"The L Word" (2004) TV series 2004-????

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Creators:

Michele Abbott
Ilene Chaiken
Kathy Greenberg

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

18 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

L hath no fury...

Plot:

Follows the lives and loves of a small, close-knit group of lesbians living in Los Angeles as well as the friends and family members that either support or loath them.

Plot Keywords:

Los Angeles California | Woman With Mustache | Troubled Marriage | Beautiful Woman | Lesbian Culture

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 4 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Beals	...	Bette Porter (62 episodes, 2004-2008)
Leisha Hailey	...	Alice Pieszecki / ... (62 episodes, 2004-2008)
Laurel Holloman	...	Tina Kennard (62 episodes, 2004-2008)
Mia Kirshner	...	Jenny Schecter (62 episodes, 2004-2008)
Katherine Moennig	...	Shane McCutcheon (62 episodes, 2004-2008)
Pam Grier	...	Kit Porter (62 episodes, 2004-2008)
Rachel Shelley	...	Helena Peabody / ... (48 episodes, 2005-2008)
Erin Daniels	...	Dana Fairbanks (39 episodes, 2004-2007)
Daniela Sea	...	Max Sweeney / ... (36 episodes, 2006-2008)
Sarah Shahi	...	Carmen de la Pica Morales (25 episodes, 2005-2006)

Also Known As:

Earthlings (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) (2006) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (DVD rating) | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Brazil:18 | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | Hungary:16 | UK:15 | USA:TV-MA | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Anonymous Content

Trivia:

This show was renewed for a second season one day after the pilot episode aired and it was renewed for a third season before the second season even began airing.

Quotes:

Kit Porter: Let me talk to Tina.
Bette: What would you say?
Kit Porter: That my sister is a pootie chasin' dog, who deserves to be tied down and whupped upside the head, but it doesn't change the fact that she loves you more than she loves her own life. And that you should finish punishing her and get back to figuring on how to live with one another for the next 50 years or more.
Bette: You could give it a try.
[Goes to take a bite of food, and stops, looking as if she's about to cry]
Kit Porter: Now don't you go and pull a Marina on me now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South of Nowhere: Girls Guide to Dating (#1.5)" (2005)

i'm a straight man who watches it for the right reason

i checked out the show, to be honest, for the reason you might expect. and for that purpose i was pretty disappointed. but i'm not entirely crass and i continued watching. now i'm a cinephile who doesn't make a lot of time for TV shows, but this was a truly terrific achievement.

this is a top shelf, highbrow, a-class, quality show for intelligent people almost exclusively. the characters are well-developed, and backed by nuanced performances. the dialogue rings true, never TV-like at all. and the story arcs are present without that pesky soap-opera feeling.

on top of that, the shot selection and cinematography are freewheeling and experimental(sometimes to a fault-as in the rotating camera in the Chinese restaurant-but no matter). the show is more than worth an hour out of my week.

that damn theme song however is the worst. so ham-handed and silly, ugh. it practically undoes all the subtlety of the show when it wails "this is the way that we live!!" not to mention that awful list of verbs in the middle. and such a long song too! that and the sometimes equally obtuse selection of music for the soundtrack is the worst bit.