Queer as Folk: It's Not All About Sex Anymore

With a season containing fewer episodes than previous seasons – the cast and crew of Queer as Folk return for perhaps one of their more personal and powerful seasons to date. The first thing I noticed is that at least in the first several episodes (my initial thought would be proven wrong in later episodes) there is less an emphasis on the night life on the streets of Liberty Ave in Pittsburgh where the show takes place and more of an emphasis on personal relationships.

At the end of Season Two – Justin walked off with Ethan choosing him over Brian. Ted and Emmett decided to give each other a chance at dating, Brian and Ben proved they could continue their relationship even though Ben is HIV positive, Debbie started dating a Cop, and Melanie and Lindsay's relationship continued to blossom (they are in fact the only "couple" that from the beginning of the show are still the same).

First a little background information. Queer as Folk circles around a group of gay friends who all reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the show is actually filmed in Canada). The ensemble cast is quite large.

The CAST:

Brian Kinney/Gale Harold – Brian has always been the character that viewers have loved to hate. Besides being sexy and rich, he at times acts like he has no heart. He has a high sexual drive.

Michael Novotny/Hal Sparks – Brian’s best friend who is currently dating Ben an HIV positive college professor. Michael’s mother Debbie runs a local diner and is proud of her gay son. Michael runs a comic book store and helps create the comic book Rage with Justin’s drawings. Michael is more grounded than a lot of his friends, especially in his deep trust in believing in Brian.

Justin Taylor/Randy Harrison – When the show first started Justin was an 17 year old virgin who’s first fling was with Brian. Since that time the Justin and Brian relationship has seen its ups and downs ending with Justin choosing a new boyfriend Ethan at the conclusion of Season Two. Justin is in art school and draws the pictures for the comic book Rage.

Emmett Honeycutt/Peter Paige – Queer as Folks’ residential “queen”. Emmett has always been there to offer up his slew of funny one liners and countless colored apparel. Season Three would find Emmett more emotional for all the good reasons. Emmett also takes on a new profession and is quite good at it.

Ted Schmidt/Scott Lowell – An owner of a gay porn website who’s friend Emmett used to star in. In the past has had a brief run in with party drugs which later led to making friends with a guy named Blake which Ted tried to help get off of drugs.

Melanie Marcus/Michelle Clunie – Lesbian partner to Lindsay (Linds for short). Lawyer who shares custody of son Gus who’s biological father just so happens to be is Brian. In Season Two, Melanie and Lindsay successfully married each other.

Lindsay Peterson/Thea Gill – Partner to Melanie who carried son Gus to term. More of a stay at home Mom, a position that would shift during the third season.

Debbie Novotny/Sharon Gless – Mother to Michael who is a waitress at a local diner frequented by the gay community. Also has a brother, Vic who lives with her who also happens to be HIV positive.

Ben Bruckner/Robert Gant – College professor and boyfriend to Michael. Spends a lot of Season Three worried about his own HIV status until he finds someone new to help.

Ethan Gold/Fab Filippo – Justin’s boyfriend who plays the violin.

Vic Grassi/Jack Wetherall – Debbie’s brother who is HIV positive, also loves to cook.

Daphne Chanders/Makyla Smith - Justin's friend since high school. They hang out from time to time.

Jennifer Taylor/Sherry Miller - Justin's Mom. Proud of her gay son.

Hunter/Harris Allan – Male hustler.


The EPISODES:

Season Three begins with all colors of the rainbow flushed out and Michael is seen walking through a crowd when all of a sudden a fist comes out of nowhere and clocks him. Although it was not highly dramatic, at least I didn’t feel it was so, the season premiere is meant to set up how disgusted Brian’s friends are at Justin for leaving him and Brian’s continued defense of Justin. In case your wondering why Brian punches Michael it has to do with a statement Brian makes about Justin that dates back to the season finale of Season One.

Now that some elements of Season’s Two finale have been addressed Queer as Folk settles down and begins several story arcs that will take the show though the next season.

