The Last 'Queer as Folk'

[The Pecman]

Just caught the final episode of this Showtime TV series tonight. As I feared, they kind of went out with a whimper and not a bang. A few loose ends were left dangling -- will Justin find happiness and success in the NY art world, or will he return to Pittsburgh? -- while other elements were dealt with fairly realistically: Brian and Justin call off their impending marriage when they realize they're both doing it for the wrong reasons, and the girls leave town for gay-friendlier Toronto.

Despite my nitpicks, I really enjoyed watching this show over the last five years, particularly in that it was one of the very few honest portrayals of gay life on American TV. My partner and I have frequently wondered out loud, "man, what would our lives have been if we could've grown up and watched a show like this as teenagers?" But times are different now; one hopes it's better and more tolerant in some ways, though certainly more stressful in others.

QAF premiered at a strange time in my life. Both my parents passed away within six months of each other, plus my career went through some changes as all the magazines I used to write for dried up and blew away. Only a few months after the show premiered, I got inspired to write my first novel, and I'm convinced I might not have had the courage and inspiration to sit down and try it, had QAF not existed.

Anyway, here's a virtual toast, a glass of a petite Merlow, to the creators of this terrific show. Even when QAF failed to live up to expectations, I for one am glad the show was around. The characters were very real and vivid to me, and I'll truly miss seeing them every week in new stories. I hope the positive effect the show had on the world -- especially here in the U.S. -- will last a long time.

[aj]

That you've been watching "Six Feet Under." A new roomie moved into our house who had the first two seasons on DVD, and I find the portrayal of gay life in the US on the show to be very true to life...There's some very poignant moments, and some very funny ones, and several that are enough to make you go "WTF?!"

Yes, it's true that the breeders get all the good sex scenes, but what the hell. I like the show anyway.

cheers!

aj

[Rad]

That you've been watching "Six Feet Under." A new roomie moved into our house who had the first two seasons on DVD, and I find the portrayal of gay life in the US on the show to be very true to life...There's some very poignant moments, and some very funny ones, and several that are enough to make you go "WTF?!"

Yes, it's true that the breeders get all the good sex scenes, but what the hell. I like the show anyway.

cheers!

aj

As for "Six Feet Under" , I alwys love the story on how the people died in the first place =)

Cheers ! ^_^

RAd

[The Pecman]

I've actually *worked* on Six Feet Under on several occasions, but I have yet to see a single finished show. The last piece I saw was a gay couple who were adopting a kid, but that was a few months ago.

I agree, it's a good show, but there's already so much stuff I don't have time to watch on TV as it is. I have a Tivo stacked up with about 200+ hours of crap I haven't had time to see yet... I missed most of Lost because I was out of the country for several months last year, but hope to catch up on the series via the DVDs that just came out.

But I always made time for QAF, just because of what it represented to me, and also because of how well it was done as a TV show. I'm still blown away (no pun intended) by the fact that Gale Harold ("Brian" in the show) is 100% straight. He deserves two Emmys for "The Best Impersonation of a Gay Man in the History of TV." :)