Goodbye to As The World Turns: The Story of Luke & Noah (Part Five)
This week after 55 years on-air the CBS soap As The World Turns ends and to mark the occasion we’ve commissioned a special feature, written by fan Andy Eldridge, looking at the soaps most popular storyline of recent years; he romance between Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer.
This week after 55 years on-air the CBS soap As The World Turns ends and to mark the occasion we’ve commissioned a special feature, written by fan Andy Eldridge, looking at the soaps most popular storyline of recent years; he romance between Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer. This is the second part of Andy’s look at the story of Luke (Van Hansis) and Noah (Jake Silbermann), dubbed ‘Nuke’ by fans, you can read the first part by clicking here >>
Holden and Lily were not happy at all about Damian’s return. Every time he came back to Oakdale over the years, their lives ended up being in danger in some way or another and they thought it was best that he leave as soon as possible. Damian, stubborn as ever, refused to leave until he could try yet another attempt to reconnect with Luke. He now claimed to have accepted Luke’s sexuality and he wanted to make amends. Luke was having none of this — he remembered Damian’s last stay in Oakdale where he worked behind the scenes to get Luke to a gay deprogramming camp. It was during this time that Damian finally met Noah. Damian had seen the boys kissing at the hospital shortly before Luke was checking out …
but it was not until Luke was home that Damian made the effort to introduce himself to Noah personally while at Java. He gave Noah Luke’s watch – the same watch Noah had given Luke for Christmas with the engraved words, “Worth the wait.” Having heard stories about Damian’s past misdeeds, Noah was reluctant to give him a warm greeting. When Damian referred to Noah as his son’s “friend,” Noah quickly corrected him by saying, “We’re more than friends, Mr. Grimaldi. And I think you know that.” Damian said a polite goodbye and left. But Noah was already getting the sense that Damian was being truthful about being back trying to make up for his past mistakes. Over the following weeks, Noah tried to convince Luke of this but Luke refused to even talk about Damian, much less talk to him. With so many cold receptions to his return, Damian was prepared to go back to Malta. But he was ordered by the Oakdale Police not to leave town after he became the main suspect regarding a break-in at the Snyder home.
At about this same time, Luke and Noah became acquainted with a brother and sister duo named Zoe and Zac. The two of them offered to help Luke out by working with him on his foundation. While Luke thought of the pair as silly and harmless, Noah grew more suspicious of them every day. In the end, Noah was right. Zac and Zoe were not actually brother and sister but lovers. Zoe was apparently an heir to the Grimaldi fortune and she felt she was entitled to Luke’s money. She and Zac kidnapped Noah and, at gunpoint, forced him to call Luke to tell him he needed a break from the relationship for a while and had decided to go to a film festival. There was a poignant moment during that conversation where Noah told Luke not to worry and to instead just focus on his family. Luke, trying to hold back the tears, told Noah that he was his family. Their phone conversation was then cut off. A few days later, Zac sent Luke a phony text message from Noah saying he was actually in Oakdale and tied up in a warehouse. When Luke went to rescue Noah, he too was tied up. Eventually, the boys were able to free themselves from their ropes but when they tried to make their escape, Zac shot Noah in the arm and tied both boys back up. This was yet another moment where both Van and Jake got to show off their impressive acting chops. Noah getting weaker and weaker and Luke trying desperately to get him to stay conscious was both touching and heartbreaking at the same time. 2:45 – 4:31
