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Queer as Folk: UK - An Overview
Many thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
butterfly for writing this overview. —vamplover84
Queer as Folk
Created and written by Russell T Davies
Produced by Red Production Company
Debuted in the UK on Feb. 23 1999, on Channel-4
Overview bybutterfly
In the beginning, there were eight episodes. They weren't expecting Queer as Folk to be anything more than a minor cult show.
Then the series was a hit, far surpassing expectations. Because of this, a sequel was made and that second series, Queer as Folk 2, aired in Feb. 2000 with two episodes (the company wanted ten, but Russell decided on two). The show as a whole garnered quite a bit of attention, eventually spawning an American remake, also entitled Queer as Folk (crack_van overview for the US version).
Why You Should Watch This Show:
Far from being an excuse for gay porn, Queer as Folk is a finely drawn character drama that centers around two men, their friendship, and the boy who changes everything. The dialogue sparkles with wit and subtlety, and the key relationship between the two leads is unarticulated love at its finest.
And though the characters in the series are fictional, the environment isn't. Manchester really is the gay capital of the UK. Canal Street exists and was used for filming during the show. The clubs visited are real and the lifestyles are ones that the creator of QaF pulled from his own observations.
Info for US/Canadian fans:
The soundtrack to the NTSC (Region 1) DVDs is different from the PAL (Region 2) original because of licensing problems. And Region 1 doesn't have a Definitive Collector's set out; that's still only available in Region 2.
Also, in the scene where Vince decides to go back to his flat and watch some TV, the NTSC version doesn't show the film clip and viewer might be left with the impression that it's porn. No fear, it's actually an episode of Vince's favorite sci-fi show, Doctor Who.
The series debuted in Canada on June 5th, 2000, on Showcase, and in the U.S. on August 14th, 2000, on C1TV.
Main Characters | Reoccurring Characters | Queer as Folk | Queer as Folk 2 | Stuart and Vince | Fandom Links
The Inner Circle
Vince Tyler
portrayed by Craig Kelly
Vince is a bit of a sweetheart and, in the beginning, he comes across as a bit of a pushover, too...and, maybe, he even is. In the first series, he gains enough self-confidence to come out at work and to realize that he deserves better than a man who belittles the things that Vince loves. By the end of the second series, he's run off to America with Stuart, finaly willing risk it all for the person he loves most. More than that, he's come to realize that Stuart needs him far more than he needs Stuart.
Oh, and everyone loves Vince. That's pretty much the series universal. Even the people who have fairly solid reasons to dislike Vince (like Nathan) tend to get won over by him in the end.
Bad points? That's easy enough -- he lies to get out of things, even when the truth would likely be perfectly acceptable. He's also got terribly low self-esteem in the first series.
Most common saying:
"Oh. My. God!" -- to express either surprise or faux-surprise. It's easy enough to tell the difference by Vince's tone of voice.
Classic quotes:
Stuart: "Vince, run a check on Alfred."
Vince: "Alf Roberts, Alfie, Michael Caine. Alf -- that American sitcom with the puppet -- bit dodgy.
But that's forgotten by the time he's in school. Unless it's on cable. I bet they've got it on Bravo.
Oh, Alfred's the name of Batman's butler -- marvellous. Good name."
(Series One, Episode One)
Vince: "Oh. My. God. I'm here -- straight pub. I can't stop. I'm
going in."
Stuart: "What's it like?"
Vince: "It's all true. Everything we've ever been told. Everything but flock wallpaper.
Ah... and the people. There are people talking in sentences that have no punchline.
And they don't even care! Can you believe it? They've got toilets in which no one's ever had sex!"
(Series One, Episode Two)
"Unrequited love -- it's fantastic, 'cause it never has to change, it
never has to grow up and it never has to die!"
(Series One, Episode Eight)
US series equivalent: Michael Novotny, who is a comics geek. I have to admit that it's much easier for me to relate to Vince, who adores science-fiction, simply because I've never been into comic books.
Stuart Alan Jones
portrayed by Aidan Gillen
Touchable black curls, absolutely beautiful blue eyes, a devastating smile, and a whimper-worthy Irish accent all add up to a man who can charm his way into any man's pants... except Vince's. Stuart isn't usually the tallest man in the room (Nathan's taller than he is) and, sometimes, he isn't even the most beautiful, but he's always the sexiest. Stuart first copped off (Britspeak for 'had sex') at the advanced age of twelve. At school. With his PE teacher. He got into a shower stall, fully clothed, and just went at it, getting completely soaked. He's approached sex with that same determined fearlessness ever since.
And Stuart isn't so much an asshole as he is... well, seriously self-involved. Stuart always comes first for Stuart -- the one exception is Vince. Stuart's strength lies in his bone-deep conviction that he's a wonderful and amazing person, a conviction that only wavers when he doesn't have Vince by his side.
Seeds of Stuart's violent tendencies are present in the first series, but they really come to the forefront in the second -- part of the reason that he needs Vince is because he needs someone to be the safety on his gun and Vince is the only person that he'd ever listen to, as we see in the final segment of the show.
Most common saying:
"...have a go at me." -- anytime that anyone says anything the slightest bit critical, Stuart complains that they're 'having a go' at him. In first series, Stuart can't take criticism without massive amounts of whinging.
Classic quotes:
Stuart: "Listen, I have to spend every day living with me, so I know
for a fact I'm lovely. I'm completely lovely."
*sees an acquaintance on the street*
Stuart: "Danny, how's things?"
Danny: "Not so bad."
Stuart: "And how's Peter?"
Danny: "Still dead."
Stuart: "Oh, yeah! Shit! Sorry, forgot. Whoops!"
(Series One, Episode One)
Referring to Roy's son Nathan:
Roy: "He's fifteen!"
Stuart: "That car's only six months old and you've still buggered it!"
(Series One, Episode Six)
"I'm gay, I'm queer, I'm homosexual, I'm a poof, I'm a poofter, I'm a ponce.
I'm a bum boy, baddy boy, backside artist, bugger, I'm bent. I am that arse bandit,
I lift those shirts, I'm a faggot arse, fudge packing, shit stabbing, uphill gardener.
I dine at the downstairs restaurant, I dance at the other end of the ballroom,
I'm Moses in the parting of the red cheeks. I fuck, and I'm fucked. I suck, and I'm sucked.
I rim them, and wank them, and every single man has had the fucking time of his life.
And I am not a pervert."
(Series Two; Episode One)
US series equivalent: Brian Kinney. One of the big differences between the US and UK versions are the bracelets. In the US version, Brian has a shell bracelet that he doesn't take off. In the UK version, Vince and Stuart are never without their identical silver bracelets. That, in and of itself, says a great deal about the different direction of the remake of the show.
Nathan Maloney
portrayed by Charlie Hunnam
Nathan is fifteen in the first series and turns sixteen during the second. He loses his virginity to Stuart in the first episode and stalks him for most of the rest of the series, before finally realizing that he doesn't so much want Stuart as he wants to be Stuart.
