Vivian Zhu Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom."If love is true it will stand against all tests of time and adversity, no manner of insignificant details such as the person's beauty fading could alter or dissolve 'the marriage of two minds'"The creators of the then groundbreaking (in my opinion still groundbreaking) TV show Queer as Folk, Daniel Lipman and Ron Cowan referenced Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 when talking about their show in 2010, five years after the final episode aired. They said that the purpose of their show was to show the world that love transcended many things, even time. To tell the world that love would go on despite the characters, the creators and the audience all changing and growing up. I can't confirm that all love will be timeless, but I can definitely say that the show's appeal hasn't faded in 16 years. When it comes to movies and TV shows I'm always the one to be intensely critical, even judgemental, and I never expected I would fall so deeply in love with a show to binge 83 of those 50 minute episodes in a little more than a week. I never expected the tears, the laughter and the excitement a show about the LGBT* community in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania set around the time I was born would bring me. I also never expected how much something that some people would (incorrectly! in my opinion) describe as 'gay soap opera' would teach me. As a cisgender and heterosexual person I would never understand the struggles and pain experienced by the characters in TV shows such as QAF, nor the sometimes much greater struggles and pain experienced by those in the LBGT* community around me. However, this show not only taught me a lot about the issues relevant to the community then and now, it also taught me a great deal about love and how it is the universal language between people no matter who they are. QAF is about the growth and evolution of both the individual and society, about boys becoming men, girls becoming women, people becoming mature and the society becoming better. I can see that our society in certain ways is already better than that society from 16 years ago, and in many ways it shocked me to see that our society hasn't changed a bit since 2000. Not only did the show give me one of my best any-kind-of-fiction binging experiences (I legitimately laughed my head off and cried bucket loads about three times in the same day), it also reaffirmed my stance as a person who wants to hear about many more, real stories from LGBT* people and not be any of the two kinds of 'straight' people Brian hates. I don't want to hate anybody in their faces or behind their backs. To me QAF was not only a worthwhile way to spend my time instead of studying or doing some other productive thing, it was a f*cking brilliant show that I am sure I will revisit sometime soon. Meanwhile, I'm sure Melanie, Lindsay, Gus and JR are safe and happy in Toronto, Michael, Ben and HNB are still listening to Debbie's rants, Ted and Blake are finally making the most of the right time, and Emmett is still holding out for his true love. As for Brian and Justin? Whether they see each other next week, next month, never again, it doesn't matter. It's only time. And I'm sure one day they would find their happiness, and their love, no excuses, no apologies, no regrets.

smooth_op_85 Queer as Folk is a wonderful show that has an ensemble cast but its leads are Michael Novotny and Brian Kinney. The two have been best friends since they were 14, Michael is a bit of a naive & big hearted while Brian is more cold and cunning. They are flanked by: Emmett, as flamboyant as they come Ted, an accountant that could pass for straight. Justin, whom Brian takes a liking to in the Pilot. Debbie, Michael's Mom is like their Den Mother Uncle Vic, who is like the Gay Sage Lindsay and Mel are the parents of Brian's child Gus, and later they welcome daughter to their family This show is about boys becoming men and navigating gay life from HIV, one night stands, infidelities, conversion or ex gay therapy, parenting, promiscuity, aging, prostitution, conservatism, subcultures, drugs, gay bashings, socioeconomic differences, relationships changing, politics...in other words, a lot of the same things that we all go through I enjoy the show because it shows gay people as 3 dimensional, flawed people that we are. It also showed that gays aren't like everyone else and don't need to be in order to have our rights granted to us. That some of us want kids and a husband, while some don't care for it. I do wish some of the secondary characters would've stayed around more and they could've been integrated in the script and stories, I like some of the grittiness because it really made me care for the characters and all the situations they found themselves in. It was a groundbreaking show for its time and I'm glad that the showrunners made this all its own. The UK version is great too, not better but different

Lorraine I didn't watch the original airing on Showtime as many reviewers did. I didn't discover QAF until 2013 when all the hoopla started about a 50 Shades movie. I did an internet search for old Charlie Hunnam stuff and found QAF U.K. on YouTube, I couldn't really get into what I was watching, but as we all know, YouTube makes suggestions from what you are viewing. So, up comes QAF U.S. and the Brian and Justin storyline. I figured "what the heck" and started to watch it. I know I come off as cynical to people I know, but I really do like a good love story-Gone with the Wind, The Way We Were etc.. I had to see what else there was to this story besides the 81 five to ten minute clips. So I ordered the discs from Netflix and watched season 1 in couple of weeks, getting one disc at a time. I was hooked, all of the characters and the situations they faced in their lives kept me glued to each episode. Brian and Justin's story just interwove and unfolded as the series progressed. I got tired of waiting for the Netflix mail and bought the whole set from Amazon. Now that it streams on Netflix, I watch 2 or 3 episodes a week. I've watched it several times over the past 2 years. Even though this show is about gay characters, the life situations apply to everyone whether your LBGT or straight. We all have our own issues in dealing with who we are and who others think we are, QAF helped me address some of mine and I'm straight.I really wish they would do a reunion movie to tie up the ends that were left hanging at the end of season 5. I would like to be able to "catch up" with the characters to see how things have gone for them. Gay marriage is legal-how does that affect each of the characters? How did Mel and Lindz do in Canada? Did Drew ever reach his 21st birthday and come back for Emmett?. How are Ben and Hunter doing with HIV? I would also really like to see how Brian and Justin handled their separation—did Brian open Kinnetic in NY and follow Justin? Did Justin become a success? Are Brian and Justin-whether married or not-still together? Although I have to admit that I don't think I'd be able to take it if I found out they weren't, almost like Rhett and Scarlet.I'm going to end this here. I'm not sure if I've made a point or not. To say everything I want to say would take way too long. Give the show a chance—watch a few episodes—you'll be glad you did.

Infinite_Infinities I first watched "Queer As Folk" when I was a closeted teenager. I caught it on TV once, but I didn't understand much of the story or the themes present throughout the show. However, I came out during college and bought the DVDs and was spellbound. The main characters are nicely developed, and I truly believed they were good friends. Themes that were explored throughout QAF include homophobia, drug abuse, gay marriage, and open relationships.When I first watched the series, Brian Kinney was my favorite character. I still like him a lot, but I realized he was quite flawed and didn't change enough by consistently refusing to commit to someone (Justin Taylor) despite their obvious love for one another. Still, he was confident and blunt, which I loved. However, I truly love Ted Schmidt and Emmett Honeycutt. Ted began the show with low self-esteem, and he struggled with this and drug abuse in season 3. However, he dramatically changed into a more confident gay man who wouldn't settle for anything less than great. And Emmett is flamboyant and his flame burns the brightest as he's said many times, but he's one of the most genuine and greatest friends anyone on the show could have.The show isn't perfect, and it definitely doesn't represent all facets of what being a gay man is about. The show wasn't even filmed in Pittsburgh, PA but rather Toronto, Canada, so the gay life of Pittsburgh isn't that accurate. However, I think the multidimensional characters and intriguing story lines make up for this. Check out "Queer As Folk" for yourself if you are a gay man or just enjoy quality television.