Quotes by Ron Cowen

“[Showtime agreed, and Cowen and Lipman took full advantage of that carnal carte blanche from the beginning: In Episode1, Brians deflowering of Justin is explicitly rendered.] We felt that was a very political statement, ... because as a gay person, I grew up seeing straight people in movies, in R-rated movies, making out, having sex, but I never saw gay people doing it. I said to Dan, `Well, its our turn.”

“[Its clearly a sore topic with both men.] Were either gay-bashed by gay people or were totally ignored by the gay press, ... Younger gay people seem to love the show; they dont have a problem with it. Its middle-aged gay men who seem to have a big issue with this show. They dont want other people knowing what theyve done.”

“But if they didnt do it, the middle-aged gay men, then how come so many of them died of AIDS in the 80s? How did that happen?”

“If thats what you like, then good luck.”

“I dont share your optimism. We can talk about this for 19 hours, because I get pretty passionate about it.”

“[Series with political content tend to age badly, and Cowen and Lipman know a thing or two about dated television -- the men, who began their work and home lives together in 1971 at a playwrights conference, wrote An Early Frost, the first TV movie about AIDS, which aired in 1985.] You never know if somethings going to hold up or fall apart in 20 years, ... It will mark a certain point in time. I hope as time goes on it will be seen as accurate.”

“It (the sex scenes) was not for shock value. I think it was to tell the truth. I think a lot of what we see on TV portrays gay people as eunuchs or clowns, or as victims of AIDS, or being punished for being sexual or tortured teens. Were not doing any of that.”