I’ve been a die-hard Queer as Folk fan ever since Episode
One, Season One. The flashing, throbbing, and grinding were initially quite
a shock to my senses, but I was immediately sucked in to this alternative world
of sex (read: rock-hard, glistening, gyrating, sweaty male bodies rubbing up
against each other - any sensible straight girl’s dream), drugs, and wacky
sub-plots. I watched the entire season on DVD straight through, pausing only
to eat, and sleep in twenty minute increments every five hours or so. I laughed,
I cried, I almost peed my pants a few times. I guess I don’t have to tell
you that when I got the chance to review Season Three, I was more than a little
bit thrilled.
Queer as Folk (the United States version) is based on British
drama, and adapted for the U.S. premium cable market. Nearly everyone on the
show (and this has always seemed a tad far-fetched to me) is gay, and nearly
everything that occurs centers around the show’s lead character, Brian
Kinney (Gale Harold – hot hot hot!). Much of what takes place is related
from the point of view of Michael Novotny (Hale Sparks – played the nerdy
bubble-wrap guy in Dude, Where’s My Car?, which makes
him my hero), Brian’s best friend, who has harbored some not-so-secret
unrequited feelings for Brian since high school. Justin Taylor (Randy Harrison,
who I swear I saw on the street once, around Lincoln Center something like a
year ago, if you happen to read this Randy…) also known as “The
Guy I F*ck More Than Once,” is the closest thing Brian will ever have
to a boyfriend. He’s also about twelve years younger.
Their sidekicks, so to speak, are Emmett Honeycutt (Peter Paige, who is friends
with my sister, Sharon…Do I feel special today or what?) and Ted Schmidt
(Scott Lowell). The two provide us with loads of aforementioned wacky subplots.
Emmett is portrayed as a bit (ok, much more than a bit) of a queen. Ted is a
pretty normal guy, except that the writers find it necessary to put him through
every bizarre or traumatic experience imaginable, in an almost totally uninteresting
way (Read: Near-death experiences, porn addictions, other addictions, unpleasant
relationships, seedy motel trips, etc.)
Then we have the lesbians, Lindsay Peterson (Thea Gill) and Melanie Marcus (Michelle
Clunie), and their son Gus (Do I really have to name the baby?); Michael’s
mother, Debbie Novotny (Sharon Gless), Uncle, Vic Grassi (Jack Weatherall),
and boyfriend, Ben Bruckner (Robert Gant). And these are just the major characters.
And now it’s time for *Rampant Criticism for the Straight-(no pun intended)
forward,* with your lovely host, Deb Sperling. With all due respect to what
is easily my favorite television show of all time:
Who shot the original writers? Why is it that Season One was SO much better
than seasons two and three? Does it have anything to do with the desire to break
away from the original British plotlines? Who decided that the viewers would
prefer lame, melodramatic subplots, to hardcore gay porn? Were they mixing medications?
That said, this season has a lot of great moments. Justin, several episodes
into the season, finally ditches his greasy, unfaithful starving artist boyfriend,
Ethan (Fabrizio Filippo – I’m sorry honey, but your name is almost
as pretentious as your character), and gets back together with Brian (Yay!).
Michael and Ben take in an underage, HIV-positive hustler (Hunter, played by
Harris Allan), and help him get back on track. Melanie, while pregnant with
Michael’s child, attempts to take on a landmark court case protecting
the rights of lesbian parents. And uh, there’s a lot more sex than there
was in Season Two, which is greatly appreciated.
However, the season spends a great excess of time dealing with Jim Stockwell’s
(David Gianopoulos) mayoral campaign. Blah blah blah Brian is one of Stockwell’s
advisors. Blah blah Stockwell is anti-gay. Except that he’s not, really.
He’s anti-indecent exposure and sex in semi-public places. The characters
treat Stockwell as a threat to true gay culture, which he probably is. However
much of their time is spent not fighting for gay rights, but for the right to
drug use and public nudity. At times like this, Queer as Folk tends
to stereotype itself and its characters to a point where it veers dangerously
near being Anti-gay itself, which seems a tad counterproductive.
Season Three has a whole lot of the boring (the mayoral race) and a whole lot
of the stupid and unlikely (Ted ditching the vacation Emmett planned for him
to spend the night at a seedy motel). But there’s a whole lot of sex,
which is basically the point of the show. I say, more sex, less chit-chat, and
everyone’s happy. If you’ve seen seasons one and two, and grown
to love the characters, you will love season three. If you’re new to the
show, you can’t say I didn’t warn you. Queer as Folk
looks to be quickly progressing into the realm of the cult show, and not in
that hip, Six Feet Under, kind of way. But I love it. So much
that I’ve made this review personal, and I HATE doing that. On that note,
I will leave you with a fitting anecdote:
As I was finishing up this piece, a good friend of mine asked me how the review
was going. My response (I assure you, the double meaning was completely unintentional
at the time, but suddenly seemed wonderfully appropriate): “It’s
a pain in the ass, but I’m lovin’ it.”
The five-disc set features a bonus disc with outtakes, cast and crew “Behind
the Scenes” footage, a music video, and a “Hot Summer Days”
featurette, among other goodies. There’s also the “Party in the
Box” CD-Rom to help you throw your own Queer as Folk party,
if you are so inclined. But my favorite part of the Queer as Folk Season
Three experience was the nifty leather strap that comes with the packaging.
Not that I’m even sure it’s real leather.
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