Post by Tulgey WoodHello, everyone!
up on my NSP's servers, but disappointed to see it's rather slow at the
mo. Maybe it just needs time to propagate. Anyway....
Perhaps a good discussion will get it underway. :)
Post by Tulgey WoodI gotta say, when I heard Showtime would be airing a "female version" of
QAF (because "female version of QAF" is exactly what I did hear), I
wasn't overly optimistic.
I was. <G> I love QAF. :)
I heard the same thing early on (several months before it started) but
by the time it drew near to airing people associated with the show
were making a point of saying it was _not_ a female QAF. [Don't know
if you saw the short "The L-Word Defined" wherein Elene, Rose, Guin
and the cast talked about what it was and what it wasn't, but Erin
(who plays Dana) said, "This is _not_ a female QAF."] Maybe they used
the success of QAF to build a buzz, then backed away as they realized
people would have different expectations than what they were going to
get.
Post by Tulgey WoodBut TLW has exceeded my expectations--I'm
actually eager to see each new ep, and probably because the writing and
acting are absolutely first class, I get something fresh from multiple
viewings.
I was a little disappointed in the pilot (and some writing that has
followed) so we kinda had the opposite expectations going in and then
the opposite initial impressions (not 180 degree opposite, just
somewhat). But I certainly look forward to it eagerly too! :) And I
agree the acting is first class, particularly by the core characters.
And last week's ep was just fantastic. I could not be happier to have
a show about lesbians that has beautiful women and great characters.
And the characters already feel real and that's high praise.
Post by Tulgey WoodAnd in spite of their trendy, Hollywood-y setting, I really
like these characters.
Hey! What's wrong with LA! :)
Post by Tulgey WoodMind you, I sorta wish the Jenny character had
been written less of a puling manipulative egocentric infant and more
like...ha! Mary Ann Singleton (in a lesbian sort of way, of course). ;-)
But now Jenny's had double comeuppance--Tim literally dumps her, and she
discovers she's not the center of Marina's universe, either--she may
become tolerable. We'll see.
I absolutely love Mia Kirshner's job at playing this character. She
amazes me every week. And I have a lot more sympathy for Jenny, but
she is a character people tend to love or hate.
Post by Tulgey WoodNow that I've trashed Jenny, I should say my favorite (of the moment) is
Dana--mostly because she has a Julie Foudy quality, but also because
she's as guileless as Jenny is manipulative.
Wow. You see Jenny as manipulative? I don't see her as together enough
to be anything but breathing. She is just so lost in her crisis. She
can't see beyond the present moment. She can't even fathom what she's
doing to the people around her. I think she was genuinely in love with
both Tim and Marina and couldn't reconcile that, and made the worst
choices in handling it. She's a mess but I don't think she's purposely
manipulative.
So you like Dana! She *is* funny. I love that they made her "uncool"
in a goofy way. It's a nice juxtaposition from the other characters.
Loved that scene where she's in the locker room and Lara (the chef)
comes in to change her bloody frock and Dana says, "You always look
nice. When I see you. I mean, you never look dirty. ... when I see
you..." and she turns around towards camera [away from Lara] and she's
dying. Was *really* cute.
I like all the characters, with the exception of Marina. I don't find
Karina does such a great job of grasping Marina in that I don't *feel*
this character and her acting is awkward to my eye and pulls me out of
the scene most often. Though last week was a little better.
But Alice just cracks me up. Her ability to deliver those one-liners
is without parallel. She is just so damn funny. She's the kind of
person you really want as a friend. She makes everything a little more
fun. She's very REAL.
And Shane's "coolness" and that gallant quality is really funny too.
The way she asked Tina how she was, then caught the dagger eyes from
Alice and Dana... the way she jumped in to say her uncle (or whoever)
got carried off in a straight jacket and when Alice facetiously
thanked her, she nodded like she really thought she did good... Yet
she manages to "be off in her own little world of cool" while
remaining in touch and not looking like a space cadet. In fact at
times she's the only one with any sense... like when they all burst in
on Bette and Tina after their insemenation love-making, and Shane
apologized and asked if they wanted to be alone. Meanwhile the others
were playing with the sperm-squirter and making themselves at home.
Ya gotta love Shane. And I hope they give her new hair next season.
Then Bette and Tina. Gawd. Jennifer Beals is just _so_ yummy and
Laurel (Tina) is a perfect match. I love them together. Did they look
hot dancing on the boat (at Alice's bidding) or what?! (Peggy Peabody
was a gas too!)
I truly don't have a favorite. I like different things about each of
them and am totally happy no matter who's on the screen...
Post by Tulgey WoodThere's lots to comment on, but I want to hear what everyone thinks.
Favorite character? Least favorite? Best storyline? Worst? Isn't the
dialog great? No? What a great cast, eh? Isn't Pam Grier brilliant?
Oh yeah, and will Dana get Lara back? <sob>
I happen to know the answer to that b/c I read spoilers for the rest
of the season that revealed everything -- even the cliff hanger. But I
ain't sayin.
Dana and Lara *were* great. Lara's a cutie. And yeah it's a brilliant
cast that really clicks together. I felt really sorry for Kit when her
son came and left thinking she was having a drink... and here she was
so excited drinking her faux martini. That was really a good scene.
If you haven't yet, you should go to showtime's website and click on
L-Word then scroll down about halfway and read the chat transcripts
from the cast members who've chatted with fans after each show.
They're really worth reading.
Great to see you, Tulgey!
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