By BetteAndTinaForever

INDEX of all photos and reports from L5

Day 1 – Friday

So far I’ve been to every L Word Convention in England, and not because I’m a rich heiress with a disposable income, as some people seem to think, but because I love this show and L Conventions are such a great experience that I’m trying my hardest not to miss them, even if I have to spend my hard-earned savings.

It’s not only a unique opportunity to meet and mingle with the actresses (and in the past convention attendees included all of the main original cast members, like Laurel Holloman, Rachel Shelley, Kate Moennig, Mia Kirshner, Leisha Hailey, Erin Daniels, Eric Mabius and now Jennifer Beals) but it’s also a wonderful excuse to meet your friends from all over the world that previously you could only chat with over the Internet.

If I were to describe each convention that I attended in one word, this is what it would look like: L1 – First (because it was first ever L Word convention); L2 – Exciting (four main cast members under the same roof at the same time); L3 – Surprising (Laurel Holloman showed up unexpectedly); L4 – Mellow (it was slow pacing and very enjoyable); L5 – Emotional (it felt like saying goodbye to TiBette and to the show and a followed with lot of tears ).

Before I begin I want to get something off my chest. I’m pretty sure that by now everyone knows that I’m a huge Bette and Tina fan. I’m a TiBetter and I’m proud. And I know that some of you, including fans from other forums who read my reports, think and say that all I care about is TiBette. Hell, even the cast members think that all I care about is TiBette.

And in the way it is the truth but it’s not the whole truth. I do care a lot about Bette and Tina because in all of my years of being a movie’s fan, I had never seen two characters that emotionally touched me so much. Jennifer and Laurel sold me their character with their absolutely unique chemistry and likability…and because I believe in a fairytale.

But as much I love TiBette, I also enjoy other characters and their storylines most of the time. In season one and two I loved Alice; in season three I began rooting for Helena and Dylan; in season 4 I actually enjoyed watching Jenny the Diva; and in season 5 I really got into Talice and also found myself hoping that Shane and Molly will end up together. So yes, TiBette will always be my favorite couple but I do love other characters.

So now, that I got that off my chest, let’s get right to the business at hand, the L5 Convention.

Opening Ceremony

Even though the opening ceremonies are always short, they are still very exciting. Sean Harry addressed all of us before inviting the guests and he asked us to raise our hand if we have been to the convention before or if it was our first time, saying that there are names for it. The first-timers are convention virgins and the rest of us are convention whores. No need to tell you who I am.

When Sean began announcing the cast, everyone went crazy with standing ovations and screaming for Adrienne, Rachel and Janina. Janina was really funny when she began pointing at the fans and saying, “I’m one of you, I’m one of you!!”

When Laurel came on stage, the attendees wouldn’t stop applauding her, some were even whistling and it was obvious that Laurel was really overwhelmed and touched by such reception. In her short speech she said that she was happy to be at the convention again, especially this one because she was going to share it with her good friend, Jennifer Beals.

The fans went even crazier when she said that and finally Jennifer came out on stage and the hall just exploded. Everyone rushed to the stage, yelling and taking pictures and the security didn’t expect that so the crowd of exciting fans got really close to the stage. Jennifer didn’t appear frightened but got tears in her eyes and bowed a few times. She said that she’s excited to be here because the fans of The L Word are the best fans in the world and she will enjoy meeting us. After she left the stage the fans were still clapping and chanting…it was crazy and exciting. The L5 Convention just began.

Meet&Greet for the Gold Ticket holders

This is the first time Starfury sold Gold Tickets for the convention and it cost a little more than the regular tickets but it also gave the Gold Ticket holders certain advantages. One of them was meet&greet where the fans were sitting at the tables in groups from 8 to 10 people and the cast members were coming to the tables to spent a few minutes talking and answering questions.

Rachel Shelley was the first one at our table. She asked me about my experience on the set in September, because the cast members knew that I was coming. Since I wasn’t their usual extra but someone who won an auction, I was supposed to submit a little biographical sketch about myself to be shared with the cast and a crew. Rachel joked that when they found out I was coming to be on set Kate told everyone that I probably will be talking about Bette and Tina the whole time. I groaned and replied with exaggerated sadness, “No wonder everyone avoided me there.” But Rachel smiled and said, “I wasn’t there but if I were, I would talk to you.” It made me happier. Okay, as I admitted before, I do tend to talk a lot about Bette and Tina but I do talk to other cast members about their characters, as well.

