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Queer as Folk (British TV Series)

Queer as Folk (British TV Series)

List Price: $69.95
Your Price: $62.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fairies Up!
Review: Finally us homo-sexuals have our own shows. "Queer as Folk" is the greatest gay show ever. My mom always serves me hot cocoa whenever she sees me sit in my bed and watch it. You're probably thinking is he an experienced homo-sexual? yes I am. I am Kane Hart, and I am gay, and proud of it. Turn to this show for relief over girls. (...)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An interesting documentation on gay culture
Review: Not having been taken in by the promotion and hype of this UK series, I had to know what all the fuss was about so I bought the first season on DVD, only to find a presentation which was, to put it nicely, a harsh stereotypical and unrealistic perspective of Gay lifesyle, even though it may only be a small percentage of the community it was enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
The show itself was very well put together dealing with issues such as coming out, single parenting and drugs but I think the pulling card will by the extremely graphic sex scenes with underage boys.

Despite the illusion of a perfect gay world which centers around one street in Manchester, this series does pull you in, shake you up and take you shopping.
Looking forward to the next season and it's a great addition to the collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Gay Ensemble Film Ever
Review: "Queer as Folk" Series One shows most of the famous British television series centered on a cluster of gay male friends and acquaintances in Manchester. Unlike most similar ensemble attempts, there are serious, substantial linkings out to the men's families, workplaces, schools, and lesbian friends. This produces a well-rounded depiction of contemporary gay male life in the U.K. and a sense of the variety of responses and accommodations gays and straights make for one another.

The core of the drama is the ostensibly unrequited love retail manager Vince Tyler (played by Craig Kelly) has for long-time friend, publicist and seduction phenom Stuart Jones (played by Aidan Gillen). The drama kicks off with the coming out of 15 year old student Nathan Maloney (played by Charlie Hunnam), who starts off with Stuart, irritating Vince. Complications, subplots, and a variety of potential love interests all intertwine, coming to a satisfying conclusion to Series One. Series Two continues the Series One story reasonably well.

The Manchester accent and some local slang appear throughout. Some replays may be needed to get the exact words spoken. There is a script book (with photos) available of the detailed, pre-shooting script. The TV/video/DVD final version has a number of small improvements on the original. You might check it out.

The major actors are all brilliant. Surprisingly, the minor actors are too. The plot lines are all reasonable enough, the characters evolve plausibly, and actors look and play their ages. Production values and photography are first rate. "Queer as Folk" is simply the best gay ensemble movie ever.

Note there are two DVDs in one case for Series One and a single DVD for Series Two.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best television ever made.
Review: Every now and then, all of the elements in a production come together -- direction, acting, writing -- to create something that is absolutely PERFECT. The British QAF is the best television I've ever seen, hands down. There really is no comparison to the American version, which is more of a soap opera than a drama.

The characters are incredibly 3-dimensional and likeable -- even Stuart -- because you can identify with all of them. I loaned my DVDs to a straight guy-friend, and he actually watched the whole thing twice through -- he got just as addicted to it as I did!

Don't be put off by the price; this is something you'll watch over and over again. If there's nothing on TV, I find myself popping in an episode of QAF and enjoying it again and again.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I wish I could give it less than 0
Review: I heard all the raves about this show so I tuned. Frankly I could not see what all the fuss was about. It was absolutely pretentious and obviously done to shock. As far as I am concerned it fits into every gay stereotype that I have ever heard. That gay men are imature, irresponsible, mysoginistic and promiscuous. Stuart is a pig and Vince is a moron. Nope doesn't do much of a positive spin on gays.

