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Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: tednlou2 on May 17, 2010, 08:57:04 pm

Title: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: tednlou2 on May 17, 2010, 08:57:04 pm
I watched this show during the first season, but haven't watched in a while.  The show interested me, because it has a young gay character and an older one.  I just read here on poz.com that the show revealed in the season finale a character living with HIV, but who is a LTNP.  It is good to see HIV discussed on TV again.  I haven't seen much of that for years.  I'm not sure I can remember a recurring HIV poz character on a show.      

http://www.poz.com/articles/HIV_television_plot_1_18420.shtml

MODIFIED:  As I read the article again, I realized I missed something important.  The character first reports he tested negative.  However, he is in a car wreck and bloody and tells people to not touch him.  It seems they must be doing some kind of HIV cliff-hanger??  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I guess I'll have to go to ABC.com to watch the episode.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Billy B on May 18, 2010, 12:36:33 pm
I am a fan favorite of this show. My mother also watches it and thinks it is wonderful that Kevin & Scottie have such a loving wonderful relationship. I had to explain to her that it was only TV and many of us live normal lives without beautiful boyfriends or lavish gay lifestyles.
I am sure that Saul's + disclosure will shake up some viewers. I hope it will encourage more older people to get tested.
Peace,
Billy
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: GSOgymrat on May 18, 2010, 02:29:00 pm
It seems they must be doing some kind of HIV cliff-hanger??  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I guess I'll have to go to ABC.com to watch the episode.

It is not a cliffhanger. Saul tells his sister Nora his test came back negative because he obviously can't deal with the result. You can see by the expression on his face after Nora turns away that he has lied to her and then when he insists that no one can touch him because he has blood all over his hands it is obvious to everyone. I think the writers are doing a good job at illustrating that Saul and Kevin & Scottie may all be gay but the generation gap has made a big difference in how their lives are playing out. I especially liked how Kevin & Scottie get tested regularly where Saul has never been tested and freaks out at the idea.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Inchlingblue on May 18, 2010, 04:37:54 pm
I'm a fan of the show. It's basically a soap opera but I like the characters and story lines. Ron Rifkin, who plays Saul, was great in the show. He's a veteran NY stage actor and they finally gave him something to do.

I was thinking recently that there are not enough HIV+ characters in TV and movies so this is a step in the right direction.

 
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: AlanBama on May 19, 2010, 10:34:13 am
I watch this show also....it was an interesting twist.

I suppose when he made the phone call to the testing place in front of Nora, he was "faking" the call, because obviusly, if they had told him he was positive, they wouldn't have just said "You're positive, goodbye".   That's how they told me back in 1987, but I don't think they would do that now. The show wasn't real clear on that....but I did take it to mean that he was positive because he didn't want anyone to touch his bloody hands after the car accident.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: mecch on May 19, 2010, 04:00:47 pm
It is not a cliffhanger. Saul tells his sister Nora his test came back negative because he obviously can't deal with the result. You can see by the expression on his face after Nora turns away that he has lied to her and then when he insists that no one can touch him because he has blood all over his hands it is obvious to everyone. I think the writers are doing a good job at illustrating that Saul and Kevin & Scottie may all be gay but the generation gap has made a big difference in how their lives are playing out. I especially liked how Kevin & Scottie get tested regularly where Saul has never been tested and freaks out at the idea.

I like this tear jerking melodrama soupy music of a a series very much.  However, I don't buy your generational analysis.  As far as I understand Saul was in denial for decades and dated women, as well.  But he was a young man in a time of gay liberation and there was no need for him to stay in the closet to his silver fox years, really   His old bf from a year or two ago was dated back to sweet youth. 

As for HIV, I think one is at risk at ANY age and I think that ANY age can have guys who refuse to test, even now.  Saul's denial is individual, not generational, in this viewer's opinion.  Also, the series will milk anything. Its constant drama in the Walker world.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: GSOgymrat on May 19, 2010, 04:50:58 pm


As for HIV, I think one is at risk at ANY age and I think that ANY age can have guys who refuse to test, even now.  Saul's denial is individual, not generational, in this viewer's opinion.  Also, the series will milk anything. Its constant drama in the Walker world.

Of course anyone can refuse to test but Saul points out there is a generational difference between gay men. Being gay now is very different than in 1970 and I think the writers are smart to point that out. Saul, as an individual, was in denial  and secretive about his sexuality and now he has the same approach to HIV.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Matty the Damned on May 19, 2010, 04:53:30 pm
I think HIV would make a fascinating plot line for one of those crime drama shows.

You know for CSI or something like that. :)

MtD
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: blackwingbear on May 19, 2010, 07:13:16 pm
I think HIV would make a fascinating plot line for one of those crime drama shows.

