HBO's - Looking

[+ g56whiz]

Thanks for your reply, g56whiz. I couldn't find the "HBOtogo" app in the Apple store ... Am I doing something wrong?[/color]

 

Yes: but not intentially. You're living outside the US. I have friends who have these apps installed on their iGagets and use them when staying with me but can't log into them less then 10 miles way across the Rio Grande in Mexico.

[MrMiniver]

In response to some comments above, instead of a show about explicit gay sex how about a show about normal gay men just living their lives not focused on gay sex? Has there ever been one? It seems we either get cartoon portrayals of gay men (Modern Family or New Normal) or portrayals of gay men just seeking sex (Looking). There's a vast ocean between those two types of portrayals. Is it too much to ask for something more?

[Steven_Draker]

Hawt !

 

http://www.malecelebnews.com/wp-content/images/2014/02/Murray-Bartlett-in-Looking-Episode-1.03-03.jpg

 

http://antitwink.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/looking-hbo-dom-sex-scene-murray-bartlett-shirtless-naked-andrew-keenan-bolger.jpg

[Rod Hagen]

instead of a show about explicit gay sex how about a show about normal gay men just living their lives not focused on gay sex??

 

Mr.Miniver, you should watch later seasons of the American version of Queer As Folk (QAF). Although the first and second seasons were pretty sexually aggressive, particularly the first, later seasons were a lot less about sex and much more about the characters themselves. Actually, I preferred the earlier seasons, as well as the only British season, largely because of the emphasis on sex and drugs (recreational drugs noticeably disappeared after the American first season, when they lost the British story lines, and were replaced with a couple predictable and standard addiction stories.)

 

Why I liked the sex seasons more is obvious, sex is kind of my thing.

 

I did all of my drinking in High School, and I find adults who drink and do drugs tiresome, but I guess I liked seeing characters who were gay and NOT living up to society's moral expectations, even if those failings (sex and drugs) were also stereotypes. I'd take 100 drug-using nymphos over even one Modern Family style gay man.

 

Anyway, to your point, there's SOME sex-pursuit (Brian, obviously) in later QAF seasons, but mostly they're just normal people living normal lives. (the ending SUCKED!!!!!!!!)

[Okliehomo]

Not to be argumentative, but are there "normal gay men" who are not focused on "gay sex"? Thought that was pretty much the point. I am pretty darned normal ( "a hard working, bill paying fag that don't owe nothing to nobody..... yes, Donald, you are a model fairy")and I spend a shit load of time on Tumblr and this site. And it's not for the conversation.

 

Oh and there were 2 seasons of the British version of QAF. And it largely focused on the friendship and eventual relationship between Stuart and his best friend, who he realized that he really loved as a bf. And talk about stupid endings.... they ended up in America and then did some Thelma and Louise flying car goodbye scene. Loved the first season, though and I like "Looking" esp now that Russell Tovey is naked all the time.

 

Yikes, there I go being all focused again...

[rocky]

Okliehomo makes a great point, are there normal gay men not focused on gay sex. Well guess I'm not normal and

maybe that's because of my inability to come out as a gay male and loving something like Looking just as I use

to like Key West and Provincetown and now, not so much. Wow, when I had my first gay experience when I

was 38 ish and now 61; I cherished the moments of going to Key West, Bourbon Street, Atlantic Shores and in PTown the Boatslip, etc now it's not the same at all. Why the rambling, I guess there are still people like me who enjoy looking at a story based on gay sex; yeah I like a story and yeah I don't like soo much drama, but sometimes there is fantasy and a hope that we can return to some of the gay places in the past for gays to have fun.

[jimboivyo]

In response to some comments above, instead of a show about explicit gay sex how about a show about normal gay men just living their lives not focused on gay sex? Has there ever been one? It seems we either get cartoon portrayals of gay men (Modern Family or New Normal) or portrayals of gay men just seeking sex (Looking). There's a vast ocean between those two types of portrayals. Is it too much to ask for something more?