Rachel told us to watch the first episode before the credits and don’t move or go to the bathroom because it’s very important and it’s going to be really good. The spoiler junkies, like me, already know what she was talking about but for unspoiled few, I want to repeat it. Don’t miss the first few minutes of the episode 601 because it will pretty much explain everything that will happen during the season.

I asked about Helena and Dylan, since we all already know that Alexandra Hedison is back and Rachel replied that there’s going to be a lot of anger and a lot of passion between them.

We also talked about her latest movie, “The Children”. It’s a horror movie with a little blood but the one that gets scarier as the end approaches. It will be out in the States come December.

Jennifer Beals was next and I swear up close and personal Jennifer is absolutely beautiful and she has the most intense dark eyes that look right at you when she speaks. It’s unbelievable. All of us at the table were TiBetters and when she realized that she got very excited and said, “You guys are freaking awesome.” She also said that TiBetters are the most loyal group of fans, and Laurel and she get teased a lot by the other cast members because when they get approached by fans they always get asked about Bette and Tina instead of their own characters.

Everyone at the table looked at me with sarcastic smiles and I had to hide my face. Guilty as charged.

Jennifer said that on the way to England she slept pretty much the whole time and read a little. It turned out that she was approached about attending the convention a year ago but she decided to come right now because it was the last season and she felt sort of nostalgia, and she also wanted to show the fans of the show her gratitude for their support. She is really shy but after talking to Laurel and other cast members she overcame her apprehension because they told her that she will be among friends and that conventions are great.

She liked the meet&greet because she could handle smaller groups much better and she was mostly overwhelmed by all the fans who are here and for whom the show means so much. Jennifer said that at opening ceremony she wasn’t frightened or didn’t feel unsafe when people rushed to the stage and cheered for a long time, but more overwhelmed. Then she made a joke that maybe it was because she’s narrow-sighted and couldn’t see well without her glasses.

She was never asked about spin-off but she told us that the movie is a possibility and we all have to contact CBS to make it happen because Ilene is going to pitch the idea to them.

Jennifer was given a book with messages from the fans from all over the world and she really enjoyed it; and as I found out later she looked at it in the car and really liked the illustrations and the messages.

And then she had to go. The meet & greet usually goes for about two hours and one time we didn’t get one of the cast members because there was no time. Jennifer stayed at the tables the longest and I think she left well after one am and not until she went to every single table in the room. What can I say, she is amazing!!

And it was very thoughtful of her because it is a fact that most of the attendees came to the convention because it might’ve been their one and only chance to meet Jennifer.

Janina Gavankar was our next guest and she is absolutely hilarious and so full of energy, I could feel the table vibrating. She introduced us to her mom who was near by and then told us to start asking questions. I was sitting next to her and I asked, “So, tell us about the circles.” She began laughing, took my little notebook and said, “It goes like this…” She drew whole bunch of circles and I joked that she has to autograph it now so I can put it on e-bay. She signed it, “Circles by Janina aka Papi”.

Since she wouldn’t talk to us about season 6, we asked about her latest projects and she talked about being on “Stargate Atlantis” and how much fun it was to play the role of Dusty Mehra. She is a big sci-fi fan and she really enjoyed doing a female team with Christina Cox. She was told that they would be back but then the show was cancelled.

She also appeared in two episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy” and in one episode of NCIS and how much she loved working with Mark Harmon. Someone asked her about Ms. Dewey and she was laughing that this project for the Windows search engine came out at the same time as season four and nobody recognized her.

Janina was really wonderful and I hope she will come again to the convention. There was some serious signing going on as some fans were collecting signatures for a petition to have Janina as MC for L6. She was so amazing during the live auction that happened on Sunday, so I can totally see her being an MC.

