TV Review – Dante’s Cove, Season 1 (2005)

Written By: Richard on September 18, 2008 No Comment

Quality 1.5 / 3.0
Gay content 5.0 / 5.0
Gay positivity 4.75 / 5.0

I want to love this show. I really do. I’m a big fan of fantasy and the supernatural, the cast members are smokin’ hot, and it’s gay gay gay! They don’t hold back either; there were moments I wasn’t sure if I was watching a TV show or softcore porn.

I tell myself, this show doesn’t need a coherent plot – it’s got a dueling witch and warlock. It doesn’t need acting – it has man-flesh in spades! It doesn’t need quality writing – it has melodrama!

I can’t help but compare this to Third Man Out, the mystery starring Chad Allen. These shows are both productions from Here! TV. I loved Third Man Out – it was such a high quality production with unabashed gay characters. It’s exactly the kind of gay-themed television I want to watch. Dante’s Cove has the second part of the equation (up-front gay characters and relationships) but not so much the first.

The way the scenery gets chewed, I wonder if they have to replace the sets each episode. Tracy Scoggins (as Grace) can’t decide which accent to use, William Gregory Lee (the warlock Ambrosius) tries so hard to be menacing, Gregory Michael (the protagonist Kevin) spends most of his time in a trance or walking around like a zombie, and Charlie David (Toby, Kevin’s boyfriend) looks perpetually befuddled.

If you were to tell me that the people involved in the show (on camera and behind the scenes) formerly made porn, I’d believe you. Really. Just look at their names. Gregory Michael. William Gregory Lee. Charlie David. All their names are first names! And that spells p-o-r-n!

I’m actually not sure at whom to aim my most serious criticism. Is it the writer, the director or the editor? The show falters most when trying to build up the suspense. Better acting would help, but the more immediate culprit is poor pacing.

This show sits at an uncomfortable fork in the road. Right now, it’s like a bunch of porn stars decided they wanted to do legitimate TV. I’d be a lot more receptive if the show didn’t take itself so seriously and went the route of a supernatural dramedy. Or the show could take the truly suspenseful path and allow the relationships and dramatic threats to develop organically. The latter option would require higher quality acting, writing, and direction, however. Perhaps the show will mature into it.

Yeah, I’ll continue to watch to see how the show evolves. Despite my criticisms, the show is kind of fun in a fluffy way, there’s some great eye-candy, the special effects are surprisingly good, I like the music, the show is totally gay positive, and many of the actors do show promise of growing into their roles. Besides, I love seeing gay cinema busting down the door into yet another genre, and you don’t see any other gay supernatural thrillers out there on TV, do you?

Here’s hoping Dante’s Cove gets either more serious about its premise, or less so.