Missed an episode of Showtime’s over-the-top and
completely addictive lesbian soap? These experts haven’t. To prepare you for The L Word’s sixth and final season premiere on Sunday 18, some of the Web’s most
vocal L Word bloggers recap the best—and most devastating—story lines
from the past five years, with a few season-six spoilers thrown in for good
measure. Bonus: To keep things from getting too snarky, some of the cast
members weigh in on their most memorable moments. Single tear.
The bloggers:
R: Riese (thelwordonline.com and theroadbeststraddled.blogspot.com)
DS: Dorothy Snarker (AfterEllen.com and dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com)
CT: Christine Treibel (gomag.com)
Season 1
Summary
Hot girls take their clothes off! Welcome to
this totally realistic portrayal of (fantasies about) lesbian life.
High point
DS: When the girls shared their coming-out stories during
the Dinah Shore trip, it felt so real that, admit it, you sang along with them
to “Closer to Fine.”
Low point
CT: Jenny watches manatees in order to find inspiration to
write, so we have to watch them, too.
Season 2
Summary
There’s a new theme song by Betty, and it will stay in your head for the next
four years.
High point
DS: And on Feb 20, 2005, the TV gods gave us Carmen de la
Pica Morales. And it was good.
Low point
CT: Alice and Dana prove that your girlfriend will always
cheat on you with her best friend.
Season 3
Summary
Trannie in, tennis star out.
High point
CT: Max begins transitioning, providing audiences with a
portrayal of queerness that does not include lipstick or True Religion jeans.
Low point
R: You know, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say I was
not a fan of the untimely death of Dana Fairbanks.
Season 4
Summary
Episodes magically morph into 45-minute infomercials for a networking website.
High point
DS: The epically hilarious
Shane-Alice-Bette-Phyllis-Helena-Papi-Tasha-Jodi-Jenny-Kit-veterinarian-Stacy
conference call that reminded us why we loved this show in the first place.
Low point
R: Dana just died? Anyone depressed or anything? Anyone
wanna mention it? Okey-doke.
Season 5
Summary
Heads explode when the show becomes a movie-within-a-show—directed by Jenny.
High point
CT: The exploitation and misrepresentation of stereotypes of
Chicana sexuality ends with the disappearance of Papi.
Low point
DS: Since when has Alice been so closed-minded? Where’d the
old totally accepting, I’d-even-date-a-lesbian-man-or-a-vampire Alice go?
The Forecast: Season
6
Old-timers return, absences are explained, new faces
appear (hello, Elizabeth Berkley and Lucy Lawless!), an icky love affair is
born, and Jenny kicks the bucket.
DS: Since Showtime has already revealed that Jenny dies in
the first two minutes of the new season, the only question now is whodunit.
Which is, of course, why we all tuned in to The L Word in the first
place—the crime solving.
R: If Bettina breaks up, 65 percent of the show’s core
audience will kill themselves, so I’m sure they’ll end up together. Shane’ll be
hot per always. Probs the last episode will be a musical ending in nuclear war.
CT: Although everyone has their own theory about who killed
Jenny, the important thing is that she is finally gone.
The L word premiers Sun 18 at Pacha at 8pm and on Showtime at 9pm