The L Word: Season Three

Many television series hit a sophomore slump, a second season that falls short of reaching the level set by the first season. With Showtime’s series, ‘The L Word’, in season two they seemed to try too hard to show a group of lesbians with problems common to people of any sexual orientation. In season three they moved back to the original premise of problems that are unique to the gay community and how those tribulations interact with the more general human issues. In season three the L Word has a recurring theme, the fluidity of human sexuality. This provided a means to expand both the story line potentials and the cast. Instead of having the characters locked into one sexual orientation the possibility of them changing their views of love and success are allowed to roam free.

Season three picks up a few months after the conclusion of the previous season. Tina (Laurel Holloman) has given birth to a daughter, Angelica (Olivia Windbiel). Not wanting to be a single parent Tina and Bette (Jennifer Beals) and the two try to repair their damaged relationship. Bette has lost her job adding stress to an already overwrought domestic situation. The normally driven Bette opts to find herself instead of a new job forcing Tina to become the primary source of the family income. For most of their time together Tina has relied on Bette for strength and support. Now the roles are reversing and both women must adjust to a new family dynamic. When things get really tough Bette decides to go on a spiritual retreat instead of helping Tina. Tina revokes family privileges from Bette excluding her from the home. Far from Los Angles in Skokie, Illinois, Jenny (Mia Kirshner) is recuperating from her nervous breakdown. Living with her mother, Sandy (Margot Kidder), is not exactly conducive to Jenny’s recovery. She hits the road back to LA with her new girlfriend, Moira Sweeney (Daniela Sea), in tow. Jenny learns two things that will greatly impact her life. First, her book is about to be published and Moira is saving money for a sex change procedure. The publishing deal has given Jenny financial freedom for the first time in her life making her the responsible one of the pair. Back in the house that Jenny once lived with her husband, Shane (Katherine Moennig) and Carmen (Sarah Shahi) are trying their best to make their committed relationship work. Both women find this is not an easy task. For Shane it means an end to her perchance of purely physical sex. Carmen comes from an Hispanic family whose values are very traditional. When Carmen brings Shane to meet her family they initially think she is just her friend and roommate even going so far as to try to fix her up with a nice man. When Carmen comes out to her family her sister is more accepting than her old fashion mother. Back with Tina things are really influx. She has to reexamine her own sexual orientation when she falls for a single father, Henry (Steven Eckholdt). Also facing a sexual change is Moira who has started black market hormone therapy and is now living with Jenny as Max. The situation is also in turmoil for Alice (Leisha Hailey). Her best friend and one great love Dana (Erin Daniels) is back. Now a highly successful professional tennis player, Dana is back with her first lesbian love, Lara (Lauren Lee Smith). The romantic triangle hardly gets a chance to start when Dana is diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer. Tina remains with her through chemo and radiation therapy through a radical mastectomy and is unfortunately on a coffee run when Dana succumbs to the disease.

Premium cable networks such as Showtime had a definite advantage of the broadcast networks since they are able to explore more adult material. Rather than using this freedom for puerile shock value they work towards bringing serious entertainment to a more mature audience. The overall theme presented in this season is transition. Just about every major character in the series undergoes major alterations in their lives and how they view relationships. This is physically explored with Moira/Max. As he becomes physically more male he tends towards some of the dark attributes of masculinity. He becomes possessive of Jenny almost to the point of abuse. While Jenny fell in love with a masculine woman she finds herself once again in a relationship with a male figure. Tina had been straight before hooking up with Bette. Once Bette is out of her life she reverts back to a stable, more socially acceptable relationship with a man. Helena Peabody (Rachel Shelley) tries to get a filmmaker into a homosexual relationship. She discovers that it the filmmaker and her boyfriend were setting her up for a sexual harassment suit. This is another case of how sexuality is perceived as being fluid. Helena was so sure the filmmaker would want to explore a relationship with another woman she is blind to the more nefarious plot that is being hatched. The interconnected nature of relationships is nicely shown with Alice’s famous chart. Beginning with season one Alice has been maintaining a chart of lesbian encounters allowing her to interconnect herself to just about everyone. At the start of each episode one connection is shown. As the season goes on it becomes obvious that the relationships show are all leading up to the modern day characters and how many of them met.

This remains one of the best ensemble casts anywhere on television. Each of the main actresses gives excellent performances that help to make this a gripping drama. Laurel Holloman plays Tina as a woman who is uncertain about just about everything but finally has a chance to realize her potential. As her life begins to pull together she is at last successful at her job and not dependant on Bette. She finds her new role as a working mother trying but rewarding. Jennifer Beals has Bette become more and more self adsorbed. Running away to a religious retreat is a façade, she is unwilling to give in to the required vow of silence, unwilling to give up her cell phone and contact to the outside world. Mia Kirshner has the most compelling character with Jenny. Instead of being a victim she transitions to a strong willed and determined young woman. A similar character is portrayed by Katherine Moennig. Shane wants to make things work with Carmen and commit to her but when she meets her philandering father Gabriel (Eric Roberts), self doubts take over to sabotage her relationship.

Paramount Home Entertainment has taken over the DVD release of the series from Showtime. Fortunately, the have maintained the high standards set with the previous two season box sets. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is exceptional. The color balance and contrast are near reference quality. The mastering is free of any edge enhancement defects or flaws. The Dolby 5.1 audio gives a natural feel to the sound field. As expected the sub woofer is not given a lot to do but the front speakers do give a great channel separation. There are also a good set of extras provided for the fans of the series. The most touching one is the featurette ‘A Goodbye To Dana’ giving a fitting farewell to great character. The music of the series is highlighted in ‘Starbands Charity Auction’ and there is a fun featurette called ‘Betty Live At Gay Games VII’. This series is back on track. If you are interested in gripping human drama try it out.

Posted 10/14/06