The title of the programme comes from a dialect expression from some parts of Northern England, "there's nowt so queer as folk", meaning "there's nothing as strange as people"; which is a word play on the modern-day English synonym of "queer", meaning homosexual. The script had originally started life with the title Queer as Fuck but Queer as Folk was considered more suitable.
Characters and plot
The main characters are Stuart Allen Jones, who is highly sexually active, and successfully so. His long-time friend Vince Tyler, who has a crush on Stuart, has less luck regarding men. 15-year-old Nathan Maloney is new to the gay scene but is not lacking in self-confidence. The producers say that Queer as Folk, although superficially a realistic depiction of gay urban life in the 1990s, is meant as a fantasy, and that Stuart, Vince, and Nathan are not so much characters as gay male archetypes. Stuart, an advertising executive, possesses intrinsic power, able to bend anything to his will. Stuart's principal characteristic is that he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants. He blows up a car belonging to his friend Alexander's antagonistic mother. He invites Vince's female colleague, who has a crush on closeted Vince, to Vince's birthday party and then introduces Vince's boyfriend. When offered a test drive of a Jeep by a car salesman who makes some homophobic comments, Stuart drives the car straight through the large window of the car dealership. In the second series, the tone became somewhat more serious, with each of the main characters having to make hard choices concerning their futures. A recurrent theme throughout the series is Vince's fandom of Doctor Who, with various scenes from the classic series being played. This is a small, yet significant piece to the series, as six years later Russell T. Davies revived Doctor Who.
Reception
At the time, the response was mixed from gay commentators in relation to the portrayal of the characters. The show was criticised by the gay press for not addressing the issue of the AIDS epidemic. In the wider press and media, a commentator in the Daily Mail called for censorship. 20 years after the show first aired, however, Queer as Folk was generally praised. The first four episodes were sponsored by Beck's Brewery but the company withdrew their sponsorship halfway through the series. Following a backlash from the gay community, Beck's offered to sponsor the second series, a request which was refused by the producers. In 2010, The Guardian ranked Queer as Folk at number 13 in their list of "The Top 50 TV Dramas of All Time".
Antony Cotton as Alexander Perry; a flamboyant friend of Vince and Stuart
Peter O'Brien as Cameron Roberts; Phil's accountant who starts a relationship with Vince
Jonathon Natynczyk as Dazz Collinson; a bartender who has a brief relationship with Nathan
Maria Doyle Kennedy as Marie Jones Threepwood; Stuart's recently divorced sister
John Brobbey as Lance Amponah; Romey and Lisa's lodger
Episodes
Series 1 (1999)
Series 2 (2000)
Ratings
Series 1 (1999)
Series 2 (2000)
Spin-offs
A spin-off series, Misfits, was initially commissioned by Channel 4. The series would have followed the characters of Hazel, Alexander, Donna and Bernard from the original series, while introducing new characters. Although Davies developed draft scripts for four episodes and storylines for a further twenty-two, the series was cancelled before it went into pre-production. As a result of Channel 4's decision, Davies pulled out of a deal that would have seen a series of Queer as Folk short stories published on the broadcaster's website, and vowed to not work with Channel 4 again, unless he has an idea that only works on that channel. However, fifteen years later in 2015, Davies returned to Channel 4 with drama seriesCucumber, drama anthology Banana and documentary seriesTofu. Denise Black makes a cameo appearance as Hazel Tyler's ghost in the sixth episode of Cucumber.
