Not Cursing the Darkness

Sometimes good things just happen when least expected. Today this came to the POZ website about something special that is happening in a genre where the special character driven stories are few and far between:

As you know, there is a lack of HIV positive characters out in daytime or primetime tv (or in the movies), so the responsible portrayal of one is fantastic. As was mentioned in your magazine in January this year, Kimberly McCullough has returned to General Hospital to breathe life back into the soap. General Hospital has written a compelling and unique storyline for her HIV+ character Robin Scorpio, who is starting a relationship with a love interest, Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson). Just recently, Patrick was exposed via a cut in surgery to an end stage AIDS patient. The show highlights her [Robin's] drug regimen, the protection they take in their sex life, her insecurities in having the disease, his fears of commitment and loss, his and her health scares, and potentially down the road, a safe pregnancy for an HIV positive woman. I believe General Hospital is writing a responsible and educational storyline about HIV and AIDS. I think it deserves much more promotion then they are receiving. I think it would be wonderful if your magazine brought more visibility to this very important storyline, the actors and the writers are putting their hearts and souls into doing this right. In respect to who we are, we are a fast growing fanbase (5600+ members) to support these 2 actors, educate viewers on HIV/AIDS, fundraise ($2000 and growing so far for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation) and push for visibility of the storyline-all to help make a difference. What's even more special, these 2 actors are incredibly humble and genuine. You must watch the July 27th episode to understand, they're fantastic! Thank you for your consideration and we hope to see a inspirational magazine such as POZ light the torch on this story for everyone to see." [This came from SCRUBS, the Patrick & Robin Message Board.]

Well, as it turns out shortly after this email arrived three members of POZ's editorial staff were able to interview the two protagonists of this story, which may very well be Daytime Drama's most viable and "grown up" development. Many thanks to McCullough & Thompson: a candle lit instead of cursing the darkness.

Look for the results very soon on the POZ website.(www.poz.com)