Anecdote 1 :
In episode 101, when Michael starts to watch «Schindler’s Fist», the K7 Emmett just gave him to calm down, Dan Lipman’s voice can be heard as the soldier of the film.

Anecdote 2 :
The scene of episode 101 where Michael rushes out to chase away the young taggers had to be shot in two parts, due to too much traffic. Hal’s close-up were filmed six weeks later, in the Studio’s parking lot. It was October, and Hal was freezing in his "Babylon" wife-beater.

Anecdote 3 :
While writing the script of episode 102, the protagonists thought their audience would mainly be people from the gay community. However they also considered the effect on the female audience. During the sales pitch for "Old Pitt" beer, Brian asks the two women present their opinion about the "little too gay" model,  and the female client replies : "I wouldn't care, I’d go to bed with him anyway".

Anecdote 4 :
In episode 106, Lindsay comes to see Brian at the loft to convince him to go to the Gay and Lesbian Center exhibition. Brian serves her his "special Brian-esque" breakfast on the kitchen counter.

Thea Gill had great talent to remain concentrated on her role. Gale Harold, high spirits that day, didn’t stop fooling around in the reverse shot.

Anecdote 5 :
At the end of episode 106, Brian lies down, looking at his portrait drawn by Justin, while a boy fondles him under the sheet. In reality, the only ones looking at the portrait were the cameramen. To make the effect realistic, one technician had crept under the sheet to make it move.

Anecdote 6 :
At the party David Cameron organizes at his place in senator Baxter‘s honor, the group arrives with a particularly trashy look. Gale Harold, who requires regularly that his jeans be taken in so that they are as tight as possible, has this time asked for them to be sewn right on him!  


Costume designer Patrick Antosh says: «These pants were made to measure for Gale Harold - not one inch of extra fabric... He can't wear underwear in them, they're that tight. » As in the sex scenes, he used the famous "cock sock", a rubber bag that he had designed for Christian Bale (in "American Psycho"), who didn’t want to be filmed entirely naked. Of course, this process had been often used for Queer As Folk.

Anecdote 7 :

In episode 118, Blake reappears at Babylon and he is completely stoned.

 To capture the sensation of dizziness he feels, the scene was shot with a camera fixed around his waist.

The same process was used for the hospital scene, after he awakes from a coma, with Ted next to him.

Anecdote 8 :
In episode 211, David calls Michael from Portland and they have phone sex. For the scene to be as authentic as possible, Hal Sparks simulates masturbation, under the sheet, with a small robot toy.

Anecdote 9 :
The day of the « Flannel party » shooting, the whole team dressed in flannel shirts, including the producers, Dan Lipman, Ron Cowen and Sheila Hockin.

So, it was hard to tell the cast from the crew.

Anecdote 10 :
 It is a scoop! At the end of episode 122, it isn’t Chris Hobbs who bashes Justin with a base ball bat, but...

Michael! (We knew that he didn’t like him much, but not as much as that!...) The scene was shot separately, outside the garage. It was the final take of season 1, and Alec McClure (Chris) had already left Toronto.

 



Anecdote 11 :
Paul Aldous was selected as Gale Harold’s stand-in, because of his similar build.

Director Michael DeCarlo took a chance of this resemblance for the final scene of episode 210, where we see Brian moving away, back view, with a trick he picked up at Babylon, meanwhile Justin looks on troubled.

Anecdote 12 :
Brian’s nephew, John, is the typical unbearable kid, with a face you just want to slap. In Episode 304, he even accuses his uncle, of molesting him.




And yet, in real life, the young actor Gage Knox is adorable - Which proves he already has great talent!

Anecdote 13 :
In episode 304, the cameo cast suffered from memory loss! Several takes were necessary to wrap the scene of the candidates’ presentation (Melanie‘s dream) because the actor could not remember Ben Bruckner‘s name.  

Later on, the actor playing the police officer who arrests Brian insisted on calling him "Mr. Handley". Was it because they were intimidated?

Anecdote 14 :
In episode 306, a fan congratulates Ethan at the end of his concert. The place is sumptuous and crowded. They whisper in each other ear.

In fact, the scene was shot in a sordid and deserted corridor. The viewer’s imagination does the rest.

Anecdote 15 :
In episode 308, the scene at the agency between Brian and Justin, where Justin says he regrets their break-up, was at first envisaged against a wall. The decors not being always very solid, Bruce McDonald finally preferred to shoot the scene in the middle of the office. You can easily understand why...

The amusing thing is that Randy Harrison, after having pushed Gale Harold, realizes that the partition is broken and says "oops!". Then Gale retorts : "Never mind, I’ll fix it tomorrow", and Randy continues as if everything was alright, and gives Gale a kiss.

Anecdote 16 :
In episode 308, Lindsay, who’s in charge of the gallery, calls Emmett to ask him to organize the inauguration party. On screen, they seem to be in the same room, one behind the other... because in fact, they were in the same room to shoot the scene.

Anecdote 17 :
In episode 309, Brian and Jim Stockwell look like they are enjoying their steam bath.

However, it was freezing cold that day (you can see how well wrapped up the make up woman is in the picture) and they soaked the entire day, awaiting the adjustment of the cameras, which was complicated because of incontrollable steam.

Anecdote 18 :
It seems hard to believe now, but Peter Paige was initially chosen to play Ted’s part. He auditioned and was pre-selected. Before the final selection, he started to have doubts and asked to try out for  Emmett‘s part, but it was not possible anymore, because the casting director, Linda Lowy, had already made her choice. Peter learned the part in secret and, in front of Dan Lipman and Ron Cowen, played the two characters. The producers  didn’t hesitate for a moment.
If Peter Paige had got Ted’s part, we would probably have seen him on screen with the look he has in episode 307.

Anecdote 19 :
Don’t panic, it is not Kegan Hoover being shaken about by the props man who has him by the foot!

The very very young actor has his own stand-in, too...

Anecdote 20 :
The comic book Rage was actually drawn by Jon Kent. He created a real album, even if we can’t see the details in the show.

In his drawings, the characters have... safe sex !