Queer as Folk - Season 2 (1 Viewer)

[Mark-W]

Well, I am glad to see this thread alive and well!

I just caught the widescreen version of

whatever episode you call the one were

Michael does a lecture on homoeroticisim in

comics, and I have to say I think it is the

best episode ever.

I watched, and rewatched it with glee.

Micheal's new amore is much more appealing than

that dreck from last year. So warm and tender.

And thank God we are finally seeing the characters

become dimentional!

Brian has feelings! Who knew!

Ted looks like he has an S&M daddy hiding inside

him...those scenes ordering Emmett around!

I read the review of the DVD boxed set over

at, I think DVDReview. And I whole-heartedly agree:

now that the show it out from under the plot points

of the UK version, it is starting to feel fresh and

exciting.

I am so much more hopeful about this season.

So many good things can happen, and plot points

appear to be lingering for more than one episode,

characters are developing nicely.

Well done, Showtime!

Mark

 

[Judy Y]

I, also, look forward to watching this show every weekend. I really like all the characters and find myself genuinely caring about what happens to them. My g.f. and I have some in depth conversations about the show, and that is part of the fun. I also like to read what others think about the show so KEEP WRITING!

By the way, if the writers for the show are listening, will you PLEASE, give the guy who beat Justin up what he deserves? (No, nothing violent....... an extended stay in jail with plenty of psychiatric care....and if something happens to him in prison....weeeelllll.....)

 

[Mark-W]

Judy-
Maybe they should loan out that character,
Chris Hobbs, to HBO's Oz.
I forgot to mention that I MUCH prefer the
show now that I can see it widescreen on
Tuesday nights.
I have compared a few episodes from Sunday-Tuesday,
and they just look better widescreen.
Mark

 

[Michael Reuben]

have compared a few episodes from Sunday-Tuesday, and they just look better widescreen.

Agreed. I ended up rewatching all of season 1 on its rebroadcast, once I discovered the Tues. night WS showings. Now I wait for those broadcasts.

M.

 

[Judy Y]

Mark,

They can have him on OZ! (uh, I don't think I'll watch it though....)

I watch Queer as Folk on Sunday night on the Showtime HiDef channel. It looks pretty good widescreen and up converted. Sure would be nice to have it in true HiDef- but I will take what I can get!

 

[Jodee]

If you want to have a little chuckle, go here:
www.jerkatwork.net

 

[Mark-W]

Well, another great episode last night!
Is it me, or has the dialogue become sharper?
The commments between Melanie and
Lindsey's parents really tugged on my heart.
And when Debbie confronts Michael about
her concerns, thereby immediately
contradicting her "sermon" in the
cafe. Another moment that felt dead on realistic,
in an ever increasing number of such instances.
And, as for Robert Gant, as "the professor,"
he is a welcome addition to the cast! Again,
last night he was amazingly real. (Of course,
it could be that I just love the way he blinks
his eyes when he talks and looks at Michael.)
Yes, I miss Blake, but Gant is filling the void
nicely, not to mention being 1000 times better
than Chris Potter.
Also, Gant is interviewed in the lastest issue
of Out, which has Jean-Paul Gautier on the cover.
If I have one concern, it is that they might
do everything but crown him with a halo,
since he is the token romantic
interest that is HIV-positive.
I just hope his role on the series is
more recurrent that Potter's was
.
Mark

 

[John Berggren]

I also enjoyed last night's episode. I think the show gets progressively better. I continue to enjoy Melanie and Lindsey's arc the best. Lindsey's parents anger me to no end. I honestly don't know why she puts up with them. I would have had a hard time deciding between tossing my wine at them, or walking out of the restaurant. Her mother is the epitome of a four-letter c-word that I reserve for only the lowest of women.

Ted and Emmett's venture is bizarre to say the least. I would be more than a little uncomfortable working for a friend in that fashion. At least they've resolved their differences at present. I wonder how long Ted's business can last though.

I think Debbie's reactions are particularly realistic. There are many many people who are advocates to the death until it is they who must act for what they advocate. I appreciate her perspective. I would have a hard time not being in the same boat. Twenty years later and HIV is still scary and uncurable. Who would have thought we'd be heading towards a quarter century with such a disease and still have so many being infected?

I love that Justin and Brian's relationship is growing slowly. Brian really shows he cares, which is excellent.

I just wish the previews didn't say "in two weeks on QAF".. I wonder why we're skipping a week?

 

[Judy Y]

Sharon Gless really did an awesome job with that one scene where she found out Michael was dating a man who was HIV positive. You could see her activism crumble, give way to parental fear and concern, then watch her try to compose herself again so she could stop and think things through before she made a mistake in judgement.

I've also noticed a touching brother/sister-like closeness between Brian and Lindsey that I did not pay much attention to before. She makes him almost as human as Justin does.

