retroactive raves
Oh dear. I've gone and gotten myself hooked on another show.
I had never watched "Queer as Folk" back in its heyday because a) I didn't have cable, let alone Showtime, and b) I figured it would be a glossy, unrealistic soap opera, so I just wasn't interested. Also, there was no such thing as TV on DVD back then, so if I didn't get the channel, there was no way for me to see it, even if I had wanted to.
This weekend, though, I suggested, on a whim, that we rent a couple discs from the first season ... and thus began our descent into fandom.
Looking at the show, which debuted in 2000, six years later is a revelation. The press said it was a groundbreaking series back then, but as I watch I'm amazed that even a more-progressive cable network ever funded the production. It's far more explicit than I had imagined. I used to marvel at and appreciate how out-there "Will & Grace" could be, how risky the language and situations presented were, given that it was aired on NBC, which didn't even have the cable designation to protect it. But "Queer as Folk" makes "Will & Grace" look like a kiddie show.
I'm not just talking about the sex, either, though it's pretty graphic for television. It's the writing, the character development -- always the most important part of a program for me -- and the production quality. The story has pulled me in, and I want to know what happens to the characters, even the few I don't particularly like.
Of course, I'm only nearing the end of the first season. Shows often go downhill after they become successful: The producers start fixing things that aren't broken, changing things just for the sake of change; I hope that wasn't the case with "Queer as Folk."
Still, I look forward to finding out for myself. I'll probably be back at the video store Wednesday to pick up Season Two.