Dante's Cove

DANTE'S COVE is a two disc DVD release of a TV series for Here! TV that had everyone on the waiting list to see just how far the 'new television' market would/could go. Now that the mystery is over with the public release of the DVDs, the comments and responses are bound to be mixed: there are those who whoop that gay themed and photographed stories are finally on television, and there are those who will wonder why a series could make it through the year with little to no storyline and a production that is essentially soft porn - for both men and women! The 'plot' is based on the traditional haunted house with a mysterious history dating back to 1840: the 'story' revolves around the folk who inhabit the house cum hotel in present day time and the aftershocks of lifting the door off the secrets hidden with the subsequent effects of the 'curse' on the inhabitants. Sounds like a 'been there, done that' bit? Well, it is. The difference lies in the fact that the main characters are gay and the hotel inhabitants are pretty guys and gals who spend the majority of their time topless, swimming or en flagrante.

The cast is attractive (and we see a LOT of them!) but the lack of plausible story and the mercilessly poor writing and quality of acting keep the show grounded. This is a film for a special audience and one that would benefit from watching it with sound turned off. Maybe next season will improve....

I've read all the reviews and posts on the site, and it's quite an interesting mix of opinions.

To me, DANTE'S COVE is a cool and innovating show as I've never seen any single episode of the others TV-Series mentioned here as 'Buffy the vampire slayer - The OC's -or- Charmed'. I must say that generally, I'm not that much attracted by supernatural genre. It bores me a lot. But not for DANTE'S COVE. I retrieve what I've appreciated in 'Queer As Folk & Tales of the City' : a community spirit combined with mutual help, fun (and venomous tongues !).

I think the writing's just fine (even if the red-eyes thing is far too much !) and for sure some of the actors really CAN act (as Tracy Scoggins, Thea Gill & Charlie David for firsts). I find in this show what I search on TV - well for this kind of stuff : something entertaining, eyes-candy and refreshing. (My on-screen-witchcraft knowledge mostly is limited to Elvira's, I guess !) so I like what I see on the 13 episodes of this Series (I include the 'Unaired Pilot'). And Goash, Charlie David is a Hunk ! I hope so much that one day we'll get the chance to see the Fourth Season : I know I'll go back to this Cove with a delighted (and non-guilty) pleasure again...

God, how I love this programme.

They say that if you put a thousand monkeys in a room with a thousand typewriters then in a thousand years they will write the works of Shakespeare.

Some years ago a group of producers put one monkey in a room with an etch-a-sketch and the result was: Dante's Cove.

It's genius. A parallel world where concepts that we accept as normal just do not exist. Like "acting". And "shirts".

But goodness me, what a wonderful place to live. An entire island populated by beautiful, young, sexy people. And Tracy Scoggins.

It's a place where someone called Reichen Lehmkuhl (who apparently won a reality TV show and dated Lance Bass) must atone for his sins by submitting to living his life under a sheen of baby oil.

It's where we marvel at the "performance" of Charlie David - possibly the most wooden actor who ever lived. (Let me put it this way - that chiselled torso isn't so much the result of Gold's Gym as it is a carpenter's workshop. No really, you can see the other actors batting away the splinters.)

In short, a masterpiece. I wouldn't miss an episode.

Having watched the first and second seasons of this show, I find myself drawn into the world of "Dante's Cove". The cast members are all very good looking and the sex scenes are very enjoyable. A common complaint with this series is that the writing and the acting is a bit off. The truth is, this series is being built from the ground up and I have hope that this series will get better as the the seasons roll on.

I do have one complaint, Kevin's crying, at least three episodes in the second season alone had Kevin crying and the first season had him on non-stop waterworks. Aside from that, the series is great.

I've seen the trailer for Season 3 and I am very excited to see the inclusion of Jenson Atwood, who I adored in Noah's Arc. The Story is engaging and yes it can be a little slow, but as the budget gets bigger and the actors become more accustomed to their characters and the writers become more accustomed to those characters, the writing will improve.

This series has great potential and is a breath of fresh air to the AIDS awareness films that have dominated the queer market for the better half of 20 years. Please give this show a chance and you'll see the magic in it too.

Make no mistake: Dante's Cove is targeted primarily for the gay male audience. Its young, cute, hunky and beautiful male actors aren't cast by accident. While their acting doesn't quite hit the mark, the main characters, Kevin and Toby, do well, and I suspect may improve further in the remaining segments. In their scenes together, they represent a plausible young gay couple in love–refreshing and what most gay (and straight) people need to see. Sure, the great bodies and handsome faces are wonderful, but we all want love, and this show provides the chance to vicariously jump head first into more than just sex.

For those not tuning in to see guys, take heart--there are lesbian scenes; beautiful, scantily-clad young women, and just a nice bunch of young people kind of lazing around white, sandy beaches doing what most of us would enjoy: not much and having a hell of a good time. There's also a strong Gothic and macabre element reminiscent of Dark Shadows from '70s television.

Roll all of the show's elements together, and you have an entertaining, albeit exaggerated plot, that adheres to the show's preternatural basis. Dante's Cove is not about BEING gay, but more pointedly that gay people find themselves in everyday AND extraordinary situations--trying to navigate life's labyrinth and survive (Wow! exactly like straight people do!).

Take a look at Here!'s new miniseries. This genre and its audiences are here to stay; get used to it, folks.