How to Prepare for the Next and Last Season of "The L Word"
- 1). Catch up with your old friends. If you have not done it already, purchase the DVD. It's not the bevvy of treasures that most DVDs bring, with cut scenes and bloopers, but the DVD of "The L Word" Season One does feature a puppet show performed by the cast. Of course, you will want to focus on Season Five and all its cliffhangers. The key episode is No. Four, "Let's Get This Party Started," which marks the beginning of a TiBette (Tina and Bette) reunion. It has Bette's sister Kit (Pam Grier) telling it like it is: "...my sister is a pootie chasin’ dog who deserves to be tied down and whupped upside the head, but it doesn’t change the fact that she loves you more than she loves her own life."
- 2). Haunt the forums. "The L Word" has its haters, but it also enjoys ardent fans. The buzz in the fan forums (see Resources) is that things are heating up for a Shenny in season six. Will Shane and Jenny mix it up? Then there is the matter of TiBette--will there be wedding bells? It pays to watch these forums; since the show's inception, the writers have left many of the plot turns up to viewer suggestions. They have intimated that Season Six will be even more viewer-influenced.
- 3). Investigate the ladies' sordid pasts. "Flashdance" is still fun to watch, especially with Jennifer Beals sporting the ripped sweatshirt that inspired many a high school fashionista. Laurel Holloman has appeared in LGBT films, including "The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love." She was also in "Boogie Nights." Leisha Hailey appeared in "La Cucina" and "The Snowflake Crusade." Fans hot to see Shane's work on the big screen should check out Katherine Moennig in her bit part in "Art School Confidential" or her starring role in the 2008 release "Remorse."
- 4). Plan a Season Six premiere party. Maybe your apartment cannot be as swinging as The Planet, but some killer cocktails could send your guests into orbit. Just remember that a party for the season opener is going to entail either stony silence or the piping up of lots of critics once the program starts.
- 5). Await the spin-off. That's right. Just as you are preparing to wipe your tears with the DVD case, you find out that Ilene Chaiken, the creator of "The L Word," has announced her next project. Chaiken has confirmed that the spin-off of the program will star Leisha Hailey, the actress who plays Alice, and that some of the story lines from "The L Word" will remain open-ended, to be picked up by the new series.
