CHILDHOOD FRIEEEEEEEEEENDS! Did you ever read the books? About how Brian got the bracelet? SO MUCH BETTER THAN HOW THE SHOW SAID IT HAPPENED!
Yeah, I think I might prefer the UK version because it seems more ... nuanced, I suppose. Not sure if that's the right word I'm looking for but ... Brian's father was an alcoholic (a MEAN drunk, to boot) and his mother was neglectful and his sister wasn't any better. So, one can say "Oh, bad family = asshole Brian. OK that makes sense" and go about their day quite easily. Stuart, otoh, had a family that loved him. He hid that he was gay but you can tell that that family is full of love and affection. So, one cannot as easily excuse Stuart's personality -- and actions, yes I'm referring to YOU, Stuart Allan Jones, and your Arson Tendencies! -- and I like that. I also like how RTD treated Nathan's character as opposed to how Justin's characterization is in US. Nathan just feels more real to me -- actually, UK does overall with all the Things Left Unsaid. US always seemed like they put too much into words sometimes (not always, but I didn't really watch past Season 3 or maybe bits of 4).
I think that the dynamic of M/B could definitely be perceived as unhealthy but I think that, what I liked about a LOT of M/B writers, was that they had Brian notice that and try to change his behavior (not drastically, and usually only with respect to Michael, but I STILL BELIEVE -- don't care what you say, TPTB -- that his Mikey is the only one who would be able to make him change his ways) and then they go forth from there. So they still have all the history, even the bits that hurt, but it's a journey of Brian trying to make himself better for Mikey because he realized what Mikey actually meant to him.
Of course, the show decided that Brian could have that with a 17 year old and that's just OH SO MUCH MORE REALISTIC than falling for his best friend but whatever. I'm not bitter or anything *POPS IN UK DVDs* Not at all.
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Yeah, I think I might prefer the UK version because it seems more ... nuanced, I suppose. Not sure if that's the right word I'm looking for but ... Brian's father was an alcoholic (a MEAN drunk, to boot) and his mother was neglectful and his sister wasn't any better. So, one can say "Oh, bad family = asshole Brian. OK that makes sense" and go about their day quite easily. Stuart, otoh, had a family that loved him. He hid that he was gay but you can tell that that family is full of love and affection. So, one cannot as easily excuse Stuart's personality -- and actions, yes I'm referring to YOU, Stuart Allan Jones, and your Arson Tendencies! -- and I like that. I also like how RTD treated Nathan's character as opposed to how Justin's characterization is in US. Nathan just feels more real to me -- actually, UK does overall with all the Things Left Unsaid. US always seemed like they put too much into words sometimes (not always, but I didn't really watch past Season 3 or maybe bits of 4).
I think that the dynamic of M/B could definitely be perceived as unhealthy but I think that, what I liked about a LOT of M/B writers, was that they had Brian notice that and try to change his behavior (not drastically, and usually only with respect to Michael, but I STILL BELIEVE -- don't care what you say, TPTB -- that his Mikey is the only one who would be able to make him change his ways) and then they go forth from there. So they still have all the history, even the bits that hurt, but it's a journey of Brian trying to make himself better for Mikey because he realized what Mikey actually meant to him.
Of course, the show decided that Brian could have that with a 17 year old and that's just OH SO MUCH MORE REALISTIC than falling for his best friend but whatever. I'm not bitter or anything *POPS IN UK DVDs* Not at all.