March 2008
The L Word—From Classy to Campy
To “The L Word” fans and viewers out there; am I the only one who has been consistently disappointed and annoyed by the downward spiral of this once fantastic show with every passing season? It doesn’t seem that long ago that the characters were actually once semi-realistic, believable, or even approachable figments of every lesbians imagination out there. But now upon the conclusion of the series’ fifth season they just seem campy, glitzed out Hollywood glamazons with no real dialogue to utter or plots to decently act out.
I do not blame the actors of course they’re just doing their job, and some of them are still doing a fine job at it (i.e., Jennifer Beals as Bette). However, I do blame the writers. What was wrong with the formula from Season One? Why did they see a need to change it and crank out the crap they do now from Seasons 3-5? I mean, come on, I knew it was going downhill when they killed off Dana (which of course the breast cancer scenario worked for an all female cast show; but having her die alone in a hospital bed with none of her friends around was just cruel, inhumane and inconsistent for a show of that caliber). Inconsistent is a word I now use a lot to describe the pitfalls of this once beloved show. And I never imagined after that horrible twist it could get much worse; but I guess two seasons later my fears came true.
Granted, the writers and creators of the show cant give us everything we want or desire from a lesbian show; but lately it just seems like they don’t care about anything, least of all maintaining the class act that they once set the standard for themselves. Being the only show about lesbians written both for and by lesbians they owe us a responsibility to stay true to our stories while simultaneously remaining a drama based “soap opera.” Another word I now use interchangeably when describing this show is lazy. Having to watch the whole “movie within the show” scenario has just been dreadfully exhausting and annoying. I love the fact the Jenny sold her book, adapted it into a screenplay, and was attempting to direct it, etc. However, I could have done without long drawn out scenes within scenes of reenactments from Lez Girls. Being a fan of the show I already know what happened to inspire Jenny’s book, I don’t need to have my time wasted watching it over again with different actors—this is just indolent and has no purpose; especially since these are the last episodes of the series entirely and the writers are wasting it recycling their old material! I mean come on is there no fresh material out there? That’s rhetoric of course I’m a lesbian living with real dyke drama every day, I know it exists and it could make great TV if only someone were willing and able to do their job and put it in a script worth producing.
When the credits rolled after the finale last night and I was informed there would only be 8 more episodes ever I thought to myself, wow I’ll really miss these characters and their show but, wait I already do! I miss what once was, the women I grew to love and feel for from Season One and not the ones they’ve sadly become in Season Six. I could actually care less now whether the show comes back or not. After all, now that Bette and Tina are back together I actually fear what their future holds in the next season; lets see how bad the writers can screw up their destined love yet again!
