Queer As Folk: The Complete Series (Region 1)
Stars: Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Hal Sparks
(Paramount Home Entertainment)

That great philosopher Mae West once described how I feel about Showtime's QUEER AS FOLK when she said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!"  During the five years of its run, I was hopelessly addicted to QUEER AS FOLK, and I was hardly alone.  And I still do -- and always will -- have a very special place in my heart for this show.  Awesomely written, photographed and acted, QUEER AS FOLK earned my loyalty and that of all its fans, both gay and straight.  And now the entire series has been reissued on DVD, in a very handsome box-set with a new bonus disc added to the already-generous amount of extra features ported over from the original complete-season releases.

During its run the show received a measure of criticism from certain gay columnists -- including TV GUIDE's resident bitch, Matt Roush, who called it "increasingly crude and self-righteous" and made references to "an ever-increasing nudity quotient."  This type of criticism most likely came from people who'd seen the first few episodes of Season 1 and hadn't bothered to watch since.  Regular QAF viewers knew very well that there was far less sex depicted in Seasons 2-5 than in Season 1.  This could be because viewers had become acclimated to the sex, and the show's creators no longer felt as strong a need to push the envelope.  In any case, QUEER AS FOLK was never all about the sex.  It was a character-driven, relationship-oriented series, and even in its groundbreaking first season the sex was depicted not gratuitously or for shock value, but as a natural part of the lives of its characters.

For me, one of the most impressive aspects of the show (and one which most critics seemed to miss) was its attention to detail.  For instance, how many critics noticed that every episode had its own theme?  Some were more obvious than others, but each episode had some underlying thread that connected all of its storylines.  Season 1 had themes such as mothers and sons, fathers and sons, dangerous liaisons, fighting your nature.  Season 2 included themes such as fallen heroes, following your dream, parent-child conflict, and gay pride.  Although this certainly was not a necessity to the show, for those of us who noticed, details such as these augmented our enjoyment.

QUEER AS FOLK also benefitted me on a personal level: it got me out of the house.  Whenever any QAF cast members made an in-person appearance, I was there!  I also became a semi-regular at The Revolver in West Hollywood (now East-West Lounge), which in itself was something of a miracle since I've never been a clubber or a socialite in any shape or form.  But going to The Revolver to see QUEER AS FOLK was quite a different experience from watching it in the privacy of one's own home, I discovered.  Every Sunday night, a large yet amazingly well-behaved crowd showed up to watch QAF, and the feeling of camaraderie inherent to this was something I had rarely experienced.  I never made any new friends or got laid as a result, but at least I became a little less of a hermit, which was definitely a step in the right direction!  So in this respect QUEER AS FOLK changed my life for the better.

As a critic and a fan I'm still amazed at the shallow, superficial, short-sighted nature of some of the criticism leveled at the show, particularly at its lead character, the enigmatic Brian Kinney.  I've heard Brian referred to as a sex addict, empty, shallow, and "just a walking dick."  I may be scoffed at for saying this, but Brian was NOT a sex addict!  Brian was a very wounded guy who had always viewed falling in love as a giving-up of control.  He felt threatened by the notion of relinquishing control of his life or his body (which is partly why he was a total top) and used sex as a way of maintaining that control.  But far from being shallow, Brian was deeply human, cared a great deal about his friends, and far more often than not ended up doing the right thing.  Not only was Brian Kinney one of the most complex, multi-layered characters ever created for television, but the show's creators Ron Cowen and Dan Lipman were exceedingly lucky to find Gale Harold to play him.  Capable of conveying enormous emotion with the most subtle of gestures -- a blink of his eyes, a turn of his head -- Harold at times recalls the finest work of Olivier and Garbo.  He is an actor of remarkable intelligence and depth.

We were also very fortunate to have Randy Harrison and Peter Paige playing, respectively, Justin Taylor and Emmett Honeycutt.  As openly gay actors, they sometimes connected with us even more strongly than the other actors did.  Since we knew they were gay in real life, the characters they played tended to take on an added emotional reality for us, even if it was only in our minds.  If Brian was the centerpiece of QUEER AS FOLK, Justin was its most important, influential character.  From the very beginning Justin affected and changed the lives of the other characters.  It was Justin who named Brian and Lindsay's baby "Gus," Justin who got Brian and Michael to reconcile after the birthday party fiasco, Justin who blackmailed Kip into dropping his sexual-harassment lawsuit against Brian, Justin who helped Brian get Lindsay and Melanie (the enchanting Thea Gill and Michelle Clunie) back together.  Justin also encouraged Debbie to investigate the background of the murdered kid she found in the dumpster, which led to her relationship with -- and eventual engagement to -- Detective Horvath!  Most importantly though, Justin affected enormous changes in Brian.  He was clearly very much in love with Justin, to the point of agreeing to his first committed live-in relationship (in his fashion) and displaying far more vulnerability than ever before.  And if Harrison and Harold both did great work on their own, their scenes together are positively electric!  These two guys have a palpable chemistry with each other -- sort of a combined aura -- that is unlike anything I've ever seen between two actors.  And not just during their sex scenes, either -- you can feel it whenever they're together onscreen, even if they're not looking at each other!  Each brings out the best in the other; they're a great screen couple -- a gay Bogie and Bacall!

