Sex in the L City
Aaaah, the days of "Sex and the City" parties, college students huddled around eye-straining televisions, horrible cosmopolitans made by the girl who had the motivation to look up the mixture on the internet, and trivial conversations about Carrie's latest boyfriend masquerading as intellectual discussion. The ways in which we forced a relationship to five women who, in real life, we would likely NOT be friends with, nor have anything in common with. Nonetheless, we continued to watch, and continued to discuss as the show approached it's conclusion--it's shitty, anticlimactic, contradictory to everything the show was founded on and stood for, conclusion. Calm down, don't get upset. I'm not saying Sex in the City was a bad show. On the contrary, actually. The show was so good for so long, that when it started to take a turn for the worse, when the writers were running out of good story ideas, brought Mr. Big back just to spice things up, and the literary tie-ins to Carrie's column became less and less profound, we still watched. The characters were so well developed, and became a part of our own lives, we just HAD to find out what happened to them. A great show, geared towards women, but addicting men as well, Sex in the City left HBO to exist in perpetuity in syndication. Did it actually leave? Or...did it just move to another network? No, I'm not an idiot. I know Sarah Jessica Parker has moved on to bigger and better things--The Family Stone being the only significant development--and that Sex in the City is no longer in production. BUT...about ten channels higher on my digital cable channel guide you'll find Showtime. Despite it's history as the late night lusty capital of television, Showtime seems to be turning things around and has successfully filled the Sex in the City void--for me anyways.
At this point, I've probably confused quite a few of you. "Sex in the City isn't on Showtime," you say, and yes, oh wise one, you would be correct. BUT--The L Word IS on Showtime. I don't know if I'm speaking to an unknowing audience, or an audience of people like me--people who have seen the show and love it. Do you want to venture a guess as to why I don't know whether or not you've seen The L Word? Probably for the same reason no one has L Word parties with cosmopolitans (or Planet coffee), intellectual discussions about Bette and Tina's reunion, Marina's sudden and unexplained dive off the deep end, or even Jenny's journey of self discovery and borderline psychotic behavior--the show carries with it an inherent social stigma that does not lend itself to discussion. No I'm not saying it's BAD to be gay. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But for those of us who are not gay (all previous accusations of banging the RA now discredited) fear that mentioning the show with their straight friends (or gay ones too) will confuse them if they haven't seen the show. Where Queer as Folk, and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy lure everyone and their mother, for some reason a drama with the same underlying sexual preferences doesn't seem to lend itself to a mass audience--or does it? Since the show's first season, funding from Showtime Networks has more than doubled. The independent feel, and less than flashy look of the first season was replaced by a high priced, slick opening with original music. The lead actresses made more money, and additional, high priced guest stars were added to the roster. So SOMEONE must be watching. Obviously, lesbians can bond over this amazing show, sitting in their living rooms drinking cosmopolitans discussing Alice's strap-on fetish, but the rest of us? I've come to the conclusion that everyone else, much like myself, is sitting in their dark living room, alone, with their fingers grasping the remote just waiting for the next new episode to begin. Phone calls (if answered) with the obligatory question "what are you doing," are never answered truthfully, and talk at work the next day of great shows seen on TV the previous evening never recognize poor Jennifer Beals after her switch from a hot dancer to life partner of Tina. You know what I've decided? Boo to that shit. Although Flashdance was--well, Flashdance...I respect Beals far more for her comeback, especially with this role in The L Word. I'm confident in my sexuality. So--I will no longer let social pressures dictate any and all future mentionings of The L Word. Watch it and learn it. And if you don't? Boo to that shit too.
