Tales Of The City - Series 1

I was unsure that I had done the correct thing buying this - would I still enjoy it or would it seem dreadfully dated? I needn't have worried. It was as good now as then and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it again. If you never got to see it the first time round I would recommend you buy it now. Olympia Dukakis' performance is superb and the rest of the cast are very good. When you have finished watching this series, do try More Tales, although not quite as good, it is still a good way to spend a few evenings. The programmes reflect the books well, probably due to the influence of the author, and I would recommend reading the books if you enjoyed the programmes.

This is a great series with a wonderful story line.I was so pleased to be able to get this set of DVDs as I loved the series on T V. Great story and great cast. Love Olympia who is the sort of person we'd all like to meet - not for the weed! It is amongst my favourite DVDs and will be payed again and again.

I went to university at Berkeley in the 1970s, across the bay from San Francisco at the time during which this story takes place. "Tales of the City" was already popular as a serial in the San Francisco newspaper, and was rather innovative in the way it took inspiration from day-to-day social life in that city at that time - public figures, popular restaurants and clubs, and local fads figured prominently in the story. At the time, I didn't care for the serial. It was a little too precious and self-congratulatory of its self-perceived hipness. I was a poor college student living in a ghetto apartment, and the hedonistic, romantic lifestyle of the characters of Tales of the City didn't match my own experience of San Francisco. But watching this mini-series has been a wonderful surprise for me. The San Francisco it describes never really existed, but something very, very close to it really did exist, once upon a time, before the Reagan revolution and the AIDS epidemic. It's long gone, but this series was scripted and filmed by people who seem to have understood it. Good writing, and very good acting by almost everyone in the cast, from Thomas Gibson (now of Criminal Minds fame) and Olympia Dukakis to less famous players. As I own a multi-region player, I ordered this edition from the UK rather than buy the US box set, as I had been warned that when they produced the US version, they flinched at some of the strong language used and overdubbed some of the dialogue to make it less "shocking". Sigh. It was worth a few quid in postage to get the real thing!

A few of the joys of this surprisingly faithful adaptation of Armistead Maupin`s addictive, compassionate, bittersweet Tales of the City: The divine, serene Olympia Dukakis as Anna Madrigal, everyone`s ideal landlady, who is not what she seems. This is not only luxury casting, but perfect casting too. A beautifully modulated performance by one of America`s finest actresses, in what surely must be one of the roles of her career. The equally divine Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton, conventional newcomer to the manifold delights of San Francisco, her strawbery blonde hair cascading down around her shoulders, her shy smile lighting up every scene. Linney was an actress of rare talents even back then in the mid-90s just before she got her breakthrough roles, as well as several Oscar nominations (no win yet, shamefully). Chloe Webb plays Mona Ramsey as if the part had been designed with her in mind. She reminds me of our own Zoe Wanamaker, with the same zany quality and offbeat sexiness beneath a slightly shambolic exterior. Webb is brilliant and very touching as Mona, one of the most compelling characters in these picaresque tales. British-born Donald Moffat is perfect as Edgar Halcyon, Mrs Madrigal`s ageing, raffish lover. Moffat was an actor who never quite made `the big time` (for what that`s worth) though highly respected in the profession, but on this evidence he was a very fine one, a truthful, unfussy actor who is hugely enjoyable to watch. Barbara Garrick is also excellent as the frustrated wife of the rather odious Beauchamp, Halcyon`s son, and is an actress I regret not seeing more of since this show was aired. She`s rather special. There are many other happy casting choices, such as Marcus D`Amico (another British actor) as Michael "Mouse", the central gay character; beefy Paul Gross, who was later to shine as the lead in Due South; and various unexpected cameos from such luminaries as Ian McKellen, Country Joe MacDonald (yes, that one) as a singing friend of Anna`s, and an unusually restrained Rod Steiger in a brief but lovely scene as a bookshop owner. The quality of the DVD leaves something to be desired, and some of the editing - these being a series of often stand-alone vignettes - is somewhat arbitrary, but on the whole, and especially if, as I do, you loved the books, this is a more than honourable effort, worth the price alone for the appropriately named Olympia as the glorious Mrs Madrigal. In her words: "I don`t object to anything!"

After watching the redo series on Netflix I felt I had to know more about these characters, how they all met, their relationships etc. So I ordered the first season, then I was hooked and had to order season 2. Olympia Dukakis as Anna Madrigal was superb but Jackie Burroughs performance as Mother Mucca Anna's mother was incredible so funny. So now I wanted season 3 and thats where the disappointment set in. It's not available. Season 1 and 2 cost £7.99 3 was advertised at £24 then all of a sudden it was no longer available. Luckily I found it on You Tube. After watching 1, 2 and 3 I felt I had to watch the Netflix one again. Why 3 is not available or why Netflix does not have the first 3 available is a mystery. I can thoroughly recommend this show. You get drawn into the lives of these complex characters and can't wait to find out more about them. Some of the characters are played throughout by different actors but it takes nothing away from the story. This series was a platform for some now well established actors like Laura Linney and Thomas Gibson. I would have loved to have lived at 28 Barbary Lane, an oasis behind the gate.

So many memories flodded back when I watched this again. It was quite a revolutionary piece in its own time. I loved the scenery, the people, the story. I would have loved to live in a "house" like that when I was a young girl. you can google the house/street from the series. It has I believe become a visitor attratction. The actresses were of course just great for their parts. I take great pleasure in re-running it every few weeks. I wil soon know the script off by heart !!

G'Day, This series is a one in a million. I have not seen the following series, sort of afraid of the let down because Series 1 was so bloody good. Was there any part of gay life that was not covered?. I was fortunate enough to visit San Francisco in '79 and saw and lived some of the series. Oh for those more simple days of uncomplicated sex and friendships. I urge anyone, gay or straight to view this DVD, I dare you not to be entertained. Hi from The Gold Coast in Queensland Australia. Aussie Gazman

A brilliant interweaving of multiple storylines in a great setting, both time and place. The series just draws you in with its warmth and real sense of humanity. Having been in San Francisco in the early 80s it is so evocative of its time. So it's very strange to see a comment below about it being "dated". It's like complaining that a period drama is dated for not being set in the present. And as to missing scenes well there aren't any. I've just watched the skating nuns and the handwashing scenes in DVD episode 2, originally episode 4 but episodes 1 & 2 have been concatenated into one longer DVD episode 1 as have the original episodes 3 & 4 into DVD episode 2 - and maybe that's where the confusion lies in finding scenes. So ignore the misleading comments and bask in 70s San Francisco at a time when they had few cares in the world, even if they didn't know it.