Nathan is pretty much a complete brat for the first six episodes. In the seventh and eighth episodes, he starts to grow up, and he becomes genuinely likable, if insufferably cocky, in the second series.
Classic quotes:
"Cos I just wanted to say... cos that boy over there. Checked shirt, white t-shirt, dark hair, with the blonde girl, him. I'm in school with him, right. His name is Christian Hobbs. And Christian Hobbs, you know what he does? He finds a boy, and if that boy's a bit quiet, if he's a bit different, Christian Hobbs kicks his head in. He kicks him and he calls him queer. That boy there. He beats us up cos we're queer."
(Series One, Episode Eight)
Teacher: "Jones."
Jones: "Here."
Teacher: "Maloney."
Nathan: "Queer.
Teacher: "I beg your pardon?"
Nathan: "I said, 'queer'."
Teacher: "I'm aware of that."
Nathan: "Oh, that's a miracle, cos they say it and you don't hear a
thing."
Teacher: "I don't like the tone of your voice."
Nathan: "I don't like yours. If you want to make something out of this, sir, it's fine with me. Go on, send me to the headmaster. I'd love it. There's plenty I can tell him. And get my mother in, she'd love it. She'd love to meet you, sir.
Do you wanna do that? Go on, take it further."
(Series Two, Episode Two)
US series equivalent: Justin Taylor, though they have vastly different character arcs. Justin is two years older than Nathan and he actually does want a boyfriend, specifically Brian. And apparently, Justin gets called 'Sunshine' quite a lot, whereas it was only one of the many nicknames that Hazel gave Nathan.
Hazel Tyler
portrayed by Denise Black
Vince's mum. Got pregnant with Vince at the tender age of fifteen. She goes out to Canal Street on a regular basis, both to embarrass her beloved son and because she really does just enjoy it.
She's also clearly loved by just about everyone who meets her. The Tylers are very lovable sorts.
She lodges homeless gay waifs in her house. Well, they are gay, at any rate.
One of the interesting things that pops up when we meet the rest of Vince's family (father and half-sister) is that they're all played by people from Coronation Street, a series that gets name-checked in the episode where Vince goes out for a drink with his co-workers and is being pushed towards the very straight and interested Rosalie.
Classic quotes:
referring to Stuart outing Vince to a co-worker --
Hazel: "Vince comes home, he says, 'There's this new boy at school, this Irish boy.' I had weeks of it.
Stuart this, Stuart that. And then weeks he didn't mention you at all, like the two of you had a secret. You tipped up, soon enough. That bank holiday. Both of you drunk. Fourteen and drunk. Soon as I saw you, I thought, 'clever little bastard.'"
Stuart: "That's right. Everyone have a go at me."
Hazel: "I said clever. Did it on purpose, didn't you? That's one hell of a push you gave him.
Can't do things on the quiet, can you? Has to be a spectacle. Couldn't you have just told him to sod off?"
Stuart: "Like he'd listen. Hazel, he'd follow me around forever."
Hazel: "Yeah."
...
Stuart: "Have you said anything?"
Hazel: "None of my business. He's trying to make sense of it, poor sod. But if you want it to make sense,
then you have to see Vince as important. And he's never going to manage that, is he? See you, kid.
Look after yourself."
Stuart: "Always have."
(Series One, Episode Seven)
US series equivalent: Debbie Novotny. Sorry, but this is the one place where the US version strikes me as not just different but inferior. Debbie is loud and pushy, but in the episodes that I saw, she had none of Hazel's sensitivity or wit. And she smothers her son in a way that Hazel would never dream of doing to Vince. Horrid woman. She's a large part of why I wasn't willing to figure out a way to keep watching QaFUS.
Alexander Perry
portrayed by Antony Cotton
A (very) camp friend of Vince's. Though he comes across as light-hearted, he actually has the hardest family background of them all -- his parents ignore him on the street and when his father is dying, all his mother cares about is getting him to sign away any right to an inheritance. His first episode is the third, and his character was supposed to be a one-off. Russell liked his take on the character so much that Alexander was written into the rest of the series and got to be in the main credits of the second series.
Classic quotes:
"I snogged a woman once. It was like kissing the Body Shop."
(Series One, Episode Three)
"Course, I was with him the night he died. Well, I wasn't with him, with him. Or he wouldn't be dead. Or we'd both be dead. Ooo, imagine, I could be dead. This could be me. Mind you, I think I'd get more of a crowd."
(Series One, Episode Four)
US series equivalent: Emmett Honeycutt.
All the Rest
Alfred -- Stuart's son by the lesbians. Stuart does, quite clearly, love his son, though he'd certainly never say it out loud. Despite that, he has no issues with not spending time with him, and similarily has none with leaving Alfred behind when he takes off at the end of the second series. Well, he arranged for Alfred to receive money regularly, I'm sure.
US series equivalent: Gus.
Bernard Thomas -- A lodger at Hazel's. We really don't know much about him, apart from the fact that he is, like most of the men that Hazel knows, gay.
US series equivalent: Vic Grassi, who is Debbie's brother. Interesting choice, to have it a family thing instead of a 'taking in random gay lodgers' thing.
Cameron Roberts -- Vince's boyfriend for episodes 5-8. Cameron is looking for stability and someone to make a life with. He never quite realizes that Vince wasn't ever Stuart's lapdog and, yes, did go out to
Canal Street because he liked it. Vince breaks up with him, over the phone, in episode eight, when Cameron shows that he doesn't care at all about who Vince is as a person.
US equivalent: David Cameron, which strikes me as a bit lazy, using 'Cameron' as the last name.
Christian Hobbs -- A boy that Nathan goes to school with. He's clearly gay (lets Nathan wank him off in the locker room and has some odd conversations with Nathan) and in big denial. Gets verbally smacked down by Nathan at the end of the first series, and is Nathan's nemesis again in the second.
US equivalent: Chris Hobbs. All they did here was take off part of the name (though 'Chris' is probably short for 'Christopher' in the US version).
Clive Jones -- Stuart's father. Hints that he knows that Stuart is gay, but doesn't actually say anything straight out. As it were. Isn't shocked when Stuart does come out.
US equivalent: Jack Kinney, who apparently used to beat his child when Brian was young.
Dane McAteer -- A friend of Vince and Alexander's. Rounds out the gang in the first series. Prone to melodrama and has a bit of a Goth look.
US equivalent: None. Shame, as Dane was a shiny little cloud of gloom.
Dazz Collinson -- A boy that Nathan picks up one night who turns into Nathan's first boyfriend, before Nathan realizes that he doesn't want a boyfriend just yet. Very stage-y.
US equivalent: None, as I don't believe Justin ever has the same personal revelation that Nathan does. Justin gets a boyfriend and realises that he does want all the boyfriendy stuff, Nathan gets one and then decides that he's far too hot and young to be stuck to one person yet.
