Dante's Cove
Tags: haunting

Plot synopsis:
As the season begins, Kevin Archer leaves an abusive home to follow his boyfriend, Toby, to Dantes Cove, a remote tropical island populated by beautiful young residents, gay and straight. Unknown to Kevin, Dantes Cove has a dark and dangerous history, and he is unwittingly being drawn into a web of supernatural intrigue.
Arriving at the Hotel Dante (built in the 1840s and recently converted into apartments) Kevin meet his new housemates: Van, a mysterious lesbian artist drawn to the dark side of human nature, Cory, a carefree party-boy wholl hook up with any guy whos interested, and Adam, Tobys straight best friend from high school who is secretly in love with Toby.At first Kevin and Tobys reunion is wonderful. But soon, Kevin begins hearing a strange voice coming from within the hotel a voice that is summoning him. Drawn to the basement, Kevin stumbles upon Ambrosius Vallin, an immortal warlock imprisoned for over a hundred and fifty years.In 1840, Ambrosius was engaged to marry Grace Neville, a powerful practiotioner of Tresum, an ancient supernatural religion. When Grace found Ambrosius making love with another man, she killed his lover and cursed Ambrosius to an eternity locked in the Dantes basement. Only the kiss of a young man would set Ambrosius free.Having successfully made Kevin hear his call, Ambrosius summons him to the basement and forces Kevin to kiss him. The kiss from Kevin breaks the curse. Not content to be young andfree again, Ambrosius decides Kevin is his destiny, and will stop at nothing to have him. He puts a spell on Kevin, and also turns Cory into a sort of personal slave and spy so that he can keep an eye on Kevin. But Grace wont allow Ambrosius to find love or happiness, and uses her magic to murder Kevin. Ambrosius, who learned Tresums powers while locked in the basement, succeeds in reviving Kevin.
Meanwhile, searching the historical society for an explanation of the strange happenings in Dantes Cove, Toby and Van find the Book of Tresum written in a strange ancient language. Van is able to cast a spell from the book and break the curse on Kevin, freeing him from Ambrosius hold. It seems like a happy ending, until Ambrosius uses Cory to lure Toby away from the sleeping Kevin, and throws Toby into the ocean to drown.

Review: Make no mistake: Dante's Cove is targeted primarily for the gay male audience.
While their acting doesn't quite hit the mark, the main characters, Kevin and Toby, do well, and I suspect may improve further in the remaining segments.
Sure, the great bodies and handsome faces are wonderful, but we all want love, and this show provides the chance to vicariously jump head first into more than just sex.For those not tuning in to see guys, take heart--there are lesbian scenes; beautiful, scantily-clad young women, and just a nice bunch of young people kind of lazing around white, sandy beaches doing what most of us would enjoy: not much and having a hell of a good time.
Dante's Cove is not about BEING gay, but more pointedly that gay people find themselves in everyday AND extraordinary situations--trying to navigate life's labyrinth and survive (Wow!
Dante's Cove the series explores a witch named Grace played over the friggin top by Demonic Toys veteran Tracy Scoggins.
Toby is moving back to Dantes Cove for some strange reason and wants Kevin to go with him.
Kevin goes home gets slapped (LOL) by his stepfather and rushes to Toby in Dante's Cove.
There is mostly gay guy sex and Gregory Michael whom plays Kevin and Charlie David whom plays Toby have great bodies and genuinely good chemistry even if they can't act worth a damn.
sure it's cheesy, bad and clichéd but gotta love pretty boys, over the top performances, slap scenes and dialogue that just leaps off your TV screen.
God, how I love this programme.They say that if you put a thousand monkeys in a room with a thousand typewriters then in a thousand years they will write the works of Shakespeare.Some years ago a group of producers put one monkey in a room with an etch-a-sketch and the result was: Dante's Cove.It's genius.
When I saw the first season, I posted a review and commented on the bad acting and sub-par writing.
The writing is tighter, the performances turned in by series veterans have improved enormously (Charlie David in particular is giving substantially-improved performances) and the show is just plain FUN!