Surprisingly I found the American version (though I often think of it as being Canadian since it is shot in Toronto) much much much more interesting. The characters are more varied and the show covers all sides of the human dichotemy. And SURPRISE NOT JUST THE FACT THAT THEY ARE GAY!!!! I hope from the bottom of my heart that Showtime puts the entire first season on DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It doesn't get better than this.
Review: I'll keep it short and sweet: This is the best depiction of gay characters you will ever see on television or film. Period. Forget the lame-brained, superficial, they-missed-the-entire-point American Showtime version; this is the real deal. If you're not infuriated, saddened, moved or provoked by this show, then you need to check your pulse. And Stuart Alan Jones is the utterly human gold standard by which all gay characters should be judged. He makes Will Truman and Jack McFarland look like cowardly chumps. See this at all costs.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Though it may not portray all gay lives, it does come about with an aspect of "i dont care what you think" and lets it all hang out (Sometimes even literally). It's a great drama and still humourous enough to wet your pants, or atleast cream in them! Though i disagree with it's blunt views on safe-sex and the large amount of drug and alcohol abuse, it barely scratches the story itself. Very worth the buy and I would highly recommend it as a gift for and questioning teen or out-and-proud gay. These Britons sure do lay it on. Hope the Series 2 DVD (which is, by the way out already) comes out in Amazon soon!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It merits 3 stars but I gave it an extra for pioneering
Review: One has to be thankful to the Brits for starting these series. Their tone is more pervasively working class and mercifully less psychobabbly. The acting is, in the main, fine. It is a modest effort that succeeds modestly. However, I find the casting significantly flawed to the point that it detracts from believability..... and one cannot suspend disbelief in a show so "realistically" accesorised. Stuart, the character at the center of things, the UK's original for our Brian, just isn't "drop dead gorgeous" nor does he pair well with Nathan (the Brit version of our principal twink). Physicality intrudes..... Nathan, young Charlie Hunnam, is tall and Aiden Gillen is medium to short ..... Their Brian just does not seem written as comanding or interesting as ours, and has been cast small ... whatever possessed them? Mr. Gillen's size and demeanor detract from an already palely-written central character.... no hint of the force or magnetism such central character is attributed by everyone else. Thus there is a fatal weakness at the core (note: Mr. Gillen may be a fine actor, but I think he is totally, and for the series, fatally miscast). If the American series had not come along, I probably would have viewed this one differently..... I am grateful the Brits did it. But now it truly deserves gratitude and most definitely second place. Good DVD to have as a kind of relic. If you don't believe in relics, wait for the USA version (filmed in Canada) which is bound to come.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Refreshing, entertaining, real and inspiring!
Review: Having not seen the American remake of this series, my partner and I sat down to watch this British series on DVD and quickly became hooked--not by the sex (which got so much publicity), but by the overall quality of the production--especially its writing and acting. We cared about these characters and their families (warts and all), and were disappointed when the first 4 hours were over. We're middle-aged urban Americans, but we identified very much with the universality of this younger British milieu--some things transcend time and place. It's inspiring to see gay themes treated on the screen with such intelligence, wit and maturity. We've come a long way. No lectures here. No moralizing. No black & white heroes and villians. Just some real, complicated, flawed but loveable characters struggling with how to be happy and proud in an imperfect world. We wish the DVD made better use of providing additional materials; more background on the actors, writers and such would have been appreciated. We bought the 90-minute, Part 2 conclusion as soon as it was available, and found it to be be inferior to the original series and an unsatisfying conclusion to the saga--but any opportunity to spend more time with these characters was appreciated. This is one of those rare series that I'm sure we'll watch again periodically.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: I absolutely loved this DVD. Their Nathan gives our Justin a run for his money on looks! Their Stewart makes our Brian seem like a puppy dog. Their Vince has such a lovely sing-song accent that I could forget all about Michael!

Ok, it's unfair to make these comparisons and I adore Sharon Gless but it had to be said. This is the original series (where Showtime got the idea) and it's well worth checking out. The only drawback is the lack of a scene selection menu so that if you're interrupted you have to FF through the whole bloody thing!

I wish there were more stories from these boys!

Oye! Fancy a shag?


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