Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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143 of 154 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
QUEER AS FOLK Season 2 is almost as good as the first season, June 26, 2002
QUEER AS FOLK is still one of the most amazing TV Shows ever and is a landmark as the show for the new millennium. This New Queer As Folk Season 2 DVD Box Set has all 20 episodes of the second season of one of the most controversial and bravest series on television today. The BOX SET includes Bonus features such as: behind the scenes outtakes, deleted scenes, special edition episodes, a Photo Gallery, DVD rom extras, and much more. Queer As Folk shows the life of a group of gay guys and a lesbian couple living in Pittsburgh. I feel the first season of QUEER AS FOLK is better, but this second season is very good as well and shows the growth of the characters. I have seen all 20 episodes of Season 2 and it is slower paced than the first season, and I sometimes find myself looking at my watch which rarely ever happened with season 1. I am still amazed at how honest this show is on dealing with gay life. Queer As Folk makes no apologies and thats what is so great about this series. From the graphic sex scenes to the drama of dealing with the prejudice that still haunts America, this show is so brave and I give Showtime a big thumbs up for having the balls to take on such a big risk as Queer As Folk. This show is as close as it gets to real life. This is not a show just for gay people, but for ALL people. It deals with human emotion and thats something we can all relate to whether we be straight, gay, bisexual, black, white, brown or in between. I have since signed up for Showtime just for this show. I encourage anyone who has a open mind and a open heart to BUY this amazing DVD collection as it will inspire you and if nothing else open your mind to a lifestyle not as uncommon as you may think. Watch more than one episode before you judge this amazing series. I will be in line when they release Season 2 of Queer As Folk on DVD.
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52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give Me More!, September 2, 2002
Yes QAF is unique because it is a gay ensemble show but what really makes it unique is the intelligence, its wit and its' true to life form. As far as I am concerned QAF is a remedy to all the nighttime ensemble soaps that are and were on TV. It has a wit that only those sextarians on Friends could only dream of. There is none of the unrealistic pretentious dialogue that riddles Dawsons Creek (whose teenagers speak like PHD candidates). It has achieved the slice of life that Melrose Place originally aimed for but never achieved. It has an earthiness that Beveryly Hills 90210 could never reach for. QAF is one out of my 3 favorite shows currently on TV.I have to admit that season 2 was not quite as good as season 1. It seems as if for the first half of the season they tried to make it light (a la Friends). But most of the time I found that it fell very flat. I guess that the creators found that QAF- light was not working and they shifted back to being serious mid season.
Also this season was way too slow and drawn out. It lacked the frenetic pace of season one. And many of the storylines could have been summed up in two episodes. Namely Brian and Justin's relationship which did not have to take 20 episodes to come to its inevitable conclusion. But besides that I still love the way that QAF tackle the issues of life in a very realistic way. Not in a wishful thinking kind of way. But in a way that says this is life. Some of the highlights from this season.: Lindsay (let's all get along) finally standing up to her parents. I loved the way the scene was handled. Many other creators would have used the Bull in the China shop method by making Lindsay's reaction to her parents flippant. But instead you could really see that she was really torn up inside and that her heart was breaking. That scene showed me was no matter how old we become we all deep inside crave the approval of our parents. It's a feeling that never goes away. Another true to life episode was when Brian's company was being bought out and he was being given a week to show his new boss why he shouldn't be canned. Instead of having Brian tell off his new boss (which you would think fitting with his arrogant nature). Brian works hard to salvage his career. It goes to show that even Brian is practical enough to know that paying the bills comes far above personal ego. One of the things I adore about this show is the character Brian Kinney. Oh yes he can be a SOB but I just love his level of confidence. It is just simply amazing to watch him operate. Like it or not its' people like this with this level of confidence about them that make it to the top in the business world. There was another scene where Justin is saying some ugly things about his mother and Brian tells him to shut up. And that he should be grateful for having a mother who cares. This season there is a new romance for Michael. Played by an openly gay actor by the name of Robert Gant. Ironically there is very little chemistry between him and Hal Sparks (Michael). I really found Gants' acting to be flat and uninspiring,( I guess that it was no surprise to find out that he was originally a lawyer) Chris Potter's performance (David from Season 1) was much much better. Emmetts romance with an older man, was really beautiful. Emmette has often proved to be the comic relief of the show, but it was really sweet and delightful to watch him bring out a spark in this older man. Of course there was the wedding. Which could have been made into a political diatribe, but wasn't. It was just a beautiful ceremony between two people. One of the chief things I have envied about this show is the relationship between the seven principle characters. They are like a family and I don't think that this is all simply due to the fact that they are gay. Because of the way people move around we are often very far from our blood relatives and have to connect or make a new family with those around us. But in all I still think that QAF is far more superior show than most of what is out on TV. Thank you Cowlip productions for not going the cliched political correct way and making my TV viewing worth while!
