SYMPATHY FOR THE BRIAN

Very, very impressed with last Tuesday's episode of AS THE WORLD TURNS.  Brian could have been demonized, but instead good writing and Laurence Lau's performance have resulted in an unusually sympathetic character.  His scenes with Van Hansis were superb and it was refreshing that they spoke openly about sex and attraction.  (I also appreciated the little touch of explaining why Lucinda, Brian and Luke were not at Jack and Janet's wedding.)  Compare the thoughtfulness of this story with the similar plot of Nora's husband on ONE LIFE TO LIVE a few years back, who went totally psycho to hide his homosexuality.  ATWT's portrayal of a sadly closeted man is much more nuanced and thus makes for a much more rewarding story.

The rest of the episode was great, too.  Maura West and Jon Lindstrom were clearly enjoying sparking off one another, Dani's exit was well handled (and her scenes with "Daddy" Craig amusingly blaaargh) and I loved Margo going all Jane Tennison on everyone's ass.  On the opposite end of the quality spectrum was the episode of 90210 I saw half of with breakfast before scuttling off to work.  Valerie's been raped, Donna's popping pills and important issues are being turned into problems-of-the-week that will be forgotten by the next episode.  At this stage of its run, 90210 is like a never ending Lifetime TV movie.

THREE REASONS WHY ATWT IS MY FAVORITE SOAP

1) The scenes with Noah and Luke were agonizing to watch, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Emotionally, Noah is a lot like my boyfriend while I am closer to Luke, so you can imagine the sofa-squirming during this episode.
2) Lucinda and Barbara. What a treat to see these two vets act the hell out of those scenes. Also hooray for the first proper Noah and Lucinda scene, which brought a silent tear to my eye.
3) Reg. An ordinary, realistic gay man. And how great was it for someone to finally ask what's up with Noah's marriage to Ameera?

This is not the best soap on the air -- right now, that's probably ONE LIFE TO LIVE. But today's show demonstrated the superlative acting and fine characterization that makes AS THE WORLD TURNS my favorite soap.