When We Rise

I am 5 years younger than Cleve Jones, so I don't have his experiences but I do remember a lot of what this project recreates (a young Sylvester!). It's bringing back memories, nostalgia & emotion, the latter also because of the young talent involved. The casting, writing & performances all are bringing characters to life in effective, brief moments, as must happen when you telescope decades of history into the lives of a few characters. The 1st episode hooked me, I will be watching the rest of this retelling of what is epic, living history - maybe survivor history is more apt. Some of the misguided criticism validates this project: "Hasn't this story been told?", "This is just identity politics", "Not a fit subject for primetime network television". NONE of these are valid. Bring it on, ABC!

The story is one that's important to tell, but the quality is NO WHERE near "And the Band Played On" or "Milk." The dialogue is trite and forced, and when the "bad guys" (homophobes) speak, they sound like villains straight out of Dragnet. The bad dialogue then prevents these talented actors from giving strong performances. I almost wondered if George Lucas had written the screenplay...

DO watch it; it's important for kids and younger adults today to know this story. But I have to recommend "And the Band Played On" as the better film on the same topic.It was made for HBO with better acting and more believable dialogue, and actually tells you much more about the early days of the AIDS crisis.

I'm very disappointed to see how "network" ABC made this thing; it feels low budget and heavily watered down.

The production is super. I am a 68 year old GWM and have lived through most of this drama. I must say that I have never seen so many commercials in a TV show. I had to stop watching after the first hour. Really, 4 minutes of program and then 2 minutes of commercials is hard to take. But I give them credit for making a major effort.

This is vital history that needs to be told, but this telling is humourless and often pretty dull. It repeats a lot of what was in 'Milk' albeit from another point of view. And it feels like it loops through the same issues and lessons episode after episode. It's basically a biopic of Cleve Jones.

I am so happy about that Show! It's memories, nostalgia & emotion, mixed in a good history lesson. I watch it with a good friend. One thought was - we hope the young audience is watching it too. They run around, like everything is for granted out there. They enjoy Club-Life and Party, holding Hands on the Streets and think, that being Gay is pure Fashion and Party 24/7. But we had a very long Way to get to the Point, where we are today. We had to fight for every Right to be - somehow - equal. We left a long Trail of Tears out there, and on that Fight, we lost many Friends. I was pushed away from my Family after my Coming-Out, but in those Days, I found a new Family. And we stick together til now. Some Members are already no longer with us too. Some of their Names might never be known to the bright Public. We have paved the Way for Years and we still fight, to make a better place for Up- and Outcoming young Gay Generations. So my message is... if there is an older Gay around, hear their Storys and be sure, you might profit from that. The Show brought some tears to my eyes... happy and sad ones. Can't wait for the next Episode! And I wan't to let the Rest of this World know... the Fight is not over... And I am one of the proud Soldiers in it! I am proud to be Gay!