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....

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.

So on the DVD box this series reads Dark Shadows meets Melrose Place. two of my favorite shows successfully combined into one I have to to see this. add to the fact that I'm gay the guys are hot and its horror based and this is so me. Dante's Cove the series explores a witch named Grace played over the friggin top by Demonic Toys veteran Tracy Scoggins. She curses her fiancée Ambrocious who is played by the semi attractive William Gregory Lee after he is found getting done in the backdoor by the butler. She traps him in what looks like an S&M room and leaves him there for centuries. the only thing that can break his curse is a kiss from a young man. Enter the happy over sexed couple Kevin and Toby. Toby is moving back to Dantes Cove for some strange reason and wants Kevin to go with him. But Kevin is not out and Toby has trust issues with him because of past relationships. So they have a big argument. Kevin goes home gets slapped (LOL) by his stepfather and rushes to Toby in Dante's Cove. There is sex, sex, more sex, and than some more sex. it's extremely graphic and full frontal nudity is shown. There is mostly gay guy sex and Gregory Michael whom plays Kevin and Charlie David whom plays Toby have great bodies and genuinely good chemistry even if they can't act worth a damn. But there is some straight sex and lesbian sex as well. Hotties fill out the rest of the cast. And it picks up in its second half as a intriguing supernatural soap opeara. there are sordid backstories, murder, cheating, and past relationships mixed in with some witchcraft and etc. It's all pretty interesting. And it's all campy and trashy as hell. It indulges in it's ridiculousness and has a great time doing it. as you will too when viewing it. I am now declaring myself a fan of Dante's Cove. sure it's cheesy, bad and clichéd but gotta love pretty boys, over the top performances, slap scenes and dialogue that just leaps off your TV screen. Check it out!

Starts off in 1840 with Ambrosius (William Gregory Lee) about to get married to an evil witch (Tracy Scoggins). But she catches him having sex with his butler and immediately puts a curse on him.

Cut to 2005--Young hunky Kevin (Gregory Michael) is in love with young hunky Toby (Charlie David). Toby takes a job in Dante's Cove and stays at Hotel Dante. Kevin joins him and meets the various inhabitants--gay Corey, bisexual Amber, straight Adam, straight Josh, lesbian Vanessa. Kevin starts hearing voices calling him from the basement and unwittingly follows them...

I only saw part one of this of here! TV On Demand. This is (basically) a supernatural soap opera full of nudity (mostly male) and simulated sex scenes. Heck, within the first 10 minutes there's a (fairly explicit) gay sex sequence! There are more later on mixed in with lesbian and straight sex...something for everyone. This is squarely aimed at gay male audiences though--there are plenty of hunky young guys here frequently out of their clothes.

This is pretty well-made but the sex scenes are the main reason for this. As for the acting---all of the actors were probably hired for their looks, bodies and comfort with doing nude scenes...not their acting ability. Some of the acting is pretty bad--Kevin, Vanessa, Adam and Josh are TERRIBLE. But Toby and Corey are pretty good. But let's face it--you're watching this for the nudity and sex. There's plenty of it and all the actors look great nude. This does have limits--the sex is (obviously) simulated and there's no frontals on the guys (except for one brief scene at the beginning).

So--for gay men this is a silly but fun and sexy soap. Others might not like it too much. I give it an 8.

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.