Eventually, the boys were rescued by Damian. Zac and Zoe were arrested and Noah was rushed to the hospital where the bullet was removed from his arm. Luke then told Damian that maybe it would not be so bad if he stayed in town for a while and that they should get to know each other again. Damian happily agreed to stay. Over the next few months, Luke and Noah played backup to a Casey storyline. A man came to town and met with the Hughes family claiming to have fought in the army with Casey’s half-brother, Adam. He said his name was Riley. But viewers were correct in suspecting that Riley was really Adam. As it turned out, Noah’s father, Col. Winston Mayer, never died. He knew of Adam’s criminal record and phony identity and he used this in order to blackmail Adam into sending Noah to him. When this plan backfired, the Col. shot Adam and Casey’s mother Margo while ending up shot himself in the process. Winston then fled to Old Town where he tried to emotionally blackmail a shocked Noah into helping him escape. Noah wrestled with himself over helping his father escape or turning him in to the authorities. When Luke and Damian tracked Noah and the Col. down, Luke convinced Noah that the only way to be free from his father for good was to turn him in to the police. 7:03 – 8:39
It wasn’t long before more drama unveiled itself to the Snyder family. While on a trip to Kentucky, Holden was presumed dead when his car went over a cliff. Luke was devastated and Noah provided a shoulder to cry on… 2:19 – 2:55, 4:40 – 5:30 and 6:48 – 9:13
Damian quickly got to the scene and discovered some evidence that the body found in the car was not Holden’s. Damian bribed the police officer on the scene to keep quiet and he kept this information from the Snyders while he played the supportive hero. Holden meanwhile was being held captive by a couple of hillbillies who wanted to get their hands on his money. As more and more evidence popped up regarding Holden, Damian continued to cover his tracks so he could get Lily to fall in love with him again. Both Luke and Lily became more and more trusting of him as they dealt with their grief. About a month later, Holden was able to escape and make it back home and Damian’s actions were later exposed. After growing very close with Damian over the previous months, Luke would later end their relationship the same way he had done four years earlier: He disowned him. Meanwhile, Noah began working on his senior project with his film professor, Mason Jarvis. Both Luke and Noah soon discovered that Mason was gay and he had just broken up with his boyfriend. Over the following weeks, Noah worked with Mason almost around the clock to meet the deadline for Noah’s senior film project. During one of their meetings, Mason told Noah he found him attractive. When Luke learned of this, he was not amused.
While Luke was able to put the incident behind him, Mason eventually became more and more infatuated with Noah. It finally got to the point where Mason told Luke that he would be going after Noah as soon as the semester was over. After Luke vented this to Damian (whose evil deeds were not yet discovered at the time), Damian sent the DVD of Mason kissing Noah on the forehead during one of their shoots to the Dean. Mason was suspended from his job. Noah hurried to finish the last scene of his film, which included firecrackers, all by himself. While attempting to set the wires, a firecracker exploded in Noah’s face, causing him to lose his vision. I am at the point now where it is much too painful to recap the final ten months of the Nuke storyline. Noah’s misery over being blind and Luke’s guilt were dragged out far too long to set up the entrance of a doctor whose name I will not even write out. This character became the center point of the entire story with Luke and Noah as nothing but his props. A two-month “romance” between this doctor and Luke was made by the writers and in their attempts to make this relationship seem remotely believable, they had to spit over the very things that made Luke and Noah’s romance so special. That is all I will say about the final storyline for my beloved characters. It is not worth revisiting.
Those who read the comments I posted to my videos know how excruciating it was for me to even tune in to the story the last several months, much less upload it. There were days I was so angry and sad after watching an episode that I wanted to send personal apologies to every single fan I introduced these characters to. It wasn’t until very recently that I decided not to be consumed any longer with the writers’ futility and lack of loyalty. Luke and Noah brought me more joy on screen than any characters I had ever watched in my lifetime. They were sweet. They were love. They were the only couple on the show who never kept secrets from each other. And they were played by two wonderful actors who understood the couple’s feelings and the feelings of their fans. That is why I will keep my YouTube page up and keep my subscribers informed on any future projects Van and Jake do. I am a fan of theirs for life and I hope everyone else feels the same.
