So, about Jason and Willie in the Beginning episodes...

[GooberCollins]

Is there some kind of gay subtext there or is it just my imagination? I mean, really, especially when they were talking about how they had been buddies for a long time and *cough* knew each other well. And I almost thought that Jason was going to say to Elizabeth, "Willie is to me as your husband was to you." 

[Joeytrom]

I don't think there was gay subtext, just that they were close friends who would help the other out in an emergency- like a BFF (best friend forever) relationship.

[Taeylor Collins]

I didn't really pick that up and I am gay as everyone is well aware as I have talked about it several times.  I guess only the writers would know for sure if they put the subtext in there.

[Lydia]

This got mentioned in the Watching Project discussion of episode 220, and I liked the idea.

Discuss - Ep #0220

I don't think the writers intended any gay subtext, however.

Joeytrom, thanks for explaining what BFF means.  I've been wondering for a while now, but never gotten around to looking it up.  Maybe if I believed in BFFs I would be less receptive of the gay subtext idea.

[Nelson Collins]

Also being gay, I never got a gay subtext to Jason and Willie's relationship.  Willie just seemed to be the brawn to Jason's brain.

[GooberCollins]

Oh, I highly doubt that anything remotely resembling a gay subtext (for those two, anyway) was intentional. It just seemed like, through various bits of dialogue and their actions toward each other, their relationship could have been read that way. And I only saw it with Hall's Willie - once Karlen took over, I didn't get that at all.

[Taeylor Collins]

I agree GOOBER.  I can slightly see that with James Hall's portrayal of Willie.  However, to me his acting was like NAILS down a chalkboard.  I mean no disrespect, he just didn't cut it for me.  It seemed like he didn't know his lines that well either!   

I am enjoying these early episodes so much!  I still have more to go before I am through. I started watching a bit before [spoiler]1795 kicks in. [/spoiler]  I am kind of glad I am not through~~Somehow the thought of being finished makes me sad!

[Nelson Collins]

While I am sure there wasn't a gay subtext, over in the Caption This section there were a couple of rather questionable (to me anyway) screen captures (from Episodes 219 and 220 I think) were I managed managed to find and exploit a potential subtext. 

[ClaudeNorth]

I don't recall a gay subtext in the early Jason and Willie scenes, but I definitely picked up on a gay subtext when Jason would question Willie about the duties he performed for Barnabas.

However, where I really picked up on it was in the relationship between Nathan Forbes and Noah Gifford.  I suspect part of it was due to the casting of Craig Slocum, who didn't play the part as a rough and tough seafaring sort of guy.  I've often wondered if it was something he came up with, just to see if he could get away with it, and to make it more interesting for himself.  (I swear there was a scene in which Noah told Nathan that he was "tired of playing the fool" for him, with Slocum delivering the line like a scorned lover!)  I thought it was rather funny, really, the idea of Nathan having both a wife and a male lover showing up to complicate his attempts to marry into the Collins family. 

[michael c]

the whole time i was watching noah gifford i kept thinking that he looked like he had been dressed by jean paul gaultier.

slocum seemed an odd choice for the tough guy parts he was given.i remember a scene where he was trying to "blackmail" nicholas blair into something(i forget exactly what)and instead of sounding threatening he came across as shrill and queeny.

as harry johnson i think that he was originally supposed to come across as early-willie-loomis-ish.sort of a scoundrel.but because slocum brought rather nellie qualities to the role it changed the direction of the character.

[ClaudeNorth]

<LOL!>  That reminds me of a confrontation between Noah and Nathan that took place, IIRC, in the drawing room at Collinwood.  Noah was giving Nathan an ultimatum and he made a threat along the lines of, "If you don't, I'll make sure that everyone in this house knows why I'm here!"  However, when watching that episode, I honestly thought Noah was going to say, "If you don't, I'll scream!"

Apparently, Dan Curtis's wife saw Slocum in a play and raved about him, thus leading to his being cast on DS.  I agree that he was miscast as a tough guy, but one of the things I love about DS is that even the bad casting choices somehow seem to work.

Regarding Harry Johnson, I seem to recall that the actor who replaced Slocum (Edward Marshall?) had a speaking voice similar to that of Fred Schneider of The B-52s.  Again, not a typical tough guy...