Queer as Folk - The Final Season (2000)

A fitting end to a landmark series

The fifth & final season of "Queer as Folk" did not disappoint. If anything, the producers, writers & cast met their subject matter dead on, with an unfaltering eye. Notable was the ongoing (and incredibly messy) custody battle between Lindsay, Melanie & biological father Michael; the creators smartly realized that situations such as this are not neatly resolved within an episode or two. Repercussions linger long after, and friendships/relationships are put to the test.
There were wonderful guest appearances from Rosie O'Donnell & Cyndi Lauper, the latter's participation signalling a bombing at Babylon which changed many lives forever. Most shocking was the 360-degree turnaround of Brian, who changed his ways, rejected promiscuity and made an announcement which made all jaws drop: He was marrying Justin & settling down for good. But as with the custody battle storyline, there are no easy answers as things take a complicated turn.
Emmett (who took a fun whirl aa a gay celebrity) helped closeted football player Drew deal with a scandal & embrace his homosexuality; unlucky-at-love Ted (who also boosted his confidence with plastic surgery) got a much-deserved ending by hinting at a possible romantic rekindling with old boyfriend Blake; Debbie flirted with retirement from the diner to spend more time with live-in boyfriend/policeman Karl; and Hunter faced HIV prejudice at school and accepted Michael & Ben's proposal to become their son for good. Concluding this all was an appropriate, heartwarming fadeout as Michael philosophizes that "we all follow the 'thumpa-thumpa' of life's dance beat. It's what drives us".
There is not a weak performance from anyone in this series, leading or supporting roles alike. It's sad to see this series exit the airwaves. However, it has made such a deep impression in portaying the gay lifestyle with such frankness that other future series will be hard pressed to meet its levels of quality. May 25, 2008

Sublime series

Since QAF 's not out yet here in Belgium (got the pun??), I ordered it for the fifth time at Amazon and I must say, the combination of daring erotics, drama, suspense and classical soap elements makes this series a real must-have for all queers and their friends.
Every character is well taken care of, nice stories, real-life plots, excellent acting, great score and typical music.
Stopping after 5 seasons may be good, because we really don't want this cult series to degenerate into hollow, brainless entertainment just because there's a market for it.
Great job. Snifffff ..
May 6, 2008

Sizzling Hott Finale

The Gang is back and this time more trendy, hotter, sexier and irresistable......

I wish the show was never ending but nevertheless having a Collector's Edition makes me feel special..

The show is groundbreaking and has certainly changed my life in some ways.
April 27, 2008

excellent product - poor delivery

product was in perfect condition. not satisfied with delivery which took more than 1 month to arrive and the way amazon informed me about it (received 5-6 emails with no concrete information or alternative proposal). February 13, 2008

Over-priced and Predictable

The listing says 870 minutes, but 13 episodes at about 45 minutes a shot means that it's closer to 570 minutes - I'm not sure where the additional five hours comes in, unless of course they're including extras in that (something which other DVDs tend not to include in the headline figure).

So, you get about nine or ten hours of actual show for your money. At around US$7 per hour, then, how does this series stack up?

It's absolutely predictable: Every plot point, every storyline, every theme has been done (and done better) in previous series. And they're all massively signalled in advance, providing no real surprises at any point in this final season.

If you're a fan of the show then it's watchable, if comfort-watching and mainly just to see how everything gets wrapped up at the end of the series run. But at the extortionate price of this box set, you'd be better off either watching it on TV or heading to eBay for a cheaper copy because this box set is hugely overpriced. December 24, 2007

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