I will now end this feature with some words of advice to all the fans who grew to love this couple as much as I did. Luke and Noah will leave our TV screens this week. It is important to look back at them and remember the wonderful feeling you felt inside as you watched their relationship unfold. Try not to focus on the cruelty the writers put them through during the last 10 months. Remember them for who they were and what they always will be: Two young men in love. Most of all, remember the impact they had on so many people, gay or straight, from all over the world. I close with a few of the hundreds of memorable quotes that viewers have sent to my YouTube channel regarding Luke and Noah. They speak to the couple’s impact in a very heartwarming way.
i have just recently started watching the luke and noah story. it inspired me a week after i started watching them i came out to my mom my life is going great!
Andy! I love the story and you can say that i am also a luke fan. Im gay, but im still in the closet and i was letting my self die, but after seing the video of luke and noah story i think that i have an oportunity to find love, and i thank you for it. well i just wanted to say thank you for saving my life. and dont ever stop uploading this videos. I would like to thank you for what you’ve been doing for the past months. The story of Luke and Noah has inspired me to make changes in my life — which started with me coming out to my family and finally being rid of all the hiding and the denying. My stumbling upon your channel has paved the way for the freedom I am currently enjoying, and for that I am very thankful. I’m from the Philippines, and ATWT isn’t available here, nor can I watch it in CBS.com because of the region restrictions, which adds another thing for me to be thankful to you for — ‘coz without you I’d never get to watch my favorite couple. I must say that you dedication cannot be parallelled by any other soap fan. I hope you never lose the will and the energy to do what you do. Thanks so much Andy. More power! Hi Andy. I never had the chance to thank you in private. You have really worked hard to have these clips on YouTube and I am very grateful. You are a part of my new life, because it was through Luke and Noah I dared to come out of the closet as gay. Had it not been for you and Luke & Noah story, I never would have dared to find myself and my true self. I do not have the series in Sweden, just because you have become a part of my life. Thank you please.
Dear Andy, I doubt you’ll read this, but I want you to hear it. I don’t know anything about you, and I have no clue as to whether you’ll end up reading this or not, but I really want to say it anyways. I know you probably get thank you messages and comments all the time for what you do, but what you do is really, really important to me. How can uploading videos from a day time soap help me? Well, I’ve been really searching for something to make me realize that everything is going to be okay. I’m only a freshman in high school, and I’ve recently been honest with myself and my feelings. I am gay, and I am more than happy with myself. Right now I’m still shy about it with anyone besides my family and close friends, but eventually I’ll be okay with being honest with everyone around me. When I watch the videos of Luke and Noah, I get to see what they share, and I really understand it. It really warms my heart to know that there are happy people out there, and that I deserve my own happiness along with everyone else in the world.
Andy, I know this may sound really creepy but i feel like i need to thank you for posting all these videos.i am a 19 year old living in SC. not the most accepting of places as you can imagine. i never have watched much on youtube except specific videos that friends refered me to. i know this is kinda stupid but watching the luke and noah videos really helped me admit to myself that the way i feel isnt wrong. i still have a way to go but i really wanted to thank you. you probably didnt think of putting these videos online was anything but entertainment so ill stop being dramatic or whatever.
~Finally Free Watching the Luke & Noah story lines has given me the strength and encouragement to deal with issues in my personal life. People look at you differently when you do not live by the general standard set within this society. They assume you are going through a phase and will return to normal one day. But by watching this program continuously has given me the hope and a sense of pride to start feeling good about myself again. I watch each week just feeling inspire. Thank you LukeVanFan and keep on promoting and broadcasting these wonderful segments.
ATV Today would like to say a big thank you to Andy Eldridge for agreeing to put together the five-part feature for our site. We really appreciate all the time it took to put together and would like to extend our gratitude to him. We’d also like to thank you off you who have posted comments in the previous four articles – all of you have been very supportive of Andy’s work. You can post your thoughts and comments on the story of Noah and Luke, and your memories of As The World Turns below. However, ATV Today has a strict editorial policy and will WILL NOT publish anything of a homophobic nature.