DVD
NR (Not Rated)
The L Word - The Complete 1st Season
Showtime Entertainment (2005)
In Collection
#553

My Rating:
10

Seen It:
Yes
(2004 Bay Shore)

Owner:
Ben
Drama, Erotica
USA  /  English

Jennifer Beals Bette Porter
Laurel Holloman Tina Kennard
Erin Daniels Dana Fairbanks
Mia Kirshner Jenny
Pam Grier Kit Porter
Katherine Moennig Shane
Leisha Hailey Alice Pieszecki

Four years after Showtime made gay men the focus of its original series Queer as Folk, it was time for a little turnabout with The L Word (bad title, great show). Centering around a tight-knit group of lesbians in Los Angeles, this drama was far removed from its working-class male counterpart in both style and content. While the men of QAF enjoyed a fabulous if melodramatic life on the middle-class streets of Pittsburgh, the women of The L Word lived it up in sunny California, with gorgeous houses, glamorous careers, and sexy wardrobes. Ironically, though, The L Word adhered more to the everyday drama of ensemble shows like thirtysomething than the soap opera antics of QAF, and the results were surprisingly heartfelt and effective, appropriately stylish but never over the top. There was plenty of room for titillation, but creator Ilene Chaiken fashioned from the start a show centered on characters and not just sex, aiming for the heart rather than... well, other places.

The L Word focused primarily on committed couple Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman), a former power-career duo who've decided to have a baby; however, artificial insemination and the changing dynamics of their relationship throw their previously happy existence off-kilter. Within their orbit are spunky journalist Alice (Leisha Hailey), sultry hairdresser Shane (Katherine Moenning), closeted pro tennis player Dana (Erin Daniels), and espresso bar owner Marina (Karina Lombard) who, in the show's most polarizing storyline, bedded the seemingly straight Jenny (Mia Kirschner) and shook up her heterosexual world. Jenny's am-I-straight-or-not? kvetching frustrated both her fiancé (Eric Mabius) and many viewers, who were alternately irritated and intrigued by her inability to decide one way or the other. But Jenny's weakness was part of The L Word's strength: in exploring many sides of many issues, both domestic and political, it never came up with an easy answer for any of them, making the show all that more fascinating--and compulsively watchable. --Mark Englehart

Edition Details
Edition TV Series
Barcode 758445205220
Region Region 1
Release Date 11/9/2004
Packaging Box Set
Screen Ratio 1.33 (4:3)
No. of Disks/Tapes 5
Personal Details
Purchase Date 2004
Store Best Buy
Condition Excellent
Links Amazon US