 

agree and everyone on looking is a caricature. one cliche after another

 

Queer asFolk was light years ahead of this series (both versions)

[Diverdan]

I happen to LOVE looking.. .but wish it were 60 minutes instead of 30. It would give the writers and actors more time to develop the characters and the interaction among all of the guys. The "sex" is pretty tame and is certainly not the emphasis, as I see it. But there is a lot of complexity to the characters, and the episodes mirror a lot of experiences of friends of mine, with whom I have spent a lot of time listening and offering a shoulder to cry on. So, I guess we will soon know if it has a third season, or if they have to end all of the relationships or have a bunch of same sex marriages.....

[+ WilliamM]

Russell Tovey (Kevin) tweet today:

 

"If you love @LookingHBO you gotta let @hbo know - tweet #weloveLooking to @HBO and why :-) x"

[Rod Hagen]

Thank you Okliehomo, I did not know there were 2 seasons of BQAF. And thank you for your review of it, I think I won't watch the second. :-)

[Guest ChrisW]

Looking

 

I know Looking seems to be well received but its completely unrealistic. What I mean by that is that I have yet to meet a man that has lived in the city of SF for nearly a decade and works in soma that would say something like, "I am a afraid of getting AIDS so I am really safe and still worry about it with oral sex" and has anyone ever met a bottom with the looks of the main character that lives in SF with bottom shame? Does bottom shame even exist in SF?

 

Lets break this down, a 30 year old (someone who has no direct experience of dealing with the plague) thinks that your going to have a CD4 count of less than 200 (an AIDS diagnosis) from having oral sex? To get to that point he would have to go undiagnosed for 5-10 years. If you could get HIV from oral sex we would all be fucked. The level of sexual conservatism and ignorance is completely unrealistic for the gayest city in the country. This show is designed for gay men in fly over states and straight people. What actually happens in san francisco if you hop on scruff is far dirtier than anything that can be shown on television.

 

I am glad this show is giving people a sense of gay visibility but folks look at the content

[+ WilliamM]

I do not remember his exact words, so oral sex was probably mentioned. But, Patrick was far more concerned about becoming HIV positive after having unprotected anal sex several months ago with his boss, Kevin, who was the top.

 

But, I do understand your basic point. Patrick is too old and lived in SF too long to be real. So the show has set Paddy to be the straight audience's (and what some people may call fly-over gays') entry into the urban gay world, most recently about gingers.

[maninsoma]

I know Looking seems to be well received but its completely unrealistic. What I mean by that is that I have yet to meet a man that has lived in the city of SF for nearly a decade and works in soma that would say something like, "I am a afraid of getting AIDS so I am really safe and still worry about it with oral sex" and has anyone ever met a bottom with the looks of the main character that lives in SF with bottom shame? Does bottom shame even exist in SF?

 

Lets break this down, a 30 year old (someone who has no direct experience of dealing with the plague) thinks that your going to have a CD4 count of less than 200 (an AIDS diagnosis) from having oral sex? To get to that point he would have to go undiagnosed for 5-10 years. If you could get HIV from oral sex we would all be fucked. The level of sexual conservatism and ignorance is completely unrealistic for the gayest city in the country. This show is designed for gay men in fly over states and straight people. What actually happens in san francisco if you hop on scruff is far dirtier than anything that can be shown on television.

 

I am glad this show is giving people a sense of gay visibility but folks look at the content

 

I agree with you generally -- Looking isn't realistic. I will state, however, that there is such a thing as "bottom shame" in San Francisco. I personally know someone who somehow thinks it's embarrassing to admit liking to bottom. He's a Bay Area native who has lived in The City itself for decades, though I should probably add that he seems to have more than just "bottom shame" going on. I have been out to anyone who cares at all of my jobs since I was a young adult in a relatively small college town. This guy still denies he's gay even when people know him well enough to know better and give him the opportunity to finally be honest about being gay. In other words, it isn't just "bottom shame" but generalized internalized homophobia that afflicts him.

