Queereaders discussion

I'm way behind all of you and just discovered this show. Now I'm hopelessly hooked and already nearly finished the second season even though I just started watching 5 days ago.

I love the soap opera quality of the show. The characters are annoying, charming, funny and over the top at times, but I can totally relate to them. I love how the show explores many different issues thoughtfully. What I don't like so much is the lack of racial diversity and the fact that nearly all straight characters are villains. Oh, and I love the soundtracks, but the opening credits make me dizzy.

As soon as I'm through watching, I will borrow the British version. I just learned that Charlie Hunnam plays Justin's character and I so adore him in Sons of Anarchy.

The only bad part about being behind is you may miss out on popular culture references as a show is airing. Depending on the series, it can also be dated by the time one gets around to it, or you may encounter spoilers in life. But I rarely watch television, and often wait for the masses/critics to give accolades before committing. (Life is too short to watch bad TV!) Queer as Folk is one that I also watched after the fact. Enjoy it while it lasts!

The British version was first and is so different than the US. When you do watch it I want to know what you thought of it. I liked both but I liked the British version much better (it helped the Geek element was Doctor Who... and on this side note the British Queer as Fold was written by Russell T. Davis, one of the first main writers on the new Doctor Who episodes and the creator of Torchwood but it was written and produced years before either show was in the works).

I thought the most interesting aspect was comparing the two based on what TV producers think Brits vs. Americans will like. The US version is definitely very Americanized and once you watch both you'll see just what I mean.

Happy watching!

The Brit version has some brilliant sequences but was made under crippling conditions. Basically, every episode was meant to be the last (and there are only a handful really, fewer than a dozen, as opposed to what had to have been close to a hundred US). For once, the US version has a much more coherent plot arc too. Thanks for reminding me of this, Nancy -- I'd forgotten how fond I was of those characters. Even the little blond guy who looks like Hayley Mills...

I finished watching QAF and was actually sad to see it end. It is flawed, but highly entertaining. I loved how it explores a variety of important issues and doesn't shy away from sex.

The lack of racial diversity bothered me, but perhaps Pittsburgh PA is whiter than other urban areas. I was also bothered by the characters' lack of aging.

Wasn't Justin supposed to look like Meg Ryan?

Nancy wrote: "Wasn't Justin supposed to look like Meg Ryan?"

Was he? He never looked like Meg Ryan to me. I think he's supposed to look like the twink from the British version, which he did.

The guy who started the Pink Posse made the comment that Justin looked like her.

Nancy wrote: "The guy who started the Pink Posse made the comment that Justin looked like her."

And that got him to shave his head. Ah, I see.

Alex wrote: "I think he's supposed to look like the twink from the British version, which he did. "

The kid from the British version plays the lead in Fifty Shades of Grey. Anyone else feel obscurely betrayed?

Robert wrote: "The kid from the British version plays the lead in Fifty Shades of Grey. Anyone else feel obscur..."

Not anymore. He bowed out. The lead actor is now Jamie Dornan.

Alex wrote: "Robert wrote: "The kid from the British version plays the lead in Fifty Shades of Grey. Anyone else feel obscur..."

Not anymore. He bowed out. The lead actor is now Jamie Dornan."

Good, that would have freaked me out. Not that I have any intention of seeing that anyway.

Alex wrote: "Nancy wrote: "The guy who started the Pink Posse made the comment that Justin looked like her."

And that got him to shave his head. Ah, I see."

Was it the comment, or the fact that Cody wanted everyone to look the same so they can stand out?

(view spoiler)[I'm glad Justin didn't go as far as Cody wanted, but I'm glad he got some closure with Chris Hobbs. (hide spoiler)]

I have so many feelings about this show. I wrote an entire blog post about it that you can find here, but, just, ugh, I spent the entire end of my senior year of high school addicted to this series. It's wickedly entertaining and scandalous in terms of sex/profanity/drug use/etc., but its characters are also so honest and vulnerable and possess such emotional depth.

Nancy, I agree with your point about racial diversity. The time period that it was produced (over ten years ago) doesn't justify its lack of POC protagonists, but I think it helps explain it. I also agree to an extent about how the straight characters are portrayed as villains, but there are quite a few plot lines, especially later in the series, in which that theme is addressed.

(view spoiler)[Most noticeably through Justin's mother growing to love Brian, as well as Brian overcoming his heterophobia by proposing to Justin. (hide spoiler)]

I enjoyed your blog post, Thomas. I recently started watching Looking, a TV series about a group of gay friends in San Francisco. After two episodes, I can't get the characters' names straight. It lacks humor and none of the characters are appealing. It feels realistic, but the lives and situations so humdrum. Don't young people know how to have fun any more?

