Monday, March 09, 2009

Today, I'm sad.

One of my favorite shows met its demise last night around 10:04 EST. *sniffles* Showtime pulled the plug on "The L Word" and I am not over it. Honestly, I'm not sure if I will get over it.
First of all, if you weren't watching "The L Word," I don't know what you've been doing with your life for the past six years. Let me try to explain.
I happened onto this show by pure circumstance. Toward the end of 2003, one of my best friends from college asked me if I'd seen this new show that follows the lives of a group of lesbian friends.
The convo went a little like this:
TQ: Have you ever seen that show "The L Word" about this group of lesbians?
Me: Hell no! Why would I want to watch that?!
TQ: If you can make it through the first episode, it's a great show.
Me: I'll have to take your word for that one.
TQ: For real, it's a good show. Did you watch "Queer As Folk?"
Me: Yes, but that's different.
TQ: Why? Because they were men?
Me: Yeah. I don't want to watch women in sex scenes together. *shudders* Ewww.
TQ: *laughs* Just make it through the first episode and it's a good show.
To make a long story short, I was living in Tennessee in an apartment that had Showtime on Demand. It was one of those days where there was nothing on TV and I had seen every movie that had come on Lifetime that day. I decided to take a gander at what TQ was talking about. I was bored, I didn't have a damn thing else to do, so I watched. That Saturday afternoon, I was introduced to a show and a cast of characters I won't soon forget.
I won't front, at first, the show was a little hard to watch. Not only were these beautiful women making out (I hate that term) and having sex, but I couldn't get "Flashdance" out of my head whenever Jennifer Beals character "Bette" was in a scene.
I have to admit, TQ was right, once the initial episode was over, I had to keep watching it because the storyline was freakin' awesome! The writers on that show wrote such great stories that I had to keep going back to watch it.
After about the third episode, I stopped looking at the characters as "lesbians" and they became characters in a show that I liked. They were just regular people who go through the same crap everybody else does.
They became like any other cable TV drama. There were characters that I loved, like Dana (Erin Daniels), Kit (Pam Grier), Shane (Katherine Moenning) and Tasha (Rose Rollins). Then, there were characters I loved to hate, like Marina, Tonya, Jodi and in the last two seasons, Jenny.
As a side note, I have never in all my life of watching television hated a character more than I hated Jenny Schecter in the last two years. Kudos to Mia Kirshner for being a helluva an actress!
Anyway, my point is, this was an awesome show that I'm sad to see head off into the abyss of great shows that I wasn't ready to see go. Farewell to "The L Word." You'll be in great company with "The Cosby Show," "A Different World," "Ally McBeal," "Six Feet Under," "Queer As Folk," "Noah's Arc" and "Soul Food."

4 comments:

Darius T. Williams said...

The L Word? I've never heard of it.

The F_Uitlist said...

@DARIUS ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Now to the post: I haven't been a faithful watcher of the L word, though I enjoyed the show I've always had a different show in that time spot. MY sister lives for it.

I was sad to see all of the shows you listed go as well. That was quality TV.

ShellyShell said...

I started watching this show then fell off. I guess I will be going back to watch this! Hell I still haven't seen the last season the wire!!

I never met anyone else who liked Ally McBeal! That was my dayum show!

Tiffany S. Jones said...

@Darius
WTH have you been doing with your life? All my gays at least know about this show. They may not watch it, but they know it. SMH

@Krishna
I wouldn't say I lived for it, but it was damn sure a great addition to my TV line-up.
I just don't know what the hell I'm gonna do on Sunday nights now that it's gone and football season is over.

@ShellyShell
I haven't seen the last season of The Wire. I started from the beginning and I'm just getting to the second season.
Girl, Ally was the business with all those weird ass people working in that law firm.