Gothic Horror is a genre I love, and Dante's Cove delivers that.
The cast is hot, the sex is getting hotter by the season, and the plot lines are engaging - covering all the territory from "jealous boyfriend" to "jilted fiancée" to "mind-controlling warlock" as time rolls on in the show.
For those who haven't figured this out yet, it does feature full-frontal nudity (male) and lots of sex - gay, lesbian, and IIRC a straight scene or two.
Perhaps more creative set staging or action blocking could help them cover up without looking so odd doing it, or maybe they'll decide one day that full-frontal in a gay soap is not career-ending.
While I'm not looking for pornography here, a touch more realism would help with "suspension of disbelief" quite a bit.All in all, if you like horror, and like gay themes, give "Dante's Cove" a try.
Try to watch at least two seasons, and I really recommend going for the third - it's the strongest yet, and starts to deliver on the promise of the premise that we've been waiting for from the beginning..
But she catches him having sex with his butler and immediately puts a curse on him.Cut to 2005--Young hunky Kevin (Gregory Michael) is in love with young hunky Toby (Charlie David).
This is (basically) a supernatural soap opera full of nudity (mostly male) and simulated sex scenes.
This is squarely aimed at gay male audiences though--there are plenty of hunky young guys here frequently out of their clothes.This is pretty well-made but the sex scenes are the main reason for this.
Some of the acting is pretty bad--Kevin, Vanessa, Adam and Josh are TERRIBLE.
This does have limits--the sex is (obviously) simulated and there's no frontals on the guys (except for one brief scene at the beginning).So--for gay men this is a silly but fun and sexy soap.
Having watched the first and second seasons of this show, I find myself drawn into the world of "Dante's Cove".
The cast members are all very good looking and the sex scenes are very enjoyable.
Aside from that, the series is great.I've seen the trailer for Season 3 and I am very excited to see the inclusion of Jenson Atwood, who I adored in Noah's Arc. The Story is engaging and yes it can be a little slow, but as the budget gets bigger and the actors become more accustomed to their characters and the writers become more accustomed to those characters, the writing will improve.This series has great potential and is a breath of fresh air to the AIDS awareness films that have dominated the queer market for the better half of 20 years.
It also stars veteran Tracy Scoggins(BABYLON FIVE, LOIS&CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) in a role that is made for her and she does it very well(she looks good in it too).So check out DANTE'S COVE and keep an open mind.
I just wish they'd make up their mind: one minute, they're showing a sex scene out of a soft core porn video, and the next they have the actors contorted in a gruesomely unnatural position in order to avoid showing a body part that they already had on camera early on in the first episode.
If they shot it naturally, even though we'd see "everything", the scene would still be far less sexual than the one that preceded it, and would flow much better.Anyway, if it continues to improve at the rate the 2nd episode did over the first one, I'm looking forward to seeing it continue..
Dante's Cove - Three Successful Seasons.
If you search Itunes by Dante's Cove you can now purchase the music from the first three seasons.
Especially with Thea Gill and Tracy Scoggins.The male leads - Charlie David and Jon Fleming give great eye candy.I hope they bring the show back for a fourth season as it's the new Queer As Folk.
I love the fact that they don't take themselves or the show to serious, if you watch the DVD check out the special features and you will see what I mean.
Dante's Cove is a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Queer as Folk.
Personally, I found it difficult to except the production location shift, but I got over it.If you enjoy the supernatural, enjoy watching beautiful people and just want to have fun with a show then this is the show for you.
Sort of like Queer As Folk, but Dante's Cove goes a step further by showing full frontal nudity!
Dante's Cove is one of the WORST written queer dramas I have ever seen!
I think the writer(s) needs to take a "season" off and attend a few writing courses before bringing this crap back to TV!The acting is AT BEST, watchable and decent at times, and outright horrid in some scenes.
It is the acting that makes Dante's Cove painful to watch!
Unfortunately, it's hard to tell if the actors are really THAT BAD, or if they are just doing the best they can with the crappy script they are handed!Dante's Cove reminds me of a badly written and badly acted (for the most part) David DeCoteau film.