[Juan Vancouver]

I know Looking seems to be well received but its completely unrealistic.

 

I agree. More than unrealistic I think it's being sanitized to make gay men presentable to the wider audiences. This is something that I have seen in The States and nowhere else, where gay people say things like "If you keep doing _______ THEY will be right about not giving us equal rights". It's a desire to conform and mimic the heteronormative world and its ways. A constant desire to present better for fear of having our rights taken from us.

 

I have not seen this phenomena anywhere else in the world.

 

Does bottom shame even exist in SF?

 

Yes, it does. And it's not only that. Again, for many years it was an entirely US thing that men had to choose between being tops or bottoms. For the longest time all over the world people were just gay. They liked sex and were open to figuring it out in person. Sure, some excelled at some things, but it was seen as odd if someone said something like "Oh, I just do ______".

 

I also think bottom shaming has to do with the Patriarcal view that there is a second kind of citizen, the one who is penetrated, dominated. Women, young boys and slaves were seen as part of this category. Also grown men who routinely liked to be penetrated. This is not new, it goes back as far as the ancient Greeks, where it was perfectly fine for a grown man to fuck a boy, but it was shameful if a grown man was penetrated.

 

The level of sexual conservatism and ignorance is completely unrealistic for the gayest city in the country. This show is designed for gay men in fly over states and straight people.

 

A friend of mine referred to Looking as "Gay 101 for dummies". Terribly titillating for anyone without an iota of experience of the gay world, soporifically boring for those who have spent more than two days in gay world.

 

I guess this is our next step after Will and Grace. As much as I would rather performing a root canal on my self with a dull knife than watching looking, I appreciate that having visible "gay" characters in a show that would play in Peoria is important to help people realize that gay people are just people. (God it hurts my fingers to even type this last sentence, but it is a sad truth. We are still in need to humanize an amazing amount of people.)

 

Let them eat cake and watch looking!

[TruHart1]

Peoria

 

...

 

 

I guess this is our next step after Will and Grace. As much as I would rather performing a root canal on my self with a dull knife than watching looking, I appreciate that having visible "gay" characters in a show that would play in Peoria is important to help people realize that gay people are just people. (God it hurts my fingers to even type this last sentence, but it is a sad truth. We are still in need to humanize an amazing amount of people.)

 

Let them eat cake and watch looking!

 

LOL! Our EOY Mr. Justice happens to hail from Peoria!!!

 

TruHart1

[Doe Be Doe]

A new interview with Jonathan Groff.

 

Interesting that we'll get to see Kevin and Jon and learn about their relationship. I've been pulling for Patrick and Keving but we really do need to learn about Kevin and Jon's relationship.

 

He talks about his cabaret performance a couple of weeks ago which I was fortunate to see. Let's hope he does more such shows.

 

Finally, I think he'll end up being a successful star. Maybe not a Brad Pitt but still a star. That's sad because that makes it all the more difficult for him to fall in love with little old me.

 

 

 

 

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6472917/jonathan-groff-looking-frozen-interview

[Juan Vancouver]

LOL! Our EOY Mr. Justice happens to hail from Peoria!!!

 

Yes, I am very aware that His Handsomeness is from Peoria, but what I meant was that turn of phrase by which we use Peoria as a gauge of how much a certain idea will be accepted by Middle America. Whether something is palatable for a wide audience in the US.

 

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CD8QFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fbrowse%2Fplay%2Bin%2Bpeoria&ei=49bfVP3pGpTUoASdqoLwCQ&usg=AFQjCNE0sp-eFDPuwJGiDVOEO73kpBAdNQ&bvm=bv.85970519,d.cGU&cad=rja

 

Strangely, by that standard, Andrew is too hung, too handsome and too fun to "play in Peoria". =)

 

But as long as he plays... We will be happy.

[TruHart1]

Yes, I am very aware that His Handsomeness is from Peoria, but what I meant was that turn of phrase by which we use Peoria as a gauge of how much a certain idea will be accepted by Middle America. Whether something is palatable for a wide audience in the US.

