I grew up on the UK one so I'm biased, but I honestly think the British version is far better. Yes, the American version is longer, has more characters, and thus more plot, but I think a lot of the "heart" of the original series was lost in translation. Not to mention all the decent one-liners. The UK version wasn't cancelled, rather, it was a pet project of writer Russel T Davies. He wrote the original 8 episodes and hung up his hat, then Channel 4 (the original British network that aired the show) basically begged him to write a conclusion to tie up the storylines of the the main characters. What was produced were two hour-long episodes, consitiuting a half second season, to bring closure to the series.The US version wasn't without merit, but let's face it, was target towards a different market. The UK version was aired on public television (albeit after the watershed) and was literally groundbreaking at the time; its American counterpart was commissioned by a premium cable network. Consequently, what was a stark and realistic look at gay life became over-produced softcore porn with a rather heavy-handed political agenda throughout.That, and by season 5 of the US version, they had COMPLETELY run out of meaningful plot. That bomb storyline near the end was a shameless ratings-grabber...   See 6 other replies