This new Brit LGBT edgy TV series that went straight to DVD that tackles the life of group of friends in the northern UK town of Manchester is worlds away from HBO’s LGBT series Loving set in San Francisco featuring a group of rather sophisticated urbanites.  Outings bills itself as a cross between as Queer as Folk meets Skins, and whilst it is hardly in the same league as these two iconic gay TV shows, it does at least accurately portray the tenor and tone of this young gay drama.

Each of it’s three 30 minute episodes focuses in particular on a different member of this tight  group of friends, all them struggling to find out their purpose and path in life.  Some of the scenarios like Kane (played by the show’s writer and director Lloyd Eyre-Morgan) being dumped by his latest boyfriend Thom (Nathan Morris) because he cannot have anal sex are very convincing , whereas Tim (Daniel Wallace) playing the boy-who-turned-straight is far too big a stretch of the imagination for anyone.

Outings has more passion and the energy than a lot of other LGBT series but however it’s micro budget means that there are more than a few wince-making moments with some really embarrassingly bad acting and some cliched script lines. Having said that, by the end of the third episode, we have learnt just enough about the main characters to be intrigued  to want to know more.  Evidently this will only happen if the team can raise the funds, and despite some of our misgivings, we feel it would be a pity if they didn’t succeed.