There's a lot of it about these days. Especially on TV. It used to be just the soaps, but now there's Michael Barrymore, and Graham Norton. And Gimme, Gimme, Gimme. And endless documentaries, docu-soap 'characters', even a whole Coming Out night.

Now Channel 4 have waded in again with Queer As Folk, the new eight-part drama serial which kicked off on Tuesday. And it's entirely about gay men. And a few lesbians.

Now that we're in the media mainstream, it's easy to dismiss the next offering from grab-that-niche-market TV bosses as yet more cynical exploitation. If it's gay, there's a guaranteed audience, after all. The result is endless programmes that serve precious little purpose. I mean, Gimme's Tom and Linda are just sitcom legends George and Mildred sprinkled with fairy dust, right?

Wrong. Queer As Folk is different. It's absolutely, totally, incredibly gay. The gay-est show I've ever seen. And it's covering all the issues. Clubbing, under-age sex, drugs, gay parenting, understanding mothers, coming out, porn, sex on the Net - and that's only the first two episodes.

Shocking? Yes, but shocking because it's normal, every-day. Being gay is not the drama here, it's the starting point. And it's about time that was on the box.

Meet the cast. Stuart (Aidan Gillen) is the ultimate scene queen. Rich, vain, arrogant, a modern-day Alfie, who has sex as often as the rest think about it. A beautiful life (the flat! the car!), which is slowly being messed up by the birth of his son, and by Nathan, a 'chicken' eho's coming home to roost. Suddenly, Stuart is gaining commitments and responsibilities. He's not happy about it.

Nathan (Charlie Hunnam) is 15 and still at school. In the evening he's started getting the bus to town, following the crowds and his heart - to Manchester's Canal Street. On his first nervous night out he finds Stuart - or rather Stuart finds him - and everything changes. As he tells his best friend Donna the next day, everyone at school can talk about sex, "but I've done it!"
And then there's Vince. Caught in the middle as usual. Always the one driving, the one looking after Stuart's broken heart and injured pride, "always Kate Winslet". In the closet at work, but with a mum who comes clubbing. Vince escapes via Dr Who to a less stressful galaxy than GayManchester99. Still, isn't it Leo who drowns?

With such rich characters, Queer As Folk is teeming with unpredictable dramatic possibilities. It casts a cool eye over 'the Village' - where the greatest sin is to be ugly, where you can laugh about forgetting whose boyfriend died - and it's all the more refreshing for it. The gay scene can be as cruel, hard, selfish and empty as it is fun. These aren't perfect people. There are no sensitive poets, no noble victims, no noble campery, no PC cliches.

The performances are honest too. Craig Kelly (Vince) and Charlie Hunnam (Nathan) embrace their three-dimensional characters with relish and great skill. Only Aidan Gillen as Stuart seems slightly uncomfortable, but to be fair, this could be unease on the character's part (who is much more unsympathetic anyway). Not sure about the fifties model walk, though.
The scenes between Nathan and Donna (Carla Henry) are my favourites - this Beautiful Thing relationship in the midst of Nathan's overwhelming experiences is tenderly written and delicately performed. Jason Merrells as Phil and Denise Black as Vince's eccentric mum give strong support.

This isn't the Manchester of Coronation Street, however. If you can drift off you can always check out the lifestyle - the cobbles on this street probably came from Harvey Nicks. In Queer As Folk, the Manchester gay world is a hyper-reality of urban living, cool lighting and designer gear. Even the hospital has had a visit from the Style Police, and Stuart's flat (sorry, loft apartment) wouldn't disgrace Demi Moore's sculptress in Ghost.

Still, this is modern day gay life. Of course the interiors are fabulous. What's more unexpected is the strength of the writing, the depth of the characters, the fact that Queer As Folk shows gay men caught with their emotional trousers down - a warts-and-all gay drama with the emphasis firmly on the drama. When Bazz left Chester, I hope he came here.