Queer as Folk (UK) review
Tuesday 23 December 2003
I have finally managed to watch this and I have mixed feelings about this show.
The show has two series - the first series has four 1 hour episodes while the second has two 45 minute episodes. The first series live up to the hype - it's insightful, confronting, has sharp writing and thoroughly entertaining. Unlike the American version which has 22/13 ep series, the British version has much less airtime and therefore the story is much tighter which is a good thing (too many American shows drag because there's just so much filler).
The second series was a great disappointment. Several key characters did not return which left a void in the show and the storylines felt rushed. I read in an interview the show's writer felt 90 mins was enough but I disagree - more time was needed to show decent character and plot development. I also felt the storylines and the characters were "camped up" for the second series with a couple of them devolving into two-dimensional characters in a very bad way. The last 10-15 minutes of the show was an utter farce as the show veered into pantomine mode.
The acting in both series was superb. I believe all of the main gay characters in this series are heterosexual in the "real world" which has surprised many and many have questioned how they could have done some of the more explicit scenes but hey, it's acting and I'm sure many gay actors have done the same in reverse.
So how is it compared to the American version? As mentioned before, the British version has much better pacing. Also in the storylines the American and the British version share, the Americans seem to either have "sanitised" their storylines (such as the early drug storyline) or even "camped up" some elements. An example I'll use is the club Babylon. In the British version, it looks like a run-of-the-mill club. In the American version, it's like a gigantic weekly circuit party and I am reasonably sure no such venue exists anywhere in the world (much less in Pittsburgh!). The British version is more grounded in reality though both eventually dissolve into silliness (the American version currently being a melodramatic soap opera with soft porn scenes inserted in to keep the gay male and heterosexual female audience happy)
There are certain elements of QAF I found ridiculous - such as the annoying vapidity of most of the characters. Now that ground has been broken with the explicit presentation of this type of lifestyle, maybe someone can write a show that has a majority gay cast that actually has some depth? The show also has a narrow perspective and could've done a bit more to display the varying lifestyles within the gay community (no, not all of us are a bunch of scene queen sluts).
Despite that though, I still recommend this show - well at least the first series. It's an unique show that all should see. Treat the second series like a bizarre hallucinogenic side story.