I remember this time so clearly. The clubs, the slow - then rapid - rise of AIDS, the combination of having the freedom of clubs to go for the LGBT community combined with friends either being terrified they had AIDS - or their despair when they found out they did. Finally, fighting back: ACT UP, drug imports from foreign countries, the AIDS quilt, protest marches.
This show should be watched by every LGBT person who did not live through the AIDS epidemic before the triple cocktail was invented and people could actually survive long-term once they knew they had HIV/AIDS. The world for about 15 years was a terrifying place for the community, and POC were so disproportionately hit, it was horrifying - because the few drugs/treatments available were extremely expensive, and they had two forms of discrimination working against them. This was true even after the triple cocktail was first available.
The one good thing that came out of it was that it brought lesbians/bi women, gay men and trans people together for a common cause: that we not be considered disposable.
