Dante's Cove

Hello dudes and divas! Hope you are all having a good week...we're not doing too badly considering that winter is round the corner really, are we?

Well I didn't get the manager's job I had the interview for. Oh well. Got some feedback from one of the interviewers regarding my performance in the interview which is always helpful. Plus I applied for another job as an online content coordinator but didn't get shortlisted for that one. Oh well again! One must keep trying. Actually we will (hopefully) be getting a bonus at the end of this year and that's reason enough to stick around for a bit. It's kind of been the thing that's kept me here until now really...

So - what else? This week my hubbie and I have been mostly watching..."Dante's Cove". If you're a Brit the chances are you won't have heard of this, however if you're of Yankee origins you will probably know all about it already (after all, it's an American show). And in fitting with many of my other tastes, "Dante's Cove" is a) rather cheesey b) melodramatic c) camp d) entertaining e) chock-full of gorgeous, hunky men, often to be seen i) in a state of undress ii) engaged in lewd relations with one another. And I'm sure e) alone has instantly aroused your interest, that is if you're a 1) straight female 2) gay male. Okay, I will stop the labelling bit now cos it's getting silly.

So what's "Dante's Cove" I hear you cry? In a nutshell, it's a kind of gothic/gay-themed drama with a strong emphasis on the supernatural. However as I hinted rather strongly above it's a drama that can't be taken seriously. Whilst surfing Amazon and looking at gay-themed movies I came across the first series on DVD. The second series has already aired in the US and the show as a whole has apparently taken gay America by storm.

The story kicks off in the year 1840, in which we're introduced to Ambrosius Vallin (! nice name!) and Grace (not sure what her surname is), an aristocratic couple who are engaged to be married and reside in the seaside resort town of Dante's Cove. However Ambrosius is harbouring a dark secret - he's really a homosexual. GASP!! In a wonderfully naughty opening scene, Grace discovers her hubbie engaging in a spot of bottom bandetry with...the butler (and you get to see pretty much everything where this man servant is concerned!) Outraged, the spurned Grace uses her supernatural powers to kill her husband's lover (sending him into a spasm of quivery shakes before he cops it, the poor love). As if that wasn't punishment enough she proceeds to chain her husband up in the cellar of their house and makes him age hideously in appearance. Only the kiss of another man will restore his youth and vitality and as he is kept hidden in the locked-up cellar there isn't much hope of that...

Cut to several decades later and it's the modern day. Kevin, a rather handsome young man, is running away from an abusive family to be with his lover, the lovely Toby, in ... Dante's Cove. (The aforementioned couple are in the second photo from the top. Cute eh?) Toby and his highly photogenic housemates all inhabit the "Hotel Dante" which by an odd coincidence used to be the house where Ambrosius and Grace once lived. You can probably guess what happens next can't you?

The whole thing moves along at a fairly breathless pace and is very glossy in a modern MTV-ish kind of way. The beach scenery is beautiful too although you don't get to see so much of that. And as I've intimated, most of the characters are all unbearably good looking, with perfect, gym-toned bodies to match (the men especially). Plus the majority of them can be seen getting their kits off at regular intervals. The acting, whilst not always great, is nowhere near as bad as some have made it out to be, however there are still some deliciously OTT performances, most noteably from William Gregory Lee as Ambrosius and Tracey Scoggins as Grace. Ambrosius is all smoldering looks and "profound" statements, playing the evil but sexy stud bit to the hilt (there's one very saucy scene when he hypnotises the hapless Kevin into taking his pants off and ... you can imagine the rest). Best of all though is Grace, played by the aforementioned Ms Scoggins. If you're an old cheeser like me you will of course remember her from "The Colbys" some 20 years back. She's still looking good (a bit wrinkled in places but holding up well - that's her in the first photo, on the right) and gives a great camp turn as Grace, taunting her horrid homo hubbie, casting spells and flirting with other townsfolk. Being the "bitch" she's also got an English accent a la Alexis Colby, which she actually pulls off pretty well. In short "Dante's Cove" is no "Dracula" but it's still fun, saucy stuff and to be recommended. So go surf that net now and purchase (it's not too expensive either).

If you want to know more, check out: http://www.dantescove.com/

Laters!!