Queer as Folk

It is very well acted, it's got plot twists that rival the best soaps, and the writing improves with each episode (even though they crib some of its best lines directly from the British series)...I'm hooked. [1 Dec 2000, p.106]

Compared to the grittier British version, the American Queer as Folk has a sweet, romanticized aura. At times, it even recalls the TV adaptation of "Tales of the City." The script has plenty of conflict, and the sexuality is hard-core, but the show also exudes an ensemble coziness and jokiness that finds the gang gathering regularly for late-night snacks at Debbie's diner. [1 Dec 2000, p.F1]

With its intelligent, nuance-laced script, credible performances from a group of newcomers, a mouth-dropping star turn by Sharon Gless, and the "no limits" backing of Showtime, Queer as Folk is easily the best TV take on gay life since "Tales of the City." [3 Dec 2000, p.10]

Unlike the HBO hits, Queer as Folk isn't great TV. It is interesting TV, entertaining TV, at times very good TV. But not in the same league as The Sopranos. [3 Dec 2000, p.3E]

Queer as Folk obviously has a healthy libido. It'd sure be nice to discover it has a heart, too. [2 Dec 2000, p.E5]

It will leave viewers alternately amazed at being allowed into the private universe of uncommitted male sex and disappointed from a dramatic standpoint. Handsome flesh and cinematography, but is that all there is? [3 Dec 2000, p.I-01]

Its exploitative, one-sided formula represents a shallow representation of gay culture. ... If the show is remotely watchable it's because the hands involved in its making always manage to sink to heretofore unknown lows, and one could say it's a duty, if not exactly a privilege, to document the fall.