You know for CSI or something like that. :)

Not absolutely certain, but I THINK it has.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Matty the Damned on May 19, 2010, 07:26:37 pm
Not absolutely certain, but I THINK it has.

No really? I wonder which CSI franchise it was? Personally I think it would work best with CSI:NY.

MtD
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: blackwingbear on May 19, 2010, 07:34:25 pm
No really? I wonder which CSI franchise it was? Personally I think it would work best with CSI:NY.

Not sure.....
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: jkinatl2 on May 19, 2010, 07:42:13 pm
I think HIV would make a fascinating plot line for one of those crime drama shows.

You know for CSI or something like that. :)

MtD

Hearted.

Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Matty the Damned on May 19, 2010, 07:45:21 pm
Not sure.....

Yeah. But y'know if they collaborated with a website or something it might work . . .

MtD
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: john33 on May 19, 2010, 07:54:41 pm
i predict ww's wanting to know if they got infected by watching it ;)
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: leatherman on May 19, 2010, 07:57:06 pm
You know for CSI or something like that. :)
you missed it (me too ;) ; but then again I don't watch CSI) back in 07

http://www.poz.com/articles/1_11282.shtml
"HIV Goes Primetime?Visit our CSI: NY/POZ Forum"
(however the link to a csi forum is no longer valid;
but here's one http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=8963.0)
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Matty the Damned on May 19, 2010, 08:08:40 pm
you missed it (me too ;) ; but then again I don't watch CSI) back in 07

http://www.poz.com/articles/1_11282.shtml
"HIV Goes Primetime?Visit our CSI: NY/POZ Forum"
(however the link to a csi forum is no longer valid;
but here's one http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=8963.0)

What? I missed it? Oh man. Why didn't someone tell me?

MtD
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: john33 on May 19, 2010, 08:41:38 pm
you missed it (me too ;) ; but then again I don't watch CSI) back in 07

http://www.poz.com/articles/1_11282.shtml
"HIV Goes Primetime?Visit our CSI: NY/POZ Forum"
(however the link to a csi forum is no longer valid;
but here's one http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=8963.0)

ignore my predictions of the future lol

(damn that's another job career option out the window)
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Ann on May 19, 2010, 09:12:48 pm
you missed it (me too ;) ; but then again I don't watch CSI) back in 07

http://www.poz.com/articles/1_11282.shtml
"HIV Goes Primetime?Visit our CSI: NY/POZ Forum"
(however the link to a csi forum is no longer valid;
but here's one http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=8963.0)

It was a fuckingnightmare.

My stats page still shows the CSI NY forum as my second most popular:

Most Popular Boards By Activity

Am I Infected?                                15.1023%
CSI: NY                                       6.4488%
Someone I Care About Has HIV       5.3382%
Trash                                       4.7888%
I Just Tested Poz                       3.9891%
AIDS Activism                               3.8267%
Mental Health & HIV                       2.2409%
Research News and Studies               2.1739%
In Memoriam                               2.1053%
Positive Women                               2.0179%

To be honest, I'm not really sure I trust the stats pages here.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: mecch on May 20, 2010, 12:49:08 am
Ok, Brenda uhm Sarah is married with children but for this viewer she's the gay character, like Samantha in Sex & the City
So of course they have the same lover:

http://www.loganotron.com/2008/06/09/sex-and-the-city-penis/     NSFW

When I saw the thread title I combined Brenda/Sarah and remember Brenda's sex addict phase in 6 Feet Under so assumed it was her, since she's the gay Walker.  Saul is kinda neutered (and not a Walker) and Kevin seems to be a cute straight rugby playing welsh actor acting all gay american.  Also Brenda/Sarah as an actual woman character would be a nice twist on the HIV is a gay disease meme.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: emeraldize on May 20, 2010, 02:55:54 am
I watch this show also....it was an interesting twist.

I suppose when he made the phone call to the testing place in front of Nora, he was "faking" the call, because obviusly, if they had told him he was positive, they wouldn't have just said "You're positive, goodbye".   That's how they told me back in 1987, but I don't think they would do that now. The show wasn't real clear on that....but I did take it to mean that he was positive because he didn't want anyone to touch his bloody hands after the car accident.

I watched it and I viewed it the same way--that he faked it on the phone call and at the accident scene he affirmed his true status. Unfortunately, that fake phone call may mislead some viewers to believe they can call to get HIV test results. On a good note, I think the show deserves high marks for their inclusion of many physical and mental health issues and lifestyles of all sorts.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Assurbanipal on May 20, 2010, 10:02:16 am
It was a fuckingnightmare.