I hope I don't appear to be a prude- but I don't care for the "jerkatwork" storyline. I have always liked Emmett and Ted, (Ted especially), and somehow am disappointed by this recent turn of events. Ted was always the respectable type, living on the fringe but also known to have a wildly good time. I accepted Melanie's nude pics with aplomb, yet seem to share Lindsey's distaste for internet porn. Ut oh- I never seem to agree with Lindsey on anything.

Oh, my gosh, I am talking about this like a typical soap opera fan!

 

[Judy Y]

Buzz

It sounds like you are talking about your favorite soaps too! I agree that Ted has gone from one extreme to another. Hopefully they will find somewhere in the middle for him.

My family is pretty weird, too, but "acceptance" is garanteed- a right by birth, I suppose. I have no idea what it must feel like to be Lynsdey.

I checked out my replay program guide and it states; "Ted, Michael, Debbie etc. overcome obstacles to show their PRIDE" Is this a repeat of the pride march episode? Anyone?

 

[Michael Reuben]

Is this a repeat of the pride march episode? Anyone?

I believe it is. That's what was featured in last week's preview (at least on the Tuesday widescreen rebroadcast).

M.

 

[Judy Y]

Thanks for the reply- I went to bed before I watched the preview of the next episode!

 

[Jeff Savage]

Ok I figured out why they are making us wait 2 weeks for a new episode...the Olympic Closing cermonies. Bah humbug I guess they did not want to compete with that and make us have to choose. How nice of them

 

[Mark-W]

As far as Ted and JerkatWork.net goes:
I agree that the storyline is extreme, and
personally, I have never really understood why
someone would look at porn on a computer when
you cannot "relax" in the same manner you can
when you are laying on your bed, watching
your big television, with your hands free.
I think Ted, in general, is a bit extreme as a person.
How often do his eyes do that "bug out" when
he talks emphatically? A lot.
I would hope that the show is doing what it is
doing with him to show him developing into
a well-rounded person. Even his relationship
with Blake was an extreme one based on
lust and unrealistic exspectations. It is
like he is on a pendulum that only swings from
one extreme to the other.
I suspect that the internet porn thing is
only a transitional storyline.
Personally, I would
think that it would be nice for them to show
some of the negative things that happen to
people who perform sexually-explicit behavior
for commercial profit,
but then Emmett doesn't have any "normal"
people in his life, so maybe that is just
MY prudery, but I don't think so:
I have an ex who was the lead
in one high profile gay porn video. I started dating
him about a month after he made it, but it took
it a year to be released..typical for that
well known director.
By the time it hit video stores, I was no longer
his lover, but a good friend. And even though he
never told me about it until after it was released,
I saw the impact it had on his social life:
Despite being one of the most gorgeous men in
Portland's bar scene, being a porno caused a lot
of smirking about him, and no one with "status"
would date him.
It caused him a great deal of emotional pain.
There were very real consequences.
He finally told me about the video one night
while we were out eating dinner at a trendy restaurant
in Portland's upscale gay ghetto: NW Portland
He expressed real fear and concern that what he
had done would impact our friendship.
I told him I already knew about the video,
had rented it several weeks prior,
and it had not impacted how I felt about him.
When he asked me why I hadn't told him I knew
about the video, I said,"I wanted to prove
to you that it didn't matter to me. And besides,
I rented it. What does that make me? How can I
hold it against you for providing me with a product
that I enjoy?"
This kind of rational, non-judgemental approach
to his video startled him. It was apparent that
I was in the minority of his friends who weren't
bothered. A lot of his friends "surgically removed
themesevles" (as he called it) from his life.
And Portland is just small enough, and
he was just prominent enough, that
it took about a year for the whispers
and snickers behind his back to start dying down,
and even then, he pretty much found that
he was limited to dating men who were
out of Portland because he had several instances
in Portland where a guy he'd been dating for a
few weeks would ask, "Did you make a porno?"
(apparently friends would inform the guy that
he was dating a porn actor),
and then person would promptly dump him.
But, again, Schon had a life that existed outside
of the gay club scene and was seeking a LTR, not
a series of one-nighters.
Emmett, unlike Schon, appears to have no desires
to be in a long term relationship.
As an aside: I loved Melanie and Lindsey's
resolution of that issue, but to be honest,
people make a HUGE distiction between getting
naked and being photographed in a magazine like OUI
and having sex with another person in front of
the whole world. People even appear to split
hairs about the difference between solo action
scenes and scenes involving another person.
As far as Lindsey and her parents:
I have been lucky to come from a family,
that after an "adjustment period" is now totally
cool with who I am, what I do, and what I do in bed.
But, I have friends, who are approaching
their 40s who stil grapple with acceptance issues with
their families.
As for Brian:
I am noticing that he is more low-key this year,
and seems more like part of the crowd, and not
the ruler. All of which makes me like him more.
And his comments to Justin regarding safe sex
were another example of the show getting something
right, without getting too preachy.
Next week's show looks like another
winner, considering the preview showed
Justin finally makeing some gay friends
his own age...which is bound to impact
not only how he views Mike, Ted, Emmet,
but will surely impact his relationship
with Brian.
If I had a wish list of things I'd like
to see happen:
1) Blake reappears later in the season
2) Chris Hobbes gets murdered and the
police accuse Justin of doing it.
Only it turns out Justin's dad killed him,
who, in some screwed up way, was trying
to compensate for the guilt he feels
about his relationship with his son.
(Gee, you'd think I watch soaps!..I don't.)
3) Ben and Michael get really close,
and then Ben gets some minor (and fully recoverable)
illness, which freaks Michael out.
4) Debbie starts dating.
5) Uncle Vic meets a guy who wants to date him.
Regards,
Mark

