RATING: TV14 - S
SHOWTIME ADVISORIES: Adult Content
Stereo / CCAP
16 m

Steph's note: A lot of footage from the show was shown in this documentary. However, due to its nature of being comprised mostly of short, out-of-context clips, mostly running in the background when the interviewees are speaking, it would be too difficult to describe them all adequately (I'm just one gal!). Only those scenes which were shown in between interviewees are noted.

Leisha Hailey: People are going to call it a lot of things.

Laurel Holloman: Lucious.

Kate Moennig: I would describe it...

Laurel: Lusty.

[scene: two female characters, Bette and Tina, passionately kissing]

Jennifer Beals: (smiling) Lusty certainly is the one at times.

Laurel: It's just simply a show that you would have to watch.

Eric Mabius: It's so much more than you could possibly conceive of.

Erin Daniels: This is not a female "Queer As Folk."

Guinevere Turner: There's a lot less drugs and a lot less dancing.

Pam Grier: It's a show about a group of wonderful women.

Ilene Chaiken: And also this guy.

[scene: Eric Mabius' character, Tim, laughing.]

Ilene: Never forget the guy.

Guinevere: "The L Word" is the first of its kind.

Jennifer: I think this show defies any kind of category.

Narrator: This January, the buzz word is "The L Word," a new Showtime original series that'll have America talking. Or, leave it speechless.

Leisha: I look at it as the biggest thrill of my life pretty much!

[title card: The L Word. defined.]

Narrator: About women and the women who love them, "The L Word" is sure to make television history. And it's been a long time coming. In 1991, TV saw its first lesbian kiss on "L.A. Law." Shortly after, C.J., the bisexual lawyer, saw the door. A few years later Roseanne was kissed, and even "Party of 5"'s very own good-girl got confused. But even the smallest of same-sex smooches has been cause enough for uproar and fallout. But in recent years with the success of shows like "Queer As Folk," "Will and Grace," and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," America has proven it's ready to experiment. Or, is it?

Guinevere: I really don't understand where this trend is coming from.

Jennifer: I think it's clear that things are changing.

Erin: I'd like to believe that America's becoming more open.

Guinevere: It's really hard to believe but it may be true.

Rose Troche: "Queer As Folk" is so responsible for this show for making this show ever hit the air. If it wasn't for that show, this show wouldn't have gone on first.

Erin: America's being exposed being exposed more and more and realizing that, guess what, who we sleep with doesn't define who we are.

Eric: It's the same as watching any other hour-long except that there are circumstances we're not used to seeing on television. To that extent, it is ground-breaking.

[scene: Tim walks into a public bathroom where Jenny and Marina are kissing in a stall. Tim: "Jen?" Jenny and Marina stop kissing. Jenny covers Marina's mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh, then exits the stall.]

Rose: There's that thing about people wanting to put all the gay material into a big bucket, um, and call it the same. That's annoying.

Mia Kirschner: I think that people are fed up with being backed into a corner and being marginalized and told what their lifestyle is.

Eric: I think very quickly people are going to forget they're watching a, you know, show about lesbians, per se.

Leisha: I hope that the world really opens their arms.

[scene: Shane: "Sexuality is fluid. Whether you're gay or you're straight or you're bisexual, you just go with the flow."]

Leisha: It shows the beauty of our diversity in the community and reflects somehow what the gay community's like.

Narrator: Even taking TV's biggest gay breakthroughs into account, there has never been a series like "The L Word."

Guinevere: There's enormous pressure.

Rose: Doesn't have that self-conscious, sort of trying to undo a stereotype.

Erin: We certainly can't represent all lesbians on every end of the spectrum.

Ilene: There are a lot of subcultures within the lesbian community and I think we'll portray them as they come into our stories.

Guinevere: I would challenge you to find a lesbian who doesn't want to see themselves on TV, and not everyone's going to see themselves.

Laurel: I stepped away from that because I realized that is an impossible task, and that and my responsibility is to tell these stories and what is the truth for these women.

