Gerard Priori
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Jan 14, 1999
- Messages
- 107
Well, I, too, was able to see the US QUEER AS FOLK screener from Showtime. It was horrible. It left me feeling very angry. In the original version, we're presented with a group of friends whose actions may not always be clearly motivated, but they always seemed recognizably human. I was able to see bits of myself in each of the characters (Vince, Nathan, Stuart, Philip, Alexander--all of them), which always made their behavior, however different from my own, at least recognizable on a purely human level. I feel no such connection with the characters in the US version. I have no idea why any of these people are friends. They're all neurotic messes, who all end up being pretty unlikable for various reasons. Furthermore, any time a character makes a step forward in becoming something other than a shallow, self-absorbed twit, the show always seems to indicate that that is the wrong and undesirable choice (making the character seem more dysfunctional than they already were) and always has the character come back around to being selfish, sad, and oblivious. In the world of American QAF, there is nothing joyful, playful, fabulous, or fun about being gay.
The show is a soap opera in the absolute worst sense of the word. All of the characters are better looking than most of the audience, yet we're to believe that these are "average" looking people--totally moronic and demeaning. While the characters look better than we do, they certainly act much worse, allowing the predominantly straight audience that the show is surely counting on to be successful in the ratings to feel morally superior to anyone on screen--no matter how screwed up their own lives may be. Every character seems to be an idiot who constantly makes all of the wrong choices. Even the most dimwitted member of the audience is bound to be more successful in his own life and make choices for himself that are at least comprehensible.
In the UK version, Vince and Stuart have a very dynamic relationship that unfolds constantly and consistently. We see the love that each has for the other. By the end of the first series, we're left with a look at a very unconventional, yet very intimate long-term relationship that works perfectly for both parties involved. It doesn't resemble the cliché of two lovers walking hand in hand off into the sunset, but it is satisfying and makes sense within the story that we were told. The relationship between Michael and Brian in the US version makes no sense at all. Stuart was a self-admitted twat, but Brian is a completely unsympathetic ass. And the actors cast in the two roles don't help make the relationship gel either. They have no chemistry together and the fact that the two have been best friends for the last fifteen years before we meet them is totally unconvincing.
Moreover, the show crawls along at a snails pace, taking twice as much time as the UK version to cover the same amount of plot (and the UK version has much more depth, thanks largely to the concise writing and wonderful performances). It's very inefficient storytelling. It plays somewhat like acting students at a writers' workshop. Scenes that were quick and light in the original are much more belabored here. The pilot episode alone is two-hours and ten-minutes, but it feels much longer.
I'm still feeling angry and bitter about this crap! I can only imagine what the other sixteen or so hours of the series has in store. I'm sure it isn't pretty.
I just love the original version. It dealt frankly with controversial issues such as drug use and under-age sex in the gay club scene. The show was criticized by many for pretty much leaving "non-scene" queers out of the picture and portraying drug use and cruising in a potentially flattering light that caused embarrassment on behalf of those with more "middle-class" or mainstream values, who would love to have seen themselves represented in the piece. While the stories and images in the UK version of QAF were in no way representative of the depth and breadth of any gay community in any town or city, what it did accomplish was an honest and believable portrayal of the characters' lives on which it focused. The US version is so much less spread out over a much longer period of time.
The original version had me begging for more. The end of each episode kept me glued to my seat in anticipation of the next episode. I was compelled to watch the whole thing in one sitting. I've now seen the first six episodes of the American remake, which means that it will be months before I get to see a new episode. Quite frankly, I can wait.
-Jerry
The show is a soap opera in the absolute worst sense of the word. All of the characters are better looking than most of the audience, yet we're to believe that these are "average" looking people--totally moronic and demeaning. While the characters look better than we do, they certainly act much worse, allowing the predominantly straight audience that the show is surely counting on to be successful in the ratings to feel morally superior to anyone on screen--no matter how screwed up their own lives may be. Every character seems to be an idiot who constantly makes all of the wrong choices. Even the most dimwitted member of the audience is bound to be more successful in his own life and make choices for himself that are at least comprehensible.
In the UK version, Vince and Stuart have a very dynamic relationship that unfolds constantly and consistently. We see the love that each has for the other. By the end of the first series, we're left with a look at a very unconventional, yet very intimate long-term relationship that works perfectly for both parties involved. It doesn't resemble the cliché of two lovers walking hand in hand off into the sunset, but it is satisfying and makes sense within the story that we were told. The relationship between Michael and Brian in the US version makes no sense at all. Stuart was a self-admitted twat, but Brian is a completely unsympathetic ass. And the actors cast in the two roles don't help make the relationship gel either. They have no chemistry together and the fact that the two have been best friends for the last fifteen years before we meet them is totally unconvincing.
Moreover, the show crawls along at a snails pace, taking twice as much time as the UK version to cover the same amount of plot (and the UK version has much more depth, thanks largely to the concise writing and wonderful performances). It's very inefficient storytelling. It plays somewhat like acting students at a writers' workshop. Scenes that were quick and light in the original are much more belabored here. The pilot episode alone is two-hours and ten-minutes, but it feels much longer.
I'm still feeling angry and bitter about this crap! I can only imagine what the other sixteen or so hours of the series has in store. I'm sure it isn't pretty.
I just love the original version. It dealt frankly with controversial issues such as drug use and under-age sex in the gay club scene. The show was criticized by many for pretty much leaving "non-scene" queers out of the picture and portraying drug use and cruising in a potentially flattering light that caused embarrassment on behalf of those with more "middle-class" or mainstream values, who would love to have seen themselves represented in the piece. While the stories and images in the UK version of QAF were in no way representative of the depth and breadth of any gay community in any town or city, what it did accomplish was an honest and believable portrayal of the characters' lives on which it focused. The US version is so much less spread out over a much longer period of time.
The original version had me begging for more. The end of each episode kept me glued to my seat in anticipation of the next episode. I was compelled to watch the whole thing in one sitting. I've now seen the first six episodes of the American remake, which means that it will be months before I get to see a new episode. Quite frankly, I can wait.
-Jerry