Donna Clarke -- Nathan's best friend. She gives us a way to connect with Nathan on a peer-level in the first series. Sadly, the actress wasn't available for the second series.
US equivalent: Daphne Chanders. Apparently, she and Justin have sex at some point. Is she as cool as Donna? I don't remember.
Janice Maloney -- Nathan's very supportive and caring mother.
Becomes friends with Hazel and, like everyone else, gets to like Vince a lot.
US equivalent: Jennifer Taylor, who apparently wanted Brian to take care of Justin. I'm trying to imagine Janice saying anything of the sort to Stuart and I really can't.
Lisa Levene -- Lesbian solicitor, in a relationship with Romey.
Has a nicely barbed relationship with Stuart.
US equivalent: Melanie Marcus. Apparently, she and Michael had a baby, a la Romey and Stuart. Michael really is different from Vince. I can't imagine Vince having a kid. Though maybe that would change in time. But Vince is the one in the series who is always harping about never settling down.
Margaret Jones -- Stuart's mother, who didn't have a clue he was gay and was sideswiped by his coming out speech in QaF2. Also, she probably had more trouble with Stuart saying that he wasn't a pervert after she found out that he'd slept with a fifteen year-old boy.
US equivalent: Joan Kinney, who is, as I understand it, much more religious and not as likable as Margaret.
Marie Threepwood -- Stuart's sister, who knows that he's gay and only has issues with the fact that he hasn't told their parents. Marie and Stuart have a good relationship, one where they can tell each other to 'fuck off' very affectionately.
US equivalent: Claire Kinney, who does not has as good a relationship with Brian as Marie does with Stuart. I've noticed a trend there, actually. Brian's family seems to consist mostly of assholes, while Stuart's is
filled with people who are usually nice but rather manipulative when they want attention.
Phil Delaney -- Dead. Well, he starts out alive, but dies near the end of the third episode. Phil is quite clearly a friend of Vince's and not of Stuart's at all. Though he dies in the third episode, he does get name-checked in the second series, as Vince uses Phil's opinion of Vince and Stuart's relationship to get out of sex with Stuart.
US equivalent: Ted Schmidt, who is not dead, though he's gone through about five levels of hell.
Romey Sullivan -- Lesbian. Mother of Alfred. Friends with Stuart. Almost marries a straight man so that he can get a visa to stay in the UK.
US equivalent: Lindsay Peterson, only Romey doesn't hang on Stuart as Lindsay does Brian. But Romey's much less highly-strung than what I remember of Lindsay.
Rosalie Cotter -- Straight co-worker of Vince's, who fancies him throughout the first series, finds out that he's gay in episode seven, is bitter for a while until he comes out at work, and then is clearly over it and a big supporter of Vince again in the second series. He made her feel like an idiot and she still got over it and liked him again. The power of Vince is unstoppable.
US equivalent: Tracey.
Roy Maloney -- Nathan's father, who has a less-than-ideal reaction to his son being gay. His wife ends up chucking him out of the house.
US equivalent: Craig Taylor.
Sandra Doherty -- Stuart's assistant. They seem to understand each other fairly well. She's more than a little amused by his conquests and clearly has some affection for him. She tells Hazel that without Stuart the office 'feels like a morgue'.
US equivalent: Cynthia.
Queer as Folk
The whole love thing. Sorted.
Ultimately, the first series is about choosing to love, even if the world thinks that you're pathetic for it. Quite the paean for the fannishly inclined, really.
Episode One:
Thursday -- Stuart picks up Nathan. Their shag is interrupted when Stuart
gets the phone call about Romey having given birth to Stuart's son, Alfred.
Stuart and Nathan do end up shagging later that night, with Stuart on
some drug that is definitely not E (X) and might be dog-worming tablets.
Vince brings Stuart's car over, and he and Stuart take Nathan right to the
school door, displaying the word "queers" on the side of the car (vandalised
in the night by the kids who live down the street from Vince).
Episode Two:
Friday -- We find out that Vince is in the closet at work, that Stuart
is very much not. Nathan stalks them, following them around and even going
over and interrogating Vince's mother.
Episode Three:
Saturday -- We meet Alexander, Dane, and Alexander's Japanese
prostitute, though Alexander doesn't know that last bit at first. The episode ends
with all of the adult characters copping off; Stuart with two handsome
blokes, Vince with a man who ends up having Brazilian beach parasites in his
ase, and Alexander and Dane with a mortician. Phil cops off with a man who
gives him heroin and then steals Phil's money and runs after Phil has a fatal
reaction.
Episode Four:
Covers the day of Phil's funeral. At the end, Stuart wanks Nathan off
and then has Nathan (who has run away from home) give him a blow-job.
Later, he explains it by saying that 'after a day like that, you need a shag.'
Vince gets pissed off and runs off, with Stuart trying to get Vince to stay,
or at least talk to him.
Episode Five:
Two weeks later -- Vince is surprised at work by a man he met at the
funeral reception, Cameron, who wants to ask him out on a date. This unexpected
event gets Vince to mend fences with Stuart. After a not so spectacular
first date (no shag), Vince and Cameron try again, and do end up
shagging.
Episode Six:
After an unpleasant episode with his parents, Stuart takes Nathan home
to Nathan's parents, only to be attacked by Nathan's father. That having
failed, he takes Nathan back to Hazel's. Cameron and Stuart have a
confrontation about Stuart and Vince's friendship -- Cameron claims
that Stuart is 'keeping Vince twelve' which is so wrong on so many levels
that it leaves me speechless.
Episode Seven:
Stuart hosts Vince's 'surprise' 30th birthday party at his flat. And
Stuart does, in fact, have the only surprises that show up at the party --
he's gotten Vince the original K-9 robot from Vince's beloved tv show,
Doctor Who, and he's invited Vince's co-worker, Rosalie, over so that he
can out Vince to her. As might be expected, this causes a temporary
cessation of the Stuart/Vince friendship, though they both wallow in not being
friends.
Episode Eight:
Stuart is, predictably, a complete mess without Vince, getting too
drunk to drive and helping Lisa, of all people, get rid of the man that Romey
wanted to marry so that he could renew his visa. And Vince, despite his anger
over what Stuart did, can't shut up about Stuart to Cameron. Finally, after
Stuart asks Nathan in several ways to keep him company, Nathan figures
out that Stuart needs Vince and goes about reminding Vince that Stuart does
care about him. Stuart and Vince have lunch together. Nathan heads off to
London with his friend, Donna. In the end, Vince dumps Cameron to go dancing
with Stuart.
Queer as Folk 2
Same men. New tricks.
The second series is about growing up and letting go of your fears --
Stuart comes out to his parents, Nathan stands up to his teacher and
classmates, and Vince takes Stuart's hand. It's about affirming who you are and
standing by that knowledge, not letting anyone else's hate or fear stop you from
being yourself.
