Probably the best dramatic production put out by PBS. The forces of censorship were out in full force of course, because it dared depict homosexuals being physically affectionate towards one another. But this series was about more than homosexuality. It was about a time in San Francisco history post-summer of love and pre-AIDS epidemic reflecting an alternative cultural milieu in which politics had taken a back seat to personal discovery and what would become known as the "lifestyle choice." Some of the icons of San Francisco culture are depicted, mostly in semi-satiric fashion. The pyramid building is used for heavy cinematographical symbolism, accompanied by Olympia Dukakis' line "there was a pyramid in Atlantis..." The series was based on a column that was published every week during the time in question, and something does get lost in reinterpretations 15 years after the fact. For instance, the living spaces of the bohemian set were never quite so lavish, and certainly did not exist in Pacific Heights, where Barbary Lane seems to be located. And some of the characters come off as a bit stereotypical. But the actors were perfect for the roles, and this series may have made Laura Linney's career, playing the naive but open-minded girl from the midwest both fascinated and intimidated by the culture she encounters. The stories then revolve around her neighbors, an eclectic group of tenants of an eccentric motherly female landlord, who leaves each new tenant with a gift joint, and often forgets to collect rent. The story goes on to weave together romance, gay and straight, with Hitchcocking mystery, delivering a pretty good punch line and set up for the less adequate sequels. The original columns have been published as books, and they are well worth the read. You're going to have to rent the series as PBS is shying away from re-airing the series given the new dark ages climate being imposed by the morality possees. And unfortunately, it's not likely that PBS will engage such ventures again anytime soon.