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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10242 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-20
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: PAL, Colour, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, French
• Dubbed in: French, German
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 659 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Four years after the American version of Queer as Folk made gay men the focus, it was time for a little turnabout with The L Word (bad title, great show). Centering around a tight-knit group of lesbians in Los Angeles, this drama was far removed from its working-class male counterpart in both style and content. While the men of QAF enjoyed a fabulous if melodramatic life on the middle-class streets of Pittsburgh, the women of The L Word lived it up in sunny California, with gorgeous houses, glamorous careers, and sexy wardrobes. Ironically, though, The L Word adhered more to the everyday drama of ensemble shows like thirtysomething than the soap opera antics of QAF, and the results were surprisingly heartfelt and effective, appropriately stylish but never over the top. There was plenty of room for titillation, but creator Ilene Chaiken fashioned from the start a show centered on characters and not just sex, aiming for the heart rather than... well, other places.

The L Word focused primarily on committed couple Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman), a former power-career duo who've decided to have a baby; however, artificial insemination and the changing dynamics of their relationship throw their previously happy existence off-kilter. Within their orbit are spunky journalist Alice (Leisha Hailey), sultry hairdresser Shane (Katherine Moenning), closeted pro tennis player Dana (Erin Daniels), and espresso bar owner Marina (Karina Lombard) who, in the show's most polarising storyline, bedded the seemingly straight Jenny (Mia Kirschner) and shook up her heterosexual world. Jenny's "am-I-straight-or-not?" kvetching frustrated both her fiancé (Eric Mabius) and many viewers, who were alternately irritated and intrigued by her inability to decide one way or the other. But Jenny's weakness was part of The L Word's strength: in exploring many sides of many issues, both domestic and political, it never came up with an easy answer for any of them, making the show all that more fascinating--and compulsively watchable. --Mark Englehart

Synopsis
A television series which centres on the lives and loves of a group of women living and working in Los Angeles.

From the Studio
Set in the chic world of Los Angeles, this humour-laced dramatic series explores the lives of a group of lesbians, their friends, family and neighbours. The series take a smart, sexy and fun look at hopes, dreams and lives of these people as they deal with things like career struggles, relationships issues and the pressures of tying to start at family. The show provides a fresh look at everyday life, told with passion, frankness and humour.

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Customer Reviews

sex in 'another' city
The L Word is HOT !

My god ... where can I start? OK, from the beginning. I'm 21, straight and I brought the box set from Amazon.com only to see what all the fuss was about (as the series was dubbed the new "Sex in the City" and being a fan I thought I would check it out).

When it arrived I sat down and in one night I watched 6 episodes ... yes 6 episodes. I could'nt stop. Never have I been so captivated by each episode since being introduced to the world of ALIAS.

The L Word centres on Bette and Tina a Lesbian couple living in LA. After 7 years together they believe they are ready to start a family. Bette is the career minded (stressed) one and Tina recently quit her job as an movie executive to have their baby. They have a relationship in which all their friends envy.

Shane is the heartbreaker of the group, sleeps with all the girls then leaves them. She does have a good heart, but is longing for the togetherness that Bette and Tina have.

Alice is the funky blonde writer for LA Magazine. She created 'the chart' in which Shane is the centre of the universe. She can link any person (including herself) back to Shane within 6 moves (sometimes less!).

Dana is the closeted pro-tennis player. Very smart, witty and very sexy but has no gay-dar. She develops a crush on Lara (an assistant chef at her Country Club) but will not act on her feelings. When she does she pushes Lara away. In my opinion, 'Showtime' needs to use Dana more - give her something to get her teeth into like ... Alice!. Use her, she's a really talented actress.

Tim and Jenny live next door to Bette and Tina. Jenny has just moved to LA to be with Tim. She saw Shane and 'her latest conquest' in Bette and Tina's pool and was intrigued. She later encounters Marina.

Marina owns 'The Planet' the hip, up and coming gay bar in West Hollywood - where everybody hangs out. She later starts a little somethin’ somethin’ with Jenny ... the seemingly straight Jenny.

Believe me - it’s compulsive viewing for anyone - gay, straight, bi or whatever ... its good.

'Get out ... and stay out'

Feel-good lesbian drama bursting with potential
"The L Word" traces the lives of some young women living in LA in the 21st century. The key characters are a group of lesbian and bisexual women who encounter casual sex, less-casual sex, crazy ex-lovers fly-posting the city, being branded 'The Gay Anna Kournikova", homophobic parents, a male identified lesbian, coming out... you name it, it happens to them. Having said that, it is quite an accurate portrayal of the sorts of situations that such a group might find themselves in, even if the group is a little improbable consisting of unrealistically beautiful and successful characters. There is a token laddish one with a less trendy job but she's played by a beautiful woman in slightly less feminine clothes.

The final episode is packed with more cliff hangers than the rest of the series put together. Early episodes set up storylines that take a painfully long time to develop with far too many episodes ending in more or less the same way. One or two characters started to irritate me after a while, seeming interesting at first but failing to develop. The character Jenny for example, is pretty one-dimensional being used to tell a story about self-discovery but unfortunately having little to discover other than lesbian tendencies which were hinted at in the first half an hour of the series.

Having said that, taking time to watch the storylines unfold makes you feel closer to the characters ...

... as does the screen nudity. There are a fair few sex scenes but they're quite tastefully done and without a whiff of the dreadful "we're just warming up ready for a man to finish us off" sentiment that steals credibility from so much lesbian-themed drama.

I'm very keen to see series 2 which will hopefully be a little sharper.

The DVD extras really aren't much to speak of, just a very short trailer for season 2 and some informative screens about costumes and cast biogs - I would have liked to see some interviews or commentary because this series marks an important step in lesbian entertainment.

The best television drama in years!
If you've not seen the L word yet, then I suggest you pick up a copy as soon as possible. If you have, then I don't think I need to say anything to convince you that the DVD is worth getting.

In response to the comments another reviewer made, the show has by no means promoted an anti-Christian message. The art piece in question was clearly an expression of longing for God and not meant as blasphemous. If you'd paid attention to the show, you'd know this. As a matter of fact, the episodes dealing with that art collection had more to do with homophobia and closed-mindedness than anything else. The message conveyed was both powerful and very real.

Anyway, the only reason I've not given this 5 stars is that the region 2 version has one less disc than the region 1 version, missing out on some very interesting and funny bonus features. On the plus side, the cover (which is NOT the one displayed here - it is in fact in full colour and without the big pink L) looks much nicer.