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worthwhile continuation of an essential TV drama, April 16, 2003
QUEER AS FOLK: Season Two
(USA - 2002)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
TV soundtrack: Stereo
Following the violent assault which closed Season One, Brian (Gale Harold) takes Justin (Randy Harrison) into his home, where they develop a passionate - but open - relationship. Michael (Hal Sparks) falls in love with a hunky college professor (Robert Gant) who turns out to be HIV positive, leading to conflict with Michael's worried mom Debbie (Sharon Gless). Elsewhere, Melanie (Michelle Clunie) and Lindsay (Thea Gill) are troubled by a ghost from Mel's past, a vibrant free spirit named Leda (Nancy Anne Sakovich) who insinuates herself into their relationship in an unexpected way. Emmett (Peter Paige) falls in love with an elderly millionaire (Bruce Gray), and eternal wallflower Ted (Scott Lowell) finds success as an Internet porn baron! Then, sexy young violinist Ethan Gold (Fabrizio Filippo) enters the fray, turning Justin's head in a manner which has far-reaching consequences for all concerned...
Having exhausted plotlines from the original British TV series, the second season of Showtime's "Queer as Folk" strives to establish its own identity, and largely succeeds on its own terms. Despite the grim storyline surrounding Justin's recovery, the tone of the series is considerably lighter this time around, with an emphasis on character-based comedy and fruity one-liners, many of which appear to have strayed from a particularly filthy 'Carry On' movie! Comedy aside, however, the writers make room for a number of important social issues, including HIV and AIDS, barebacking, pornography, and the gay community's apparent indifference following the death of a young man who was killed by a stranger he picked up in a nightclub. The emphasis on drugs which characterized the opening season has been considerably downsized, and the simmering relationship between Michael and Brian no longer dominates proceedings, while Mel and Lindsay are brought out of the shadows to take their rightful place at the forefront of the QAF ensemble (the 'wedding' episode is a joy). Performances are uniformly excellent, though Gant's character (Ben) is basically consigned to the periphery. Former model Sakovich plays Leda with genuine relish (her brief scenes with Brian are a scream), and ultra-sexy Filippo turns up the heat as a gifted but lonely musician who throws Justin's world into disarray.
Overall, Season Two lacks the dramatic punch of its predecessor, and the lighter tone has led to accusations from some quarters that the show has descended into routine soap opera. Even if the criticisms were justified (and they're not), there's actually nothing wrong with 'soap opera', so long as it's done well, though Brian's stubborn refusal to acknowledge Justin's emotional needs results in a disappointing season finale, whose outcome is never in doubt. Inevitably, perhaps, it's the small moments which make the biggest impression: The profound, but unspoken, love between Brian and Lindsay whenever they're alone together; Justin listening to a CD recording of Ethan's music as he contemplates a life-changing betrayal; Michael breaking down in a hospital corridor as Ben falls prey to an opportunistic illness (Hal Sparks' distress in this scene is achingly realistic). Season two may not scale the same heights as its illustrious predecessor, but it's still as dramatic, funny and empowering as ever, an essential part of the American TV landscape at the beginning of the 21st century.
All in all, a fair continuation of the lives, loves and adventures of these extraordinary characters, though slightly compromised by its lack of heavyweight dramatic fireworks. Brian remains the driving force behind the entire show, Mel and Lindsay are still the best lesbians in the world, Ben's sculpted chest is a wonder to behold, and Ethan is without doubt one of the sexiest guys to stroll down Liberty Avenue since QAF began! Don't miss it.
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DVD ~ Gale Harold
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~ Various Artists - Soundtracks - Television
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