Thursday, July 05, 2012

What the L was I thinking?

Man, is this hard to say. Like ridiculously, terribly, aggressively hard to say. But, here goes. I watched the third season premiere of “The Real L Word” and did not despise it with every fiber of my body. Whew, there. I said it. Please forgive me Lesbian Jesus, I feel dirty even just thinking that.

Now, “The Real L Word” is one of those love to hate/hate to love kind of guilty pleasures lesbians tend not to talk about in polite conversation. I actually have always prided myself in only watching the first episode of the first season and leaving the remaining three episodes in my screener unwatched and untouched. You see I tend to have a violent allergic reaction to things Ilene Chaiken touches these days. Plus that kind of high-gloss, high-drama lesbian scene is was not my bag of herbal tea or anything else for that matter.

Over the two seasons it has been on I’ve watched less than a handful of episodes. I caught some of the second season because I can’t help but like the slightly dorky lesbian couple Cori and Kacy. And, yes, I know – they’re the ones keeping the old pregnant lesbians flag flying. But, darn it, if I’m not rooting for them to start their little family.

Anyway, back to what I was saying. Over the weekend in a fit of wanting to watch anything lesbian (and because I downloaded the wrong episode of “True Love,” dammit), I popped in my “The Real L Word” screener. And much to my surprise I did not violently want to hurl all of my possessions at the screen. Part of this is because the episode was less about everyone wildly chasing after hot tail, and more about relationships being formed. (Though, wow, are lesbians going to have BIG LESBIAN FEELINGS about what’s happening with Romi.) Another part is because they’re finally showing lesbians from another city besides L.A. And still another part of it was because Dara was not wrong with her five reasons to people like to watch the show.

But a really big part of it is because there’s still so little full-on, full-time lesbian content on TV and in the movies. Sure there are a few characters here and there. Of course, I love me some subtext. Still you can’t beat the real thing. And for all its ridiculous drama and superficial tendencies, the show actually does feature real lesbians being real lesbian together. We can argue a lot and loudly about whether we like the kinds of lesbian things they’re doing (and their fashion/hairstyles, because was that a shoelace Whitney was using as a headband for a while?) But gay is still gay and I like to see gay people sometimes. So sue me.

Does that mean I’ll be glued to my TV a week from now when it premieres on Showtime? Or that I’ll start watching the whole season religiously? Well, let’s not get crazy here. I still have some standards. But I might pop in from time to time to see how those nutty lesbians are doing. Sometimes you just can’t help yourself. Also, it’s kind of fun to yell and pretend to throw things at the TV when things get really, really horrible. And, don’t worry, it’s bound to happen. This is “The Real L Word” after all. Give it time.

13 comments:

  1. Carmen SanDiego7:45 AM

    it's like Cori and Kacy are in a parallel Show I think, they have nothing to do with the Whitneys and Sarahs and Romis (oh man, I think I know what the "surprise" is. Hope i'm wrong)

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  2. So many femmes!

    Amanda

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  3. Anonymous8:40 AM

    I had prided myself on not seeing a single episode of this show. Until recently. Very recently. Like last week recently. I had been craving any lesbian content and I succumbed. It wasn’t altogether horrible. I’m not a fan of reality tv; I can’t even think of the last reality show I may have watched. It’s interesting to see the kind of women you like and the ones you can’t stand. I love Cori and Kacy and wish them the best. They are so sweet. As for the Romi situation this season I’ve already read about it somewhere and I couldn’t care less. Not due to the “big secret”, she’s just one of the women I can’t stand.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:57 PM

      i agree... something about romi strikes me as annoying. oddly enough i liked her in the first season (sorta) but now not so much... sometimes i get a feeling she's trying too hard to promote her own jewelry business on the show [good for her but not interesting...]
      i am looking forward to watching whitney (of course, although i loved rachel too but sad to hear she's not in this season), and new additions amanda, lauren, and hunter valentine! the ny crew seems very chill/likable already

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  4. Anonymous9:26 AM

    Frankly: It's plain boring. And regarding visibility and stuff: I do not wish to be visualized like this. It's not made to enhance visibility o something similar, it's just milking a market segment Ilene Chaiken can't stay away from. Unfortunately. Bear with me, english is not my first language.

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  5. Anonymous10:29 AM

    "Though, wow, are lesbians going to have BIG LESBIAN FEELINGS about what’s happening with Romi."

    I can guess just by the phrasing. Oh well. Not everyone's a Kinsey 6. These things happen.

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  6. Here's the good True Love lesbian download .. http://www.feromoon.info/news-nyunsu/all-latest-news/310-true-love

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  7. Anonymous4:30 PM

    You can also watch the lesbian episode of True Love here http://www.feromoon.info/news-nyunsu/all-latest-news/310-true-love

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  8. Anonymous7:50 PM

    Cool, still not watching.

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  9. Anonymous9:25 PM

    romi completes her big fake character arc. she's about as authentic as her bubble gum machine jewelery.

    i like the show. i don't love and condone/agree whatever with everything on it, but it shakes things up a bit. it's entertainment, not a documentary.

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  10. http://youtu.be/df8Q8yLc7Zo

    This is the true love episode on youtube

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  11. Anonymous4:47 AM

    not watching

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  12. Peaches2:39 AM

    Can we lesbians not just enjoy something for what it is, without the processing? ....... There's no shame. I don't understand why so many lesbians feel the need to comment on this show (or anything Touched By The Hand of Chaiken), just so they can proudly share: "I've never watched"..... "I never will!" etc. Great. That attitude will really progress lesbian content. These people are representing themselves and their inner circle - no tv show can represent all of us, but TRLW is getting better.

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