My father never really came to terms with my sexual orientation -- or with my own acceptance of it.  He preferred to tell himself that I was "confused," "searching," etc.  Shortly before he died, he told me "I still don't think you know what-the-hell you are."  I wish I could tell my dad now that watching Brian and Justin together (in or out of bed), I am very aware, and very proud, that I am indeed gay.

The contributions made by Peter Paige (and Emmett) to QAF cannot be taken for granted, either.  That the show's most flamboyantly gay character was played by a gay man is significant in that it thrust Paige into a political spotlight he might not have been in had he played, say, Ted (incidentally, the role for which he originally auditioned).  Paige admitted to an interviewer shortly after the show's debut that playing Emmett forced him to confront his own issues of internalized homophobia.  Ours, as well.  Emmett's effeminate mannerisms are those most associated with gays by homophobic straights.  And since over half of the QAF audience was straight, they too were confronted by this effeminate man who was also multi-dimensional, humane, relentlessly honest and immensely lovable.  This helped straights -- and gays -- to see Emmett not as a caricature or a stereotype but as a living, breathing gay man with whom they could identify.  This was especially beneficial for straight people with relatives or co-workers who behave as Emmett does, and for those of us with unresolved issues regarding our own behavior, mannerisms etc.

The show's other strongest asset was Debbie Novotny (the sublime Sharon Gless).  The kind of supportive mom most of us can only wish for, QAF's den mother and everyone's favorite fag hag (besides Liza Minnelli) had much more of an impact than she would probably guess.  Membership in PFLAG chapters across America increased substantially following the show's debut in December of 2000.  And thanks to Debbie -- and QAF -- my relationship with my mother greatly improved.  At my request, my mom started watching my tapes of the show with me.  It was important to me that she see QUEER AS FOLK because I felt it would be a window for her into who I am as a gay man.  Reluctantly at first, she started watching with me.  It took a few episodes, as I knew it would, for her to become accustomed to the tone of the show.  Her initial discomfort had mostly to do with the sex scenes, during which she closed or averted her eyes -- and she continued to do this throughout all five seasons.  But she grew to love the characters (interestingly, Emmett was one of her favorites) and she became every bit as involved with the storylines as any other fan of the show.  And seeing such a loving and accepting mother as Debbie in episode after episode raised her own tolerance level more than I had ever thought possible.

As they have done with other complete-series box-sets (I LOVE LUCY, TWIN PEAKS), Paramount has certainly done right by QUEER AS FOLK.  All 83 episodes are presented letterboxed -- including the earlier seasons, which were not shown that way when they originally aired on Showtime.  Images are flawless, as is the soundtrack which is mixed to Dolby Digital 5.1 and does full justice to both the music and the dialogue -- even in scenes set in the show's iconic Babylon dance club, where our boys can always be clearly heard despite the constant thumpa-thumpa.

All discs are in five digipak foldout sleeves -- one per season, six discs each for Seasons 1 and 2, five discs each for Seasons 3, 4 and 5 -- in a hinged box about the height and depth of a normal CD jewel case and about 14" wide.  As for the bonus disc, located with Season 5, its main feature is a 90-minute reunion luncheon hosted by openly-gay stand-up comic Ant, featuring the show's creators Ron Cowen and Dan Lipman and the principle cast members -- with the exceptions of Gale Harold and Randy Harrison, both of whom were unavailable.

Also included on the bonus disc are two episodes of the current Showime series THE TUDORS, and quite frankly I think this is absolutely ridiculous.  THE TUDORS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is forthcoming on DVD, and cross-promoting it in this set strikes me as fairly inappropriate.  Nor is it appreciated by any of the QUEER AS FOLK fans I've talked to -- especially when there are additional QAF-related bonus features that could have been included instead, such as the emotional 30-minute special QUEER AS FOLK: Saying Goodbye that aired on Showtime when the series ended its run.

Despite this gripe, though, I am very happy with this set, which treats this landmark television series with the respect it richly deserves.

Sometimes we underestimate the importance of each of our voices in creating positive change in the world.  At the time of the show's debut, Showtime ran a promotional short titled Is America Ready For QUEER AS FOLK?  Judging by the show's tremendous success, the answer was a resounding YES!!!  The voice of QUEER AS FOLK was heard loud and clear by audiences of all genders and persuasions.  We were -- and thanks to the magic of DVD, we still are -- fabulously fortunate to have it.

Very highly recommended.

Tags: QUEER AS FOLK