There was much shouting at the television last night as a gaggle of us gathered around the anticipated premiere. Through the chatter and the 2 glasses of wine, however, I was able to actually catch some of the show so here are the highlights and lowlights of Season 4 Episode 1.
The most noticeable aspect, however, wasn’t part of the plot at all but the rampant product placement and website plugging. I’ve seen it plenty before. Macintosh computers are always used in the show and indeed seem to be a large part of any gay show. (The gays love the Macs. That’s why I find it particularly ironic and frustrating that none of Logo’s online multimedia content will play on a Mac. Go ahead and try Mac fans. Do you know your audience MTV CEOs?) But they must have made a deal with MySpace because they wouldn’t shut up about it. They also seem to be launching their own social networking site, Our Chart, which was not up as of last night, but sneaky little devils must have updated it and launched this morning (Hey where’s my email notification?). The show made it seem like it was just the same kind of hookup web that the Alice character created, only for real people. Thankfully, it seems a much more full-bodied site including news, blogs etc. But that web of connections aspect is still there, and boy does that sound like a bad idea. 
There is no way I would lay out my sexual jaunts for the world to see. Can you imagine, not just the teasing, but the amount of drama that would ensue when rumors become truth, or more likely, even bigger rumors? I recommend you stay far far away…But onto the meat of the show…
The cliffhanger from last season of Bette kidnapping her daughter was so easily wrapped up I forgot it was even a plot element. Tina’s wailing about her baby was only cumbersome and totally boring. I care even less about her now as a whiny straight white blonde than she when she was a whiny lesbian blonde. The only saving grace here was the lawyer’s cheeky reaction to the situation. I love the hysterical Jane Lynch. She never ceases to be hilarious.
The other biggie that was carried over from last season is Shane’s fall from grace. And boy has she fallen. As she emerged from the wreckage of the vehicle she commandeered, walking with a slow staccato gait and holding her crooked, bloody arm, my friend remarked that she looked like a zombie and expected the good guys to come and blow her head off with a shotgun at any moment. Carmen is officially off the show as well and I am disappointed once again with taking yet another of the best characters off the show. They did reintroduce Marina to the mix, which was surprising and gives me hope for bringing back characters they just dumped. Unfortunately, there’s still no hope for Dana…
As much as I appreciate the introduction of a trans character last season Max was really starting to get on my nerves. And yet, I could never really save any sympathy for Jenny because she was just as easy to despise. The L Word seemed egalitarian only in that I could never take sides with anyone on the show because I hated them all. And yet, this episode inserted a small but important scene. After serving himself up some trouble for trying to pass and live as a straight man, Max goes to a transman support group. They marvel at his ability to keep any friends with the amount of testosterone he’d been taking and explained all the emotional turmoil that comes with not only fundamentally changing your life but using a brain-altering chemical as part of that process. It finally made Max’s transition have a little humanity.
But the most bizarre part of the show was Kit’s trip to the pseudo-abortion clinic. I could understand how a young girl could be fooled into thinking a Christian “pregnancy advise center” might be a Planned Parenthood but how 45 year old Kit was makes little sense. Besides, I was really looking forward to her manny (man-nanny) being a daddy. Oh well, always disappointments with this show. I forgive it for its only because it provides prurient chest shots and for its ability to shock if not surprise. It did end with a rather funny plot twist wherein Shane might just be a foster daddy. That should wake her up from zombiedom real fast.