Episode One:
Stuart tries to get Vince into bed. Repeatedly. The episode opens with
an attempt at a threesome. Stuart's trying, the shag is trying, and Vince
bails, lamely. Stuart's nephew runs across one of the porn sites on
Stuart's computer and attempts to blackmail him. Nathan returns from London, to
little fanfare. Stuart, Vince, Hazel, and Alexander go to Vince's
sister's wedding. Stuart and Vince argue, slow-dance, and get so close to having
sex that you want to kill Vince. Stuart finally comes out to his parents.
Episode Two:
Alexander's mother has him sign some papers that keep him away from any
family money. Stuart blows up her car as payback and Vince is pissed
(not because he thought it was wrong but because he thought it would only
make things worse). Nathan turns sixteen, Stuart pounces on him in a
bathroom to give him his 'birthday present' and pretends to come prematurely,
thus ensuring that he'll fall off the pedestal that Nathan has him on.
You can tell it's fake because a) the orgasm is a bit over-the-top and
b) Stuart does a victory dance after Nathan leaves the stall. Stuart decides to
go to London. After much hemming and hawing, and a push by his mother, Vince
throws caution to the hills and goes to meet Stuart, not to stop him but
to improve his plans. Stuart and Vince head off to America together,
where they hold hands and take no shit.
Stuart/Vince
The greatest love story never told.
Unlike the US version of QaF (which abounds with pairings, but has the
most energy focused on Brian/Justin, as I understand it), the main pairing
in the UK version is the one between the two best friends, Vince and Stuart.
There are some stories with Stuart and Nathan, as well as a few that deal
with other pairings altogether, but the primary couple of the fandom is
Vince/Stuart.
And for good reason -- in the first series, the focus of the show is on
Vince's 'unrequited' love for Stuart. In the later half of the first
series and in second series, emphasis is placed on just how much Stuart needs
Vince. They're a matched set.
One of the things that's enjoyable about Vince and Stuart is that they
really do feel like a slash pairing -- they may both be gay, but
they don't end the series together and we never see them do more than kiss
(twice on the lips... three times if you count the time that Stuart passes
Vince a drug via sticking his tongue in Vince's mouth) and hold hands. There's
a bit of work involved in getting them into the sack, and fanfic writers get
to be the ones to handle their first time.
They snark at each other constantly, and take each other for granted at
the beginning of the show, having been best friends for almost sixteen
years. The events in the first series lead to them really appreciating each
other again. The first series tests their relationship to what should be the
breaking point, but isn't -- even after what Stuart does, Vince doesn't
stop caring about Stuart. He can't. He just doesn't understand why Stuart
would do that to him.
In the end, the enduring thing is their friendship. No matter what
happens, they have each other. Even when Stuart did his best to screw up their
friendship, they found their way back to each other (with a little help
from Nathan). At various points in the series, they each pretend that the
other is their boyfriend (Stuart to Martin Brooks in Series One, Episode
Five; Vince to his father's family in Series Two, Episode One) and talk about
getting a place together.
Vince is also the only person that we actually see Stuart give a
compliment to -- he calls him "fantastic" when Vince is about to go on his date
with Cameron. Anyone else, he falls back into telling them that they are, at
most, "not so bad".
And they have possibly the best (and probably the longest) declaration
of love in the history of the world:
Stuart: "How's Cameron?"
Vince: "He's great, yeah. Wants me to go on holiday. Melbourne. Sounds good."
Stuart: "Poor sod. Give him six months, he'll be able to name all the Doctor
Whos. In order."
*doesn't give Vince a chance to speak*
Stuart: "William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker,
Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy."
Vince: "What about Paul McGann?"
Stuart/Vince: "Paul McGann doesn't count."
*they smile at each other*
Vince: "It's all right, though. Me and Cameron. It's okay. It's a bit
of a love job, actually. Says he loves me. How's things with you?
How's Alfred?"
*a pause, as Stuart just watches Vince*
Vince: "It pisses me off, though. First one to say 'love' -- he's in
charge. Puts him in charge. I dunno, it's all a bit grown up. You're supposed
to ask if I love him."
Stuart: "You can't. You can't even respect him. He loves Vince Tyler,
so that makes him stupid. The moment he said it, it all just died."
Vince: "No, it's nothing like that. Me, though? I can't be the best
shag he's ever had. He's Australian! I don't even know if I'm a good kisser.
How do you know if you're a good kisser?"
Stuart: "You just know."
Vince: "Fuck off. It's not as if I've ever done anything."
Stuart: "You've done nothing, Vince. You go to work, you go for a drink, you sit and
watch cheap science fiction. Small and tiny world. What is there that's so impressive
about that? What is there to love?"
Vince: "Yeah."
Stuart: "It was good enough for me."
(Series One, Episode Eight)
Fandom Resources
General Links:
Manchester Bars (Gay Village) and Queer Manchester
will tell you about Canal Street.
A Canadian Dedication page has information and articles on both series, plus three pages of photos for the UK series.
Vince and Stuart Wallpapers. Just what it says.
Stuart and Vince is an active Yahoo!group for the pairing.
TWOP's Recaps of QaFUK. They're pretty good -- the first series recaps are slightly better than the second, where the writer seemed not to remember some key points from the first series (ex. she wondered what Stuart would think of Vince telling his dad that Vince might get a house with Stuart. Well, he'd probably be just fine with it as he offered Vince that very thing in Episode Seven -- "Still could [live together]. You could move in here. We could get a house together. I'll pay.").
LJ Communities:
Queer as Folk UK is a general community for anything related to the UK version of QaF.
Good Enough for Me is a Stuart/Vince community.
Aidan Gillen focuses on the man who played Stuart Alan Jones.
Craig Kelly is an info community about the guy who played Vince.
Fanfiction:
Across the Pond is a fanfiction site for either UK or US QaF fic.
BritSlash has a section for QaFUK fic.
Speranza might be best known for her due South fic (for good reason!), but she also has two marvelous QaFUK stories and one ficlet in 'Other Stories'.
Web Archive of The Rhipodon Society.
Cesare's site. Sort of.almostnever's site doesn't work anymore, but it is web archived. This claims to be her new site, but the stories don't come up on my computer. You can also try Cesare's page on ATP.
iamtheenemy's QaFUK fanfic.
Here's a rec of a wonderful QaFUK vid by Killa (killabeez).
butterfly for writing this overview. —vamplover84 Created and written by Russell T Davies
Produced by Red Production Company
Debuted in the UK on Feb. 23 1999, on Channel-4
Overview by
butterflyIn the beginning, there were eight episodes. They weren't expecting Queer as Folk to be anything more than a minor cult show.
Then the series was a hit, far surpassing expectations. Because of this, a sequel was made and that second series, Queer as Folk 2, aired in Feb. 2000 with two episodes (the company wanted ten, but Russell decided on two). The show as a whole garnered quite a bit of attention, eventually spawning an American remake, also entitled Queer as Folk (crack_van overview for the US version).