My stats page still shows the CSI NY forum as my second most popular:

Most Popular Boards By Activity

Am I Infected?                                15.1023%
CSI: NY                                       6.4488%
Someone I Care About Has HIV       5.3382%
Trash                                       4.7888%
I Just Tested Poz                       3.9891%
AIDS Activism                               3.8267%
Mental Health & HIV                       2.2409%
Research News and Studies               2.1739%
In Memoriam                               2.1053%
Positive Women                               2.0179%

To be honest, I'm not really sure I trust the stats pages here.

I think the stats percentages show what fraction of the posts on that board you created / which boards your voice is most prominent in (e.g. about 1 in 6 posts in AM I is yours and about 1 in 17 CSI posts). It kind of a misnomer that it is labeled "Most Popular Boards by Activity" since it doesn't mean 6.5% of your posts (your activity) were in that forum -- it should probably say "Board Presence" or somthing .

A (numbers geek)
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Ann on May 20, 2010, 11:43:32 am

I think the stats percentages show what fraction of the posts on that board you created / which boards your voice is most prominent in (e.g. about 1 in 6 posts in AM I is yours and about 1 in 17 CSI posts). It kind of a misnomer that it is labeled "Most Popular Boards by Activity" since it doesn't mean 6.5% of your posts (your activity) were in that forum -- it should probably say "Board Presence" or somthing .

A (numbers geek)

There is another stat section in one's profile that records most popular by post:

Most Popular Boards By Posts:

    
Am I Infected?             9072
Living With HIV             2554
Off Topic Forum             1951
I Just Tested Poz       337
Treatment & Side Effects    331
Trash                       264
Positive Women               238
Research News and Studies    190
Long-Term Survivors       165
Forums Gatherings       162

I think the CSI forum ended up on my most popular by activity stats because for the entire time that forum was up and running, I had a separate window opened to it that I was constantly refreshing. We didn't know what kind of crazies that forum might attract, so we monitored it very closely.

I think that no other forum ever overtook it because for quite some time now, I only go into a main forum page (other than Am I) when I want to look for a specific thread that is already marked as read for me. Otherwise, I only really use the "show all unread" page.

So yeah, maybe the stat page tells the truth after all.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: darkerpozz on May 26, 2010, 02:10:58 pm
I think thst the show allowed for a vital and overlooked part of HIV He  did not say or wasw it said Everyone assumes because of his behavior that he's positive and he is assuming he's positive but no actual disclosure is done but alot of jumping to nonfactual judgments were made by forum writers. He was behaving as a tv character adding suspense but your judgments scare me.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: mecch on May 26, 2010, 02:13:38 pm
Not to mention that the accident scene includes violence and death to other characters, and that Saul's fear of spreading HIV because he's bleeding may or may not be realistic epidemiology.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: bocker3 on May 26, 2010, 07:34:56 pm
I think thst the show allowed for a vital and overlooked part of HIV He  did not say or wasw it said Everyone assumes because of his behavior that he's positive and he is assuming he's positive but no actual disclosure is done but alot of jumping to nonfactual judgments were made by forum writers. He was behaving as a tv character adding suspense but your judgments scare me.

What about the "judgements" scare you?  Seems to be a reasonable guess on where they are heading with this character, given everything that transpired before the accident.

Not to mention that the accident scene includes violence and death to other characters, and that Saul's fear of spreading HIV because he's bleeding may or may not be realistic epidemiology.

it may or may not be realistic epidemiology, but it seems like a pretty realistic reaction for someone who (may have) just found out that he is HIV+.  I used to panic a bit whenever I bled for quite some time after getting my diagnosis -- even though I knew better.

Mike
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: mecch on May 26, 2010, 09:14:40 pm
it may or may not be realistic epidemiology, but it seems like a pretty realistic reaction for someone who (may have) just found out that he is HIV+.  I used to panic a bit whenever I bled for quite some time after getting my diagnosis -- even though I knew better.
Mike

Yes point taken.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: Ann on May 26, 2010, 09:16:12 pm

I used to panic a bit whenever I bled for quite some time after getting my diagnosis -- even though I knew better.


Ha! You men should have to deal with bleeding like clockwork every month when you're newly diagnosed. Talk about getting the heebie-jeebies for a while.
Title: Re: "Brothers And Sisters" Finale Reveals HIV+ Character
Post by: mecch on May 26, 2010, 09:56:21 pm
Ha! You men should have to deal with bleeding like clockwork every month when you're newly diagnosed. Talk about getting the heebie-jeebies for a while.

Look whos talking. We shoot poisonous jism everyday when we whack off. That takes getting used to, too.  

In fact in french the work is "plomb" lead, and plomber the verb (to fill with lead) means transmit HIV.  plombe the adjective (leaded) means HIV+.  Clean means HIV-.  Shoot leaden sperm everyday and you get the heebie jeebies for a moment.  The only thing that took that way for me is that I started HAART so quickly. Small benefit. I no longer felt leaded. Biohazard.