Distributed by

Cat.no: VCD 0023

Cert: 18

Running time: 260 minutes

Year: 1999

Pressing: 1999

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 32 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Languages: English

Subtitles: None

Widescreen: 1.77:1 (16:9)

16:9-enhanced: No

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: 2 * DVD 9

Price: £24.99

Extras : Scene index, Behind-the-scenes, Photo Gallery

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Directors:

Charles McDougall (Episodes 1-4)
and Sarah Harding (Episodes 5-8)

Producer:

Nicola Shindler and Russell T Davies

Screenplay:

Russell T Davies

Music:

Murray Gold

Cast:

Stuart Jones: Aiden Gillen (Gold in the Streets, Some Mother's Son)
Vince Tyler: Craig Kelly (TV: Casualty)
Nathan Maloney: Charlie Hunnam
Phil Delaney: Jason Merrells (TV: Casualty)
Cameron: Peter O'Brien (TV: Flying Doctors, Neighbours)
Harvey Black: Andrew Lancel (TV: Cardiac Arrest, City Central, Liverpool 1)

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Vince (Craig Kelly) looks up to his best friend Stuart in more ways than one, but will his affections ever be reciprocated now new blood is on the scene? Both of them spend their nights down Canal Street in Manchester on the gay scene with their friends in the pubs and clubs and what follows is definitely a soap opera with a difference.

Personally, I've been down Canal Street a few times, drank in Metz, Bar Icarus and Manto - the latter of which has an outlet in the Trafford Centre - dined in Metz and the long-gone Blue Cafe and danced the night away in the Paradise Factory. I'm not gay, but it's pretty much guaranteed that you can go to the gay village for a few drinks without idiots roaming around looking for a fight as they do in the rest of Manchester.

Plus, it only costs £3 to get into Paradise Factory before 11pm on a Friday and the prices of drinks in the area are no worse than anywhere else (apart from the time a friend and I tried to get a drink in Manto after the clubs shut, taking advantage of their late licence - £3 to get in and another couple of quid for two soft drinks...but then I was too pissed to care at the time :)

Stuart knows how to get attention.

When this programme was broadcast on television, it was one of the few widescreen shows to be presented in the correct widescreen ratio of 16:9. That's how it appears here and on the corresponding video, but it's a shame it's not anamorphic. As such it loses a point, but artifacts are rare to be found. The average bitrate is a high 7.31Mb/s for disc 1 and 7.34Mb/s for disc 2, often peaking at 10Mb/s.

Full marks go to the soundmix which is presented in Dolby Surround as intended. From the clear dialogue, through the pumping sounds of the dance beats in the nightclubs and to the pumping sounds of..er.. men pumping each other, it all comes across clear as a bell. Just don't play it too loud otherwise your neighbours might start to wonder what's going on...

# "Sexy Boy..." #

Extras :

Chapters :

Languages/Subtitles :

Behind the scenes :

Photo library :

Menu :

Vince is the practical one.

Despite the lack of extras, this release still comes well-recommmend. Queer As Folk was a very entertaining series - and apparently a Xmas special is in the works so let's hope that comes out on DVD, it's been released on two DVD9's to give the best picture quality possible (still a shame about it being non-anamorphic) and, apart from the BBC's forthcoming offerings, it's rare at this stage to see a TV series being released on DVD, which confirms VCI's commitment to trying something a bit different and giving the customers what they want.

The packaging is worthy of a mention too. A nice Amaray keep-case that houses two discs very well - the first on a hinge - and easy to take out of the box too.

There are a number of other TV series that VCI have released on video, including Men Behaving Badly and Father Ted, which I'd love to see on DVD, particularly if those with episodes that have been filmed in 16:9 widescreen (such as the Xmas specials of Men Behaving Badly) are released in anamorphic format.

FILM CONTENT 		: *****
PICTURE QUALITY		: ****
SOUND QUALITY		: *****
EXTRAS			: *
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OVERALL			: ****

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1999