Why You Should Watch This Show:
Far from being an excuse for gay porn, Queer as Folk is a finely drawn character drama that centers around two men, their friendship, and the boy who changes everything. The dialogue sparkles with wit and subtlety, and the key relationship between the two leads is unarticulated love at its finest.
And though the characters in the series are fictional, the environment isn't. Manchester really is the gay capital of the UK. Canal Street exists and was used for filming during the show. The clubs visited are real and the lifestyles are ones that the creator of QaF pulled from his own observations.
Info for US/Canadian fans:
The soundtrack to the NTSC (Region 1) DVDs is different from the PAL (Region 2) original because of licensing problems. And Region 1 doesn't have a Definitive Collector's set out; that's still only available in Region 2.
Also, in the scene where Vince decides to go back to his flat and watch some TV, the NTSC version doesn't show the film clip and viewer might be left with the impression that it's porn. No fear, it's actually an episode of Vince's favorite sci-fi show, Doctor Who.
The series debuted in Canada on June 5th, 2000, on Showcase, and in the U.S. on August 14th, 2000, on C1TV.
The Inner Circle
Vince Tyler
portrayed by Craig Kelly
Vince is a bit of a sweetheart and, in the beginning, he comes across as a bit of a pushover, too...and, maybe, he even is. In the first series, he gains enough self-confidence to come out at work and to realize that he deserves better than a man who belittles the things that Vince loves. By the end of the second series, he's run off to America with Stuart, finaly willing risk it all for the person he loves most. More than that, he's come to realize that Stuart needs him far more than he needs Stuart.
Oh, and everyone loves Vince. That's pretty much the series universal. Even the people who have fairly solid reasons to dislike Vince (like Nathan) tend to get won over by him in the end.
Bad points? That's easy enough -- he lies to get out of things, even when the truth would likely be perfectly acceptable. He's also got terribly low self-esteem in the first series.
Most common saying:
"Oh. My. God!" -- to express either surprise or faux-surprise. It's easy enough to tell the difference by Vince's tone of voice.
Classic quotes:
Stuart: "Vince, run a check on Alfred."
Vince: "Alf Roberts, Alfie, Michael Caine. Alf -- that American sitcom with the puppet -- bit dodgy.
But that's forgotten by the time he's in school. Unless it's on cable. I bet they've got it on Bravo.
Oh, Alfred's the name of Batman's butler -- marvellous. Good name."
(Series One, Episode One)
Vince: "Oh. My. God. I'm here -- straight pub. I can't stop. I'm
going in."
Stuart: "What's it like?"
Vince: "It's all true. Everything we've ever been told. Everything but flock wallpaper.
Ah... and the people. There are people talking in sentences that have no punchline.
And they don't even care! Can you believe it? They've got toilets in which no one's ever had sex!"
(Series One, Episode Two)
"Unrequited love -- it's fantastic, 'cause it never has to change, it
never has to grow up and it never has to die!"
(Series One, Episode Eight)
US series equivalent: Michael Novotny, who is a comics geek. I have to admit that it's much easier for me to relate to Vince, who adores science-fiction, simply because I've never been into comic books.
Stuart Alan Jones
portrayed by Aidan Gillen
Touchable black curls, absolutely beautiful blue eyes, a devastating smile, and a whimper-worthy Irish accent all add up to a man who can charm his way into any man's pants... except Vince's. Stuart isn't usually the tallest man in the room (Nathan's taller than he is) and, sometimes, he isn't even the most beautiful, but he's always the sexiest. Stuart first copped off (Britspeak for 'had sex') at the advanced age of twelve. At school. With his PE teacher. He got into a shower stall, fully clothed, and just went at it, getting completely soaked. He's approached sex with that same determined fearlessness ever since.
And Stuart isn't so much an asshole as he is... well, seriously self-involved. Stuart always comes first for Stuart -- the one exception is Vince. Stuart's strength lies in his bone-deep conviction that he's a wonderful and amazing person, a conviction that only wavers when he doesn't have Vince by his side.
Seeds of Stuart's violent tendencies are present in the first series, but they really come to the forefront in the second -- part of the reason that he needs Vince is because he needs someone to be the safety on his gun and Vince is the only person that he'd ever listen to, as we see in the final segment of the show.
Most common saying:
"...have a go at me." -- anytime that anyone says anything the slightest bit critical, Stuart complains that they're 'having a go' at him. In first series, Stuart can't take criticism without massive amounts of whinging.
Classic quotes:
Stuart: "Listen, I have to spend every day living with me, so I know
for a fact I'm lovely. I'm completely lovely."
*sees an acquaintance on the street*
Stuart: "Danny, how's things?"
Danny: "Not so bad."
Stuart: "And how's Peter?"
Danny: "Still dead."
Stuart: "Oh, yeah! Shit! Sorry, forgot. Whoops!"
(Series One, Episode One)
Referring to Roy's son Nathan:
Roy: "He's fifteen!"
Stuart: "That car's only six months old and you've still buggered it!"
(Series One, Episode Six)
"I'm gay, I'm queer, I'm homosexual, I'm a poof, I'm a poofter, I'm a ponce.
I'm a bum boy, baddy boy, backside artist, bugger, I'm bent. I am that arse bandit,
I lift those shirts, I'm a faggot arse, fudge packing, shit stabbing, uphill gardener.
I dine at the downstairs restaurant, I dance at the other end of the ballroom,
I'm Moses in the parting of the red cheeks. I fuck, and I'm fucked. I suck, and I'm sucked.
I rim them, and wank them, and every single man has had the fucking time of his life.
And I am not a pervert."
(Series Two; Episode One)
US series equivalent: Brian Kinney. One of the big differences between the US and UK versions are the bracelets. In the US version, Brian has a shell bracelet that he doesn't take off. In the UK version, Vince and Stuart are never without their identical silver bracelets. That, in and of itself, says a great deal about the different direction of the remake of the show.
Nathan Maloney
portrayed by Charlie Hunnam
Nathan is fifteen in the first series and turns sixteen during the second. He loses his virginity to Stuart in the first episode and stalks him for most of the rest of the series, before finally realizing that he doesn't so much want Stuart as he wants to be Stuart.
Nathan is pretty much a complete brat for the first six episodes. In the seventh and eighth episodes, he starts to grow up, and he becomes genuinely likable, if insufferably cocky, in the second series.
Classic quotes:
"Cos I just wanted to say... cos that boy over there. Checked shirt, white t-shirt, dark hair, with the blonde girl, him. I'm in school with him, right. His name is Christian Hobbs. And Christian Hobbs, you know what he does? He finds a boy, and if that boy's a bit quiet, if he's a bit different, Christian Hobbs kicks his head in. He kicks him and he calls him queer. That boy there. He beats us up cos we're queer."
(Series One, Episode Eight)
Teacher: "Jones."
Jones: "Here."
Teacher: "Maloney."
Nathan: "Queer.
Teacher: "I beg your pardon?"
Nathan: "I said, 'queer'."
Teacher: "I'm aware of that."
