Plot: What’s it about?
“Queer as Folk” is based on the British series of the same name, but don’t let the title throw you. Well, no do let it throw you. This is what you get and the show makes no amends for what it presents. The story follows the lives of five gay men in Pittsburgh and the show is full of sex, drugs, adventure, friendship and love. This is the fourth season of the critically-acclaimed show and evidently the years haven’t made it more subdued. And, admittedly, I had not seen an episode until I sat down to watch this season. Wow. Truth that you can’t judge a book by its cover, “Queer as Folk” is not something that’s easy to watch. It has a very “real” depiction of homosexual intercourse to say the least, but that’s the beauty of being broadcast on Showtime – they’re not limited to network standards. If “Sex and the City” opened the door to some rather raunchy behavior “Queer as Folk” has propped it open and perhaps even ripped it off the hinges!
The fourth season is all I have to review and having never seen a previous episode, I can only say that this season concentrates on issues that are prevalent in the gay community. Naturally these are issues that could conceivably affect the rest of us as well (HIV, Drugs, etc.), but the graphic depiction of things make this hard to watch at times. When it’s all said and done, I don’t know if “Queer as Folk” will stand the test of time. Certainly it will be remembered for it’s graphic depiction of sex and drugs much like “The Real World” or “Survivor” will be remembered for starting the Reality TV craze. However, the show is very structured and has great writing (dialogue) and one of the few that “tells it like it is”. While I’m not sure if I’ll watch new episodes when Season Five comes around (rumored to be the last season, by the way) I can say that I’m glad I sat down and watched this season. Further proof that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Video: How does it look?
“Queer as Folk” looks great shown in it’s original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The anamorphic image looks sharp and crisp and it’s nice to see television presented in the widescreen format. I found there to be a few minor problems, mainly some dingy spots on the print but nothing too bad. Detail is excellent and there is no sign of edge enhancement to speak of. These images look far better than when originally broadcast (I have caught bits and pieces of the show on TV, even though I’d never watched a full episode) which is nice. Overall, this is a great job.
Audio: How does it sound?
Television shows, as a general rule, aren’t really made for dynamic sound. “Queer as Folk” is certainly no exception as we basically get a dialogue-driven mix here. There are a few instances of some depth, but a majority of the audio takes place in the front three channels. Dialogue is clean and has a surprising depth to it. Suffice it to say that the little discrete sounds that make up a good soundtrack are all present here (and I won’t tell you what some of those sounds are).
Supplements: What are the extras?
There’s an interesting bevvy of supplements on the five disc set. First up is “Behind the Babylon Tour Los Angeles” which shows some clips of a dance scene in Los Angeles and a quick snippet of Manny Lehman (DJ). Each character has a text-based “Wardrobe Closet” telling their styles and brands of clothes they wear. So if you want to look like your favorite character – now you know what to buy. “Behind the Scenes of Peter’s Directorial Debut” is a look at a film called “Say Uncle” along with interviews and some clips from the film. This looks very interesting. “Sneak Peek of Michelle & Gale’s Latest Movie” which shows “Melanie” and “Brian’s” movie called “The Unseen”. There are also some Photo Galleries, Bios and a trailer for the set (which is odd, because if you’re watching this you already own it) as well for “The L Word”, “Fat Actress” and “Reefer Madness”. All in all “Queer as Folk” is an interesting cross-section of the gay community and though rough at times, it’s one of the few shows bold enough to tell it like it is.
