"TALES OF THE CITY" ON NETFLIX

ChgoTheatreGuy said: "I know that Netflix will be airing next month a brand new, non-book related edition of "Tales of the City" for Pride Month. Does anyone on here think that it would be a good idea for Netflix to film all of the books and air them as an extended series. Seeing Olympia Dukakis again as Anna Madrigal again brought tears to my eyes. I think that the casting for the original series was excellent and feel that for as long as we have these actors available to use them."



Lets just hope it retains some of the magic of the original. Part of it had to do with the era. I am somewhat encouraged by the fact that Dukakis and Linney are returning. I loved the original actor who played Mouse.

When the first "Tales" movie aired on PBS, HBO aired "And The Band Played On". I thought at the time that TV was finally acknowledging the Gay community. Boy was I disappointed!

It is good to see Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis together again. I do not think the script is strong and some of the scene work is slow. It has some strong themes attached to it, the old verses the new, gender identity, but the production does not feel as authentic as older installments were and I think they are missing the boat by not recognizing the current political climate. Ellen Page is very good..

Stephen Spinella shows up in about episode 5 or 6 with a very strong monologue that adds some well needed spice to the proceedings. It pounces on one of the main themes of the show and adds some needed tension. Maupin is working with some thoughtful themes I just think this current version is not as authentic nor as strong as the originals. The actors are fine, but some of the scene work is slow and I find the characters of the twins rather silly although I understand why they have been included. If I were Maupin I would have not added as many minor characters and focused on the leads and Ellen Page. Ellen Page could actually carry on with the series if Netflix wanted to do so and some of the leads wanted to leave.

I must say I did not care for the secret when it was revealed, the person behind the mystery and I was very saddened by the ending.

I did not think it was dreadful. I felt it was not fully conceptualized. The themes and ideas were there it just needed some reconfiguring and less emphasis on some of the newer supporting characters. As I said in previous posts it felt less authentic than previous installments. The scene work at times was slow and some of the acing was not up to par.

Gorlois said: "It was fine up to a point until it all unraveled with that terrible flashback episode with the confusing, contrived morally bankrupt star crossed lovers plot they placed at the scene of Compton’s Riot. And then the twist villain was equally contrived. I felt bad for the actor having to find any truth in their final scene. The character’s evil plan made no sense and turned an interesting character into a flat, one dimensional villain. I thought it was really, really bad. I wonder, as I have not read Maupin’s later books in the series, how much of that plot was his invention and how much was the show’s writers? I’m also confused by the show’s timeline. Did the previous miniseries update the show to the 90’s? Because this series takes place contemporaneously, and does not match up with the novels.

I went hoping for the best, but I ended up absolutely hating it. And I’m saddened by that."



The previous incarnations were based on the books which were originally running columns in the SF Chronicle. The stories took place in the 1070's. You should go back and watch the original initial series from PBS. It was enchanting. I imagine if one were introduced to the series with this latest version I could see where one might wonder what the fuss is all about. This latest version was not based on his books but I think he was involved in the writing.

Miles2Go2 said: "I have very little memory of the originals. Will I be utterly lost without revisiting them first before watching the new episodes?"

Netflix just announced that the original series will be up on Netflix on June 28th. I didn't all of the original so I am going to watch the original first.

Even the new ones, like the twins.

And I thought the flashback episode was genius.

Updated On: 6/18/19 at 12:00 PM

I lived in SF for 10 years. I used to live by the Safeway on Market Street that Mary Ann pointed out in the cab where she says she met Mouse. It made me sentimental for SF.

Bartlett grew on me. He had kind of a bouncy gym bunny energy that made sense when his boyfriend called him out around episode 7.His character also seemed a tad immature for his age.

I liked what FindingNamo had to say.

Sorry to join the conversation so late. My partner didn't remember the first three parts so we had to rewatch them and then binge watched the Netflix series this past weekend. I was sooo incredibly happy to see these characters again and loved the story, especially the Anna flashback to when she came to SF. I have read all of the books, with the exception of the last one. I LOVED seeing Dukakis, Gross and Linney all together again and the man who played Mouse was very easy on the eyes. I must also say the episodes 8-10 had me crying the most I have ever cried. All of these books are classics of Gay literature and be revered for what they are...