lez girls

coming to a 6 year end tonight is ilene chaiken's ground-breaking lesbian series, the l word. i've talked a lot about how annoying this show is - but when you break it down, it's just a soap opera with chicks. hot chicks. when the l word first appeared it got a lot of flack for all the women on the show being "too hot" and not "lesbian" enough. it's true that only two of the women are actual lesbians (leisha "alice" hailey and daniela "moira/max" sea) and that the "straight" women are hot, hot, hot. [i've had jennifer beals in my minds eye for 6 years - yum!] perhaps "too hot" to be gay. the writing lacked and the acting sometimes left a lot to be desired (good acting cannot overcome bad writing). ilene pissed me off when she killed off dana and broke my heart when carmen was written out. [can anyone forget carmen's sexy dance for shane in the dining room?]ilene's show, however, has broken down many stereotypes and boundaries for lesbians on television. if i had a show like the l word when i was coming of sexual age perhaps it wouldn't have been so hard for me to be honest and feel good about who i was. the only gay person i saw on tv was billy crystal in soap and he was so flamboyant it seemed a mockery. ellen degeneres came along 20 years later and changed every one's perception about homosexuality and probably made it possible for a show like the l word and it's predessor queer as folk.
all of the actors really took this show very seriously and boldly embraced their characters. they had to because in the hands of worse actors this show never would have lasted more than a season. j. beals and laurel holloman (bette & tina) have some of the best chemistry between two virtual strangers i have ever seen. l. hailey (alice), is close to comic genius i've seen in a while. her timing is spot on and i hope she gets to do something else fun soon. [it's rumored that alice will be getting her own spin-off type show, but i have no actual proof or info. so as the real estalker says, don't go spreading it around like it's gospel!] katherine "i swear i'm not really gay" moennig is shane. i'll never be able to look at her in another role with out thinking of shane. mia kirshner as jenny was just brilliant. she took that character from meek victim to fun loving friend to crazy film director to shattered woman. great. thank you mia! i've already spoken of rachel shelley and helena peabody's odd transformation. who am i forgetting? oh, kit! giiiiiirrrrrl! bad ass pam grier was left short of a fully developed character. i think it was season 4 or 5 when her lines consisted of "giiiiirrrrrl" "baby girl" "baby sis" "my boo" and others. the many great guest spots like ossie davis and gloria steinem to snoop dog and sleater-kinney. great extended guest spots from marlee matlin and cybill shephard.
i'm worried about how this is going to end because there is only the one episode left and nothing is getting resolved! here's how the bear thinks this will end (especially if chaiken was feeling really evil):
who killed jenny? jenny killed jenny. the last act of defiance. her swan song. but wait! we're back in tim's converted garage and jenny is sitting in front of her laptop. this is lez girls, jenny's novel about the escapades of tim and jenny's glamorous lesbian neighbors she eyes through the fence, bette and tina and their circle of los angeles lesbians. the book ends with jenny (the writer) killing off the evil jenny (the "character") because it's the only way it could end. the show began with jenny arriving in los angeles and it will end with her leaving. tim and jenny are married and live happily ever after. i know this isn't the most popular of endings but i will laugh my ass off if she pulls a dallas on us.
so, in conclusion, thanks ilene chaiken for giving us 6 maddening years of a lesbian soap opera - who knows when we'll see another. these women will forever be in my lexicon. don't forget to watch tonight or find it online. i can't tell you where but if you look hard enough you'll find it. if you've never watched, go. go now and rent seasons 1-5. by the time you're done season 6 will be available!