(no subject)
I watched the first season of Six Feet Under Again. While I enjoy watching Queer As Folk more (because as pure entertainment it just does splendidly for me, probably due to the sexuality of the show), I know Six Feet Under is the better show.
The major difference between these shows is that Six Feet Under creates such strikingly realistic and prudent portraits of its characters. I feel like I know the characters so well, both in the sense of the fictional characters they are and their analagous counterparts in the real world. We have all met someone who is very much like Claire (the disenchanted, nihilistic teen), or Ruth and David (control freaks). The sharp dialogue and compelling storylines from the writers and the superb acting and chemistry of the cast is what drives this series beyond the rest
On the other hand, Queer As Folk is, in many aspects, very unrealistic and quixotic. The aesthetic representation of the guys in the gym locker room, in Babylon, or at the baths is rather ridiculous. Most of the men have virile adonis physiques and pulchritudinous faces; they are certainly not representative of the average gay population in these places. Also absurd is the rate at which Brian Kinney encounters men (who so far have been receptionists, waiters, or "new" clients or co-workers) who just happen to be gay and concurrently just happen to want Brian to take them into the nearby bathroom/office/copy room and vigorously fuck them in the ass. Early on in the series, some themes tended to be repetitive, and it often seemed that the development and resolution of conflict between the characters sometimes worked out a little too perfectly. That aside, the writing is witty and funny, and all of the primary cast is outstanding (especially Gale Harold). While Queer As Folk does do some justice in representing certain aspects of modern gay life, it is, on the whole, a pipe dream.
And that's why we love it.
The major difference between these shows is that Six Feet Under creates such strikingly realistic and prudent portraits of its characters. I feel like I know the characters so well, both in the sense of the fictional characters they are and their analagous counterparts in the real world. We have all met someone who is very much like Claire (the disenchanted, nihilistic teen), or Ruth and David (control freaks). The sharp dialogue and compelling storylines from the writers and the superb acting and chemistry of the cast is what drives this series beyond the rest
On the other hand, Queer As Folk is, in many aspects, very unrealistic and quixotic. The aesthetic representation of the guys in the gym locker room, in Babylon, or at the baths is rather ridiculous. Most of the men have virile adonis physiques and pulchritudinous faces; they are certainly not representative of the average gay population in these places. Also absurd is the rate at which Brian Kinney encounters men (who so far have been receptionists, waiters, or "new" clients or co-workers) who just happen to be gay and concurrently just happen to want Brian to take them into the nearby bathroom/office/copy room and vigorously fuck them in the ass. Early on in the series, some themes tended to be repetitive, and it often seemed that the development and resolution of conflict between the characters sometimes worked out a little too perfectly. That aside, the writing is witty and funny, and all of the primary cast is outstanding (especially Gale Harold). While Queer As Folk does do some justice in representing certain aspects of modern gay life, it is, on the whole, a pipe dream.
And that's why we love it.