I like Hal Sparks too. I think Michael is the heart of the show…sort of the “everyguy” to balance out the more “intense” personalities (promiscuous Brian, queeny Emmett, etc.).
Whiney Michael…
yeah, but you’re straight so it doesn’t count. 
Okay, fair enough. 
But I also like Peter Paige as well. As far as I’m concerned, his character, Emmett, is a role model for every man, gay or straight. He reminds me of Jesus.
Now that I agree with. Emmett is definitely the wise teacher of the group. Yeah, he’s made some mistakes, but in general he has it more together emotionally than pretty much any of the other central characters.
My favorite scene last night was when the trick at the bath house gave Ted absolution. That was really well done, I think. Up to that scene I really wondered what his malfunction was.
So is Ben going to get away without consequences? Will Carl be torn between sympathy and his duty? Nice drama.
Are the lesbians moving to Canada?
The ending made Brian’s conversion convincing to me. He really sold the idea that he now understands what’s most important to him and he’s willing to do what it takes to please Justin.
My favorite scene was how Drew was asked to speak at the vigil, because it so perfectly captured the rampant star-fucking of the gay community.
Oh sorry, was that cynical?
I really liked it too. Somehow I thought that scene would turn out all sorts of whacked out, but it turned out pretty darn moving, actually.
Good question. As much as we’d like to beat the fuck out of these Falwell types, as good as it would feel to stoop to their level, it’s still stooping to their level. Ben’s going to have to pay a price, I think.
Gah!!! Why should Brian compromise everything? What’s Justin compromising in this relationship? Nothing. He gets every cute little suburban 50’s housewife dream fantasy he’s ever had. To make it complete, Brian should have rode in on a white unicorn.
I thought this episode was boring and sentimental.
Come on people…only one more episode left (plus a 30 minute cast party)…let’s at least try to show some enthusiasm.
Supposedly a “shocking” series finale, if you believe the previews/hype after the last show.
I am going to miss the idea of this show, but I think I will be more relieved than saddened when it is finally over.
And as far as the “shocking” series finale? Well…unless they really do kill off a few characters, I doubt they can do much to shock me. I am still inclined to think they intend to wrap it up in a pretty rainbow bow with a “and they all lived happily ever after” end title. Then again, am I the only one who thinks Tad is a tad psycho and might be the mad bomber or something?
I don’t think he’s the bomber but he is psycho. Maybe they’re going to off Ted after all, during Gay Ski Weekend at (snerk) “Mount Flame.” Woulda been more interesting if Tad had showed up a few episodes ago so they could do a proper stalker storyline replete with full-on soap operatic trimmings. Have they done a stalker arc before? I mean, other than Justin skulking around after his One Night In Heaven avec Brian.
I did notice in the show description on cable before the episode aired that “Ted’s new boyfriend isn’t what he seems”. I kept waiting for the big twist that never came. Justin should go to New York, and maybe Brian will follow. What makes The Lesbians think they can emmigrate to Canada so easily anyway? They gots rules, you know. I’m glad Emmett set his football player free. In the long run, it could only end as it did. Maybe they’re get back together in the future.
As for the “shocking finale”, they damn sure better not reunite Ted and Emmett.
Kind of a snoozer of an episode.
Tad is definitely weird, if not full on psycho. He’s probably not a killer, but he’s already starting that thing abusive husbands do. First they separate you from your friends, then they destroy your self esteem and start knocking you around. But with only one, finale episode to go, how much can they do with it?
I feel bad for Emmett, but not too bad. Once again, he’s the wise one, he’s right, and does the right thing. I’ve noticed myself guys who’ve just come out tend to go through a compressed, accelerated youth period where they make up for lost time, more or less. Makes dating really frustrating sometimes. You take two 30-year-old men, one’s been out for a six months, one’s been out for a year and a half, one still needs to experience the wild drunken circuit parties, the other is ready to settle down. Hopefully Drew’s “21st birthday” won’t actually take four years.
