Customer Reviews

Queer as Folk - The Complete Series

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First off, let me just say I would give the show five stars. It has heart and soul, gives you character you love, and still deals with important social issues.

The box set, on the other hand, I would give two stars. The set is actually really nice and looks great. There's just one problem, the disc holders are faulty. I've had to exchange the set more then once and eventually get a refund because each set I got had about half the discs dislodged from shipping. Most were scratched and scuffed so that they were unplayable in parts. Others have reported the same problem as well. I would suggest buying the seasons individually despite the increased price because no matter what method of shipping, the discs are likely to get dislodged and damaged. Better to pay a bit more and have a set you can actually watch.

The delivery was on time and the packaging is exceptional. However, some of the DVDs have glitches in them, places where the scene stops and doesn't move and there is no sound. It is a situation where you don't want to send the entire collection back, because only parts of it are defective and you don't know what you will get when the replacement arrives. I have only viewed the first season and have this problem. I am hoping for better for the rest of the collection.

"Queer as Folk" is one of those amazing series that is a perfect time capsule of its time. The series is based upon the British television series of the same name and follows the lives of four gay and two lesbian friends that along with a few others make up an artificial family. This family lives in Pittsburg, PN and the series focuses primarly on their relationships as friends as well as the romantic entanglements they get themselves involved in within the five years of the series.

The inaugural season focuses upon establishing the key characters for the series. At the center of the series are boyhood friends Michael (the essential `boy-next-door') and Brian Kenny (A Tom Cat that has slept with more men that he could possibly count). From there the characters branch out to include Emmett (a very flamboyant, yet comfortable with himself), Ted (the most closeted and republican member of the group and the lesbian's Melanie and Lindsey. From their the characters branch out to include Michael's almost overly accepting Mother, Debbie (who works at the groups hangout diner) and her brother Vic (a older gay man infected with the HIV virus).

The pilot perfectly sets the stage for the series as Brian meets Justin, a underage boy that makes him think about his lifestyle as well as the birth of the Melanie and Lindsey's son. From there the series branches off into a character study of four contemporary gay men, just trying to live their lives. They aren't trying to make any gradeoso statements about homosexuality - they are just trying to find love in a crazy and sometimes harsh world. And beyond love - all they really want is acceptance.

"Queer as Folk" was the first series in America to bluntly discuss the life of homosexuals. And it did so in a very entertaining and engrossing way. Even heterosexual's found themselves drawn into dramatic intalgements of the series. And beyond the drama, this series is a perfect time capsule of what life was to be gay in America at the turn of the century. Paramount has collected all 78-episodes on 28 discs with all the original bonus features intact. Additionally they have included a bonus disc with a retrospective featurette that reunited all the cast members for the first time since the filming of the series finale.

Queer as Folk - The Complete Series - is worth buying. The characters are so different from one another and one gets caught up in wondering what they will experience next. QAF presents the characters and storyline so well that you feel as if you know each one and your feelings/concerns are yanked right into their lives.

To clarify the packaging...yes, it is true that the DVD's do come loose easily. The comments made in this opinion section scared me and I questioned whether to order it. I took my chances anyway. My first set was poorly packaged. The discs were loose and scratched; the box was damaged. I contacted Amazon, which made my exhange seamless. I UPS'd (at their cost) my damaged set for a new box set that they packaged extremely well. It arrived in perfect condition. Amazon was an A+ company to work with.

I am so happy I took the chance. QAF is now mine to watch and keep to watch again. It was definitely worth it.

This comment is for the box set. The series is great but the case design is crappy. All the dvd's are lose in the set. Every time you open a season the dvd's fall out. Mine wasn't scratched but I can see how that can happen.

I can't even begin to describe how amazing this show is. The first episode of Queer as Folk, full of interesting cinematography, realistic characters, and great storylines draws you in for a five season journey with the men and women of Liberty Avenue. Every episode is full of heart, and covers issues like no other television show. This is a show that is truly amazing.

Although I've read some complaints about the packaging of the complete series, all of my discs were fine. A few of them, mostly from the first season, had slipped out of their places, but there were no scratches, and I've had no problems playing any of the discs.

Buy this series right now. You shan't regret it.

The show was great, and I wanted to get a copy. I guess I am still going to be wanting.
I am now returning the second copy Amazon shipped for a refund.

The first copy was scratched discs and an odd uneven discoloration in the media layer of several of the discs. I chalked it up to bad packaging, damaged in transit and got a replacement.

The second copy was scratched discs, the odd uneven discoloration in the media layer of several discs, and what appeared to be glue on at least 1 disc.

The odd media discoloration was not even, it was blobby like someone had poured something on part of the disc, but this is in the media layer, inside the plastic, not the surface. I Googled and discovered that people with similar discoloration on their media found them not working over time.

The discoloration was on the same discs in both boxes I got, so I doubt it was anything Amazon did. Its more likely these were pressed by the cheapest bidder, and I can see why it was cheap.

I am not willing to spend this much money on something that I'm pretty sure is going to end up failing. I'm not going to keep checking another box to see if maybe this time it will be a good copy.

You might want to skip this boxset and try picking up the individual seasons, or you can hope that after enough returns you get a good copy of this.

What a relief to be able to view Queer As Folk in it's full glory after having endured the edited LOGO airings. This show is to be revered and is beautifully and fully commemorated with this complete box set.The reunion DVD was the first thing I watched when I opened the box. Sadly, neither Gale Harold(Brian) nor Randy Harrison(Justin) were present. It was a little jarring to watch seeing that these were probably the most neurotic and insecure individuals who were ever assembled.( Can we say "shallow"?.Sorry cast ,I still love what you each contributed to the series!) Instead of being greatful to have been part of this landmark series they seemed traumatized and disgruntled about being typecast. If you don't want to be disillusioned skip this disc and just enjoy the show for what it is : a rich and full account of Gay life as it existed just a few years ago. The emotions and situations in the show are timeless and universal and will warm our hearts as well as titilate us for years to come. Much thanks to the creators and to Showtime.I have never enjoyed anything in entertainment more than this. I will always cherish QAF.

When I received my set the first thing I checked was whether or not any disks popped out of their holders as what other reviewers mentioned. I was happy to discover every disk was in its place. Unfortunately, while watching the second disk of the first season, I discovered the the disk is faulty. Looking at the bottom of the disk, there are absolutely no visible scratches at all but no matter which DVD player I try it on, the last part of Episode 4 on that disk just couldn't be read. I found a DVD scanning software (Nero Diskspeed) and found out that disks 2 3 4 5 were all faulty. Only disks 1 and 6 came out the test without issues.

So yeah, unfortunately there must have been a problem in the manufacturing of these disks. I guess I may have to get the individual seasons as opposed to this convenient set.

If you are a die hard fan of the show (as I am) this is the right purchase for you. It combines all five seasons of the show together for one relatively low price. The only complaint that I would have is that the packaging for the DVDS is not the best quality. When my order arrived all of the DVDS had fallen out of the places in the holder. They still continue to do this today. However the deal (and the need to see this show frequently) far out way the inconvience.