and difficulties, true love really triumphed in the end. It could be labeled, "
Forbidden Love" 'coz it was - love between a prison officer and prisoner - 100% forbidden!
And it had a fab happy ending!!
But it only lasted 3 years... and nothing to shout about in the costumes dept
(what can you expect from the prison, eh?)
Then, I discovered "
Carla von Lahnstein" on "
VL".... and found out that the character has been on the show for 6 years, and a true lesbian with no tendency to sway as far as her sexuality is concerned
(which is a kicker for me); her love storylines are treated just like the others on the show, be it good or bad. There's no "
oooo, looky, we're telling a LESBIAN story!!" freakshow mentality with the writers and producers of the show. Now
THAT'S a fresh and totally commendable attitude - normality.
So, overall, if I must choose, it'd be
Carla on
VL which gives a slight edge 'coz it wins on the costumes as well, which "
BG" can't compete, albeit for the other factors, "
VL" and "
BG" are virtually neck-in-neck...
Now, about "
TLW" - it's not even in my radar of consideration 'coz it was done with such disrespect
(basically leaning more towards pleasing men who love to watch 2 women having sex; brainless titilation) and so disproportionate and shallow in its storylines that my eyes and brain were literally throbbing in pain for days after every episode that I glanced through! I'm ashamed that the show was done by peeps from our community. I'd have forgiven the creator/writers if they were straight. The show, IMO, only justifies the negative stereotypes of gay people that the bible-bashers and those from the right keep spreading - that gay people are sex maniacs, lude and they'll prey on unsuspecting straight people...!! Not only that, look at how they butchered the "
breast-cancer story"
(Dana), the "
gays in the military" story.... I mean, what was that?!
SUCKED big time!! The only salvation of this show was Jennifer Beals but I was disappointed that she went with those bad-to-worse storylines.. Sad.. Really, it was such a potential in Season 1 but I think,
Ilene Chaiken (creator) went off the deep end after she broke up with her longtime partner (20 years!) and hooked up with that woman from "
Betty".....hence, the crazy stories from Season 2 onwards... I only hope and wish that the British version is done with much more taste...
I enjoyed
Pepa/Silvia on "
LHDP" and their romance but it wasn't as deep as say,
Carla/Hanna,
Helen/Nikki or even
Carla/Stella. It was good but then they had to go to that...
(oh no!) "
now that we're partners, let's have a baby!" story, albeit
(thank God!) didn't materialize. It was more an "
eye candy" and fun-to-watch
(the show IS funny!) for me in terms of Pepa/Silvia 'coz they both looked real good and had so much chemistry together. I didn't like their costumes. Too frilly for me.. And of 'coz the ending just tarnished all the good memories that I had of them....
I watched "
All My Children" which I thought would finally be
THE American soap to stand up to the rights of gay people being in love without being depicted as predators or sex maniacs... But then, of 'coz they had to ruined everything.. So, I didn't want to watch "
Guiding Light" 'coz I just knew the US shows, let alone daytime soaps, would never give the storyline any justice or realism.
All in all, if I can put my preference in order based on the factors, it'd look like this:
#1:
Carla on "VL" (specifically with Hanna, then Stella [which I know would have been really good had CH stayed on for just a little longer in order to flesh out the intimacy, commitment and intensity of the relationship, including a good ending, no doubt!])
#2:
Helen & Nikki on "Bad Girls" Series 1-3
(best written love story, gay or straight, a timeless piece)
#3:
Pepa/Silvia on "LHDP" for now
UNTIL I've had a chance to watch "
Hospital Central" which I could then decide if it's better than Pepa/Silvia..