The L Word Complete Final Season DVD Released
Showtime Series About Lesbians Starring Jennifer Beals Off the Air
Oct 20, 2009
Season six of the L Word provoked much controversy among the faithful fans, just as the show did throughout its' six year run on Showtime. Now the show's creator Ilene Chaiken reportedly has the green light for a reality show based on LA lesbians, in a series similar to the popular Real Lives franchise.
The L Word was a drama specifically about lesbians and their lives in Los Angeles. Ground breaking in many ways, the show was at times lauded and just as often maligned by the gay community.
L Word Criticisms
- The show had a complete lack of realism;
- It used too many gay-for-pay actors;
- Too many issues were tackled with little in-depth examination;
- The series ending left too much ambiguity.
Andrea Searby wrote in the January/February 2007 Curve article "It's the Eve of Season Four, and The L Word has a lot to prove," suggesting the failures of the show are colossal. "Dana's illness and improbably hasty death did little for the agenda to cure breast cancer, and Moira/Max is an insult to the transgender community, to put it most mildly," said Searby.
L Word Upside
- It was a whole show about lesbians and that had not been done before;
- The writers did not shy away from sensitive issues such as cheating, don't-ask-don't-tell, racial issues, same-sex adoption, and transitioning;
- The show featured the first Female to Male (FTM) transgender person on television
Searby also stated that the show "successfully negotiated issues of race, gender and sexuality in a critical and tactful way that can be widely appreciated."
Who's Who on the L Word?
The L Word featured a wide array of well known actors including Jennifer Beals, playing the central character, Bette Porter. A close knit group of friends made up the core of the show including Leisha Hailey, Kate Moening, Laurel Holloman, and Pam Grier. Of the central group, both Moening and Hailey are real life lesbians. Moening played an androgynous character named Shane, the resident lothario of the show, stoked the fires of many fans.
One of the great character actors on television, currently appearing in the new hit show Glee, Jane Lynch played a recurring semi-comedic role as an attorney. Marlee Matlin, Oscar winning actress, played Jodi Lerner, the love interest of the great Bette Porter. Her character was not that popular as she came between Bette and the love of her life, who she cheated on in Season 1, Tina (played by Holloman.)
Cybill Shepherd played a character, Phyllis Kroll, who came out with aplomb later in life. Shepherd's daughter on the show, Molly, had difficulty processing her mother's change of orientation. Ironically, Clementine Ford (Molly) is Shepherd's real-life daughter and she is an out lesbian.
Alexandra Hedison, a pre-Portia De Rossi girlfriend of Ellen Degeneres', played a woman struggling with her sexuality and had a recurring role through the series.
L Word Lives On Online
The L Word spawned a number of online websites that continue to thrive today, including a large fan fiction site, where writers create story lines about their favourite characters. The lack of lesbian content on television created a niche for the L Word and it captured and held the attention of the gay community for six years.
The possibility of the reality series comes at a time when lesbian and gay representation on cable has gone down according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). At the same time GLAAD reports network representation of gay and lesbians has increased. The L Word paved the way for advancement of lesbian representation on television just as Queer As Folk did before it.
The release of the Season six DVD is set for October 20, 2009. It will grace the shelves of many lesbians who long for the days when lesbians kissing and canoodling on television was something to look forward to each and every week for six glorious seasons. The L Word was never meant to be reality television - it was a drama series. The Real L Word will perhaps have more realistic representations of a very diverse community that lesbians will relate to.
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