Nathan: "Oh, that's a miracle, cos they say it and you don't hear a
thing."
Teacher: "I don't like the tone of your voice."
Nathan: "I don't like yours. If you want to make something out of this, sir, it's fine with me. Go on, send me to the headmaster. I'd love it. There's plenty I can tell him. And get my mother in, she'd love it. She'd love to meet you, sir.
Do you wanna do that? Go on, take it further."
(Series Two, Episode Two)
US series equivalent: Justin Taylor, though they have vastly different character arcs. Justin is two years older than Nathan and he actually does want a boyfriend, specifically Brian. And apparently, Justin gets called 'Sunshine' quite a lot, whereas it was only one of the many nicknames that Hazel gave Nathan.
Hazel Tyler
portrayed by Denise Black
Vince's mum. Got pregnant with Vince at the tender age of fifteen. She goes out to Canal Street on a regular basis, both to embarrass her beloved son and because she really does just enjoy it.
She's also clearly loved by just about everyone who meets her. The Tylers are very lovable sorts.
She lodges homeless gay waifs in her house. Well, they are gay, at any rate.
One of the interesting things that pops up when we meet the rest of Vince's family (father and half-sister) is that they're all played by people from Coronation Street, a series that gets name-checked in the episode where Vince goes out for a drink with his co-workers and is being pushed towards the very straight and interested Rosalie.
Classic quotes:
referring to Stuart outing Vince to a co-worker --
Hazel: "Vince comes home, he says, 'There's this new boy at school, this Irish boy.' I had weeks of it.
Stuart this, Stuart that. And then weeks he didn't mention you at all, like the two of you had a secret. You tipped up, soon enough. That bank holiday. Both of you drunk. Fourteen and drunk. Soon as I saw you, I thought, 'clever little bastard.'"
Stuart: "That's right. Everyone have a go at me."
Hazel: "I said clever. Did it on purpose, didn't you? That's one hell of a push you gave him.
Can't do things on the quiet, can you? Has to be a spectacle. Couldn't you have just told him to sod off?"
Stuart: "Like he'd listen. Hazel, he'd follow me around forever."
Hazel: "Yeah."
...
Stuart: "Have you said anything?"
Hazel: "None of my business. He's trying to make sense of it, poor sod. But if you want it to make sense,
then you have to see Vince as important. And he's never going to manage that, is he? See you, kid.
Look after yourself."
Stuart: "Always have."
(Series One, Episode Seven)
US series equivalent: Debbie Novotny. Sorry, but this is the one place where the US version strikes me as not just different but inferior. Debbie is loud and pushy, but in the episodes that I saw, she had none of Hazel's sensitivity or wit. And she smothers her son in a way that Hazel would never dream of doing to Vince. Horrid woman. She's a large part of why I wasn't willing to figure out a way to keep watching QaFUS.
Alexander Perry
portrayed by Antony Cotton
A (very) camp friend of Vince's. Though he comes across as light-hearted, he actually has the hardest family background of them all -- his parents ignore him on the street and when his father is dying, all his mother cares about is getting him to sign away any right to an inheritance. His first episode is the third, and his character was supposed to be a one-off. Russell liked his take on the character so much that Alexander was written into the rest of the series and got to be in the main credits of the second series.
Classic quotes:
"I snogged a woman once. It was like kissing the Body Shop."
(Series One, Episode Three)
"Course, I was with him the night he died. Well, I wasn't with him, with him. Or he wouldn't be dead. Or we'd both be dead. Ooo, imagine, I could be dead. This could be me. Mind you, I think I'd get more of a crowd."
(Series One, Episode Four)
US series equivalent: Emmett Honeycutt.
Alfred -- Stuart's son by the lesbians. Stuart does, quite clearly, love his son, though he'd certainly never say it out loud. Despite that, he has no issues with not spending time with him, and similarily has none with leaving Alfred behind when he takes off at the end of the second series. Well, he arranged for Alfred to receive money regularly, I'm sure.
US series equivalent: Gus.
Bernard Thomas -- A lodger at Hazel's. We really don't know much about him, apart from the fact that he is, like most of the men that Hazel knows, gay.
US series equivalent: Vic Grassi, who is Debbie's brother. Interesting choice, to have it a family thing instead of a 'taking in random gay lodgers' thing.
Cameron Roberts -- Vince's boyfriend for episodes 5-8. Cameron is looking for stability and someone to make a life with. He never quite realizes that Vince wasn't ever Stuart's lapdog and, yes, did go out to
Canal Street because he liked it. Vince breaks up with him, over the phone, in episode eight, when Cameron shows that he doesn't care at all about who Vince is as a person.
US equivalent: David Cameron, which strikes me as a bit lazy, using 'Cameron' as the last name.
Christian Hobbs -- A boy that Nathan goes to school with. He's clearly gay (lets Nathan wank him off in the locker room and has some odd conversations with Nathan) and in big denial. Gets verbally smacked down by Nathan at the end of the first series, and is Nathan's nemesis again in the second.
US equivalent: Chris Hobbs. All they did here was take off part of the name (though 'Chris' is probably short for 'Christopher' in the US version).
Clive Jones -- Stuart's father. Hints that he knows that Stuart is gay, but doesn't actually say anything straight out. As it were. Isn't shocked when Stuart does come out.
US equivalent: Jack Kinney, who apparently used to beat his child when Brian was young.
Dane McAteer -- A friend of Vince and Alexander's. Rounds out the gang in the first series. Prone to melodrama and has a bit of a Goth look.
US equivalent: None. Shame, as Dane was a shiny little cloud of gloom.
Dazz Collinson -- A boy that Nathan picks up one night who turns into Nathan's first boyfriend, before Nathan realizes that he doesn't want a boyfriend just yet. Very stage-y.
US equivalent: None, as I don't believe Justin ever has the same personal revelation that Nathan does. Justin gets a boyfriend and realises that he does want all the boyfriendy stuff, Nathan gets one and then decides that he's far too hot and young to be stuck to one person yet.
Donna Clarke -- Nathan's best friend. She gives us a way to connect with Nathan on a peer-level in the first series. Sadly, the actress wasn't available for the second series.
US equivalent: Daphne Chanders. Apparently, she and Justin have sex at some point. Is she as cool as Donna? I don't remember.
Janice Maloney -- Nathan's very supportive and caring mother.
Becomes friends with Hazel and, like everyone else, gets to like Vince a lot.
US equivalent: Jennifer Taylor, who apparently wanted Brian to take care of Justin. I'm trying to imagine Janice saying anything of the sort to Stuart and I really can't.
Lisa Levene -- Lesbian solicitor, in a relationship with Romey.
Has a nicely barbed relationship with Stuart.
US equivalent: Melanie Marcus. Apparently, she and Michael had a baby, a la Romey and Stuart. Michael really is different from Vince. I can't imagine Vince having a kid. Though maybe that would change in time. But Vince is the one in the series who is always harping about never settling down.