Laurel Holloman was our last guest and it was worth the wait. Actually, what happened was that I saw her going to another table before us and it was filled with some of my friends and TiBetters, as well. I walked over there to tell Hayley, Laurel’s assistant at L5, to make sure to bring Laurel to our table because we were the last group and we didn’t want to miss meeting with her because it was already really late.

The table had an empty chair and I sat down so I could listen to Laurel’s answers. We had a girl at our table who’s an artist and she created some beautiful paintings of the cast members from their photos. Laurel and she began talking about it because painting is also Laurel’s hobby. Laurel said that she doesn’t consider herself a professional but she likes to paint on big canvases and do a lot of abstract paintings because it’s an emotional type of thing for her. She paints because she loves the way it feels and it also provides a release because she doesn’t have to concentrate on wearing right clothes or learning her lines as she does when she’s acting.

She mentioned that Leisha was a very talented artist and I remembered a painting that Leisha did about a month ago for HRC charity. And then I said that maybe Laurel should put her painting up on the internet for auctions or something, create a website and she said that she’ll think about it.

Then we talked a little about season six and Laurel said that it was a positive season for Bette and Tina and she was pleased with it. Though a lot of the things that will happen there are unpredictable and not all fans might enjoy it, depending on the characters they like. And season five is still her favorite.

Laurel also mentioned Helena when she said that Tina and Helena’s past are so far away that there’s nothing left whatsoever, just them being friends. She really like the storyline between Alice and Helena when they became good friends and she wished that Heletina storyline had more of that as well, because Tina is now a little more protective of Helena.

When we mentioned the spin-off, she said that she wasn’t even asked to participate and it’s just a 20 minute presentation that Ilene is pitching to the network.

I returned back to my table and when Laurel finally came to us, her assistant told me that since I was already at another table, I should be silent. I agreed but it was hard thing to do so I managed to ask a few questions anyway.

I always wanted to know one thing but never asked because the question was really silly, but I asked this time so it won’t bother me anymore. I was wondering why in real life Laurel wears her watch on her left hand but Tina always wears it on the right. I told you it was silly but I wanted to know and Laurel said that there’s no meaning in it. It sort of happened that way and she kept doing it. There are a lot of different things on a show that the fans notice but they don’t really have any meaning but just happened that way.

The next question by another fan was that if Tina Kennard and Laurel Holloman would meet, what would they talk about and Laurel really liked that question. She thought for a moment and then said that they would talk about kids, clothes, partnerships, men (because Tina has been there and Laurel resides there), politics in Hollywood and in real life and about the movie business because they are both in it.

Then I asked about Paris Convention and mentioned that from what we’ve read Laurel had a great time and even joined the fans in dancing. Laurel said that the Paris Convention was a little different because it was smaller, filled with young innocent fans and it was organized to raise money for the local LGBT Center.

Someone asked about Laurel auctioning her bra from the stir-fry sex scene and Laurel laughed and said that it was fun but she is not going to auction anything this time, though we can expect an auction on Sunday. She wouldn’t tell us about the items, saying that we have to wait to find out.

Laurel also said that after the Paris Convention her husband and she stayed in Europe and went to Barcelona, because Paul is an architect and they enjoyed seeing all the architectural sights and landmarks, while they were there. She added that she missed her daughters a lot and can’t wait to go home after L5 was over.

Laurel’s natural hair color is brown and she only went blonde for Tina and because it’s expensive, she would only do it because Showtime was paying for it. She prefers it red actually.

After we thanked her for coming to the conventions and being such a great guest, Laurel said that she loves conventions because it gives her a chance to see the fans and it’s a rewarding experience for her.

And then it was over. Jennifer still had about 3 tables ahead of her but everyone else was finished. We left as well. There were quite a few people waiting by the door, trying to get a glimpse of the cast. You probably heard already from other reports that some of those fans managed to go inside while Jennifer was still there and they were drunk and began yelling some stuff. Jennifer was really gracious about it and even stayed longer at her last table as a compensation for the unwanted interruption. I think I read that she took an empty beer bottle and suggested to play “Spin a bottle” so she could ask them question. But since I wasn’t there, I have no idea how this game ended.

Stay tuned for Day 2 of the Convention.