 

[John Berggren]

Considering how QAF likes to keep story lines blunt, who else suspects that with the academic / literary ties between them, it might have been Howard Bellweather who gave Ben HIV?

I had NOT thought of this possibility, but I think your insight is dead on. Bellweather is an author/"journalist" who might travel in the same circles as Ben - at least at the time when his book was published. Would not be a stretch at ALL.

Good call Buzz.

 

[Judy Y]

No, no PLEASE, not Bellweather. I HATED that character. However, I REALLY do want to see the professor come back. I liked him. Anyone think there is still a chance Michael will change his mind and Mike's mom will support his decision??

 

[Mark-W]

Judy-
I have every hope that Gant will be back.
And, while I think Buzz might be on to something,
I hope his guess is wrong. We are supposed to hate
Bellweather, but making him and Ben previous sexual
partners just doesn't seem plausible...but then we
are talking about QAF here.
I do like how Debbie and Vic kind of worked
through their fight without really resolving it.
I think if some middle aged gent was introduce
as a love interest for Vic, this would readdress
the issue with Debbie, and make her soften to Ben.
I actually wish Vic had more screen time.
Mark

 

[Mark-W]

Buzz-

The only part of that that doesn't make sense

to me is this: "Ben stating he doesn't know how

it happened."

It happened when he had unprotected sex, or

when a condom broke...which most people ususally

figure out.

So regardless of who gave it to him,

unless he was raped or had surgery, he

should be held partly responsible for his

HIV status.

It really doesn't matter whether the sweetest

guy on the planet, or a total asshole, like

Bellweather, infected him.

They would have to come up with some pretty

convoluted plotline, like "Bellweather and I were

monogamous," but considering Brian's line to

Justin, "Ben probably thought the same thing,"

it would seem redundant.

Still, it could happen. Again, this is QAF we're

talking about.

And with The Chris Hobbes storyline not paying off

until the last episode of Season One, they could

very well "let this rest" for a while too.

And I hope you are right about a possible

relationship for Vic.

I do hope at some point the show does tackle

the agism and body facism that they tap into

constantly, but don't really linger on.

It only seems like it is dealt with as

a point of verbal jabs and snide comments

at characters' birthday parties.

Mark

 

[Mark-W]

Another great episode tonight!
And FINALLY they deal with the thing
that always bothered me about the Brit QAF;
while Nathan "inherited" the bar scene on the
Brit show, it also showed him really have no
emotional developement outside of the bar scene,
which was the singularly most depressing thing
about the Brit version.
Now, Justin just unloaded a pile of steaming bullshit
on the college boy he met the night before, and
you could tell Justin knows there is a whole world
out there outside of the bar scene...where sex
does mean something. And Justin looks primed to
make some decisions about whether or not he
wants to become "Brian Kinney, version 2.0"
or a better, more well-adjusted person.
And I loved all the stuff with Michael looking
for the perfect man..and then there he was at dinner.
The only bad thing was the "spoiler" revealed in the
trailer for next week.
And, yeah for Emmett, who really of the lot,
seems the most prone to develop an attachment to
a caring older bloke...Emmett has that tender thing
in him, and based on how he has talked with Vic in
previous episodes, and how he dealt with the drag
queen who died just before the "pride" episode,
well it all makes me very happy.
And, Buzz- I think you would be a great writer for
the show!
Mark

 

[Mark-W]

Buzz-
I don't know if that was Grey either, but
I do like him as part of the show.
I caught part of the show again when it aired
on the West coast, and Justin's comments to
his college trick were really filled with a lot
of self-loating: "...You're acting lile a lovesick fairy."
and "As far as I am concered, you're yesturday's fuck."
Sounds like Justin is angry at who he is, since
the guy is really doing/saying everything that
Justin said/did to Brian. I think Justin is scared
that he does have feelings for the guy too. I think
the kiss was too much for him. Even the way the guy
looked scared just the way Justin did that first night.
It is funny how well the show is developing the characters.
Ted really hasn't changed much since the show debuted, but
have you noticed how bossy he is?
"I thought we decided you shouldn't meet him!"
Geezz! That is really a turn off.
The writing last night wasn't as tight as the week
before, but then it didn't need to be.
I think the best bit of it was when Lindsey and Melanie
were talking about the quality/quantity of their sex life,
and then Micheal got all freaked out.

Mark