But, I also will admit that I don't watch DeCoteau films for the quality story lines and great acting.
Dante's Cove is so bad on so many levels that it's too numerous too mention.
It's like the show can't decide if it's porn, where you'd expect bad acting and good sex, or a thriller, where you'd expect at least half-way decent acting and bad sex.
If you want to see sexy scenes and better acting/plots check out Queer as Folk (Canadian Version).
The acting in this series was really bad, the plot has been done, the writing was terrible.
The ensemble cast has great chemistry, and after you watch the first season, you may find yourself, like I did, wanting more and more.While there is a great mystery going on across the three episodes, the strands that run through the show of unrequited love, coming out, questions over the role monogamy has in some relationships, possession versus love, etc.
If you loved Queer as Folk, or maybe even Dynasty for all you folks out there my age, you'll really enjoy Dante's Cove and will be looking forward to the next episode to see what your friends on the cove are up to this week.
But if you're more flexible in your support of gay programming and like the idea of a steamy gay soap opera with a magical mystery twist and, in my opinion, pretty good acting (how DOES one prepare to play a 200 year old witch in modern times?) then it's a good bet that you'll have lots of fun with this series..
And if you do, at least don't invite your friends over.The story is bad, the actors are good looking and we get to see a fair bit of nudity, but in spite of that, they are not able to engage.
DANTE'S COVE is a two disc DVD release of a TV series for Here!
Now that the mystery is over with the public release of the DVDs, the comments and responses are bound to be mixed: there are those who whoop that gay themed and photographed stories are finally on television, and there are those who will wonder why a series could make it through the year with little to no storyline and a production that is essentially soft porn - for both men and women!
The difference lies in the fact that the main characters are gay and the hotel inhabitants are pretty guys and gals who spend the majority of their time topless, swimming or en flagrante.The cast is attractive (and we see a LOT of them!) but the lack of plausible story and the mercilessly poor writing and quality of acting keep the show grounded.
If you want a well written gay series, turn to "Queer As Folk" (original or US).
The "special" effects are unbelievably bad for a series that is supposed to deal with the supernatural.This is being marketed as a "guilty pleasure".
To me, DANTE'S COVE is a cool and innovating show as I've never seen any single episode of the others TV-Series mentioned here as 'Buffy the vampire slayer - The OC's -or- Charmed'.
I think the writing's just fine (even if the red-eyes thing is far too much !) and for sure some of the actors really CAN act (as Tracy Scoggins, Thea Gill & Charlie David for firsts).
I hope so much that one day we'll get the chance to see the Fourth Season : I know I'll go back to this Cove with a delighted (and non-guilty) pleasure again....
2 of my songs appeared on the soundtrack of Dante's Cove (Season 2 ..
But Dante's Cove is so ridiculous and funny, though not voluntarily...The Gothic background is a caricature, with witches having red, glaring eyes when they curse their victims, and people turning into dust all of a sudden.
With that said I additionally will review is that season 3 did bring it all together and for me (and this may not be a big jump for some) brought this series into a comic book realm, beyond a soap opera, which I did truly enjoy, the sex became a device of the story, rather than a major part, the plot turned from drama, to thrill and action.
And I haven't cried and laughed in almost the same moment (yeah I did both to my surprise), it's special and I recommend it (some may wish to fast forward the lesbian/gay scenes, depending on your orientation) nuff said.RichP.S. Please watch the "Behind the Scenes" as you will notice references I had mentioned, "Dark Shadows" and I will say "Dynasty and Falcon Crest" in the beginning.
I do recommend this for your next party, when no one really wants to think, but wants to have a bit of titillation and enjoy the "drama" sit back and be glad they are not there, even though Dante's Cove is paradise (without virgins).
OK this is hard cause i like this series but the acting is a little crappy but I really like the story and the extra sex scenes are a added bonus.
I still really think it's a good series worth watching, so does everyone else i showed it too.
Dante's Cove is such a beautiful place to stage a show.
