Tales of the City is a 1993 television series produced by Channel 4 in the UK, then broadcast on PBS in the United States in January 1994. It’s based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Armistead Maupin. When Tales of the City first aired on PBS it was considered risqué due to its subject matter and nudity.
Much like An Early Frost (see me review here), Tales of the City (1993) brought the topic of LGBT people into mainstream households. It was the highest rated dramatic program on PBS that year.
The series is faithful to the book and does a great job recreating 1970s San Francisco. If you’ve read the book, you’ll be amazed by how well it translates to the screen.
The series begins in the summer of 1976 and ends after Christmas 1976. It’s about the inhabitants of 28 Barbary Lane and the people with whom they interact: Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney), a young woman who goes on vacation to San Francisco and decides to stay; Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), the middle-aged landlady and owner of 28 Barbary Lane; Mona Ramsay (Clhoe Webb), an advertising creative with a mysterious connection to Anna Madrigal; Michael Toliver (Marcus D’Amico), a carefree twenty-something gay man looking for love; Brian Hawkins (Paul Gross), heterosexual womanizer; Edgar Halcyon (Donald Moffat), owner of the advertising agency where Mona works. He’s been given six months to live by his physician; Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson), a scheming advertising executive working for Edgar Halcyon; DeDe Halcyon Day (Barbara Garrick), Edgar Halcyon’s daughter, who is married to Beauchamp Day.
All the characters are perfectly cast, even the eccentric Anna Madrigal. And it’s Anna Madrigal who must be portrayed perfectly in order to keep the story afloat. In the book, she is larger than life. Dukakis plays her with an otherworldly sense that the director, Alastair Reid, enhances with an aura of the fantastic. She comes off as a leftover from the 1960s, wearing kaftans, quoting Tennison, and growing marijuana. Dukakis encapsulates the role with perfection.
Although Tales of the City is a bit of a soap opera, the series feels more like a period piece. Between the 1970s look, the disco, and the sense of free love, it encapsulates all things from the period. There’s a sweet mix of gay and straight characters interacting, which may seem odd to people living elsewhere in America at that time, but this is San Francisco, and the interactions are realistic.
Like the book, the film is a connection of short scenes that carry the story from one event to another. The writing, acting, and directing are so well done that it’s easy to get lost in the story. I watched the entire six hours in one sitting on my first viewing and would do the same with each subsequent viewing if my husband didn’t stop me.
Tales of the City is a must-see for anybody regardless of gender. It’s entertaining fun that is so absorbing that you’ll want to binge watch it.
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