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SHOW HISTORY: UK

Queer As Folk first hit the screens of the UK on Channel 4 in February 1998 with a daring billboard campaign and an underground expectation unprecedented for a drama on the fourth channel. Even before the show had aired, the mainly homophobic British media was in frenzy. The middle ground papers had a field day and when the show aired they were not disappointed.

The storyline centres around three completely different gay men, different ages, and different classes and at very different stages of coming out.

Manchester has for a long time been a very tolerant city with its openly gay councillors and a town hall that isn’t afraid to fly the rainbow flag. This has led to the phenomenon that is Canal Street.

Canal Street many years ago was a run down back street just on the edge of the city centre famous for its playboy club and the main red light area. Rarely would it be busy at night.

Then one by one the village developed into a gay centre to rival the world. There are at last count 50 or more gay bars, gay clubs, gay taxi firms, gay hairdressers, gay solicitors, gay doctors, etc, in fact a complete gay community based on two or three streets. This became the model for regeneration in many cities redeveloping the warehouses and run down mills of which Manchester has abundance.

So we have this fabulous back drop to one of the best dramas ever written, breaking new ground showing gay sex like it has never been shown before. Introducing words like rimming to the straight world and generally making people sit up and realise that there is this big community in Manchester and it is queer as anything.

Originally titled Queer As Fuck, it really didn’t need a title like that to shock and compel the audience. This really was a true tale of gay folk in Manchester those who identified with the characters saw it for what it was, those who couldn’t handle it, never knew the gay scene was like that.

The funny thing is that the drama sort to imitate Canal Street and now Queer As Folk is deeply embedded in Canal Street. In one of the scenes a bar called Dante’s is mentioned as a completely fictitious bar to go with all the familiar names on Canal Street. Today guess what they have just opened a bar called Dante’s.

Somehow even now when you hear the Q.A.F theme tune played in a bar that was used for the filming or a passing gay tourist tells you they came to Canal Street because they have seen the series, a little shudder goes down the back of your neck.

The series has been shown in so many countries it’s impossible to keep up but in every country in the world some has seen Queer As Folk, on TV, at special screenings or on DVD and video.

The name Queer As Folk originated from the British saying "There's 'nout so queer as folk" which meant there's nothing as strange as people. Nothing whatsoever to do with being gay or homosexual.

Some of the reasons why Queer As Folk was "dropped" was that some scenes were extremely explicit and also one of the actors in the series was underage. The UK equivalent of Justin NA was around 15 years old.

I live in the UK and I never saw Queer As Folk here but I have seen the American version. I will see the UK version once I find someone with the video's. I also heard recently from someone working for channel 4 in the UK that their has been talk of redoing the series.

THE AMERICAN VERSION:

Queer As Folk is an unapologetic celebration of life in all its varied forms. Within the differences, we discover similarities that make us all human. The series focuses on the relationships, careers, loves, and ambitions of a group of gay men and lesbians living in Pittsburgh. Lending strong drama with charm and humour - a compelling, realistic, and graphic depiction of society.

Season 1 Overview:

It was a long and varied year for the lads of Liberty Ave. Michael and Brian joined Ted on the dark side of age 30. There were births and deaths, soul-searching moments and re-births and loves and losses. More importantly, however, is the fact that each member of the gang grew closer as friends, lovers, and people in general.

The birth of Brian and Lindsay's baby Gus started the year off with a bang. Although Brian may be the biological father, he has no real interest in being the boy's Daddy. Eventually, he relinquished his parental rights to Melanie, Lindsay's lover of almost six years. Over the course of the year, Brian's intolerant and cruel father Jack died. Then, he was slapped with a sexual discrimination lawsuit. On the bright side, neither event was catastrophic enough to phase the 'heartless shit,' as Ted calls him. Perhaps more important to Brian's maturation and emotional thaw was his introduction to Justin, the wide-eyed, blonde closeted kid who satisfied his lust, and filled the a deep void in his heart. While it definitely wasn't love at first sight, Justin did become the object of Brian's (occasional) affection.

The virginal 17-year old Justin experienced the greatest transformation over the year. Under the often extreme and rather questionable tutelage of Brian Kinney, Justin went from the shy, weird kid at St. James Academy to the talk of the town. After embracing his sexuality, he stalwartly opposed his homophobic father, earned himself the title King of Babylon, and formed the Gay-Straight Student Alliance with is friend Daphne.

Now living with the effervescent Debbie, Michael's PFLAG-waving mom, Justin remains in close contact with his affectionate and loving mother, Jennifer. As the year came to a close, things may have ended on a grim note for the eternal optimist, but there is no doubt his determined personality will see him through the troubled waters.

Michael, on the other hand, wasn't so quick to embrace his sexuality. It took a small push (okay, a really big shove) from the heartless, but frank, Brian, for the Q-mart manager to come out of the proverbial closet at work. Outside of this workday strife, Michael's love life also had its ups and downs. Against the better judgement of his friends, Michael decided that it was time to settle down. So, he moved in with his handsome and rich boyfriend, Dr. Dave. At first, it was a fine balance between the rowdy lifestyle of his friends and the refined one offered by his cutie but things settled down once both partners adjusted. That is, until Brian caught a peep of the good doctor enjoying the scenery at the local bathhouse. En route to Portland at the conclusion of the year to be with his son, David was still unsure if Michael would ultimately join him there.

It's a wonder that poor, poor Ted can ever keep his spirits up. First, there's the unending stream of rejections from the hot young things at Babylon, then there was the drug-induced coma, followed by his disastrous relationship with Roger, and then his heartbreaking loss of Blake, who chose drugs over him. Nevertheless, 'boring old Ted,' as Brian calls him, will realize that a New Year brings new hope. After all, he did embrace his inner leather daddy.

His best friend Emmett, on the other, is the polar opposite. Between the AIDS scare and the time he denounced his sexuality and had a tryst with a woman, Emmett's had his ups and downs. But thanks to his make-believe encounter online, he now knows that no matter how bad life gets, the truth (and maybe a little Liza) will always set you free.

On the lesbian side of the fence, Lindsay and Melanie also endured a little. When Lindsay - possibly suffering from post-partum depression - pushed Melanie away, it prompted the latter partner to have an affair. Separation and a certain Frenchmen named Gulliaume kept them apart for a while, but love ultimately prevailed, and got the two lovebirds fell back into each others arms.

As the year drew to a conclusion, things ended on a precarious note. Was Michael bound for Portland? Was Brian on the verge of suicide? Will Justin survive the vicious attack from an angry schoolmate? Stay tuned....

Season 2 Preview:

When Michael returns to Pittsburgh for a visit with the lads he finds that the gay-bashing has left Justin with post-traumatic anxiety. As Justin struggles to remember the beating, Brian finds himself haunted by the memory of the fateful night. Meanwhile, and on a lighter note, Lindsay and Melanie rope Emmett and Ted into accompanying them as straight dates to a conservative wedding.