Looking

Transport me to the strange utopia as presented in “Looking” where seemingly every single man is gay.

No, seriously. That would make life so much easier.

But alas, that makes for a strange distraction in the pilot of HBO’s new series

“Looking” starring Jonathan Groff as a young professional in San Francisco.

Despite the fact literally every named male character in the episode is gay, “Looking” also falls short in a few other areas.

“Looking” depicts gays in a light that could almost be considered offensive.

The show makes it seem gays care only about relationships — that’s all they worry about, whether they’re on a date, at a bar or seeking relationship advice.

It’s like they don’t have jobs, families or friends that aren’t interested in other men. If we’re to judge by the series’ first episode, the only interesting thing about these characters is their relationship status.

The entire episode is spent focusing on Jonathan Groff and his two best friends (also gay, because gays don’t even talk to straight men) as they seek relationships and sexual hookups.

Now, this is a format that “Sex and the City” followed, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to piss me off as much when Carrie Bradshaw was at the helm.

It’s not that Groff isn’t lovable, because he very much is, but it just doesn’t seem to click in today’s age.

I just don’t see how they can follow just their relationship problems with no other plotlines for seasons on end.

Technically speaking, “Looking” is wonderful. It matches HBO’s hip, avant-garde style of television with superb acting, especially on the part of Jonathan Groff. The character relationships, though some might seem a little contrived, are real and well-played out,
especially for just one episode.

We get to see “Looking” shine the most in the scene in which Groff’s character is on a blind date — Groff dazzles in an incredibly complex bit of acting.

“Looking” was a show I really did want to love, because society is still searching for a show about gays that doesn’t feature them in some incredibly lighthearted and stereotypical way — but I don’t think it’s exactly hit the mark so far.

The potential is there, but until we see these three characters get real lives amongst a real community, I don’t think “Looking” stands very much of a chance. For all of our sakes, I hope it succeeds.

We’re all looking for a show about real-life gays, and it appears we may still be looking.