Queer as Folk: Season 4

Over the past few years the premium cable network Showtime has been changing the direction of their stable of first run series. While rival HBO has been focusing on shows with broad appeal Showtime has been seeking to fill numerous niche markets. One of these series is Queer as Folk. The show focuses on a group of gay and lesbian people living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as they struggle with the vagaries of life. Admittedly, I have not been a regular viewer of the series prior to this forth season DVD release, but like any well formed soap opera, the dialogue quickly brings new members of the audience up to speed.

As the season opens Brian (Gale Harold) is on the verge of financial ruin. Having lost his position in a successful advertising firm he is faced with the loss of his condo and more importantly he we developed ego. Michael (Hal Sparks) hit the road with the teenaged Hunter (Harris Allan) in order to save him from a bitter custody dispute with his mother who is a barely recovering alcohol abuser. Michael’s fiancé, Ben (Robert Gant) a college professor, is fully supportive of the action even though he appears to have disagreed with the drastic step. He is just glad when the pair decides to come out of hiding, returning to face Hunter’s mother in court. The boy is represented by family friend and lesbian Melanie (Michelle Clunie) who takes the case for a dollar. When the judge decides to give the mother a second change her son kisses her and announces that he is HIV positive. The mother vehemently reacts resulting in an immediate reversal of the judge’s ruling. Little melodramatic moments such as this that detracts from the full impact of the series’ dramatic impetus, the way the audience can get around this is to take this series for what it actual is, a soap opera. In another thread Justin (Randy Harrison) joins a gay vigilante group called the Pink Posse in order to fight back against the recent round of gay bashing threatening his community. He was pushed to this action by his own personal experience and pushed over the edge when a friend, Darren (Ryan Kelly), is severely beaten in a brutal act of violence targeted against gay men.

There are also story arcs that transcend the gay community. Ted (Scott Lowell) finds that life after a stint in rehabilitation for substance abuse is far from the slogans he learned in numerous twelve steps meetings. His fight for reintegration into the real world is portrayed as extremely difficult and forces Ted to reexamine what his future will hold. The recovery meetings become a new dependency for Ted which has mixed affects on his life. He may be clean and sober but now he is as dependent on the meetings as he was on the substances that nearly destroyed him.

The introduction of such topics that are more common to the whole of the human experience does provide some bases for those not in the primary target audience to identify with the characters. It does show that even though the characters are largely defined by their sexuality they do share the same trails and tribulations as the main stream straight community. This approach is needed since many of the characters are almost exaggerated presentations of gay men. The camp factor is too often over the top with many cases of stereotypical dialogue and behavior. While this does detract from dramatic impact it does provide some comic relief from the serious and topical issues this series explores.

The series does feature some excellent actors portraying very intense and difficult characters. Robert Gant gives incredible depth to his presentation of Ben. As a gay activist he brings his personal commitment across to the audience without ever becoming preachy or heavy handed. His style is one of constant excellence that adds much to this series. Playing his partner is Hal Sparks, perhaps now best known for his many appearances on VH1’s every growing number of decade oriented clip shows. While predominately a comedian Sparks has a gift for the drama in this series showing a believable, fully formed character. Scott Lowell has one of the largest character arcs present in this season. He displays the emotional roller coaster a person in recovery must face and the toil it brings to the addict trying to change his destructive ways. Fans of the classic cop series Cagney and Lacey will certainly note the presence of Sharon Gless. She is the epitome of the wise earth mother here. She exudes comfort to the extended family she emotionally supports. In all this ensemble cast plays well off each other, never crowding, always supportive.

The pacing of each episode is again much like a classic day time soap opera. Things move fast, often too fast to be realistic. Still, the momentum can sweep you up and draw you into the lives of these characters. At the core of this series there is human drama. While some of the story lines pertain only to the gay community such as such current hot topics as same gender marriage, gay parenting and homophobia, other topics are independent of sexual orientation. This allows straight and gay members of the audience to each find some means to identify with the plights of the characters. Part of the success is due to the fact that series creator Russell T. Davies was one of the producers of the original version shown in England. He took the much lauded production values embraced there making the translation to an American audience work.

Showtime presented the audio for this forth season in both Dolby Stereo and Dolby 5.1. I found the 5.1 mix rich with a full sound stage and excellent use of the rear speakers for ambiance. The bass was mixed a bit loud in several scenes though. The video was a nothing spectacular; especially considering the series is shown in high definition in many locations. It was clear enough but nothing popped with it. There was a novel selection of extras provided. Behind the ‘Babylon Tour / Los Angeles’ looks at some of the settings used and a tour of the locales. There is a featurette of the fashions in the series that really was little more than fluff. Thinking a little out of the box they included Behind the Scenes of Peter's Directorial Debut, "Say Uncle", Peter's "Say Uncle" Trailer and a sneak Peek of Michelle's and Gale's Latest Movie, "The Unseen". While not for every taste this is a well constructed series that is filling the intended niche nicely.

Posted 4/1/05