 

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CD8QFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fbrowse%2Fplay%2Bin%2Bpeoria&ei=49bfVP3pGpTUoASdqoLwCQ&usg=AFQjCNE0sp-eFDPuwJGiDVOEO73kpBAdNQ&bvm=bv.85970519,d.cGU&cad=rja

 

Strangely, by that standard, Andrew is too hung, too handsome and too fun to "play in Peoria". =)

 

But as long as he plays... We will be happy.

 

I understood your reference to middle America, Juan, I just couldn't pass up mentioning the amazing Midwest bred Andrew!

 

TruHart1

[namchebaz]

Speaking of explicit gay sex, if you haven't seen Stranger By The Lake yet, GO. Not only is it a well made kind of film (one of those compelling mysteries where there really isn't any mystery), but it has more penises than any non-porn I've ever seen. Even more than Porky's 1!

 

I saw Stranger by the Lake on Netflix today. Wow. The tension built steadily throughout the film until the very last second. Danger -- to the point of near self destruction -- can be a real turn on.

[+ WilliamM]

Now that Looking, Season Two has ended without being cancelled or renewed by HBO, the waiting continues for people involved in the show and fans. The finale is open to a lot of guessing: did Patrick (Jonathan Groff) and Kevin (Bernard Tovey) really break up on the day they moved in together? Did Patrick run back to Richie immediately, or was it just for a haircut? Typical end of seson questions. I do think that Groff and Tovey were exceptionally good in their scenes in the last show. And the issue of an open relationship (Kevin) vs. exclusive (Patrick) was well done. Brutal scenes though. I hope the show is renewed.

[+ WilliamM]

Apparently Jonathan Groff was telling people at the stage door of "Hamilton" off-Broadway last night that "Looking" has been cancelled, but there will be a final episode, or film. Not so sure I believe HBO about the film. No announcement yet from HBO on anything.

[loverboy95]

Looking is officially cancelled! I don't really care about the special.

[mmk123]

I have been a big fan of the show but only saw the first 4 episodes this season because I cancelled my cable subscription. I will be be getting HBO's streaming service so I will be able to see the rest.

 

I will be upset if the show is cancelled because I thought it was a very well written and acted show and had a good 3 to 4 more years left to go. I know that HBO gave it a chance after the first season and it was heavily promoted but when all is said and done, it is the ratings that matter. (I do wonder how something like "Looking" failed to capture an audience yet "Queer as Folk" lasted for 5 seasons.)

 

Anyway, I do hope that we do see a wrap up to conclude what sounds like dangling plot lines that the final episode left us with.

[mmk123]

well it is official

 

http://deadline.com/2015/03/looking-cancelled-two-seasons-finale-special-no-season-3-1201398440/

[maninsoma]

I have been a big fan of the show but only saw the first 4 episodes this season because I cancelled my cable subscription. I will be be getting HBO's streaming service so I will be able to see the rest.

 

I will be upset if the show is cancelled because I thought it was a very well written and acted show and had a good 3 to 4 more years left to go. I know that HBO gave it a chance after the first season and it was heavily promoted but when all is said and done, it is the ratings that matter. (I do wonder how something like "Looking" failed to capture an audience yet "Queer as Folk" lasted for 5 seasons.)

 

Anyway, I do hope that we do see a wrap up to conclude what sounds like dangling plot lines that the final episode left us with.

 

Queer as Folk was every bit as bad as Looking from a writing and acting perspective, but at least it delivered on the eye candy. It also frequently delivered on camp. Even though it was vapid, it was enjoyable to watch in ways that Looking wasn't. Looking failed in almost every way as far as I am concerned. A little bit of titillation, but not very much. A few scenes that had promise of delivering on actual human emotion, undermined by the writers' and actors' inability to deliver on said promise. The episode involving the funeral was a great example of this. Some of the dialog in that episode was downright stupid given the circumstances, and as cute as he is Jonathan Groff's need to smile -- even when he's supposedly upset about something -- really bugged me.