Margaret Jones -- Stuart's mother, who didn't have a clue he was gay and was sideswiped by his coming out speech in QaF2. Also, she probably had more trouble with Stuart saying that he wasn't a pervert after she found out that he'd slept with a fifteen year-old boy.
US equivalent: Joan Kinney, who is, as I understand it, much more religious and not as likable as Margaret.
Marie Threepwood -- Stuart's sister, who knows that he's gay and only has issues with the fact that he hasn't told their parents. Marie and Stuart have a good relationship, one where they can tell each other to 'fuck off' very affectionately.
US equivalent: Claire Kinney, who does not has as good a relationship with Brian as Marie does with Stuart. I've noticed a trend there, actually. Brian's family seems to consist mostly of assholes, while Stuart's is
filled with people who are usually nice but rather manipulative when they want attention.
Phil Delaney -- Dead. Well, he starts out alive, but dies near the end of the third episode. Phil is quite clearly a friend of Vince's and not of Stuart's at all. Though he dies in the third episode, he does get name-checked in the second series, as Vince uses Phil's opinion of Vince and Stuart's relationship to get out of sex with Stuart.
US equivalent: Ted Schmidt, who is not dead, though he's gone through about five levels of hell.
Romey Sullivan -- Lesbian. Mother of Alfred. Friends with Stuart. Almost marries a straight man so that he can get a visa to stay in the UK.
US equivalent: Lindsay Peterson, only Romey doesn't hang on Stuart as Lindsay does Brian. But Romey's much less highly-strung than what I remember of Lindsay.
Rosalie Cotter -- Straight co-worker of Vince's, who fancies him throughout the first series, finds out that he's gay in episode seven, is bitter for a while until he comes out at work, and then is clearly over it and a big supporter of Vince again in the second series. He made her feel like an idiot and she still got over it and liked him again. The power of Vince is unstoppable.
US equivalent: Tracey.
Roy Maloney -- Nathan's father, who has a less-than-ideal reaction to his son being gay. His wife ends up chucking him out of the house.
US equivalent: Craig Taylor.
Sandra Doherty -- Stuart's assistant. They seem to understand each other fairly well. She's more than a little amused by his conquests and clearly has some affection for him. She tells Hazel that without Stuart the office 'feels like a morgue'.
US equivalent: Cynthia.
Queer as Folk
The whole love thing. Sorted.
Ultimately, the first series is about choosing to love, even if the world thinks that you're pathetic for it. Quite the paean for the fannishly inclined, really.
Episode One:
Thursday -- Stuart picks up Nathan. Their shag is interrupted when Stuart
gets the phone call about Romey having given birth to Stuart's son, Alfred.
Stuart and Nathan do end up shagging later that night, with Stuart on
some drug that is definitely not E (X) and might be dog-worming tablets.
Vince brings Stuart's car over, and he and Stuart take Nathan right to the
school door, displaying the word "queers" on the side of the car (vandalised
in the night by the kids who live down the street from Vince).
Episode Two:
Friday -- We find out that Vince is in the closet at work, that Stuart
is very much not. Nathan stalks them, following them around and even going
over and interrogating Vince's mother.
Episode Three:
Saturday -- We meet Alexander, Dane, and Alexander's Japanese
prostitute, though Alexander doesn't know that last bit at first. The episode ends
with all of the adult characters copping off; Stuart with two handsome
blokes, Vince with a man who ends up having Brazilian beach parasites in his
ase, and Alexander and Dane with a mortician. Phil cops off with a man who
gives him heroin and then steals Phil's money and runs after Phil has a fatal
reaction.
Episode Four:
Covers the day of Phil's funeral. At the end, Stuart wanks Nathan off
and then has Nathan (who has run away from home) give him a blow-job.
Later, he explains it by saying that 'after a day like that, you need a shag.'
Vince gets pissed off and runs off, with Stuart trying to get Vince to stay,
or at least talk to him.
Episode Five:
Two weeks later -- Vince is surprised at work by a man he met at the
funeral reception, Cameron, who wants to ask him out on a date. This unexpected
event gets Vince to mend fences with Stuart. After a not so spectacular
first date (no shag), Vince and Cameron try again, and do end up
shagging.
Episode Six:
After an unpleasant episode with his parents, Stuart takes Nathan home
to Nathan's parents, only to be attacked by Nathan's father. That having
failed, he takes Nathan back to Hazel's. Cameron and Stuart have a
confrontation about Stuart and Vince's friendship -- Cameron claims
that Stuart is 'keeping Vince twelve' which is so wrong on so many levels
that it leaves me speechless.
Episode Seven:
Stuart hosts Vince's 'surprise' 30th birthday party at his flat. And
Stuart does, in fact, have the only surprises that show up at the party --
he's gotten Vince the original K-9 robot from Vince's beloved tv show,
Doctor Who, and he's invited Vince's co-worker, Rosalie, over so that he
can out Vince to her. As might be expected, this causes a temporary
cessation of the Stuart/Vince friendship, though they both wallow in not being
friends.
Episode Eight:
Stuart is, predictably, a complete mess without Vince, getting too
drunk to drive and helping Lisa, of all people, get rid of the man that Romey
wanted to marry so that he could renew his visa. And Vince, despite his anger
over what Stuart did, can't shut up about Stuart to Cameron. Finally, after
Stuart asks Nathan in several ways to keep him company, Nathan figures
out that Stuart needs Vince and goes about reminding Vince that Stuart does
care about him. Stuart and Vince have lunch together. Nathan heads off to
London with his friend, Donna. In the end, Vince dumps Cameron to go dancing
with Stuart.
Queer as Folk 2
Same men. New tricks.
The second series is about growing up and letting go of your fears --
Stuart comes out to his parents, Nathan stands up to his teacher and
classmates, and Vince takes Stuart's hand. It's about affirming who you are and
standing by that knowledge, not letting anyone else's hate or fear stop you from
being yourself.
Episode One:
Stuart tries to get Vince into bed. Repeatedly. The episode opens with
an attempt at a threesome. Stuart's trying, the shag is trying, and Vince
bails, lamely. Stuart's nephew runs across one of the porn sites on
Stuart's computer and attempts to blackmail him. Nathan returns from London, to
little fanfare. Stuart, Vince, Hazel, and Alexander go to Vince's
sister's wedding. Stuart and Vince argue, slow-dance, and get so close to having
sex that you want to kill Vince. Stuart finally comes out to his parents.
Episode Two:
Alexander's mother has him sign some papers that keep him away from any
family money. Stuart blows up her car as payback and Vince is pissed
(not because he thought it was wrong but because he thought it would only
make things worse). Nathan turns sixteen, Stuart pounces on him in a
bathroom to give him his 'birthday present' and pretends to come prematurely,
thus ensuring that he'll fall off the pedestal that Nathan has him on.