Anyway, I was afraid Drew’s teammates, or the other team, were going to do something nasty to Drew on the field, and he’d end up paralyzed or brain damaged or something. At least they didn’t do that.
Looks like Ben gets off scott-free.
So there’s supposed to be a “shocking” ending this week? I can’t imagine what.
I don’t think I can even comment on Brian & Justin. Those two have about exhausted me.
I thought the last episode was a pretty big letdown. Here we are, very near the end, and not much happened at all. If there is going to be something shocking, they sure are waiting until the last minute. Count me in as someone who fears that the season is going to have way too sugary of an end. I hope I’m wrong though.
Then again, it really lost its edge a couple of seasons ago, IMO.
See, I never thought the show was all that edgy to begin with. Subtract off the man-on-man action and a lot of the storylines were pretty standard soap opera fare. Affairs, drug addiction, coupling and uncoupling, all stuff Erika Kane was dealing with in style back in the 70s. And a lot of the gay-specific storylines, Will and Grace got there first. Which is not to say that the show wasn’t entertaining and it certainly has its place in TV history, but edgy wouldn’t be my adjective of choice.
Perfect description. When people complain about the show not being a realistic example of gay people, I always want to smack them and yell “It’s a SOAP OPERA! Is Days of Our Lives realistic?” Same thing with “The L Word”.
What do you all have against happy endings? 
I think they’ll go for “bittersweet,” but not tragic. “Shocking” was just hyperbole, is my hunch.
Justin will realize that the domesticated Brian is not the Brian he loves, but promiscuous “me-me-me” Brian is impossible to have a relationship with, so Justin will call off the wedding and move to New York. Ben will probably have to do some token jail time. Mel and Lindsay will move to Canada. Ted will see Tad for what he is and shed him, ending up luckless and lonely again. There’s not much going on with Emmett right now, so I have no guess about him.
FTR, I think QAF is pretty realistic. Having done my time in the “scene,” I’ve seen (if not lived) many of the situations on the show, and I’ve known people like the characters. I would be Michael. Babylon uncannily reminds me of an actual club I used to frequent.
Yeah, “edgy” might have been a poor choice of words. I just feel that the show lost something, and I’m not sure what that something was exactly, last season. It still had the drama, it still had the sex, it just didn’t feel the same. I can’t really put my finger on it.
I suppose what made it edgy was that it was so different at first, and the writers had lots of gay-specific issues to play with. After awhile, you start running out of gay issues, and you just have to write a good dramatic show that happens to have lots of unabashedly gay men and women who have unabashedly gay sex.
I don’t think the writers, directors or even most of the actors were quite powerful enough to pull it off. To be fair though, most of these types of dramas probably shouldn’t last much more than five or six seasons.
I’m just finishing watching the last episodes of Sex and the City, and that show was getting pretty done by the time they called it quits.
I think you are right. They needed to pull in some new writers along the way, but didn’t. The stories got stale. They could have done a lot more - an evil straight brother of Brian who would be his personal and professional Nemesis…they could have brought in more varied characters - the leather guy, the draq queen, the old Gay and/or Lesbian character, maybe one truly chubby, geeky Gay guy. Yes, they briefly touched on some of those subjects, but never built up any good subplots worth caring about. The missing, murdered hustler could have been done better. A follow up with Mr. Violinplayer would have been nice, and I still think Emmett keeping that money and becoming a Gay philanthropist could have been at least worth a season or two until his money ran out. Debbie could have had a mother and the grandmother would have been another facet. There were lots and lots of directions they could have gone in this show, but they kept it narrowed to one Gay street with a very limited cast. I think the writers sort of ran out of steam in season two or three, and the rest was just going through the motions.
Still, I give Showtime credit for even giving this show a shot. I don’t think there will be anything like it anytime soon - especially in the current political climate.
So, Sunday will be the grand finale…and then this will all become a collectible DVD disc set in the grand Gay time-capsule.