The episodes are only 30 minutes which doesn't allow for a lot of character development. I'll continue watching. Maybe I'll feel differently as I get to know the characters.

QAF hooked me right from the start! It was over the top in a lot of ways, but the series has humor and heart. Each character's traits are unique, so there was never that problem for me of forgetting who was who.

(view spoiler)[Justin's mom changed a lot through the series. Leaving her husband was the best thing she did for herself and her son. I loved their relationship and Justin's reaction to her significantly younger boyfriend. Brian's heterophobia, fear of commitment, selfishness and loyalty to his friends all make him so wonderfully complex and appealing. (hide spoiler)]

Alex wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Wasn't Justin supposed to look like Meg Ryan?"

Was he? He never looked like Meg Ryan to me. I think he's supposed to look like the twink from the British version, which he did."

The twink from the British version is Charlie Hunnam, who now stars in "Sons of Anarchy" and looks nothing like Nathan (I think that was the character's name) in QaF. What a difference a decade can make! :-)

Nancy wrote: " It lacks humor and none of the characters are appealing..."

Nancy, if you really want to see humorless and unappealing, check out DTLA.

I loved the US QAF and put it up there with Tales of the City. I want to re-watch it, but the DVDs a in some box somewhere.

oooooo...Tales of the City. That was fantastic. I liked QAF US as well. I dont know if I ever watched the last season? Will have to check out Netflix.

When someone lent us the vhs box set of QaF (the original), we were hooked. So much so we left a social engagement using a lame excuse just to finish watching it. It was ground breaking.

I do have my own dvd box set now.

Our gym instructor lent us a dvd box set of the remake but we couldn't make it past episode 1. He told us to skip to episode 10 where the producers went beyond the original story lines.

The US version found its feet and continued to soar after that.

Scott wrote: "oooooo...Tales of the City. That was fantastic. I liked QAF US as well. I dont know if I ever watched the last season? Will have to check out Netflix."

Tales of the City was wonderful. Did you watch the sequels?

Russel T. Davies, the guy who created the original QAF (UK), is coming out with a new show this fall called Cucumber.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...

And a "sister show" called Banana? Seriously?

I'm intrigued. (I think.)

Cucumber?? Dear lord..

Should be interesting

Just discovering the UK Queer as Folk. Highly enjoyable but one of the leads I find intensely annoying. How does the US Queer as Folk compare? Thinking of treating myself for Christmas!

Those new dramas are Cucumber, Tofu and Banana, I believe. The names were chosen because in a scientific study they were used to describe the various states of hardness during erection.

Jonathan wrote: "Just discovering the UK Queer as Folk. Highly enjoyable but one of the leads I find intensely annoying. How does the US Queer as Folk compare?"

Which character did you find annoying?

The first ten episodes or so of the US version is based on the UK version, so they're a little repetitive, but once you're over that, the show gets much better and establishes itself well.

Jonathan wrote: "The names were chosen because in a scientific study they were used to describe the various states of hardness during erection..."

Was there a poll? God, I so hope they were calling people at random...

(Lots of the US Queer as Folk can be found on YouTube, so you can check it out. I found the Americanized versions of the UK episodes unpleasant, but once it took off on its own it got really good.)

Jonathan wrote: "Just discovering the UK Queer as Folk. Highly enjoyable but one of the leads I find intensely annoying. How does the US Queer as Folk compare? Thinking of treating myself for Christmas! ..."

Well, first it's set in Pittsburgh which is to the U.S. pretty much what Manchester is to England. Second, change every Dr. Who reference to a comic book reference.
Third, don't kill off the accountant... Let him open an internet porn site instead.

Personally, I liked both series. I saw the UK one first (through bootlegged copies I got from friends and had to convert from the UK standard to the US standard myself)

I saw the U.S. version a few years later as they were broadcast on Showtime. There ARE some plot parallels but by the end of Showtime's first season they'd pretty much taken the story past where the UK series went.

And for what its worth the Showtime series even inspired a few (prequel) books. https://www.goodreads.com/series/1140... I enjoyed them.

Alex wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Just discovering the UK Queer as Folk. Highly enjoyable but one of the leads I find intensely annoying. How does the US Queer as Folk compare?"

Which character did you find annoyi..."

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I think it's the character played by Aiden Gillan (?) - but I suppose that's meant to be how he is. I suspect he might be heading for a downfall.

