'The L Word - The Complete Fourth Season'
(Mia Kirshner, Eric Mabius, Jennifer Beals, et al / 4-Disc DVD / NR / (2004) 2007 / Showtime - Paramount)
Overview: 'The L Word' follows the lives and loves of a group of lesbian friends living in Los Angeles. The main character,Jenny (Mia Kirshner), is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago, who moves to Los Angeles to live with her boyfriend Tim (Eric Mabius) and begin a professional writing career. Jenny's life is turned upside down when she attends a party hosted by Tim's next-door neighbors, Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Hollomon), a lesbian couple who are about to take the step into parenthood after being together for seven years. A brief encounter at the party with Marina (Karina Lombard), the owner of the local coffeehouse, suddenly has Jenny thrust into a whole new world that makes her question her own sexual orientation.
DVD Verdict: The fourth season of 'The L Word' is packed with better stories and greater performances than ever. In my humble opinion, the third season was quite disappointing and really depressing. This season starts exactly where we left off in the previous season and the story goes on. Almost everyone is back, Bette, Tina, Alice, Shane, Helena, Jenny, Kit and Max.
There are some new characters introduced during the season. Some you'll love, some you'll dislike, but all these women add their spice to the stories and the interlinking among this great ladies and it really works.
Kristanna Loken (Paige), Cybill Shepherd (Phyllis Kroll) and Marlee Matlin (Jodi Lerner) are some of the new members of the cast. Their stories are quite interesting, especially Marlee/Jodi's because she plays a deaf lesbian, being deaf herself. This adds a new vision to the importance of communication in a relationship. Her performance is always delightful and now in The L Word is definitely a plus. Phyllis Kroll is introduced as Bette's boss, and she soon reveals herself a "late coming out" lesbian and very interested in Alice.
We are also introduced to Papi(Janina Gavankar), Shane's "competition" and Tasha(Rose Rollins) a tough Captain in the US National Guard, and Papi's best friend.
This season has it all. It is funny, it is refreshing, it is sexy, it is dramatic, it is heartwarming but most of all it is just great. I really enjoyed this season after being quite disappointed by the previous one. If you haven't seen this season yet, you should, it just rocks.
Bette will find someone who will put up with her, and challenge her to a point she had never reached. Shane will have to take some responsibilities she didn't expect and will give her life a complete turn. Helena will face the fact of actually having to work for a living and will learn that certain lifestyles have a very high price to pay. Tina will face some changes, again... but the hope is not lost, we may have a glimpse of the Tina we had during the first season, and not the self-centered Tina we have seen afterwards. Alice keeps being Alice and keeps getting better. She's funny, she's smart and she'll find that The Chart may be bigger than she believes. On to Jenny... forgive me Ilene Chaiken, but I'd rather you'd killed Jenny than Dana... Could anybody send Jenny to Timbuktu?
Max keeps struggling with the female-to-male change and the issues that arise at work and her family. Kit has a hard time struggling between Angus and the alcohol. Every episode is great but the last episode is just fantastic. It's a great season finale for the best season of this series. The doors are open to continue all the stories of the group.
Moreover, Showtime has announced that there will be a 5th season, so keep it going Showtime! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
All 12 Episodes from the 2007 season on 4 discs
Sundance Diaries with Kate & Leisha
Free Episodes of The Tudors and Californication
Fanlib Sweepstakes Winners
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