Dante's Cove will be shooting the next season 2006/2007 in Hawaii.It's quoted in the Honolulu Advertiser of August 25th 2006.
I just finished watching in its entirety the first season of Dante's Cove on DVD and couldn't take my eyes from the TV set.
The acting in general from the cast was OK, although there's plenty of room for improvement, and the script could use some tightening, but I've seen a lot worse on the daily day time soap Operas.
The romance and love scenes between the two main lead characters Toby and Kevin along with their chemistry were incredible.
Since I wasn't a member of Netflix at the time I heard about DANTE'S COVE, I bought a copy instead, hoping for the best but not expecting it.
Simply shoehorning a gay sensibility into old DARK SHADOWS leftovers is NOT writing, but since this was a first, I will hope that the scribes collected themselves by Season Two. The plot, as I can best understand it, involves a warlock by the name of Ambrosius (William Gregory Lee), who is due to wed a powerful witch named Grace (Scoggins) in 1840.
So much so, in fact, that in the first five minutes of Episode One, she 86'es a young lass passing by just for making googly eyes at her fiancée!Little does Grace know that Ambrosius is only interested in one thing...and it ain't sex, sweetie.
She promptly blasts the "other man" into oblivion and traps her cheatin' cutie in a dungeon within their house for a couple of centuries...the house which eventually becomes the Hotel Dante.Enter hot young lovers Kevin and Toby, (Gregory Michael and Charlie David, respectively).
Anyway, Kevin moves into the hotel with Toby, meets the assorted straight, bi and gay guests and staff there (who always seem to be in various states of undress and slathered with baby oil.) People have every kind of hot, simulated sex imaginable, and somewhere along the line a party breaks out.
But if you like eye-candy and lots of it, DANTE'S is more than ready to help you fill your brain and libido with yummy, empty calories.I'm sorry I bought this instead of renting it, but I'm not sorry I saw it.
The people are gorgeous, the scenery is most peoples dream and the plot is easy going but it has something that made me watch both episodes one after the other.Tracy Scoggins is wonderfully over the top and she steals every scene she is in.
Once you have watched the first twenty minutes or so you know what is going to happen throughout.It is wonderfully interesting and I can't wait for series two to come out on DVD.It is on my reminder list already.
bad writing, poor acting, tacky music for soft-core porn.
The purchase of the DVD of the first season of Dante's Cove was a major disappointment.
I rented season one of Dante's Cove on some friends' recommendation, they enjoyed the steaminess of the series but warned me to watch out for cheesiness in the storyline.
Mediocre to bad acting, not enough suspense to hold up a pair of pants, story lines that would best be kept in porn movies (ya know, the talking parts of porn when its boring), and clonish actors who look like they belong in really bad soap operas (oh wait, that's what this is).
"Dante's Cove" has the potential to be such an entertaining guilty pleasure but despite the beautiful bodies and sexy scenes it's all rather dull.
The shows remind me so much of each other in a way but I only wish "Dante's Cove" was as cool and addicting.
As of Season 1 I'm not that impressed though and recommend anyone watching this to give "HEX" a shot instead, or as well..
The first season was a little on the rough side, and the acting wasn't the best but it kept my attention.
I must say there was still some bad acting but as the season rolled on it got better.
I will even go as far as saying that the acting was 100% better than the first season.
They got rid of most of the new actors they brought in at season 2 within the first 2 episodes and changed the actress that played Michelle.
They brought in about 3 or 4 new actors, which only one of them had no business being on any show at all but all in all the acting was just about dead on this season, with a few noticeable bad spots but it was good.
So once again, if you stopped watching because the 1st season wasn't the best give it another shot.
The worst of it: both of the main role, Toby n Kevin acting are the worst compare to the other actor..
(It's because the actor are naked, so the audience are looking at their body..) Even though most of the scene are unrealistic..
The acting is not very good but the leads, Kevin and Tobey, are actually pretty decent.
It makes no sense at times and you may get lost, but the bad acting will make you laugh out loud.
So I'm thinking prime time Gay Passions, not too racy....Imagine my surprise when in the first scene there is full frontal nudity!