Debating whether to ask Santa for Queer as Folk USA for Christmas!

I have seen both, enjoyed both, but like the American version better. The're hard to compare with the US having 83 episodes and the UK just 10. We're gonna re-watch the US-QAF soon (after we finish ST:DS9).

I think my favorite character was Michael Novotny played by Hal Sparks. He's adorable, charming and a comic geek too. We'd have made a great LTR.

I find it hard to believe that the pretty twink Charlie Hunnam from UK-QAF turned into the super-hunk Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy. 'What a difference a day makes".

Michael Novotny was definitely the heart of the show, but I often found him annoying. I adored the guy who played his HIV+ second boyfriend and his mom.

Overall, I loved the entire cast.

Kernos wrote: "...I find it hard to believe that the pretty twink Charlie Hunnam from UK-QAF turned into the super-hunk Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy. 'What a difference a day makes". "

Yep! Pretty boys seem to NEED to ugly themselves up a bit. Look at Brad Pitt's early films as compared to his later stuff.

BTW... the actor that played Novotny's HIV+ boyfriend lived in Battery Park City in NY. I'd often see him eating outside at several of my neighborhood restaurants.

Are you speaking of Robert Gant? He went to Penn for BA in Literature and then got a JD at Georgetown Law.

Chris wrote: "Are you speaking of Robert Gant? He went to Penn for BA in Literature and then got a JD at Georgetown Law."

If so, I heard he left the show because he was not comfortable playing a gay role?

Huh? He is openly gay.

Maybe it was someone else?

Now I wonder who that could have been… nearly all the actors on that show are openly gay. The only ones who I know who are self-identified as 'straight' are Hal Sparks and Gale whatishislastname.

Did a bit of browsing. I was thinking of Chris Potter who played Michael's 1st boyfriend in S1. It was rumored...

Even worse was an interview Chris Potter, an actor in Showtime's Queer as Folk gave to MSNBC: "Soon as they say 'cut,' you spit," he sneered. "You want to go to a strip bar or touch the makeup girls. You feel dirty. It's a tough job."

http://www.motherjones.com/riff/2008/...

That is more than enough for me. Glad he left after one season. I tots forgot all about him. Who needs breeders? LOL

Kernos wrote: "Did a bit of browsing. I was thinking of Chris Potter who played Michael's 1st boyfriend in S1. It was rumored..."

Rumored.... and confirmed!

Chris wrote: "Are you speaking of Robert Gant? He went to Penn for BA in Literature and then got a JD at Georgetown Law." Yep He's the guy. Bet the folks from Georgetown were ALL so proud when they went to see him in "Billy's Dad Is a Fudge-Packer! (Short-2004). I know I saw it at a gay film festival and spotted him right away.

Kernos wrote: "I think my favorite character was Michael Novotny played by Hal Sparks...."

Didn't Hal Sparks once said that kissing a guy was like kissing a dog for him?

I know I should not say this but I am sick of straight people pretending they are our allies. They make money off us then turn around and reveal their true (Boring Bland Beige) colors.

We are evolutionary perfection. Thank you.

BTW: I'd rather kiss a dog than kiss that uglee sparkles Sparks.

Chris wrote: "BTW: I'd rather kiss a dog than kiss that uglee sparkles Sparks..."

I would definitely kiss Robert Gant and Michelle Clunie, so I hope no ignorance and stupidity has spewed forth from their mouths.

Did anyone else love Emmett?

I was just thinking of Emmett. He was adorable!

One of my favorite scenes was with Emmett and Uncle Vic when Em advises him not to fight the solicitation charge and says there is nothing more important than his name. At first, I thought he was a flamboyant stereotype. It didn't take long for me to become amazed at the depth of his character.

Refresh my memory… who's Uncle Vic? I can't seem to remember that particular storyline.

Oh hon, it always has been the flamboyant queers who instigated change within the movement and in general society.

Vic Grassi is Michael's uncle and Debbie's brother.

You're so right, Chris.

Yes, now I remember. Uncle Vic is Debbie's gay brother.

Wow, that show had so may gay characters, can't remember them all!

Jonathan wrote: "... I think it's the character played by Aiden Gillan (?) - but I suppose that's meant to be how he is. I suspect he might be heading for a downfall. ..."

That's interesting as it was his US counterpart, Brian, that I couldn't stand. I thought Stewart, in the UK version, was dangerously charming and multifaceted unlike the one-dimensional Brian.

I do like both shows, but Brian really weakened the whole US series for me.