The series wasn't an absolutely stellar one, but didn't deserve early cancellation. The problem was more with the quality of writing and superficiality of the script. There was no deep exploration of the characters and that made it seem as if they were people who just went from day to day without a plan. There were too many scenes where the dialog in the group resulted in babbling, unfinished sentences and talking over one another. That became annoying early on. It could have had a long run like "Queer as Folk" (US version) did if the writing had been more thoughtful and focused. Despite all the failings, it really did not merit cancellation as it could have been easily salvaged, had the shortcomings been appropriately addressed. It is far better than the current series "Generation" which is really over the top with all the non-binary, gender fluid stuff....without any story attached!
Because the sudden cancellation by HBO must have come as as a surprise to the series creators, S2 ended without closure. The movie made a year later was an attempt to tie up loose ends and bring closure to the story arc. As such, it is done very mechanically and hurriedly, with a very trite script and a "happily ever after" ending. Not a great end for a series that started with such a lot of promise and potential!
Because the sudden cancellation by HBO must have come as as a surprise to the series creators, S2 ended without closure. The movie made a year later was an attempt to tie up loose ends and bring closure to the story arc. As such, it is done very mechanically and hurriedly, with a very trite script and a "happily ever after" ending. Not a great end for a series that started with such a lot of promise and potential!