It's a Sin, 9 pm Channel 4, 22nd Jan CONTAINS SPOILERS **titled edited by MNHQ**

[notawittyname1954]

I keep seeing trailers for this. Anyone else looking forward to it?

I thought it was brilliant - devastating but brilliant.

I was a child in the 80s and vividly remember the public health campaign - the magazine adverts especially. It petrified me at the time and I think that’s the reason I always practised safe sex later on.

Thanks to those who recommended other things to watch and read. I watched the Horizon episode - it must have been terrifying not knowing what was causing AIDS, and the speed at which the disease progressed both through the gay community and in individuals.

Also started watching the Swedish series, so sad, they were just boys.

@Adviceneededalways

I absolutely loved this and haven’t been able to stop thinking about for the last few days...

I was born in 1980 in Edinburgh so grew up with the campaign and watching the news, interviews etc and seeing people with AIDS who to a sheltered little kid were absolutely terrifying.

For some reason when I think back I associated HIV and AIDS with drug use rather than unprotected sex but that might have been down to it being an easier explanation from my parents.

Our primary school featured on an episode of the Lowdown (mid 80’s) with pupils discussing the epidemic as well as local residents...

Looking back now it seems a bit odd and would love to try and locate a recording of it to find out what purpose it had.

I didn’t think Gills character was particularly well cast, believable or for a main part she had much about her. It almost felt like everything was too current, the mixed raced, supportive, campaigning family, the edgy dress sense and then a sharp contrast to her traditional personality always cooking and cleaning, maternal figures to the boys. She just didn’t quite fit for me.

I’m a little bit older but come from the same area. Edinburgh had a double whammy of a large population of IV drug user and gay men with some belonging to both. Edinburgh was known as the “AIDS capital of Europe” and it was mainly down to sharing needles. From what I remember, was a really big issue locally and we had a lot of PSE sessions at school focusing on both safe sex and anti drug campaigns. I suspect there was such a focus on drug use because of the specific situation in Edinburgh. This gives a bit of background www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-50473604

It was terrifying for us as young teenagers.

Oh my, I’ve just finished episode 2 and it destroyed me. Such a wonderful series, but wow, totally devastating.

Just learnt about the Royal Vauxhall Tavern raid.

twitter.com/RouaneDavid/status/1353779656902774786?s=20

Finished it today and sobbed. It was so brilliant. So well acted

Jill's Mum was played by the woman who inspired her character.

Brilliant but heartbreaking, I've just finished it, everything about the series will stay with me.

Yes.

That's precisely why the lacuna in Jill's story is so - noticeable.

(That was a response to Encyclo.)

Just finished it this eve, amazing tv which will stay with me for sometime (grab your tissues)

Blimey I've just finished it.

So many tears!

Acting was phenomenal. Keeley Hawes and Lydia West both fantastic but annoyed me throughout that Jill ended up being the sexless, caring heart of the group doing all of the emotional labour.

The other thing about Richie's mums character was wondering what she'd been through. The dad was a twat yes, but came to his son with love at the end.

There was a clue when Jill asked what had happened to her to make her house so loveless and she mentioned that her own dad was an awful man.

I would like to post my thoughts before I forget them, as I'm making slow progress catching up with the thread.

I loved this and it's leaving a real lasting impression. Too much to write down.

The parents I found nearly all very believable - the mum from Wales who accepted her son as he was and fought for him. The dad from Africa who had a profound change of heart. The parents from Scotland who couldn't accept and were angry and kept their son from all support. The dad from the IoW who just broke down. But KH's character, I just couldn't buy the switch.

Jill I thought that there'd be some profound message about how much the lesbian community supported and held up the gay community at that time. Their love and sacrifices. But we never really saw what it cost Jill. I just thought her character could have been rounded out beyond being the men's friend and mothering figure.

Gender I thought it was an insightful portrayal of Queerness and gender-bending over three decades ago. Showed the differences to today's transgenderism.

I was expecting there to be some text over the credits at the end, some stark facts about the death toll, the bigotry, advances in medication etc.

Roscoe's father was from Nigeria, HangryPants ...

(Somewhat stereotypical portrayal, too. Not RTD's best work there.)

After watching this I finally watched Dallas Buyers Club. Very different
perspective of the crisis but it was also brilliant and Matthew McConaughey was amazing in the lead role.

Roscoe's father was from Nigeria Yes

I agree it was a stereotypical portrayal at first, but I liked the twist of his “conversion” and the depth it gave to his charcoal beyond the stereotype.

I binged watched all of this yesterday. Amazing TV. Found it absolutely devastating when it was revealed to jill that he'd died the previous afternoon. Can't stop thinking about it.

I was expecting there to be some text over the credits at the end, some stark facts about the death toll, the bigotry, advances in medication etc.

Totally agree with this. I get that RTD's point was focusing purely on the very start of the AIDS pandemic and how it affected the gay community and didn't really develop characters like Jill's or other groups that supported them. However I'd have liked to have seen a more rounded narrative of what happened, this also to include at the end stats/progress made, stigma still existing etc

We binged the first three episodes last night. Oh, we sobbed. So, so good. Looking forward to watching the rest tonight.

I was totally shocked by the facts in this article
thetab.com/uk/2021/01/25/32-million-died-in-the-aids-pandemic-but-our-remembrance-is-pitiful-191708

Just finished watching them.
I have never involuntarily yelled out in shock at a tv programme before, but did when Keely Hawes announced to Jill that Richie had died the day before. DH is a stoical man and it doesn’t take much to upset him but I could feel his emotions from the other end of the sofa as I was watching, didn’t dare loom over as I was a snotty, teary wreck.
Great series and acting. Was slightly disappointed at the ending as I felt it was an opportunity for wider reflection of what has happened since in terms of treatments and attitudes, but at its heart it was a drama about people and friendships so I can understand why they focussed on the group and Richie.

I agree with a lot of others. It was beautiful and devastating but massively let down by the utter lack of characterisation of Jill. And that is something that's made worse considering she is a real life person. I know not one single thing about her other than she was an actor in Les Mis for years who loved her boys and had nice parents. He whole personality was that she loved her boys. Did she have any relationships? Don't know. Was she celibate for far longer than Colin but it was just never mentioned. Don't know. Was she quietly in love with Richie and unable to move on from that unrequited love, or did she never think of him like that? Don't know.

It was a shame. I was thinking about the women in Queer as Folk and all of them, from the mothers of the 3 main characters, to Stuart's sister, to Nathan's friend Donna, to the woman Vince worked with who he thought would be his wife if he was straight, to the lesbian couple Stuart had a baby with, all had more characterisation than Jill. It was all to varying degrees with some being far less developed as they were much more minor characters. But over 20 years on I still feel like I know any of those women and little bits of what makes then tick better than I know Jill.

Just finished it. So sad. Colin & his mum totally destroyed me. 😭

alittleprivacy, I was sure the women in his other series had been more developed - certainly in Y&Y and Dr Who. But I couldn't remember QaF well enough to comment. So thanks for reassuring me that IaS is a frustrating outlier.

(Have never seen Cucumber.)

@newlabelwriter

Just finished it. So sad. Colin & his mum totally destroyed me. 😭

It was like a punch in the gut when poor Colin got sacked

We just finished it last night oh my It was heartbreaking but possibly the best thing I've watched in a while, I couldn't stop thinking about poor Colin What was with Ritchies mum i didn't understand her attitude and not letting his friends see him what a hateful woman.