The Commendable Way Brothers & Sisters Handled Saul’s AIDS Story
[flv:http://www.queerty.com/wp/docs/2010/05/brothershiv2.mp4 http://www.queerty.com/wp/docs/2010/05/saulbloodboard.jpg 650 400]
We’ve seen HIV and AIDS on television before. On The Real World and Family Guy. But it was the season finale of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters that took it in a whole new direction: The Olds. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Often discussed — on MTV, by health advocates — as something that young people having lots of sex need to concern themselves with, HIV’s risk to seniors is often ignored. On B&S, Ron Rifkin’s character Saul learns that a former lover has been living with HIV for two decades, and it inspires him (after some convincing from his gay nephew and partner) to get a test. He gets the results, and tells his family he’s negative; we learn in the end that’s not the case.
It’s a great set up to more drama to come next season (renewed for Season 5!), but it stands alone as a remarkable moment in television. (We’ve pieced together the relevant parts from the storyline; our apologies for the sometimes choppy stream.)
Unlike most shows with senior characters, Brothers & Sisters has regularly addressed the sex lives of its older characters as serious things, not punchlines; Sally Fields’ love interests get as much play as anybody else’s. And Saul’s coming out as a gay man earlier in the series was as much a story as Dave Annable’s character as an Iraqi war vet.
But rarely do television audiences get to see septuagenarians struggle with STDs, let alone life threatening ones. Except here, the show’s producers and writers went there, and set themselves up not just for Saul to have a scare, but to have to live with a disease that killed off so many gay men just a few decades ago. It didn’t come off as a cheap ploy or a demeaning characterization of “the gay lifestyle.” It was a reality so many gay men have dealt with, particularly the ones that survived the 80s AIDS crisis.
Well done.
I watched this on Sunday when it aired and I was amazed, surprised and happy that the show did this. Seeing the bit with Saul where he says to not touch him in the context of the entire car accident scene with the other characters was much more powerful than just this short clip here. Seeing how this moment transformed the lives of the characters in an instant was heart-stopping. An incredibly dramatic set-up for next season.
Now that I watched this again, I’m inclined to think that the scene with Norah where he makes the phone call, I think he was faking it, I think maybe he had just come back from finding out. Watching it again knowing that he was in fact positive, that phone call felt really fake. Ron Rifkin and in fact this entire cast is outstanding.
· Flag
@Chris: Honestly I get so tired of the crybabies in this day and age who go online and expect a medium that lives in the moment to cater to them if they chose to not watch a show that was on over three days ago. If you don’t want to be potentially exposed to a spoiler, then don’t go online until you’ve watched the episode CRYBABY.
· Flag
Let me guess they made a gay dude have Aids on mainstream tele? Thus perpetuating the stereotype that homosexual male sex cause AIDS
Gay people need to do more unbiased research on HIV and Aids, join Aids dissidence movement
Read Alan Cantwell’s “queer blood” http://www.virusmyth.com
There are significant number of Scientists who dont believe in the original Aids hypothesis.
So fucking typical of a gay site to make gay=Aids, your empoweing the idea that gay men are promiscuous scum which leads people to hate us and further the myth that aids comes from us.
Read carefully Aids doesnt just come out of anywhere, people had anal sex for years without getting ill and all of a sudden something crops up.
This site pretends to open minded,but doesnt allow outside alternative perspectives.
Go ahead and call me a conspiracy theorist
Patiently awaits my comment to get flagged and thumbed down.
· Flag
I agree the Saul storyline was great, and the physical intimacy between Kevin and Scotty, in and out of bed, has always been great [versus a certain other gay couple on another ABC show, hint hint] but what about the Kevin and Scotty bit Sunday night that they continue to get HIV tests every year “like Spring cleaning”?
[img]http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Shows/A_F/Bq_Bz/BrothersAndSisters/season3/brothers-sisters201.jpg[/img]
To the best of my knowledge, since their commitment ceremony two seasons [years] ago, there has never been anything to indicate they have an open relationship [and seem to recall a discussion to the contrary]. There would be nothing wrong with that, per se, but the implication that they’re not having “safer sex” with others would be. And, if they’re not, why would they need to continue getting HIV tests at this point given that, according to AVERT:
“It is extremely rare for a person to take any longer then 6 months to develop detectable antibodies. Some test centres may recommend testing again at 6 months, just to be extra sure, though in most cases this is not necessary.”
And, of course, would not Kevin’s HIV negative status have been determined before he donated sperm to Tommy and his wife in Season 1 and the HIV negative status of he and or Scotty [sorry, I can't remember what they decided] donating sperm for their own baby?
· Flag
Whoa! This show consistently tackles tough issues & they’ve added a biggie. Saul’s presumed HIV status actually breaks down some network TV stereotypes about who gets HIV. There will be whining—heck we’re seeing it hear already on the Queer-tee blog–about automatically linking the gays with the AIDS thang, but it’s not a case of the young promiscuous guy, it’s old uncle Saul. What other show in recent memory has dealt with that topic? I cant think of one, but maybe Im just wrongo.
This is a show about generations. Sally Field’s charachter is “OMG having sex @ HER age?” and “Uncle Saul still has been gettin’ some lovin even though he’s old &
is aged beef?”
I’m going 2 trust the writers on this one: theyve handled the Iraq war, drug addiction, politics, infidelity & other real issues with a steady hand & w/ nuance.
I bet they can handle this HIV issue with the same skill.
@Michael: We talked about this issue of S&K’s HIV tests today at lunch: one theory is that the writers are leaving open a possibility that one of them hasnt been 100% monog or less likely theres been IV drug use. Stay tuned! (or TIVO’d):….
· Flag
it needs to be discussed..lot of young gays think they can’t get it because they are young and the drugs will work…..just watched one gay friend who didn’t repsond to the drugs and the result was tragic and horrifying….
· Flag
As far as results over the phone, perhaps what they said to Saul on the phone was that he needs to come in to discuss the results and he took that to mean that he is HIV positive. It doesn’t have to mean they told him on the phone the actual results for him to decide he must be positive.
· Flag
Considering he must have had it for 20 or more years without treatment and remained healthy means things won’t change much, meaning he probably won’t get sick and die (hopefully). Except he will still have the stigma and all that so it opens up room for story telling.
My prediction is he will contact that facebook guy, who he possibly got it from (or possibly gave it too), and they will get together or something.
· Flag
This makes me wonder if the producers of the show have a clue as to the differnce in having AIDs to being HIZ positive. And seriously – no one with any standards would give test results over the phone.
At lease they didn’t have Saul break out into an MC Hammer routine when he did this “Can’t touch this line”
· Flag
It was a good thought, but Saul revealed in the episode that he hasn’t been with a man in over twenty years, meaning the HIV has been asymptotic for two decades. How will his life be any different now? He’s clearly immune to any negative side effects. It will be. HUGE cop-out if they have him suddenly get sick now.
· Flag
HIV/AIDS results…over the phone…
LOL!