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Queer as Folk - The Complete First Season (Showtime)

Queer as Folk - The Complete First Season (Showtime)

List Price: $119.98
Your Price: $95.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sexy Brian!
Review: Although the Queer as Folk DVD was great there were 2 things missing; first, SUBTITLES, which will make us who do not speak English as native language understand everything and second, more behind the scenes outtakes,which were hilarious. All in all, it was great since Gale Harold is the top of the top...(you know...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Most Honest Depiction of GayLife
Review: Although I know that many people will deride me for using the title I did, I still think it is true. When I first heard about QAF, I was VERY sceptical, because I was sure that it would just be sex and be superficial. A friend of mine introduced me to it in June, when I watched one of the second season episodes. I was hooked and bought the first season DVD. Each character is so wonderful and there are all kinds in Queer as Folk. You do have some, like Brian Kinney, who go around dancing every night and having every guy he can get, but that is not true for most of the rest of the group. And people like Michael and David who are showing the world that two men can have a relationship. The show demonstrates that gay couples deal with many of the same issues as other couples and EVERYTHING is dealt with on this show. Some might say there is too much sex, but many gay men have sex, and hey we're men. But beyond the sex, you have wonderful story lines depicting so many issues. Just watching Justin and his mother interact and deal with Justin's honesty is spectacular.
I could go on and on....Thank you QAF for being what you are and to all the actors who make it possible!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thinking Outside the Box
Review: Queer As Folk is the most groundbreaking series to come along in a while, and it provides the wake up call 21st century America needs. QAF not only exposes us to the lives of gay America, (ironically because it is filmed in Canada), but it also educates us. The series familiarizes America with the unfamiliar. It sends the message, we must finally begin to think outside the box. Great writing, brilliant casting and acting, and a glorious display of human expression, Queer As Folk should be viewed by all.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Entertaining but superficial eye-candy
Review: OK, I'm writing this from the perspective of a straight female who loved the original so much that she forked out the £70 it cost to spend just a little bit more time (well, 22 hours) with Stuart, Vince and Nathan.

Was I disappointed? Well, the short answer would be "yes".

However, that's more because I committed the cardinal sin of expecting it to be more of the original - only with American instead of Mancunian accents. Surprise surprise, it is very very different.

It is clear that the American version sets out to be a gay version of "Sex and the City". It is cheerful escapism and easy on the eyes - aiming mostly to entertain but occasionally providing some food for thought (but not taxing those grey cells too much). It doesn't have the gritty realism, controversy or ambiguity of the original - but then, that wasn't its mission statement.

So why did I take away 3 stars if even I admit it's entertaining? Answer: the script and the characters.

The script is terrible - at some points, wincingly so. The best lines were very obviously stolen from the original (word for word in some cases) - just wish they'd stolen more.

And the characters. As a series that purports to portray gay life, I find it stereotypes and "straight-jackets" its characters to an absurd degree. Their problems, character traits and flaws are exaggerated and over the top. This is particularly true of Brian and Michael.

In the original, Stuart (Brian)'s tragic inability to express his feelings or admit that he needed anyone or anything outside sex, showed up his essential aloneness and why he needed Vince - in a sense more than Vince needed him. That made him more than a narcissistic A-Gay bad boy who simply shags his way through Manchester. Whereas, Brian just seems like cardboard in comparison.

And Michael is possibly the most annoying character on TV: whiny and hapless to an improbably degree (act your age and experience for folk's sake!). Vince is adorably insecure but in a way that most of us can identify with. Unlike Michael, he's also funny, considerate and very likable - not always blathering on about "little ol' me" all the time.

Despite what I've written, this series STILL manages to be entertaining and funny. And some days, that's all you need.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Attack of the Clones
Review: QUEER AS FOLK has received considerable buzz, particularly among the gay community. Ironically, the series relies largely upon outmoded heterosexual ideas about gay men: that they dress as yuppie fashion plates, dabble in drugs, and have sex with virtually any one who asks as long as they look good, dress the same, and are in the same age range and income bracket--all the while engaging in superficial relationships to which they attach an importance that transcends even the boundaries of daytime soap opera.

