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Queer as Folk - The Complete Third Season (Showtime) Customer Reviews (19 - 21 of 33 Reviews)
Entertaining R-rated soap opera
Although I'd seen a handful of episodes from seasons 1 and 2, the third season of the American "Queer as Folk" is the first season I've seen in its entirety. And although I'm nowhere near as smitten with the show as a lot of my gay friends are, I do admit that the show is very fun and entertaining.
The most interesting thing about this season was watching the development of Brian, who is by far the most three-dimensional character on the show. In the beginning of the season, still smarting from his breakup with Justin, Brian's behavior is cold and cruel, and yet by the end of the season we see him willing to bankrupt himself in order to keep a homophobic candidate from becoming city mayor. In one particularly telling episode, where Brian is accused of molestation by his horrific 12-year-old nephew, we get a glimpse into Brian's family life, and it starts to become apparent why the character would have become so hardened. His relationship with Justin, rekindled by the end of the season, becomes more interesting as well, because it becomes apparent that, although younger, precocious, sneaky Justin is in many ways Brian's match.
If you take away the graphic sex scenes (which, I'm not going to lie, I do appreciate), what you're left with is a show that reminds me a little bit of Beverly Hills 90210: attractive, sexy, (mostly) likable characters who tend to have a penchant for substance abuse and romantic drama. So as an entertaining, sexy nighttime soap opera, the show works. However, as a groundbreaking, seminal drama, HBO's excellent "Six Feet Under" is still light years ahead.
Prostitution, Politics and Pregnancy
I suppose you could add accusations of pedophila to the list as well. Season Three featured a mere 14 episodes (disappointing after seasons 1 and 2). At about 45 minutes per episode, then racks up to only 10 1/2 hours of the brilliant but pompous Brian, the beautiful Justin, the too often pathetic Ted, the delightful Emmett, "Mel and Linds" - the token lesbians, the too often winey Michael, professor Ben, the artful Ethan, street hustler Hunter, and of course the outraguous and outspoken Debbie. Ok, so do I like it or not? I love it! Kudos to Showtime, and the performers for bringing what I refer to as "ground-breaking television". Seasons 1 and 2 were riveting. Season 3 missed the mark, but I hold the producers and directors accountable for that. The season lacked depth, seems as we never really reached deep into the story lines. The ensemble cast is wonderful, and for the most part, we all know someone who fits each characters role - to some extent. I've never met Ted in my life. I was about to write this reveiw after seeing 13 of the 14 epsiodes - but decided to wait until I completed the 14th and final episode of Season 3 (I own the DVD collections and do not get Showtime). Because, and almost only because of epsiode 14, I give the season 3 FOUR STARS. Without, 3 at best. Somehow, we finally got focused again on what this show is all about. Love and life in the GLBT world. Debbie's closing words to Emmett are the reason why we NEED Queer As Folk (don't read ahead if you haven't seen the show yet): "Mourn the losses because they're many; but celebrate the victories because they're few". Another reason we need this show is to REMIND us what it is we are supposed to be doing - standing up and speaking out for our rights! If we don't keep doing, someone WILL come along and take them away. Support Queer As Folk, and support Showtime. Though many episodes may not exactly portray your reality of gay life, remember this is only television, and television rarely portrays "real life" (especially those reality shows). But in our culture, there are nightclubs, bathhouses (or back rooms), overbearing Moms, young people on the streets, people living with HIV, politicians who would rather see us dead, and so on. Queer As Folk is reality and each show is a reminder of our community. If you don't like the gratutious sex (and I for one could manage to see far less anonymous sex on the show), ask Showtime to produce a non-cable version. Does all this sex happen in our community? I don't know because I don't partake in it, but I beleive in many of our larger metro areas it does. So indeed, it too is reality. Buy, rent or borrow Queer As Folk - it's not only for gay men either!
What Were They Thinking?
As a middle-aged, intelligent, experienced gay man who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and who has seen gay culture from all angles, Imust admit up front that I have never found QAF all that compelling or revelatory. Season ONE was good (for the most part) in its depiction of the emptiness and shallowness of gay bar culture (a fact which I am sure is mirrored in straight bar culture as well). The characters were introduced well and their interactions rang true. The more negative aspects of the bar scene were not glossed over, though I have always questioned more fervent supportersof the show why they feel this is a *good* thing for us. The bones I found to pipck were relatively minor: [(no characters involved in ANY spare time activity related to AIDS or to other charity; not a single major male character with facial hair (EXTREMELY unrealistic!!); no focus on gay men over 30 (a SERIOUS omission yet to be corrected); little or no focus on the aftermath of the AIDS epidemic.]
Season TWO started the downhill slide, with Ted's slide into the Internet porn business serving notice that dramatic creativity was going to take a back seat to titilation and an easy backdrop for puns and one-liners that would have made me cringe in high school. And the lesbians started their slow fade into the background - a fade that we all pretty much knew was coming...
But Season THREE I found truly incomprehensible - and ultimately insulting. The emphasis on venality and exploitation of others reached new highs (or lows, depending on your point of view) and I found nearly ALL of the characters becoming LESS likeable or worthy of respect.
A previous reviewer made salient points regarding the near-exclusive emphasis on sex and drugs in this series by its major male protagonists - a complaint that I echo strongly here. Certainly most of the sexual interaction in this series is gratuitous and does nothing to further either the character's development nor their relationships with others. (Certainly Brian is one of the most UNappealing gay characters I have ever encountered in any genre and his psychological motivations for his seeming 'against character' actions ring painfully false and contrived.) The drug use (apart from Ted's self-loathing-motivated descent) appears at random and fades away, to little effect or, seeming, purpose. Aside from Ben's actions in trying to 'save' the male prostitute, the characters are completely self-absorbed and narcissistic. The most appealing characters get little screen time or story lines. And it seems the easy road is taken regarding characterization - characters are either cardboard stereotypes or walk-ons who appear briefly, then fade away when no longer required, their story lines left dangling (Ethan).
The Titanic is approaching the iceberg at full speed. Season FOUR will determine whether the inevitable happens or whether there is a last-minute course correction that saves the ship and returns us to a more satisfying and realistic voyage through the complex world of gay friendship and relationships.
Hopefully, (...), the course correction will begin. But Season THREE stands as example of the need for some serious rethinking of the series AND its characters directions.
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