Guinevere: I talked to so many lesbians about this show in the process of making it and everyone was saying, 'Well, as long as there's a cowboy boot-wearing, you know, lesbian with four cats and a girlfriend who's Chinese.' And I'm like, 'You just described yourself.' (laughs)

Laurel: We live in Los Angeles. We are from, like, a certain trendiness in L.A.

Jennifer: My greatest responsibility is to be as truthful as I can, given the scenes that I'm asked to play.

Guinevere: And I've already felt the real pressure of people saying, 'Well, you know, isn't it true that they're all going to be lipstick lesbians, or, isn't it true that, you know, men control the content of the show, or, it can only be a good show if lesbians play the parts.' I'm like, 'No, actors play the parts. Actually, actors are better at acting than lesbians might be.'

Narrator: Jennifer Beals and an ensemble cast illuminate life in the City of Angels.

Jennifer: I play Bette Porter. I'm a complete type "A" personality. She certainly thinks she's the adult in the group. (smiles)

Leisha: Bette goes through life in a forceful way.

[scene: Bette: (irritated) "Tina, you invited someone to dinner? I've had the worst {word censored} day."]

Jennifer: She's been with Tina for seven years.

[scene: Bette sits down on a couch in an office next to Tina. Bette: "Here I am." She pats Tina's knee.]

Laurel: Tina is the better half of Bette Porter. She has just quit her job.

Jennifer: And they're about to try to start to have a family.

[scene: Tina: "We're both ready to start a family. Right?" Bette: "Absolutely."]

Ilene: She has the responsibility for supporting her family and it's a role that women weren't necessarily brought up to think would be on their shoulders.

Laurel: What I like exploring about Tina is that there's a certain loss of identity if you've always been self-sufficient financially and all of a sudden you just made this decision and you're going to be supported by your partner.

[scene: Bette: "You're not wearing that dress." Tina: (looks down at her own dress) Bette: "You know, I'll just pick something else out. (hands a shopping bag to Tina) Can you at least just take the tags off the present?"]

Laurel: So, a lot of what goes on with my character is she loses a certain sense of independence.

[scene: Tina: (on phone) "Just promise me that you'll come home for dinner tonight." Bette: "I will try tonight. That is the best I can do."]

Pam: I portray a musician and singer named Kit Porter. She's the half-sister of Bette Porter portrayed by Jennifer Beals and she's the Ivy League sister and I'm the street sister.

[scene: Kit Porter in a car, on a busy street at night. A police officer shines his flashlight in her window. Kit: (smiles) "Hey!"]

Pam: She's just dealing with the demons.

[scene: Tina: "Is this a twelve-step thing?" Kit: "I have to do this or I'm not going to get my license back."]

Pam: And her crutch is her alcoholism.

Eric: Tim is the nextdoor neighbor to Bette and Tina in the show.

[scene: Tim is pulling away from his house in his car. He passes Bette and Tina, who are getting into their car in their driveway. Bette and Tina: "Hey, Tim." Tim: "Hi." Bette and Tina: "Good luck."]

Eric: Who is preparing his home to receive his girlfriend.

Mia: I play Jenny Schecter, who moves to L.A. to be with her boyfriend.

[scene: Jenny wanders through a bus terminal, and almost runs into Eric. Eric: "May I offer you a ride?" Jenny puts her arms around his neck and kisses him.]

Mia: She's this exuberant, sexually open woman who is on this sort of sexual odyssey.

[scene: Jenny peeking through a fence at two women swimming naked in a private pool together.]

Mia: Just absolutely trying to do the right thing but can't.

[scene: Alice: "Jenny, this is Marina." Close up of Jenny and Marina as they silently stare at each other. Alice: "Wow!" ( laughs)]

Karina Lombard: Marina is, um, the mysterious one.

[scene: Marina approaches Jenny at the bathroom door in the hallway at a party. Marina: "There you are." Jenny smiles. A girl comes out of the bathroom, and Jenny goes in.]

Mia: Marina's beautiful, and I think it's easy to make Marina into this fantasy object for Jenny.

Karina: Whenever you're fearless...

