The L Word - Seasons 1-5
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/28/2008
Review by Daniel A. Brown from Leyden, MA:
"The L Word": Season 5". As the title song should go; "Girls in tight dresses whose lives are such messes. Fussing and fighting and always back-biting".
I hope "The L Word" isn't the last word about real life in the gay and lesbian community which would be an insult to the down-to-earth lesbian couples I know who have been together over a decade or more.. What's problematic about the lesbos in this series is not just that they're mostly, young, white, beautiful and anorexically thin, but that emotionally, they're all about three-years old. Needy, whining and self-absorbed, there are times you want to spank them and not in a kinky way. What's most damning about the women in this series is that their level of commitment and sense of personal responsibility is about zero. When presented with an adult issue in a relationship, their response is to jump ship and find the next body. Not exactly the kind of modeling young lesbian women need, seeing that this is one of the pious raisons-d'etre for the show. In fact, one of the oddities of this series is the many masculine reactions that so many of these lesbians indulge in. Bullying, posturing, threatening, manipulating and jumping from screw to screw; Makes you wonder who is writing the scripts.
That being said, "The L Word" is enjoyable if taken in small doses if only for the fine acting and characterizations, annoying as some of them are. Mia Kirschner, in particular, deserves acting kudos for creating in Jenny Schecter, a character so odiously narcissistic and predatory that you root for her to get killed off. And then there's Shane, my favorite, who underneath her serial screwing has an empathetic heart that is endearing. No wonder half of Los Angeles wants to nail her. The episode where she tries celibacy is hilarious but she remains the one person you would want at your side when you were going through a rough stretch
Which everyone in "The L Word" is. No one ever seems to be having any fun, least of all, Ms. Un-Fun herself, otherwise known as Bette. Her dreariness is so pronounced that you wish she chugged that tray of happy brownies that stars in one sequence. God help her daughter who should already be lining up for therapy.
This season's plots revolve around Bette and Tina reuniting (at Jody's expense), Jenny's creepy directorship of "Les Girls", Helena's comical stint in jail, a girl-fight between The Planet and a new rival, She-Bar and, best of all, the Army hearing about Tasha's "homosexual conduct". The fact that the military would sacrifice an officer as courageous and as dedicated as her makes you wonder if the "Global War on Terror" is such a life and death matter after all. As portrayed, Tasha is one of the few adults in the L word orbit and I hope she remains a permanent fixture.
I hope "The L Word" isn't the last word about real life in the gay and lesbian community which would be an insult to the down-to-earth lesbian couples I know who have been together over a decade or more.. What's problematic about the lesbos in this series is not just that they're mostly, young, white, beautiful and anorexically thin, but that emotionally, they're all about three-years old. Needy, whining and self-absorbed, there are times you want to spank them and not in a kinky way. What's most damning about the women in this series is that their level of commitment and sense of personal responsibility is about zero. When presented with an adult issue in a relationship, their response is to jump ship and find the next body. Not exactly the kind of modeling young lesbian women need, seeing that this is one of the pious raisons-d'etre for the show. In fact, one of the oddities of this series is the many masculine reactions that so many of these lesbians indulge in. Bullying, posturing, threatening, manipulating and jumping from screw to screw; Makes you wonder who is writing the scripts.
That being said, "The L Word" is enjoyable if taken in small doses if only for the fine acting and characterizations, annoying as some of them are. Mia Kirschner, in particular, deserves acting kudos for creating in Jenny Schecter, a character so odiously narcissistic and predatory that you root for her to get killed off. And then there's Shane, my favorite, who underneath her serial screwing has an empathetic heart that is endearing. No wonder half of Los Angeles wants to nail her. The episode where she tries celibacy is hilarious but she remains the one person you would want at your side when you were going through a rough stretch
Which everyone in "The L Word" is. No one ever seems to be having any fun, least of all, Ms. Un-Fun herself, otherwise known as Bette. Her dreariness is so pronounced that you wish she chugged that tray of happy brownies that stars in one sequence. God help her daughter who should already be lining up for therapy.
This season's plots revolve around Bette and Tina reuniting (at Jody's expense), Jenny's creepy directorship of "Les Girls", Helena's comical stint in jail, a girl-fight between The Planet and a new rival, She-Bar and, best of all, the Army hearing about Tasha's "homosexual conduct". The fact that the military would sacrifice an officer as courageous and as dedicated as her makes you wonder if the "Global War on Terror" is such a life and death matter after all. As portrayed, Tasha is one of the few adults in the L word orbit and I hope she remains a permanent fixture.
Review by L. Paton from London, ON CAN:
It's great to have all of the seasons together. I end up watching way too much L Word, but it's worth it! I'm super happy that I have all of the episodes to watch whenever I feel like watching them.
Review by New England Yankee from Northern New England:
This is a terrific temptation, especially if you don't already own any of the series DVDs. After all, how tempting is it to have 5 seasons worth of episodes instantly available! So much better than buying individual episodes and cheaper than buying each year separately. It is an incredibly long stretch between seasons, and a 5-year set provides a lot of viewing!
The downside, and the reason for 4 stars, is that at this point, it would be better to buy the series in Blu-Ray, as the HD format wars are over, and with the final season coming, it seems sort of weird to buy such a "so close but yet so far" set. Still, the Blu-Ray point is stronger. I think I would regret not having an HD version in a year or two. Come on, Eileen - where's the Blu-Ray version!?
The downside, and the reason for 4 stars, is that at this point, it would be better to buy the series in Blu-Ray, as the HD format wars are over, and with the final season coming, it seems sort of weird to buy such a "so close but yet so far" set. Still, the Blu-Ray point is stronger. I think I would regret not having an HD version in a year or two. Come on, Eileen - where's the Blu-Ray version!?
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