Wow, you totally amaze me. Seriously, that's one of the most articulate explainations I've read on exactly what the problem was. I'm so right there with you. Nobody's interested in listening to a whiner. Even a whiner they may agree with. It just all seemed so boring and pointless. And when I go back and watch the pilot, and remember how much vibrancy and optimism the show had, how it refused to hold anything back, but did it in such a way that you were forced to love the people involved anyway, it's really too bad.
At first, the show was like Emmett, and who can't love that, right? And then it became Micheal. Too bad, really.
While I agree with a considerable amount of your post, I was not quite as disheartened as you. However, my biggest issue is that Cowlip neglected to keep their stories (whether of a political agenda or not) character driven. They lost me by placing the political agenda first and the characters second. Trying to force characters into stories in which they don't fit is ridiculous and obviously manipulative. They did this throughout S4 & S5
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As soon as the style of writing switched from character driven to politically driven the tone of the entire show changed significantly. I agree. I actually think that this happened more and more frequently from the end of S1 onwards (and directly led to the "pod Justin" syndrome of the last half of S2
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better have something interesting to say about the issues
Excellent point--Cowlip didn't say or offer any points that their audience wasn't already painfully aware of. They were preaching to the choir.
I guess I've become more and more frustrated with the whole thing while I've been re-watching the episodes in detail...It's interesting you should say that. I became more critical recently. For awhile I was doing weekly commentaries of each individual show as it appeared during the 5th season. That was fine in isolation. But since I've started my QAF Series Overview, I've been re-watching from the beginning to refamiliarize myself, in detail with the changes over the 5 years, in a variety of different categories
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While I am still grateful and happy that I have grown attached to the show and it's characters, I loved the show, in its entirety more in ep. 314 than I do now.
Yes, I would have to say that I feel the same way.
And I am looking forward to reading your comments on the show, although I suspect that it won't be until the weekend. :)
It really hit me this last season how victimized C/L must feel as gay men. I agree that their attempts as resolution was pathetic. Even now I'm unsure of the message they left us with. Do they want the rest of the world to view homosexuals as club bunnies with no lives except sex, drugs, parties, and dancing? If so, then they accomplished that task.
I don't think that the writers were particularly interested in the characters as such in the final season (or in S4 come to that). I think that they were all just hooks for a fairly banal series of political statements. And not especially profound or insightful ones at that. I agree. I think the characters were secondary to the political agenda. It seemed to me, they were just banking on fans knowing the characters and that being enough to go on. The sad thing is, the resolutions they made up for the characters, in the end, were essentially OOC. Hello, my name is Irony. Have we met?
I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I'd been writing the ending, and wanted it to make a "statement", then they would all...have been shown getting on with their lives, above ground, in daylight, in or around the Diner...That IMO would have really made a statement about, we're here, we're queer, we have our own families, our own support groups and we're part of the neighbourhood. Get used to it.
I just wanted to say that bit really moved me. It made my eyes well up, and my stomach feel all clenchy, but warm and fuzzy at the same time. I can totally see that scene, and I can feel how beautiful it would have been. It would have been very satisfying. Sigh. Anyway, thanks for that image at least, I shall content myself with it...that is, maybe until you bring it back again in "Reverberations"? ;)
You know I've read lots and lots S5 reviews around the entire fandom, and there a lot of authors of posts said actually the same things you 've written in your post. They said that C/L's just totally f*cked up (pardon my french - quoting Emmett) the whole idea of the first and second seasons of QaF. Do you think that it is somehow connected to the shortness of QaF UK where was not any political agenda's taken place at all? What I am trying to say is that C/L has been left to swim alone without any ideas how to proceed further into developing the characters I surely has this impression
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Do you think that it is somehow connected to the shortness of QaF UK where was not any political agenda's taken place at all? What I am trying to say is that C/L has been left to swim alone without any ideas how to proceed further into developing the characters I surely has this impression.Interesting. C/L did their best really to insist that the US version was based on their vision, not on Russell's, so on their heads be it
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I don't think, even if the UK series had gone on for as long as the US one, that as long as Russell was the creative force, it would have changed all that much. I suspect that, like many British writers, Russell was far more comfortable about putting the characters and the storylines out there and letting viewers make up their own minds about them. While C/L felt compelled to climb on their soap box and tell everyone what they should be thinking.I think you are very right about it/ If C/L at the beginning of the show wanted to be as QaF UK, they had to be stuck with this idea of showing the glimpses of several gay friends' lives, but no... And they ruined the wonderful love story... I am so very sorry about it
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I mean seriously! How is anyone supposed to play that character?
Poor Randy.
You are so right about whole scenario of S5! If I was in Randy's shoes I would be mad too...
As you said the whole ordeal about break ups/make ups wearies everybody out and certainly actors (Gale and Randy) who played main protagonists.
That is why I so like your story because you are trying to fix all that errors and mistakes C/L created! Bravo! I like your scenario much much better!! Thanks!!!
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At first, the show was like Emmett, and who can't love that, right? And then it became Micheal. Too bad, really.
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BWAHAHAH!!!
That is the best! That is absolutely the truth! What a great way to sum it all up.
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Excellent point--Cowlip didn't say or offer any points that their audience wasn't already painfully aware of. They were preaching to the choir.
I guess I've become more and more frustrated with the whole thing while I've been re-watching the episodes in detail...It's interesting you should say that. I became more critical recently. For awhile I was doing weekly commentaries of each individual show as it appeared during the 5th season. That was fine in isolation. But since I've started my QAF Series Overview, I've been re-watching from the beginning to refamiliarize myself, in detail with the changes over the 5 years, in a variety of different categories ( ... )
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Yes, I would have to say that I feel the same way.
And I am looking forward to reading your comments on the show, although I suspect that it won't be until the weekend. :)
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I don't think that the writers were particularly interested in the characters as such in the final season (or in S4 come to that). I think that they were all just hooks for a fairly banal series of political statements. And not especially profound or insightful ones at that. I agree. I think the characters were secondary to the political agenda. It seemed to me, they were just banking on fans knowing the characters and that being enough to go on. The sad thing is, the resolutions they made up for the characters, in the end, were essentially OOC. Hello, my name is Irony. Have we met?
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I just wanted to say that bit really moved me. It made my eyes well up, and my stomach feel all clenchy, but warm and fuzzy at the same time. I can totally see that scene, and I can feel how beautiful it would have been. It would have been very satisfying. Sigh. Anyway, thanks for that image at least, I shall content myself with it...that is, maybe until you bring it back again in "Reverberations"? ;)
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that as long as Russell was the creative force, it would have changed all that much. I suspect that, like many British writers, Russell was far more comfortable about putting the characters and the storylines out there and letting viewers make up their own minds about them. While C/L felt compelled to climb on their soap box and tell everyone what they should be thinking.I think you are very right about it/ If C/L at the beginning of the show wanted to be as QaF UK, they had to be stuck with this idea of showing the glimpses of several gay friends' lives, but no... And they ruined the wonderful love story... I am so very sorry about it ( ... )
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Poor Randy.
You are so right about whole scenario of S5! If I was in Randy's shoes I would be mad too...
As you said the whole ordeal about break ups/make ups wearies everybody out and certainly actors (Gale and Randy) who played main protagonists.
That is why I so like your story because you are trying to fix all that errors and mistakes C/L created! Bravo! I like your scenario much much better!! Thanks!!!
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