Queer as Folk

This is really a delight. Despite seeing all episodes in one marathon session, it remained great fun all the way. The high-energy and really interesting characters (including some great lesbians) kept interest from flagging.

I am a straight woman who was fortunate enough to see "Queer as Folk" at the Los Angeles Outfest. I found it absolutely the best television series I've ever seen, on a par with HBO's "Oz," only more explicit and weaving comedy into the mix. The characters are painstakingly developed, and will capture your interest immediately. We all know a Stuart (arrogant sex freak hiding inner doubts and insecurities), a Vince (sweet, self-effacing, afraid to ask for what he wants), and a Nathan (15, impossibly romantic and willful). Though these are the main players, there are also wonderful supporting roles, including Nathan's concerned and sympathetic mother, his best school chum (wise-beyond-her-years "fag-hag" Donna), and Keith's irrepressible parents. The heady excitement of clubbing is captured perfectly; it made me itch to go to discos again! The production is altogether a class act. It's a shame that we here in the States are so under the thumb of the "family values" hypocrites that we may never get a series of this quality. Call your friends in England for a copy of the video, go to your local gay/lesbian center, do whatever you have to do to see this.

I have been privileged to see this superb series on DVD, as our national TV channels have been somewhat reticent to air it. I thought it was a fascinating and realistic (to some extent) portrait of what it's like to be gay in this end of millennium Britain. But even though I'm bisexual myself, I felt that the characters sexual preferences were not the central issue. Relationships, love, coping with life's little petty annoyances & major issues was. And the acting was excellent, particularly Craig Kelly (an often under-rated actor), Denise Black and Aidan Gillen. It was a breakthrough drama as far as the portrayal of gay characters on mainstream TV is concerned. I'll admit to that. But more than anything it was a glimpse of televised fiction at its best. No one should miss it. And your (eventual) prejudices might be challenged. All TV drama should aim for similar goals, I think...

Just saw the first episode on Showcase last night... I guess I won't be getting to bed before midnight for the next few Mondays. This is a show worth staying up for... easily one of the best TV shows I've seen (not -the- best, but up there). I've heard it described as "gay drama", but that makes it sounds as if it's an agenda show (anyone ever watched "Christian movies"?)... it's gay... way gay... shockingly explicitly sexually gay... but above all it's good TV.

And since it's out uncut in Canada, there may be hope for our more sensitive neighbour to the south :)

I am straight and I remember when this first "came out" and the debate and host of press articles it generated in mainly the lifestyle sections of our newspapers about the explicitness of the gay sex scenes. The debate was mostly positive but I remember thinking how brave C4 were to put this on, we had all seen explicit straight sex scenes on television series before which was nothing new' but never explicit gay sex scenes which at that time was new.

I watched the second ep and I was gripped from the start. To me it was about a sizeable minority out there whom us straights knew little about. The sex scenes were to me at that time shocking but sex scenes are just part of any adult drama so I was not disturbed as some where at that time. But the seminal and brilliant thing about this was the writing, Russel T Davies is a big name over here and always writes quality TV.

At that time I thought all gay people were just the Larry Grayson effeminate stereotypes, it never occurred to me that there are gay people who are as "queer as "Folk"", as in, just normal people with the same drives and ambitions who just want to live happy and hassle free lives. I also remember learning that Aiden Gillen (a fellow Dub) was not gay but straight and being minorly shocked by that.

I recently watch this again which prompted this review and I can say that this was one of the best and most educating TV shows I have ever seen. It got good ratings and I believe "added" to our more accepting attitudes to homosexuality. This is what TV dramas do at their best and this is one of the finest examples.

It is still worth a watch.