Bob & Rose

I'm only a few episodes into 'Bob & Rose' as I write this, but the programme is already shaping up to be a far superior product to Russell Davies' last TV hit 'Queer As Folk'. Daring and provocative (and just damn-well needed) as that series was, it always smacked of 'preaching to the converted'.

'Bob & Rose' is a far more more mainstream affair than 'QAF', but in many ways is slowly proving to be more subversive. The characters in 'QAF' lived almost exclusively in the gay ghetto and thus the series sometimes seemed to avoid addressing the more common truth about those of us who attempt to live an open gay lifestyle whilst also operating in the 'real' world. By making 'Bob & Rose' a gay/straight affair, Davies has succeeded in telling a few home truths about the strained relations that exist within the supposed 'liberal' masses, who may be comfortable with gay lifestyles in the abstract, but who often react somewhat differently when faced with the less glamourised reality. The writer has, as a result, produced a far more profound and touching study of (shifting) sexuality than his - perhaps in retrospect - overrated last work.

Moreover, the language is frank and realistic throughout, avoiding the overbearing coyness that other gay/mainstream programming ultimately suffers from (I'm talking to you, 'Will & Grace'!)

One minor quibble, though, in relation to Alan Davies' character. I've been 'out' for almost 5 years now, and I have yet to have met any self-respecting gay man sporting a 'wet-look' shaggy perm. We're talking 'meek suburban white boy sporting early-eighties Rick James jeri-curls' here. Please sort your barnet out in time for series 2, sweetheart....

This is one of my favorite love stories of all time! it was fantastically written.

The show had controversy due to gay people thinking the show made out that being gay is a choice, but they forget... that a gay man wrote it.... based on his friend, who it happened to.

I'm a gay man, and I have had feelings for women in the past... i wouldn't say im bisexual by any means, but now and again, a woman will just seem appealing. i don't know why people got so upset about this TV program, as it was very well represented, and all the gay issues brought up by the gays on the outside about the theory were brought up in the show... such as bob's friend saying ''great, now all our mums will be hoping we'll settle down with a girl'' it was a wonderful TV program, suitable for all! a little bit like an adult sugar rush! my parents loved it... I've got friends who loved it both straight and gay.

its hillariously funny, and will make you cry with both joy and sadness at times. don't allow silly accusations put you off this. it is wonderfully written and one of the best shows itv has every created.

a come back would be brilliant... but then again you never know if it would be any good... maybe let a brilliant show die brilliantly. who knows! but if there was a sequel, i wouldn't miss it for the world.

I saw this program at a screening at the NY Gay/Lesbian Film Festival. While Bob maintains that he's still gay even though he's fallen in love and lust with a woman, I seriously doubt that's a concept most people would grasp, let alone believe. Even the British press who covered this program generally called it a "gay man goes straight" show, which I gather is not what Davies had in mind.

I didn't really buy what "Bob and Rose" is selling, but it was better written and acted than expected. What the show depicts may indeed occur once in a blue moon, but I was surprised that "Bob and Rose" painted a rather dreary picture of gay relationships (breakups, shagging in the alleyway) while turning the gay/straight relationship in to a complex, but finally positive and romantic experience. Double-standard, eh? And from a gay man like Davies, you'd expect better.

Back in 1978, there was an American film called "A Different Story," about a gay man and a lesbian who wound up falling in love, getting married, and having a kid. "Bob & Rose" has been called "mold-breaking" in the U.K., but it's not that far from the older film in many ways.

If someone really wanted to break a mold, they'd make a film about a straight male who finds himself attracted to a gay man, and finally falls in love with him. I wonder if audiences would embrace that scenario as readily as they do "Bob & Rose," or simply refuse to believe such things could happen, while more than willing to believe a gay man can "change?"

I have watched all but the last episode of this series and really look forward to finding out how the the story pans out. The characters are fully believable and likeable -warts and all. Alan Davies is developing into a credible actor and has shed the lisp (?) and the overgrown-boy-image.

Bob's mother (played by Penelope Wilton) is an absolute hoot and would drive any son to drink, gay or straight. A lovely, gentle series, funny but not shallow - it puts a smile on your face.

Russell T. Davies, the creator and writer of Channel 4's hit gay drama "Queer as Folk" (1999) has come up trumps again with this warm, touching comedy about thirtysomething schoolteacher Bob who, having been happily gay all his adult life, has a chance meeting with feisty Rose and finds - to his amazement - that he fancies her.

Alan Davies (BBC1's Jonathan Creek) is perfectly cast as likeably diffident Bob, while Lesley Sharp is excellent as no-nonsense Rose. The supporting cast, too, give beautifully judged performances: Daniel Ryan is heartbreaking as Rose's boyfriend, Andy, as is Jessica Stevenson as Bob's colleague, Holly, who secretly carries a torch for him. Penelope Wilton puts in a hilarious turn as Bob's mother, who regularly embarrasses him in public by being a vociferous campaigner for gay rights.

As with Queer as Folk, the joy of Bob and Rose lies in the way it skilfully blends laugh-out-loud comedy and painfully recognisable human dilemmas. You find yourself rooting for this unlikely couple, yet wondering how a writer of Davies's calibre will resolve the situation happily without recourse to sentimental cliché.