While many of the actors seem to possess legitimate talent, they are beset by some of the worst writing I have ever encountered, and even when various storylines have intrinsic interest they are very poorly developed and as such quickly attain an extremely passe tone. The characters themselves are cliched: there is the nice-yuppie-young-man; the effeminate guy; the (just slightly) older man; the bitter sexual predator; the (just slightly) underage teen. There are also a predictable gay-positive mom and a lesbian couple thrown for the sake of variety. It all adds up to little more than a hoot and holler over the kitchen cookie cutter.

The best thing that can be said for the series is that the production values are very slick and the sex scenes are surprisingly explicit and therefore quite steamy. But while there's plenty of eye-candy on view, there's no grit, no imagination, and little substance. If you enjoyed series like DYNASTY and DALLAS, you'll probably enjoy QUEER AS FOLK--but all others are warned away.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BEST !!!
Review: Queer as Folk is awesome! The characters are sexy and compelling. I am a straight female and still cant wait to find out what Brian and Justin, Emmet and Michael and the rest of the crew will involve themselves in. There isn't a one sided character in the group. They are good and bad, wicked and sweet and hypnotizing to watch. Besides checking out all those gorgeous guys doing everything is a definite bonus. However, it wouldn't hold my interest if it was just sex. The believable cast on the show make this series a winner.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic Series
Review: Although I had seen a couple of these prograns via
sattelite, I did NOT see the whole series. It is entirely believable and absolutely true to form. The issue at the school
with PLFLAG and the school officials was particularly appropriate
and is am example to be followed by schools all over America. I
was reminded of my own opposition to the gay community, until I lost my wife at an early age. It was then I was able to discern
my own interest in other men and finally admitted to myself that I was bisexual. It would be wonderful if someone could find a way to bring this series to the attention of others, like me, who would come face to face with reality, and maybe see themselves as they really are. It was a fantastic series and I
would recommend it to be re-aired again and again. My applause
to the entire team of actors, screen writers and the host of others who made this series possible! It will become an indelible part of my memory-book for years to come. Thank you for this opportunity to express my own reflections of a program well needed in America. God bless you all!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good for Anyone
Review: If you're old enough to watch Britney Spears, then you're old enough to watch Queer as Folk. It's the kind of show that would appeal to both the gay community and the straight community (I know many people in both catagories who love it) Don't judge the book by the cover! This is actually a really addictive, and lovable show! Queer as Folk is nothing short of groundbreaking.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply the best!
Review: QAF exceeded all my expectations when it debuted in January of 2001. I presumed to see another Will and Grace or an over-the-top camped out queer Sex and the City. Thank God Showtime proved me wrong. There hasn't been a Sunday night I'ved missed since the premiere, and now Showtime has blown me away with the DVD set of the entire first season. With wonderful behind the scenes extras like outtakes and deleted scenes, character and actor reference guides, and my favorite part, the "next on" teasers, it is the best TV series DVD box set I have ever seen. So, if you're a fan of the show already, or you've only recently entered Babylon and want to know what they're talking about when the mention Dr. David or Justin's prom, this is the only way to go!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best show on tv
Review: My fiance and I (who happen to be straight) watched QAF after a friend of ours recomended it. It is currently the best show on tv. We are totally hooked. I may not be a critic, but I was a theatre major and I feel like it is at least as well acted and written as any show on tv. It may not show gay life as it really is, but it is tv. No tv show portrays life as it really is, because life, gay or straight, as it really is would be boring to watch. Dysfunctional people are interesting people.

Unfortunately because we live in a homophobic society many people will miss out on a really great show. I also think its sad that people feel like they have to pick apart the writing and acting. I guess it's not cool to unabashedly give a show rave reviews these days. But I would recommend this show to anyone who wanted something really good to watch.


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