DC #350: Nuke Does the Deed

I think what the show did was actually really smart. There was a spoiler about them reuniting and going home together. Plus, they released that angry/passionate kiss in Old Town as the sneak peek for the episode on Friday. People on the message boards were not sure, but were speculating that Monday might be THE day. So it wasn't a total surprise.

And I also think that fans would be really disappointed if the show had promoted it in advance and they didn't get to see them in bed together. Now there was no time to get your hopes up for a typical soap opera love scene. Fans of the couple are happy. It seems like only the soap press is unhappy.

As a Nuke fan I was really happy with what we got. Do I want to see more (afterglow scenes in bed)? Of course, but I think this was a great first step to sort of "test the waters". I don't think there's a lot of negative fan reaction, so we might see more in the future. Oh, and the other day I saw Maddie and Casey's first time on YouTube. They were also a couple that waited for a long time and Nuke actually got more than they did. Only their second (and last) time we saw Maddie and Casey in bed together.

I think you can compare this to how the kissing ban was lifted. Their first kiss after the ban wasn't spoiled or promoted and they would kiss about once a month. And those kisses were pretty chaste. Over the last couple of months their kisses have become more passionate and they kiss almost every episode (when they're not broken up of course). In Monday's episode alone they kissed about four times.

Would they have gotten a bump in the ratings if they had promoted the Nuke sex? Probably. For that day. But one day doesn't have much effect on the ratings in general. People who missed it have a ton of opportunities to watch the episode and those who want to tune back in because of them having sex will do that. They didn't have to have seen the episode live on CBS that afternoon. People are talking about it NOW and the show has gotten publicity anyway.

Jamey was so on the nose about everything that he said about NUKE and OTALIA, that I had to hold in my laughter AND my applause at work. It would be amazing if those 4 characters were able to get a cover on either SOW or SOD, but it won't happen.

I could definitely see Otalia featured on AfterEllen, Curve and any other lesbian and bisexual female based magazine, website or newspaper, because those actresses and the characters that they're portraying have amazing chemistry and are absolutely gorgeous together. Especially with this being the final season of The L Word airing on Showtime. The viewers that adore that show, could come to enjoy what's being shown on Guiding Light, if TPTB actually develop the Otalia potential romantic storyline.

I'm glad that NUKE were finally able to make love, so NOW more can be developed with for the couple and their future storylines. I know that some viewers want NUKE to have a chance to be happy, in love AND make love on screen for all to see, for the time being and that would be terrific. Yet, happy couples are boring couples, in the minds of MOST soap opera writers and producers. The "other shoe" is going to drop, eventually and when it does happen, I hope that the "other guy" is an absolute hottie, who'll make Luke tremble with desire and doubt over thinking about cheating on Noah.

Would they have gotten a bump in the ratings if they had promoted the Nuke sex? Probably. For that day. But one day doesn't have much effect on the ratings in general. People who missed it have a ton of opportunities to watch the episode and those who want to tune back in because of them having sex will do that. They didn't have to have seen the episode live on CBS that afternoon. People are talking about it NOW and the show has gotten publicity anyway.

Doesn't matter for a day? Unless that day had been during sweeps and the soap had promoted it to maximize its ratings and get better ad dollars so vital to its survival.

Publicity matters yes, but its really shallow if it doesn't impact the ratings. I swear ATWT doesn't want to surive, otherwise any other soap would have had their biggest couple doing the deed during sweeps.

Considering how long it took to get to this point they should have either done it during November or March sweeps, had tons of promotion and publicity and then maximized the virul nature of the web.

This is what is wrong with the P&G soaps. They aren't interested in their survival or promotion until it is to late.

There's a lot of things wrong with P&G (like how they're not even on this week for people tuning back in because they finally had sex), but I don't think a bump in the ratings last week would have made a big difference. During sweeps, probably, but it didn't happen during sweeps... And I'm glad they didn't wait until March... I don't think I could survive another "let's wait for it to be special" conversation.

