Duckie

I can honestly say that if I weren't queer, I wouldn't have bothered watching this episode until the end. I felt sort of obligated in a way.

But this has to be one of the WORST things on television. Who GIVES a rat's a** about these characters anymore? I mean, really! It's awfulness makes me angry not because of what it does or doesn't represent... but because it's just so plain AWFUL. If this series lasts it will only be because of it's locked-in gay audience. But then again... I can't explain the Raymond or Home Improvement phenomena either. It's like the QAF writers are having a contest to see which can make the most annoying character.

The most embarassing thing about the show is how it refutes it's first season claim of not being just about sex. The characters walk around as if in some eternal netherworld where they dance amongst each other and never grow out of old (and very tired) personal issues... while they're not having sex that is. What does 'sunshine' reminisce about while he's packing to leave Brian? Is it their heart to heart conversations? Is it the climactic prom dance? No... it's sex here, sex there, and nothing else. Even the cheesiest soap opera knows to include a villain, but QAF doesn't even have the guts to do that (anymore).

I left the second season half way through. This one is already done as far as I'm concerned.

Xander

That's interesting. See, the way I took that was sort of a sad montage for Justin. It was sort of reiterating the reasons that he left Brian in the first place. All of the memories he had of Brian and his place were sex. Nothing else. And that's all their relationship ended up being.

Plus, lots of gratuitious nudity for the season premiere. Like we weren't expecting that.

I actually liked the episode. While some cliches or stereotypes continue to be maintained, I love Brian's character. They started last season to add layers to his "all sex no love" exterior, and they continue to do so. It hooked me enough to want to watch more and see what happens with him, if not necessarily anyone else, at this point.

X

grunter

My nitpick: only one of Brian's friends would qualify as a "bear."

And even then, only marginally.

Duckie

I can buy that... and it did occur to me when I saw it. BUT, wouldn't it have been so much more believable if Justin had moved on to something entirely different and with more determination. Okay... the new guy does give him a chocolate after schtupping him and is younger, but it's essentially a less interesting version of the same thing for all we know. There is also the allowance of a lingering reunion possibility, which is dramatically cheap (and not realistic after having supposedly gone through such a transition).

Which leads to another major gripe... Continuing from last season, the characters seem to alter with the wind to accomodate each situation of the week. Besides their annoying personality tics, there isn't a whole lot of depth to any of them. In a given episode, Ted could be called Fred and be played by a different actor - who would notice?

And yes, the whole reactionary-wild-life-after-sexual-repression-at-the-exclusion-of-meaningful-instrospection thing is great fodder for decent drama, but it's not done in an interesting manner here with Brian imo. It's almost as if the writers are either afraid to go beyond the formula that worked in the beginning... or they're incapable of doing so. With the failure of introducing anything significantly new it seems to be boiling down to a moralistic dillema between having outrageous but empty anonymous sex and getting married. And isn't that what being gay is all about anyway? Isn't it?

All this said, I have to admit once again that I only saw the first half of last season. But judging from this seasons opening, I didn't miss a thing... which only helps to make the case.

re: the absence of 'bears'...
The lack of other types, or stereotypes, is becoming less of a problem I think than the resulting insularity of the types that ARE represented. The self-congratulatory irony of the prissy bears in last night's episode was another in a string of cheap manipulations.

This show is so bad it's screaming for a parody. Age the characters another 30 or 40 years and put them on the same treadmill. Maybe some day it will grow up to be a comedy, drama or soap opera instead of trying and failing at being all three.

big whoppa

I find the characters quite interesting. Sure, there is too much gratuitous sex but you can expect that from this show. It is the thing that draws most people into initially watching (straight or not).

adamblast

I love the gratuitous sex. I just wish the storylines weren't so phony and predictable. I want to love this show. I want to love it sooo bad. And it just sucks.

Why can't a show that's so willing to take chances flesh-wise take a few chances story-wise? There's not one ring of truth to any of it, and it's a heartbreaking waste of opportunity.

I can't decide if the show is created by people with no talent, or just targeted toward people with no taste.

In any case, it's a damn shame that our one adult ensemble drama is this lame.

The characters are likeable, but frozen in place. The storylines are obvious to the point of insult. Typical formula: gay issue of the week, combined with some shallow and arbitrary personal crisis that changes nothing. The smugness is unbearable. I'm still watching, but with at least as much dread and annoyance as enjoyment.

I have maybe 30 TV show boxsets in my collection so far, including US QAF Season 1... And I think this is the first time I'm going to give up on buying Season 2 of anything... I pray Season 3 changes my mind quickly, or it's over.

big whoppa

There are some special moments beyond the sex. Sharon Gless does a great job fleshing out the character of Debbie. Brian Kenney is a complicated character. Sometimes he's Joe Cool and then you almost feel sorry for him. Then there's the odd friendship he has for Hal's character. Ted and Emmett need more work but I can feel sympathy for these two characters. The Les are the straightest of the lot getting married, rearing their child, fixing their home. I get a sense of connection with all these characters which seems rare in television and these always something to think about after viewing an episode.

QAF must draw as large a straight audience as gay audience. Many of the people at work time about it. Of course, it's usually the outrageous sex that is discussed first such as the episode where Emmett and the rich, old guy had sex in the bathroom of an airplane.

Xander

I like the show a lot, but I do see some of the problems with it. I think one of its writing detriments is the fact that almost EVERY storyline comes back to Justin, Michael or Brian. I understand that they are the main characters, but come on. You could push them to the side and flesh out the other characters a little more. I have actually liked a lot of the stuff they have done, like Emmett trying not to be gay, Ted's website, Justin going through the agony of coming out. I think they've done a great job just getting some storylines out there that a lot of people haven't seen on TV shows before.

X

Steve Phillips

The only good part was when that whiny brat child Michael got a well deserved punch in the eye.

Duckie

Oh, I don't deny that QAF was groundbreaking in a way. But stripped of the sex-shock and the superior writing from the first season (adapted from the original), there isn't much there! The storylines/issues are clumsily added on and poorly dramatised. They need to get over the sex-shock (and over themselves) so they can write something genuinely worth watching. There was a Washington Post review written during the second season that had a line something like... "You're HERE! You're QUEER! We're USED TO IT!!!"