You can tell it's fake because a) the orgasm is a bit over-the-top and
b) Stuart does a victory dance after Nathan leaves the stall. Stuart decides to
go to London. After much hemming and hawing, and a push by his mother, Vince
throws caution to the hills and goes to meet Stuart, not to stop him but
to improve his plans. Stuart and Vince head off to America together,
where they hold hands and take no shit.
Stuart/Vince
The greatest love story never told.
Unlike the US version of QaF (which abounds with pairings, but has the
most energy focused on Brian/Justin, as I understand it), the main pairing
in the UK version is the one between the two best friends, Vince and Stuart.
There are some stories with Stuart and Nathan, as well as a few that deal
with other pairings altogether, but the primary couple of the fandom is
Vince/Stuart.
And for good reason -- in the first series, the focus of the show is on
Vince's 'unrequited' love for Stuart. In the later half of the first
series and in second series, emphasis is placed on just how much Stuart needs
Vince. They're a matched set.
One of the things that's enjoyable about Vince and Stuart is that they
really do feel like a slash pairing -- they may both be gay, but
they don't end the series together and we never see them do more than kiss
(twice on the lips... three times if you count the time that Stuart passes
Vince a drug via sticking his tongue in Vince's mouth) and hold hands. There's
a bit of work involved in getting them into the sack, and fanfic writers get
to be the ones to handle their first time.
They snark at each other constantly, and take each other for granted at
the beginning of the show, having been best friends for almost sixteen
years. The events in the first series lead to them really appreciating each
other again. The first series tests their relationship to what should be the
breaking point, but isn't -- even after what Stuart does, Vince doesn't
stop caring about Stuart. He can't. He just doesn't understand why Stuart
would do that to him.
In the end, the enduring thing is their friendship. No matter what
happens, they have each other. Even when Stuart did his best to screw up their
friendship, they found their way back to each other (with a little help
from Nathan). At various points in the series, they each pretend that the
other is their boyfriend (Stuart to Martin Brooks in Series One, Episode
Five; Vince to his father's family in Series Two, Episode One) and talk about
getting a place together.
Vince is also the only person that we actually see Stuart give a
compliment to -- he calls him "fantastic" when Vince is about to go on his date
with Cameron. Anyone else, he falls back into telling them that they are, at
most, "not so bad".
And they have possibly the best (and probably the longest) declaration
of love in the history of the world:
Stuart: "How's Cameron?"
Vince: "He's great, yeah. Wants me to go on holiday. Melbourne. Sounds good."
Stuart: "Poor sod. Give him six months, he'll be able to name all the Doctor
Whos. In order."
*doesn't give Vince a chance to speak*
Stuart: "William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker,
Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy."
Vince: "What about Paul McGann?"
Stuart/Vince: "Paul McGann doesn't count."
*they smile at each other*
Vince: "It's all right, though. Me and Cameron. It's okay. It's a bit
of a love job, actually. Says he loves me. How's things with you?
How's Alfred?"
*a pause, as Stuart just watches Vince*
Vince: "It pisses me off, though. First one to say 'love' -- he's in
charge. Puts him in charge. I dunno, it's all a bit grown up. You're supposed
to ask if I love him."
Stuart: "You can't. You can't even respect him. He loves Vince Tyler,
so that makes him stupid. The moment he said it, it all just died."
Vince: "No, it's nothing like that. Me, though? I can't be the best
shag he's ever had. He's Australian! I don't even know if I'm a good kisser.
How do you know if you're a good kisser?"
Stuart: "You just know."
Vince: "Fuck off. It's not as if I've ever done anything."
Stuart: "You've done nothing, Vince. You go to work, you go for a drink, you sit and
watch cheap science fiction. Small and tiny world. What is there that's so impressive
about that? What is there to love?"
Vince: "Yeah."
Stuart: "It was good enough for me."
(Series One, Episode Eight)
General Links:
Manchester Bars (Gay Village) and Queer Manchester
will tell you about Canal Street.
A Canadian Dedication page has information and articles on both series, plus three pages of photos for the UK series.
Vince and Stuart Wallpapers. Just what it says.
Stuart and Vince is an active Yahoo!group for the pairing.
TWOP's Recaps of QaFUK. They're pretty good -- the first series recaps are slightly better than the second, where the writer seemed not to remember some key points from the first series (ex. she wondered what Stuart would think of Vince telling his dad that Vince might get a house with Stuart. Well, he'd probably be just fine with it as he offered Vince that very thing in Episode Seven -- "Still could [live together]. You could move in here. We could get a house together. I'll pay.").
LJ Communities:
Queer as Folk UK is a general community for anything related to the UK version of QaF.
Good Enough for Me is a Stuart/Vince community.
Aidan Gillen focuses on the man who played Stuart Alan Jones.
Craig Kelly is an info community about the guy who played Vince.
Fanfiction:
Across the Pond is a fanfiction site for either UK or US QaF fic.
BritSlash has a section for QaFUK fic.
Speranza might be best known for her due South fic (for good reason!), but she also has two marvelous QaFUK stories and one ficlet in 'Other Stories'.
Web Archive of The Rhipodon Society.
Cesare's site. Sort of.
almostnever's site doesn't work anymore, but it is web archived. This claims to be her new site, but the stories don't come up on my computer. You can also try Cesare's page on ATP.iamtheenemy's QaFUK fanfic.
Here's a rec of a wonderful QaFUK vid by Killa (
killabeez).
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And it's always good to have a periodic viewing of the series. *g*
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Great job. I'm glad to finally see an overview for QaF:UK and even more glad that it's fabulous. I'm looking forward to your recommendations.
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There's also the Web Archive of The Rhipodon Society, who wrote some truly fantastic QAF-UK fic. I think that's complete, I've gone through it before.
And, yes. QAF-UK is so not QAF-US - for one, I find it far less proto-typical soap, and I actually like the characters - and I wish more people would realize that.
*waves her teeny-tiny Stuart/Vince flag*
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I'm tired. Is that an excuse?
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Can't WAIT for the recs. I've only read 2 or 3 pieces of QaF fanfic.
::bounces gleefully::
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Gah! Stuart and Vince. The hottest couple ever to grace the TV-land.
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Thank you for adding them to
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It's so worth watching.
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Er... I'm so not verbal tonight. But I loved reading that. *g* Great choices on the quotes, and I laughed out loud at "The power of Vince is unstoppable." Squee!
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It's such a great series, isn't it? And it's so dense and rewatchable!
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If for nothing else, Donna's better than Daphne for just this line:
Nathan: "You don't understand,'cause you're straight, right? You're part of the system, right? You're part of the fascist, heterosexual orthodoxy!"
Donna: "I'm black and I'm a girl. Try THAT for a week."
Donna laying the smackdown!
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Hmm, I should check (and fix if there are) next time I have edit rights in this comm.
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Hugsx
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I was never able to get into the US version either. Partly it was the opening credits, which were as different from the UK version as it was possible to be, but mainly, Brian was no Stuart. Brian, in fact, is a bit of an asshole, whereas Stuart was far more likable.