So yeah, like I said, a lot of things are just not right with P&G, but that didn't stop me from being a happy Nuke fan.

I'm going to have to disagree with Luke and Jamey about promoting the Nuke sex scene or at least holding it off for sweeps. I like the way that ATWT handled this, mainly because it shows that this wasn't a publicity stunt, and that Luke and Noah will (hopefully) be treated like any other soap couple. AMC did the big promo announcing Bianca and Reese making love, but since then those two haven't had a storyline. I knew when AMC hyped up the sex scene that it was just a ratings stunt, and they had no intention of following up with a real storyline for both Bianca and Reese. In comparison, I really have to hand it to ATWT for keeping Luke such an important member of the cast, and giving him things to do, even if those things are really stupid and poorly written.

I also disagree about the soaps becoming more like telenovelas, mainly because soaps have been trying to copy the Spanish soaps for years, and that's one of the reasons why ratings are falling. Port Charles tried to immitate them, but after the initial interest wore off, people didn't want to keep up with a show that changed their characters personalities every four weeks in order to match the current storyline, or that acted like the previous storyline never happened. That is just not the definition of a US soap, and goes against why people watch.

I do agree that all soaps need an umbrella story. I may be wrong, but I think one big story that impacts all the characters could save soaps a lot of money, as well as add some much needed continuity to shows.

Luke and Noah were not treated like any soap couple. If they were any popular soap couple or triangle such as Liz/Jason/Sam or Carly and Sonny or Marlena and John or Brooke and Ridge or Gigi and Rex or Sami and Lucas or Sami and EJ or Ryan and Kendall or Ryan and Greenlee or Victor and Nikki or Victor and Ashley they would have been on the cover of a soap mag, there would have been an afterglow, there story would have culminated during ratings, there would have been promotion, there would have been follow through and even worse, if you compare Nuke to Rianca there would have been alternative media promotion which Nuke could have gotten easily.

It is not to much to expect that ATWT's most popular couple should get the same type of fair treatment and promotion than any other soap's most popular couples.

For me personally, as a fan of Nuke but a fan of the show surviving even more, to say that we should be happy that they finally did it and it didn't need promotion, when the couple is still not being treated as any other extrememly popular soap couple (With Bianca and Reese, at least they get promotion and they are in a front burner s/l, not window dressings. Lots of straight couples get tons of hype and no follow through to boost ratings [which when it comes down to it, is the most important thing]). Just look at Angie and Jesse on AMC or Sam and Lucky on GH.Both are very popular couples and both had promotion but both didn't have follow through.

This is crunch time for the P&G soaps. They do not have the luxury of sitting on their hands and not promoting the hell out of even the smallest things they have and using those things in the most strategic way possible. If we want GL to survive past April and ATWT past the next two years, we have to hold these shows to the fire and let them know that we expect them to go all out for their survival and not sweep HUGE assets/moments like Nuke having sex into the shower er under the rug.

GL just started to wake up this fall but at this point ATWT is still sleeping in its overly expensive tempur-pedic bed.

Here's the podcast I was waiting for. I know I jumped the gun last week. Thanks Luke.

I never thought ATWT would show anything regarding Noah & Luke's first time so what we did get I thought was nice enough. It didn't disappoint me because I never thought it'd happen.

As for P&G, I still think they're doing baby steps. I think eventually we'll see Noah & Luke under the sheets cuddling. I think the problem with P & G with regard Noah/Luke is that they're still trying to play both sides by attempting to make both the Noah/Luke fans and the Noah/Luke haters happy instead of just telling a good story.

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Long live the revolution! Gay pairings in soap operas:

http://gaydaytime.proboards52.com/index.cgi

=D

Thanks for the catch on the episode number bonobochick. That's what happens when I post these things late at night.

