Wednesday, January 10, 2007

are you an athlete?


Last Sunday when we headed out to a premiere party for The L Word, we were handed a copy of episode 2 as soon as we entered the room. Since we cut the connection to our digital cable last year I accepted the DVD. After viewing episode 402, it's all we are going to get of the ladies until it comes out on rental. We watched it on Monday night and that'll probably be it until the finale- when we go to another bar to watch. I actually can't stand watching the show with other people around; I rarely laugh at what they find amusing, tap my feet to what they feel is musical, gasp at the words they find horrifying or clap at a scene they seem to think deserves attention. I also can't get myself to enter anyone else's private living room for a viewing party... the smells, the closeness of people, the strangeness- it's all just too much for me. Plus it freaks me out a little to watch The L Word up close and personal with other people- it's weird. I doesn't really matter because unlike zoe, I am willing to check out any and all previews, clips, articles, and postings on what has happened on each episode and it feels like I've watched it. I don't really care if i hear what's going on before I see it. All I really want to do is see it anyway, so when the DVD comes out on rental I'm perfectly happy.

We don't really watch tons of TV anymore, thankfully we have too many other things going on so we just couldn't justify spending the money on Showtime just to watch a bunch of fake lesbians have sex. Just didn't need it that much. We may have changed our mind and kept the Showtime if the writers didn't bring homely babies, cancer, totally unrealistic situations, 'boyfriends' , "Betty" and death into the mix, but they did. Let me stick with unrealistic situations for a minute. Without giving anything away, episode 402 has quite a few and I'm getting tired of it. People in real life don't have sex like that, as often as that and as simple as that. Do they? And come on now people, you all can't tell me that if after seeing this episode you saw Shane walking down the street you would actually look twice at her because of the attraction thing. Would you? In my opinion Shane has lost it. Period. Whatever she had in season 1 and 2 is gone- bye, bye Shane. (sorry) One more thing: who the hell wears shorts to a teaching assistant interview. No one, right? But the thing that got me started was the "are you an athlete" line. I get asked that exact question all the time - and it's not because I'm wearing sweat pants. But it never turns into that, or even eludes to it that directly... unless I'm just not seeing something, which I highly doubt.

It just sucks because for a brief moment in the history of The L Word, it all seemed so possible: the beautiful people, the cool jobs, the nice little writing hut, the family neighborhood, the lesbian owned coffee shop, (by day, bar by night- my dream) hot sex, excellent background music, good hair cuts, etc. Then something went terribly wrong. Instead of relying on quality, they decided to go with quantity. Gotta appeal to the general public- and men who like to watch lesbians I guess. Go figure.

Enjoy the season, if I were to take a guess I would think it will rank higher than season 3. Without Carmen I have no idea how but what the hell do I know.

8 comments:

Zoe said...

I couldn't watch The L Word with a bunch of people in a bar, well or anywhere else other than my own home for that matter. I also couldn't wait for it to come out on DVD to watch it. I need my fix, and I need it now.

Yeah, the show may not be what it used to be, but it's all I got as far as lesbian tv shows go. It's like clinging to a bad relationship because you remember what it used to be and you hope against hope that it will be that way again.

Did I miss something, the are you an athlete comment? Was that in the premiere, or something to look forward to this Sunday night?

Trinity2 said...

I'm with you, r.d. - I like to watch things in the comfort of my own home. It's like a date night to myself.
This L word season - I have a feeling there's going to be good and bad and those of us who choose to pay for Showtime (like myself)just have to roll with it - bad haircuts and all!

r.d. said...

It's coming up zoe- on Sunday. Not only is it all we got as far as lesbian tv shows but it's also all we got period- as far as anything stylish, popular, funny and continuous. Besides our own woman that is...

I hear you t2, I think it'll be better than last year but not without some negatives thrown in just to piss us off.

afuntanilla said...

r.d. --i don't have cable so i don't watch the show. about a year ago, i was at my friends place in SF and saw about 15 minutes of it and was like, "what is the big deal?"

i have zero desire to watch.

Kelly said...

I can understand the economic realities of keeping this show on the air and how that impacts the creative decision-making (i.e., making the show appeal to straight men as well as lesbians). I don't have a problem with that. This isn't independent filmmaking or PBS. Yes, it's cable, but it's still mainstream media. You need to have as wide an audience as possible.

That being said, the writers on T.V. don't have the luxury of being artsy for art's sake. They have to be creative within the box of mainstream media. I've always felt that it's easy to be creative when there are no restrictions. To write snappy dialogue and believable characters with constraints is a real art. So, when I see good T.V. like "The Wire", early seasons of "Gilmore Girls", the late, great "Arrested Development" and "Weeds", among others, I have so much respect and admiration for the writers.

"The L Word" will never satisfy all of us, but it sure could be better within the limitations under which the writers and actors are working under.

jromer said...

my brother and i love the L word but after awhile it was only for bits and pieces of it...and you are right, i don't think in reality people have sex that often or that intensely all the time. i could never understand how jenny, who was broke all the time, unemployed and severly depressed managed to get her liquid eyeliner absolutely perfect each day and also roll around town in well kept sequins and little furry shrugs. when i'm depressed, you're lucky if my face is washed, my teeth are brushed, etc. i hope they get back to where they started from because i think they are doing the actresses a disservice with some of the storylines...and we really don't need any more unrealistic expectations thrust upon us anyway. oh and i read your introductions posting...what about calling C. Love your love? as in this is C. Love and she is my love. i'm not making a pun on her name. i just imagine that is what i would say...'and this is my love....'

r.d. said...

Hey afunt,
I'm sorry that you have ZERO desire to watch. It's better to actually only watch this show with the sound off instead of listening with your eyes closed...

Kel, I hear you. I'm just saying it's changed and not necessarily for the better since the beginning and that does not have to be the case.

jromer,
Your brother?... exactly.
About c.love, a friend a long time ago actually gave her that name- I didn't (even though she is)The dude was thinking about Courtney Love and started calling C. Love just that. You are right, she is my love and that's what she thinks we should say. I feel a little odd saying "my love"- I don't know why. It's just not me. We say partner and if that needs further explanation then we will be happy to go into detail.

See you around and thanks for the words-

jromer said...

oops. in defense of my brother i should say that he's one of those men who i know, you're already rolling your eyes but trust me, i was there, would fast forward during the sex scenes. he was more interested in whether or not jenny or tina would finally just go away because they both drove him crazy...he loved kit and he adored alice. he and i have had a lot of conversations about being a woman since we started watching this show...anyway, i'm rambling...