Les chroniques de San Francisco II

More Tales of the City is the 1998 cable-produced sequel to the Tales of the City mini-series, which aired on public television in 1993. Both series are based on respective novels by Armistead Maupin.

More Tales' plot and script are substantially shoddier than its predecessor. It focuses mainly on the intrigue and intertwining characters than the development of the personalities or the warmth of their interactions. And where sweet and emotional dialogue exists, the sentiment is marred by three vastly inferior "replacement" actors. The much beloved Michael "Mouse" Tolliver is played by the excessively smirky and over-doing-the-gay-bit Paul Hopkins. His performance is unnatural and devoid of Mouse's innate, lovable charm. Nina Siemaszko's performance is brittle and uneasy, lacking any of the spunk and charisma befitting the quirky Mona Ramsey. Whip Hubley is just plain uninteresting as the (supposedly) handsome, disillusioned Brian Hawkins. I had the opportunity to go back and re-watch the first series and was surprised to discover just how naturally and unaffectedly Marcus D'Amico, Chloe Webb, and Paul Gross inhabited Mouse, Mona and Brian. I had been unaware of just how good they were since I merely considered them as being the characters. Overall, the direction, cinematography and soundtrack are distracting.

If you simply like some of Maupin's most bizarre plot twists for the intrigue in itself, you might enjoy More Tales of the City. If you like more quality and substance, check out Tales of the City.

Well first off compared to the first Tales, this sequel isn't awful, but certainly cannot compare. The main problem lies in the fact that it was made five years after the original, and many of the people who played the roles in the original were not available so they had to be replaced with different actors who just are not as good. However, Linney, Dukakis, and Campbell all return and they are well worth seeing. The plot itself is a little silly with a cruise, amnesia, rekindled romance, family reunions, and older women getting together at a sex club. Overall though, it is an enjoyable series, not up to par with the first, but still very watchable.

This one was good in that it lived up to the story that Armistad wrote. I think that this change in cast was not a good one. I preferred the first cast in Tales of the City. I'm so glad that Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis came back for More. They really helped to keep this glued together. Although I felt that Tales of the City was much better, the underlying story by Armistad Maupin is fantastic and definitely deserves to be made into a movie (or mini-series) for the masses to see. I can't get enough Maupin. Get the books! You'll be glad you did......

More Tales find the characters just a few months after the last one left off. The characters stay pretty much the same, which really impressed me. In a lot follow ups the characters seem to change dramatically. Another aspect of the mini-series that I really liked was how the story expanded of of the first tales. Instead of creating a whole new circumstances, much of the story was just adding to what was all ready there.

The one main issue I had was with the cast changes. I realize that it has been almost five years since the first series ended and that it was hard to get everyone back to do another one. However, I feel that the actors they did replace the characters with did not come close to resembling those in the first one. I did however like the new Micheal (Paul Hopkins) better than the first one. It was mona and Brian that I had the problems with. I applaud Showtime for having the guts to air this mini-series and the cast and crew that were willing to take on a project that was considered to be controvsial.

a pale shadow of the original Tales. the replacement actors are really lifeless. its really impossible to feel anything for Michael as he's repugnant. the new Mona is vapid and uninspiring. the new Brian is so uninteresting its almost offensive. and in the original series it was really Mona and Michael who held it all together...they both had energy and vitality. in this round it feels like Nina Siemaszko (Mona) is being forced to do the role...shes totally uninterested and robotic. Paul Hopkins, the new Michael, basically smirks and wiseasses before getting (thankfully) crippled and left speechless for most of the show.

beyond the horrible casting, the story is sordid and so over the top that its difficult to get involved. the first Tales series had spunk...it felt fresh and alive. this version is just a pathetic soap opera knockoff. (wow its cable...we can show ass and say bad words, who needs a decent director?) the story line revolving around Brian and his binocular-driven lust affair is weak and frankly gross.

pathetic...