When you spend a lot of time writing about the same television program and also find “data collection” to be soothing to your various mental problems, you might find yourself where I found myself last week and where we all find ourselves now, together; looking at three important infographics I made for you about The L Word: Generation Q.
1. Generation Q Sex Scenes
One of the most exciting elements of The L Word: Generation Q were its incredibly hot sex scenes, most of which featured at least one actual queer actor — a big change from the original series! Despite praise for its realistic and abundant sex scenes in its first two seasons, season three turned out remarkably chaste, a situation which we have yet to fully grapple with as a community. However, some things never change: Shane had the #1 most sex scenes in the original series and in Generation Q. Thank you Kate Moennig for your service!
2. The Chart
Alice’s “chart” was intrinsic to the original series, as it provided a groundbreaking visual representation of what it’s like to live, laugh and love in an unavoidably insular queer community. Anyhow I made this chart while on cough syrup on my third day of having the coronavirus but then I updated it to reflect the entire season’s events. And let me tell you that Sophie hooking up with Pippa really required a lot of maneuvering I was not prepared for!
3. Everybody’s Name Sounds the Same To Me
It is just confusing to me how all the new names ended up sounding the same? Like I’m writing a book and my agent told me I couldn’t have a character named “Allison” because I already had one named “Abigail” and they are out here making everyone’s name end with long “e” sound!
I love these charts! Thank you for making theme Riese!
Just two notes – shouldn’t Gigi and Alice be linked due to the throuple? And Taylor should be on there with Alice too!
I hope this doesn’t result in too much re-arranging!
I have some proposed revisions here
Oh also the “hopefully it works” didn’t work 🫠
Honestly it was me making those tweaks in a cheap looking boxes and texts but adding “Daddy of 2” to Tina so that was the punchline(s) that never got land 💀 The chart looks wonderful and I appreciate your amazing work!
oh wow i wonder what happened to my original gigi/alice link, since making that happen was part of why i arranged things the way i did! anyhow it has been fixed now, and taylor added!
The way I miss the Sophie/Finley sex scene from 108!!! Simpler times
Thank you so much for the information!!!!
Ha, I had the same thought! I do feel like Sinley having two of the top six longest sex scenes is a moderate consolation to the apparent end of their relationship.
Although if the season 3 quest for “the One” has taught us anything — Bette/Tina, Alice/Tasha, apparently Gigi/Nat — it’s that your Forever Beloved is probably your ex (and maybe your first gf to boot), which may stand us in good stead for a Sinley reunion if there is another season, since Sophie was Finley’s first real/sustained relationship.
that sex scene in 1×08 is still my favorite sex scene from the entire l word franchise. bums me out that although they were happy hooking up right after becoming an official couple in season 2, that was the end of it!
yes, I’ve watched that scene a few times too. just a few.
I still feel like the almost immediate disintegration of their relationship had a lot more to do with the decision to make Serious Alcoholism the reigning narrative for season 2 Finley (and 3, in its own way in terms of grappling with the fallout/rebuilding her world in LA as a sober person) than with either Sophie or Finley as the characters had been established independently or together up to the point of, say, 2×08.
For all the unrequited vibes they’ve settled into now at the end of season 3, Sophie was the one who offered up her face to be kissed while dancing to Closer, she initiated that hospital kiss, she pushed Finley to speak her feelings in the green room and initiated the glorious reigning 1×08 sex scene. That’s part of why I never understood the scapegoating of Finley (obviously the wedding interruption was bananas but), because it always seemed so mutual? But I digress. 2019 was a different time, in so many ways…
Mhm yes just a few times!
It was adding insult to grievous injury that the alcoholism storyline was so so terrible and also torpedoed the relationship we’d waited to long to see flourish!
And I feel like that happens a LOT on this show!