[scene: Marina goes into the bathroom at the party. She and Jenny kiss passionately.]

Karina: (cntd.) ... you're so attractive.

Eric: He is progressive, he's a sensitive guy, but he's not, uh, wimpy.

[scene: Tim is talking to a man. Man: "You don't trust her, you don't marry her." Tim: "I trust her."]

[scene: Jenny hangs up the phone. Jenny: "That was Marina." Tim looks at her. Jenny: "We're going to have dinner on Saturday night." Tim: "Have dinner with Marina, it's fine."]

Eric: I don't control her life in any kind of macho way and give her leeway to be who she needs to be.

Mia: The relationship with Marina shakes the foundation of Jenny's life.

[scene: Jenny and Marina are talking. Jenny: "You know, Tim has been so wonderful to me."]

[scene: Tim and Jenny having sex. Jenny looks up at Tim and sees Marina's face instead.]

[scene: (cntd.) Jenny: "And I think this is the first time in my life that I've actually felt safe." Marina: "Do you want to be safe?"]

Eric: I gave her enough slack to, uh, hang me with.

Mia: I think this is the first time in her life that she's really forced to sort of examine the emotional havoc that her choices have made.

Erin: I play Dana Fairbanks. Dana is a professional tennis player. She's not huge yet, but she's certainly on her way, I guess. I'm out with all of these friends.

[scene: Bette approaches Dana at a cafe table. Bette: "Dana Fairbanks at The Planet in West Hollywood?" Dana smiles. Alice: "Shhh! She doesn't want her tennis fans to know she's a gay lady!" Dana gives Alice the finger.]

Erin: But very much in the closet publically because of career pressures.

[scene: Erin and a female companion kiss in an empty tennis court. A man in a suit startles them. Man: "Hey!" Erin and companion stop kissing.]

Erin: Billie Jean King lost every campaign she had when she came out of the closet.

[scene: The man that saw them kissing talks to Erin. Man: "You can be a lez when you retire." Erin looks upset.]

Erin: These are very real pressures. Me, Erin, would want to see her come out just because I think it's so much easier to be successful and happy if you're honest with yourself.

Leisha: I play Alice Pieszecki {pron.: Pea-uh-zeck-ee}. I'm a bisexual journalist.

[scene: Alice: "I wonder if I could sell a story on L.A.'s best nipple?"]

Leisha: She's very outspoken, which I enjoy because I'm quite the shy person.

[scene: Alice talks to Dana at a cafe. Alice: "I'm looking for the same qualities in a man as I am in a woman."]

Erin: She's very adamant about being bisexual

[scene: (cntd.) Dana: "Spare us the gory bisexual details."]

Leisha: They want me to be categorized.

[scene: Alice in two separate scenes, passionately kissing a man, then a woman.]

Erin: She's very open about it and very firm on her stance with it.

Kate:I play Shane. She's a hairdresser.

[scene: Shane talks to a woman sitting in a barber's chair in a hair salon. Shane: "Tell me what you want."]

Leisha: Shane's very private and... very cool. (giggles)

[scene: A woman talks to Shane at a party. Woman: "Are you, um, with anyone?" Shane: "Um..." (looks around) "No."]

Kate: She doesn't care about other people's opinions and that's a very rare quality to have.

Eric: She's kind of like the lone wolf in the whole pack.

[scene: Shane sitting by a window at night.]

Kate: One who is notorious for sleeping around a lot and not having any problems with it. Even though people consider that cruel.

[scene: Shane and a woman are talking. Shane: "I don't do relationships."]

Kate: She still has a real solid heart.

Pam: Each character is a feast. You really, you can't get enough of each character. It's rich, and I ain't lyin'!

Leisha: To me the show's about sexuality.

Ilene: People who are gay, at one time or another, have dealt with those issues of sexuality in a way that's dominated their lives more than people who never have to go through the process of coming out.

Jennifer: It infiltrates every aspect of your life.

Laurel: Sexuality on our show is sort of two things. It can be the driving force for one character but it might be the aspect for another character.