First up, the Justin and Ethan story. It seemed that Justin had finally found love that he apparently wanted throughout Season Two. But, looks can be deceiving and all it takes is one inappropriate moment and Justin goes running back to Brian. To win him back, Justin gets down and uses his creative skills. After it is obvious that Brian and Justin are back together again as an item, the bounce off of each other as they figure out a way to deal with a certain mayoral candidate.

In about the fourth episode, we are introduced to Stockwell a candidate for Pittsburgh mayor. He is soon approached by Brian who looks at the opportunity to work with Stockwell as purely a career move. But soon, Stockwell creates a position to clean up the streets of Pittsburgh and especially Liberty Avenue from “non traditional people.” Debbie and Justin begin equal wars against Stockwell which create some very emotional and personal episodes.

Melanie and Lindsay decide that maybe now is a good time to start having a second child. Whereas it seems that most second parents relax a little more after the first – Melanie and Lindsay get even worse. Like most mothers they deal with raising a child, work, and in their case who is to carry the child and from where they will get the “donation”. Eventually they settle on Michael (continuing the Michael/Brian issue). As before once the hardest part or decision is out of the way, Melanie and Lindsay are pushed into the background.

Ted and Emmett get I think the most powerful and interesting story of the season. It all begins with Ted’s collapse of his business venture in the live webcam porn industry. He is arrested, for one of his employees (although not one who engages in any actual sex) is 17 years of age. With the help of Brian who convinces Stockwell not to throw the book at Ted, Ted is forced to give up everything – every penny. What begins here, is a spiral downward for Ted. At first, he hurts his back. Then he gets addicted to pain killers. Then he starts drinking a lot and gets drunk all the time. Soon he’s moved on to more elaborate and risky party drugs, steals money from friends, physically and emotionally abuses Emmett, has blackouts, all the while Emmett tries to take care of his friend and his lover. Watching Emmett’s slow realization that he cannot help Ted allows the character and actor a whole range of emotions. Especially since this was the season in which Emmett finally broke out and found his own niche in the world, that of being a party planner. In the end however it is a surprise guest which hasn’t been seen since the first season who pops back up to help Ted.

The final story arc for the season deals with the remaining leads, Michael and Ben. First it begins with Ben abusing steroids. He believes that by using them it will help him fight off the HIV virus. At the same time however it is making him more angry and when Michael tries to convince him to quit using them, Ben only distances himself from Michael even more. This all comes to a resolution once Michael convinces Ben he understands in a way that will send chills down your back. From there, the two characters get introduced to Hunter a male hustler. Hunter is not really that nice to both Michael or Ben, but even still Ben begins to look after the kid and slowly Hunter realizes he has it good staying with them. Everything is perfect until Hunter’s mother arrives to get him (Hunter told Ben and Michael that she was in prison). Hunter finally tells the truth about why he ran away leading Michael to take the law into his own hands.

Overall, I liked this season for although there was a handful of it there seemed to be less of a need for countless sex scenes. Most of the characters, even Justin and Brian at times who are one could say the most sexual in previous seasons – tone it down a bit. Instead, emotions rise to the surface and there are quite a bit of them that go up and down throughout the short season. I also liked how they incorporated the comic book Rage into the various story-lines. Although it is pointed out quite a few times there are a few times when you have to pay close attention to get the inside joke.

The DVD comes in a 5 disc package. Episodes 1 through 14 are presented on the first 4 discs. All special features are included on the 5th disc besides a cast and crew commentary of the final episode of the season which is located on the 4th disc. I cannot review any of them for I rented my DVD’s from Netflix and rented just the first four and skipped the 5th. The DVD’s are all high quality transfers and the main menu on each DVD is extremely well designed (I love the two songs that cycle at the main menu!)

The set is priced less than previous seasons running around $80.00. If you haven't seen this show at all you can rent all three seasons at Netflix.