It is 100% the best sex scene in all of the L Word and I will never forgive the show ruining their connection (that, yes, was mutual!) in favor of a 1. a wedding crashers moment that didn’t have much payoff (or at least, it didn’t feel like any pay-off was worth such a baffling out of character move from Finley. She literally left town at the end of s1 to avoid hurting anyone!!!), and 2. one of the worst storylines ever told about alcoholism and codependency I’ve ever seen in my life (really saying something, as a person who was raised on 90s/early 2000s television)
But yeah, they do it to everyone. Only the dysfunctional couples get a happy ending on this show! (and Gigi/Nat off screen. Happy for them!)
fascinating information! Thank you for gathering and presenting!!
Next season can you create some proposed character / season storyline arc infographics for Marja? It seems like we might benefit from your expertise!
Maybe we can assemble a gift basket with those character arc ideas and a DVD box set of the original series, since MLR had the moxie to admit that she doesn’t know if Gen Q’s writers have ever seen it.
lololol….this is Comment Award material
Intrepid data collection, and with very nice visual presentation to boot! Gen Q really peaked with that 1.04 throuple scene.
Agreeeeeed
I think a lot in general about how so many English language names end in a long e or an ah sound. These are just the names of so many people I know? Like I just did this game with a few coworkers names and family member names that came into my head and it was a really similar distribution to what you have above
Right those definitely are the most common suffixes for names! but I feel like the “ee” is overused especially when it’s mostly nicknames?
Dear Reise,
I hope Showtime pay you a retainer for this valuable work.
Your charts, lists, recaps and podcasts are truely a delight, and the only reason I have watched all three seasons of a pretty crummy show. I’m sure many people out there feel the same way.
They also generate some very interesting insights from my fellow commenters 💖
Thank you xxx
Seconding all of this! The main reason that I keep watch ing Gen Q is so that I can fully appreciate To L and Back!
Same. The pod will remain better than the show until Showtime hires Reise and other AS writers.
thank you all!
Riese I absolutely a) hate that I noticed this and b) hate to bring up this forsaken name, but you missed Benjamin Bradshaw and Kit lol! However, I think as a community we can erase this and any T.O.E. memories from our brains.
Thank you for your graphics and being the most noted L-word scholar as always :) You’re the absolute best and one reason I want this show to keep trudging along is I cannot fathom having to lose your hilarious commentary on it! Can they please just hire you?
I wondered for an instant why Joyce was hanging there by its lonesome and thought “shouldn’t she and Tina be connected?” and soon realized with a facepalm, “Oh, Joyce came on strong to Tina but Tina never reciprocated/agreed. Of course!” That, to me, is how strong and well-played character and presence Joyce was (well, Jane Lynch there) albeit in just a few—but memorable—episodes.
“Most noted L Word scholar”—amused and because I agree (how dare I doubt Joyce in Reese’s The Chart?)
Thanks for putting up the numbers that count, Reese!
pdiddy believe it or not as i was lying in bed last night i had the sudden flash realization of THE TOE GUY and then i woke up and added “charles” to the chart, feeling i had done my duty, and then i saw this comment and then realized, oh fuck, it’s benjamin bradshaw, charles was the name of the actor, and anyhow, egregious error on my behalf but thank you for your service and recollection of this cursed event
Cant wait to hear you on the pants podcast
This is an outstanding achievement in covid-addled busy work. Truly unparalleled. Illuminating, and also really wild to visually see how many long “e” names there are here.
Cannot believe Alice soft-launched a throuple via the hottest three-way sex scene during Shane McCutcheon’s birthday party and yet did not do her the courtesy of explaining with a diagram that it is in fact legal and maybe even fun to agree to open up your relationship instead of telling lies that take an almost physical toll on you to your partner. Shout out to the latest of the long “e” girlies, Kimmy, for picking up Alice’s slack.
Isn’t Shane the one who introduced Bette to the term “throuple” back in season 1, in the context of this whole Gigi/Nat/Alice storyline?
For some wildly unexplained reason Shane just seems to not understand that this is a relationship structure she, too, could enjoy!
As a fan of the original, I have to say I appreciated this reboot for the actual queer spectrum being represented on screen. Have to say I, as a gay man, would’ve liked to have seem at least one gay man somewhere in this world.
Before you crucify me, I came out in 1996 so I have been a supporter of the Lesbian/Queer community ever since.