AUGH.

[kaydeefalls]

Okay, in case you haven't noticed, in the past two days I have become rather abruptly OBSESSED with Queer as Folk UK. It is a cruel state of being. I just watched the entirety of the television series. There is no more. And for FUCK'S SAKE, WHY did no one warn me that the Stuart/Vince sexual tension is NEVER RESOLVED? adljhsdkfkhasfa HAVE SEX ALREADY OH WAIT SERIES CANCELLED.

Bitter, party of one...?

Anyway.

So, er, how's QAF US? Because, you know, my addiction, it demands to be fed. I realize that the actors won't be nearly as sexy without Charlie and whoever the hell the adorable, adorable geek that is Vince is played by, but. I mean, there's more than one season + minimovie. That means it'll take me more than ONE NIGHT to get through the ENTIRETY of the QAF.

Is it any good? Is it worth buying?

Comments

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

The series wasn't cancelled... it was never meant to be resolved.

Comparing nothing but the scripts of their first few episodes, I'd judged that QaF-US doesn't measure up, but I hear it ended up being a very different kind of show so it's not really fair to compare them.

And finally, not to be crass about it, but I've written a ton of QaF-UK fic... it's here (http://cesare.populli.net).

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Fic? Gimme!

...er, I'll check that out later, when it isn't 3:30am and I don't have class in the morning...

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

Having never seen QAF UK, I LOVE QAF US. However, a lot of people who loved the UK one hate the US one. But that's to be expected...I guess just like with The Office you have to go into them without trying to compare the two. I hear the storylines veer off fairly quickly from the UK version, too. I don't know what the correlation between the characters are, but Brian (the one who hooks up with the teenager) is sexay. :) But Emmett is my favorite (see icon)...I don't even know if Emmett has a UK counterpart. I'm guessing he does.

I would say it is worth buying, yes. I was totally addicted for awhile. And here's another QAF US icon someone made me:



And this one of beizy's mesmerizes me every time I see it:

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... must ponder.

Emmett? Is he flamingly flaming? Not one of the main trio? Then yes, he has a UK counterpart, who is hilarious.

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. He puts the flame in flamer. He's awesome.

YOu could try downloading a few episodes to check it out. I'm sure they're available somewhere. Just try not to think of the UK one when you watch. :)

[rodneyscat.livejournal.com]

Emmett!! ♥

I adore Emmett :D He's my favorite character in the series.

Could you play that clip of the US version I posted a couple of days ago? I could get you the first episodes of the US version in files like that so you could try it out, if it's worth buying. There are 5 seasons in total, and I've only got the 1st season (20 something episodes). There's of course a good chance that the 1st season is the best, I don't know, haven't seen the other seasons. It's ended now (last episode was a couple of months ago).

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

I played your clip (thanks so much for putting those up, BTW!), but since I couldn't get the UK episode 1 to play, I couldn't really compare the two. But I think I'll give the US version a chance, anyway.

[suzilee.livejournal.com]

I only saw the first two series of US QAF and don't like it nrealy as much as ours. It's entertaining but it's just a totally different show. And it doesn't have Craig Kelly or Aidan Gillen...It's also not written by Russell T Davies (obviously) and I just love how his writing is purely about the story, not about the fact they're gay, if that makes sense.

So, er, I'm digressing. It's not bad, but it's not quite Queer as Folk to me.

UK wasn't cancelled, actually, he just never wanted to write too much and so planned it to end as it did!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Must ponder. I think I might have difficulty looking at US QAF as an entity in its own right, rather than constantly comparing it to the UK version.

GAH. I can understand quitting while you're ahead, but there was SO MUCH goodness in QAF UK! Hmph.

[beizy.livejournal.com]

I could go on forever about the differences and what makes either version preferable to the other, really.

The UK one is a tight story focused on two-three characters and it is very, very British. The American story is (obviously) a longer story focused on more characters who are generally brighter, louder, and faster because of the Americanness of the adaption. To that end some people find the American version a bit campy. But in the end, the two have completely different purposes. The UK one wasn't meant to be WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE QUEER--it was just a story about some men in Manchester who just happen to be gay. The US one is very much WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE QUEER, including political plot lines as well as a lot of controversial "gay culture" issues such as drug use in clubs and AIDs.

If you're one of those people who consistently prefer the British version of American spin-offs, you may not like it. Frankly, I like them both and I don't think you can have one exclude the other, simply based on the fact that beyond the first season, the two shows are nothing alike.

Also, if you're in it for the Stuart/Vance then don't go looking for the same Brian/Michael in the American version...in the UK one we're supposed to focus on Stuart and Vance and Stuart doesn't fall for Nathan. In the US one, it's not the same deal.

And of course there's the season two syndrome...people who don't have patience to stick with the show until the characters settle in season three and beyond tend to give up.

Personally, I love the flashy, loud, colorful sexiness of the American version. The only way I can describe it? It's like...slash. Only, they are gay. And it's on screen. And written by gay men. LOL.

It's a fantastic show with some very endearing characters, and totally worth the buy. You can get the first season off of an Amazon seller slightly used (the copies are viewed like, once, they're more or less new) for around $35.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

*sighs* I do love the Stuart/Vince so. But that's tied quite a bit to the actors playing them, so I might not get hung up on it when the US characters are so clearly different. I'll probably give it a try, though, since it's not too expensive.

[beizy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the thing. Even if you're a huge Stuart/Vince shipper it won't translate literally to the Brian/Michael end of things. Not only are the actors different, but the characters are different.

I dunno, the UK ending sort of bothered me. Like...the whole point of the Stuart/Vince thing is that they're great friends, but that Vince needs to establish himself as a person aside from Stuart. And then in the end...they go off together. It seems to defeat the purpose of the arc. Which is why I prefer the American version of that arc, really. But eh, now I'm just nitpicking. ;)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Actually, the way I saw the arc of the show was Stuart realizing how much he really needs Vince, not the other way around. Cameron sure thought that Stuart was smothering Vince, but then, he was also trying to control Vince in his own way. Vince essentially stands up for himself when he makes the decision to follow Stuart off on the road trip -- he's actively choosing to be a part of Stuart's life, rather than just tagging around because he has nothing better to do.

Not that I've become at all opinionated on the subject. ;)