Kate: They have more things going on than just their sexuality just like every human being does in their life.

Mia: I can only speak for Jenny. I don't think the character's journey is about what her sexual orientation is, it's about where her life is going and who rocks her world.

Kate: And that's what I like is that it doesn't just end with the sexuality.

Mia: I never wanted to be part of a series that was about gay women, because I think that marginalizes gay women. I want to do a show about people's relationships with one-another.

Erin: If you're a woman feeling love, regardless of loving a man or a woman, it's still love. The emotion doesn't change.

Rose: We understand desire, from within ourselves, we have it in us.

Erin: There are a lot of issues that are talked about on the show that anyone can related to, I mean there's a couple trying to get pregnant, that's having a hard time.

[scene: Microscope's-eye-view of a sample of sperm that isn't moving. A doctor talks to Bette, as they look on the monitor showing the sperm. Doctor: "That stuff wouldn't get anyone pregnant."]

Leisha: Raising a kid is raising a kid.

Erin: There's, you know, Dana, my character, who's struggling with an identity and everybody goes through that at some point.

[scene: Bette talks to a well-dressed man in an office. Man: "He's way out of your league, here." Bette: "He may be out of the C.A.C.'s league, Franklin, but he's certainly not out of mine." (winks) Bette walks around the corner, out of his sight, and stops to take a breath.]

Erin: There's people trying to figure out how to label themselves, career-wise.

Leisha: Having a job is having a job. I think that, that, things in life are pretty much the same across the board.

Mia: We've all come to a place in our lives where we meet somebody, who, when we're in a relationship or that person is in a relationship, where they sort of shake our world and it's a choice that we make whether or not we continue on that path.

Erin: You find yourself going (snaps) I've so been there. I totally understand what she's feeling or what he's feeling in some cases.

[scene: Jenny talks to Marina in a bathroom at a club. Jenny: "I'd like to see you again."]

Ilene: And I think that those stories will resonate, um, to people who aren't gay.

Mia: What a rare opportunity to get to do a show with a bunch of women who are interested in doing a show about real women.

Guinevere: I think usually what attracts people to shows is unique voices, is interesting writing...

[scene: Dana, Alice and Shane are sitting around reading. Dana: "I thought Jenny was straight." Alice: "Dana, most girls are straight until they're not."]

Guinevere: Hopefully we have that. I know we have that! We have that! (laughs)

Ilene: It's about relationships and ambition and, um, fidelity and monogamy and all of the things that life is about.

Narrator: The show's ability to take universal themes into new territory has sparked interested among cutting edge directors. Mary Harron, responsible for hits like "I Shot Andy Warhol" and "American Psycho," Tony Goldwin known for his critically-acclaimed "A Walk on the Moon," and Rose Troche {pron. Tro-shey} who adapted and directed "The Safety of Objects" are among the many filmmakers collaborating with award-winning producer Ilene Chaiken to give this show a look and feel like no other.

Mia: Each of these filmmakers has carved a little leash for themselves, where they explore intimacy and sexuality and coldness in our society.

Rose: It had almost been ten years since I had done "Go Fish." It seemed about time that someone was doing a show with lesbian content.

Guinevere: I um, feel responsible, like I want to make sure that it's as good as it can be.

Leisha: I just got a chance to watch some of the episodes yesterday and I was really surprised myself how different they look, and it's fun working with different directors because it brings out a different part of you when you're acting.

Mia: It's never felt like we're making a TV show. We have rehearsals on the weekend where we're allowed to improvise scenes. It does feel like little original films that are being made every week and that's highly unusual in terms of television.

Ilene: For a first-season show we've had amazing good luck getting guest stars.

Guinevere: Roseanna Arquette, um, is on the show, Lolita Davidovich, Ann Archer, Ossie Davis.

[scene: At an expensive restaurant. Bette's father (Ossie Davis) sits across from the table from Bette and Tina. Father: "I don't understand." Tina: "I'm pregnant." (smiles)]

Guinevere: We have some great guest stars giving amazing performances.