I think that giving away too much spoilers are hurting the ratings more than helping them. People can read detailed articles in the soap mags about what's happening making them think they don't have to watch since they already know what's going to happen. That's also why I was really happy with it being a surprise. It felt like a nod to those who are still tuning in every day. And with releasing that sneak peek on Friday, they made people speculate about if they were going to do it or not.

I think the shows should stop giving away so many spoilers. I'm not saying they shouldn't promote anything, but they can still do that without giving away too much. That way, people would have to really tune in every day to know what's going to happen. Of course, this will only work in combination with good writing.

I think this is part of the success right now of Dutch soap Good Times Bad Times. They do have spoilers, but they never give away as much as the US spoilers. Like this week, they're killing off a legacy character. We know she's going to die (probably Friday but even that is not known for sure), but we have no idea how this will happen. I think this in combination with better writing this season is the reason why the show is doing so much better. Last year they had about 800.000 to 1.1 million viewers each episode. Now they have about 1.4/1.5 million viewers.

See Jamey you don't play fair! When I wanted you to do the Marlena coo you didn't but you sure did it here! *LOL* Well you MOO'D but still!

This is why soaps are dying!!! If they are going with a gay storyline . . . . go with it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop, treating this storyline like they don't know what to do with it! There either going to be lovers or they are going to be firends! Stop, treating fans as if they are brain dead! These stories are here to stay! Like it or not! So, they may as well write it correctley and with respect to the story and the fans!

I was glad that Luke and Noah finally hit the sheets/or the shower. They are the reason I started watching ATWT in the first place. Van and Jake are a super hot couple that deserve to be on at least 3-4 days a week. Since that is obviously not meant to be, I started watching OLTL (again) and Y&R.

I would love for either show to do a have a heavily played gay/lesbian couple. Both shows could do this type of story serious justice, and I am sure a couple to root for on a longterm basis.

Thank you to the DC Crew for always covering the gay related soap issues. You do the gay soap fans proud.

Yes, advertising Luke and Noah having sex would have boosted ratings for that day, but then what? Luke and Noah not getting horizontal had nothing to do with the suckyness of the Ameera storyline or the wasted opportunities in the just completed Brian story arc. The couple having sex is not a storyline.

I never got caught up with the kissing meter or the when will they have sex arguement, because I care more about Nuke, and everyone else on ATWT having a good storyline. I did care about the fact that the only reason Nuke wasn't having sex is because TPTB were pandering to bigots. TPTB, along with a few obsessed fans, already made Nuke sex a bigger issue than it needed to be.

Don't get me wrong, I want to see Nuke be intimate, more intimate than they have been. But that's only a small part of what I want to see for them, and it is certainly not what is going to keep me interested in seeing them on screen.

The only thing i wanted to comment on was the putting money into a dying soap,The Australian network 10 put alot of money into its dying soap Neighbours, and since the revamp fans have been extremely happy, the show looks alot more professional, the writing is alot better and the acting is just amazing, while the ratings are not really reflecting the quality of the show, it is still doing really good in the ratings. And at least to me it proved that you need to spend money to make money.

What will bring in new viewers / lapsed viewers? I actually think Jamey hit it on the head, a BIG Umbrella storyline, they are getting rid of all of these characters on Guiding light, and bringing back Philip, why couldn't they make us think Philip is going around slashing people and then have it revealed to be Cassie? I love what Y&R / OLTL are doing, but they do need some BIG shack up of a storyline to draw people in.

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A.K.A. ssjohn

I just have to say Jamey's description of his version of a John and Marlena send off complete with pawing, gaspin and cooin and a Marlena wooo is LOL dead on impression!
But when I read spoilers on how they were going out I had the same viseral response you guys had in this podcast. Now that it's aired, I can't wait till the next podcast. They only got 14 min out of the show and only a few flashbacks. Talk about rushed!

''Oh boy, dinnertime! The perfect break between work and drunk.''
Homer on the Simpsons