Editorial by Seahurst

Ah...a new season of The L Word. I have to admit, that because there was so much time in between seasons (8 months), it felt very surreal to be sitting down to watch a new episode of this show. During that eight months, I got so use to reading and writing about the characters here on this site in fan fic, that to be watching something new on the screen...I don’t know, it almost seemed out of place.

I did however sit down to watch this show, feeling very much The L Word veteran. After all, I had previously watched all the episodes from the first two seasons, and was quite aware of the shows many idiosyncracies in the editing, writing, etc. So I felt totally prepared for any head scratching plot twists, and confusing time lines. And, even though they were certainly a part of this first episode, aside from one big exception, I was actually...uh...okay with this initial serving of season three.

There were definitely positives in this episode. The entire Helena and Alice interaction was hilarious. I was so happy to see Helena in a different light, even though we may never know how she became this kinder, gentler Helena Peabody. She was a character, who last season I just couldn’t warm up to, no matter how much Tina did. She attacked Bette at every opportunity, and in my book...well, that is paramount to treason. However, she proved last night that her comedic timing is impeccable, and I thought that she shared an onscreen chemistry with Alice, that if built upon whether as lovers, or just friends, could rival that of Bette and Tina. They really played off of each other so well. I am still laughing over the look of confused horror on Helena’s face when she realized that Alice may be the new love interest her tarot card reader spoke of. Oh my God, that was funny!

Jenny...always a character that is too deep for me. However, you can see the emotional growth that has taken place for her over the last six months, and I look forward to watching her rejoin her friends in LA, and develop her relationship with Moria. It was wonderful to see Margot Kidder back on the screen again as Jenny’s mother.

Ah Moria...it is nice to see a butch woman on this show. And, please don’t tell me we already had a butch character with Shane, because she is not. Now, she may be considered butch in West Hollywood, and most certainly compared to the other ladies on the show she is, but believe me, compared to the butch women I know, Shane looks like a very pretty, very hip baby dyke. Moria on the other hand, so far looks to be Butch with a capital B. And what sealed it for me, was her soft voice, that sounds a little higher than you would expect. But, that is what makes her believable as a butch in my book. Coming out in the late 1970's, I met a lot of butch women/bull dykes. And, one of the things that I think a lot of them had in common, was that they were like big teddy bears. They looked all gruff and tough, but they spoke softly, and were as sweet as they could be. Of course, that is just my experience.

Dana and Lara...well, they didn’t really have a whole lot to work with in this first episode, so it is hard to comment. However, I was laughing out loud when Alice is chasing Dana in their cars, and they are screaming at each other on their cell phones. Alice puts Dana on hold to take another call, during which time, as they are careening through the streets of LA, running red lights and stop signs, Dana patiently waits for Alice to come back on the line. That was laugh out loud funny.

Kit saying she had menopause like it was a germ she caught from a toilet seat or something, really bothered me. This is a smart, independent woman, who sounded like she had a disease that is both rare and terminal. I did however like the scenes at The Planet. It is always good when the group is together like that...well, unless it is during Melvin Porter’s memorial service, then it just makes no sense at all.

Bette and Tina...I have this vision of IC having two voodoo dolls that look just like Bette and Tina, and she is standing out on the front porch of her home in Vancouver. I can see her throwing them down, and stomping the stuffing out of them...then, when they are almost flat and have her shoe prints all over their bodies, she picks them up and whacks both of them up against the porch columns. And, the whole time she is mutilating these two dolls, I can hear her screaming, “You want a happy long term couple...I’ll show you what a perfect couple looks like!!” Whack...whack...whack

I mean really...what was season two for? The Bette and Tina I saw last night...the way they acted around each other, were the Bette and Tina from season one. It’s like they went through a time warp and all of a sudden we have gone back to 2004. Only this time Tina never had the miscarriage, Bette didn’t cheat, and they had their child, only it was a girl instead of a boy. See, no reason for season two at all as far as these two are concerned!

The whole scene in their baby music class was a major deja vu for me. This was just like their group therapy session, with Bette misbehaving and Tina apologizing to Oscar...same scene, different man...Is it just me, or does Tina act subservient around most men she talks to?

Attachment parenting. Okay, I can kind of get that. After all they do live in West Hollywood where a lot of new practices are experimented with on a trial basis before being released to the rest of the country (Okay, that was a joke). However, Bette and Tina are both strong, independent women, who believe in AUTONOMY, so practicing this particular brand of child rearing, makes absolutely no sense to me...
Kate Clinton as a sex therapist. This scene was good, but wow...you had one of the funniest, most savvy women on the planet in this scene...I just thought it could have been so much more. Maybe we will get lucky and Bette and Tina will save up their pennies, so they can afford to go on another shopping trip in Kate’s toy closet!

I could continue with Bette and Tina, but suffice it to say, that it is painfully obvious that Ilene just doesn’t like these two women together, which is her prerogative. But geez Ilene, when you are trying to produce a show that will keep the viewers watching, I would think that it would make good business sense to write a storyline that would keep your core audience happy. And, your core audience has overwhelmingly said over and over again, that they want these two favorites to stay together. In my opinion, it is an absolute waste of a rare onscreen chemistry to split these two up. Remember how you keep telling us that you are telling OUR stories. Well, the vast majority of our stories include happy long term relationships. You can write about them together and still keep it dramatic and interesting...I know you can...I believe in you, afer all, you created these characters in the first place!

There you have it...some good, some bad. Either way, because it is the first of its kind, and I don’t want it to be the last, I will continue to support Showtime, and continue to support The L Word.

If gay people make up ten percent of the population, we should be represented in ten percent of all TV shows. We have one. Can someone tell me what percentage that is? However, if we can’t even support this one show, to me that sends the message that we as a community are unwilling to put our money where our mouths are, and why bother producing these kinds of shows, if we are not all that interested in supporting them?

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