Finished watching "Dante's Cove" late last night in order to post a review this afternoon since the Here! TV series is out on DVD today (Aug. 8). So, it's with great relief that I am able to give a rave to this show described by its cast members as "a blend of "Sex in the City" meets "Dark Shadows" meets "Beverly Hills 90210" meets "The OC" meets "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with a little bit of "Melrose Place" stirred in there with a small dose of "Queer as Folk."

While the show aired on the pay channel Here! TV in episodic form, the DVD plays like a lengthy two-part movie about five hours long. It's engrossing, sexy, smart and aims high. The cast (led by openly-gay actor Charlie David) is physically beautiful but the difference here is that they can act! All of them. And what a delight it is to see Tracy Scoggins, who we haven;t seen much of since the "Dynasty" sequel "The Colbys," back on screen in a juicy role of a witch who she describes as "The Joan Collins of our series."

In addition toi Scoggins, there are plenty of beautiful other women on the showq, both gay and straight, and they, like the guys, appear on various stages of dress and undress.

In a documentary included in the DVD, I especially like what director Sam Irvin had to say about his goals in making such a show: "As an openly gay director, I've been waiting years and years and years for a time when there was going to be movies that had gay characters where it was matter of fact - where the story wasn't about coming out or about dealing with gay issues. It was more like where we just do a mystery-suspense-thriller where the characters happen to be gay. 'Dante's Cove' is one of those projects."

So, check this out! Amazon is selling it for less than $20!