Leisha: Today we're with Snoop Dogg. We're all very excited. We're saving our call sheets to have when we're grandmas.

Jennifer: I'm always really thankful when we have big group scenes because I know I'm going to laugh really hard that day.

[scene: At a cafe. Dana sits down at a table with Shane, Alice and Bette. Dana: "There's a giant billboard of Shane on Sunset." Shane gives Dana the evil eye. Dana: (laughs) "Just kidding." Alice laughs and rubs Shane's head.]

Erin: When you hear like L.A. actress, and like, what is this going to be, is this going to be a lot of women, who, you know, (messes with hair) look into every shiny surface as they walk by... but this is a really down-to-earth group of women who just have a whole lot in common.

[scene: Tina, Bette, Alice, Dana and Shane standing in a group outdoors at sunset somewhere in L.A.]

Rose: One of the nice things about being plucked away from your home is these are women who do hang out together. A lot.

Erin: Actually Mia and Leisha and I all live next door to each other.

Mia: And Kate, who plays Shane, lives down the street from us.

Erin: We all get together and play loud music and dance around the livingroom together.

Leisha: We literally can't get enough of each other. When we leave the set we're all going out to dinner or drinks or to the movies.

[scene: At a bar. Shane, Alice and Dana sit at the bar. An attractive woman walks in. Alice: "Ooh, ooh, ooh, now she's cute ."]

Leisha: And I think it's grown as you watch the episodes, it's sort of become more obvious that we're becoming closer.

Kate: We have this unspoken understanding with each other.

[scene: (cntd). Shane: "Fresh meat." Alice: "New blood." Dana: "Cris-py." Alice looks at Dana. Alice: (smiles) "Uh-uh."]

Eric: I think it's not by accident that this show ended up on Showtime, because this show couldn't have been on any other network.

[scene: Bette and an older woman are talking to one another. Woman: "I was a lesbian in 1974."]

Rose: There's not the micromanaging of the every moment of the show.

[scene: (cntd.) Bette: "That is what we refer to as a ... has-bian." The woman laughs.]

Ilene: The creative freedom has to do with being able to tell stories more frankly.

Leisha: I think the way we talk is a lot more real.

[behind the scenes: scene: Tina: "Ah, she looks like she's having fun!" Bette: "She's being mounted."]

Narrator: "The L Word" glimpses into the lives of a group of women, and by doing so changes the face of television forever.

Rose: I think it's that everybody believes that the show is needed socially. It fulfills two needs: the need to work, the need to feel like you're doing something in the world.

Jennifer: I'm particularly proud of bringing to the forefront a group that has been for so long treated as an outsider.

Kate: I think we nailed the fact that, yeah, a woman can love a woman, period. They're not crazy for it, they're not wrong for doing that, and they're just another human being. Going about their life.

Mia: What does the L word mean?

Rose: What did someone say? Lunch?

Eric: It's become much more than just a wink-wink, nudge-nudge.

Leisha: I think it represents anything you want it to and that's what's great about it.

Erin: Love.

Mia: Loss.

Leisha: Legs. (laughs) I'm kidding.

Rose: The L word means the word that's not spoken.

[scene: Dana and her parents at a cafe. Dana and her parents in the livingroom at her parent's house. Dana and her brother talking. Dana's brother: "When mom and dad disown you and all, I'll ... still come and visit." Dana's mother in a car, looking sad.]

Rose: I love its little badness. I love its euphemistic, like, bad quality.

Pam: "The L Word" is a show about living the life you love, loving the life you live.

Narrator: "The L Word." A ground-breaking, new Showtime original series, premiering Sunday, January 18th.

Credits:

Gigi Nicolas
Writer/Producer

Mitchell Harte
Editor

Diana L. Roach
Line Producer

Alexander Heyward
Production Assistant

Gail Gendler
Virginia Hutton
Rights & Clearances

Hugh Henderson
Camera

Art Young
Sound

Lee Miller & Beehive
Graphics

Brett Butler
Post Audio

Columbia McCaleb
Narration

Executives in Charge of
Production:
Chris Kropp
Mark Shea

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