The L word S. 5 Ep. 10 'Lifecycle'

Given that most of this week's episode screamed Camp Winnelesbo, this review will focus on just that.

First, let me remark on the fact that it took Mama Chaiken a whole 11 episodes to do the honourable thing and give some credit or mention the early and unnecessary demise of Dana. 11 episodes, Ilene! Ah Dana, we miss you. And a shout-out to my SO's Aunt Donna, who is a breast cancer survivor!

By the end of this episode, however, it was obvious that Team Dana would never ride again. In the meantime, we had more than 30 minutes of dykes on bikes (yeah, yeah, easy, I know). And how well equipped these damsels came. Bette, kitted out to the T and even speaking tour de lesbo speak (pull up, to your left). Kit, fit, and on a bike. At least she had some screentime this eppy. Even Shane managed to get that wiry puny body of hers to accelerate.

Speaking of Shane: this relationship with Molly is just the next in a string of one-way streets. Meanwhile young Nikki has already let her beady eye roam along the non-existing curves of Shane's bod. You just know that we are heading for a fall. I'm also worried about the Tasha and Alice storyline. Of course, it's the L Word and we've had five seasons of this, and a sixth in the making, so we've come to expect this, but still... And did you know that there was segregation in gay clubs? I guess that maybe I haven't been riding the bus long enough to know.

But on to more exciting things because this is definitely the season in which the L Word discovered sex. I can just picture it now: meeting in board room - bunch of suits around the table talking to Mama Chaiken. "But Ilene, you need to think about the male demographic". Yeah, their and my hormones were surely in a tizz as Nikki girded her loins in the Taj Mahal tent after which Jenny added a nice purple penis to the already quite pretty picture of Nikki in a harness. I had to pinch myself to remind myself that this was American TV.

And American TV wouldn't be quite complete without ads. At some point, this episode edged conspicuously nearer to a Tampax ad. It had chick flick written all over it. Although when Alice and Shane joined Tina in her tent, beer bottles in hand, and Alice said 'What the fuck?", for a moment there, I definitely had a case of déjà vu. Remember the wassuuuup ads for Budweiser?

Cue campfire delight. For a moment there I thought that they were going to play spin the bottle and already I could visualise some interesting kissing combos. Alas, it was a game of 'I never... ' and well, I never would have guessed that the Bette/Tina/Jodi showdown was going to happen there and then. But as the discussion focused on the definition of cheating, the shit hit the fan, and Jodi stomped out of the magic circle leaving Bette and an unhappy Max in her wake. SO at that point reflected on the fact that Bette doesn't "really" have any friends (except Shane maybe).

Jenny's summing up of the situation reflected our thoughts exactly. She really is Mama Chaiken's alter ego. Bette and Tina belong together. Word!

* Props this episode to Kit for making some hideous headfashions work anyway. Girl, we miss your fro!
* Quote of the day: my pussy is so numb(Jenny). It will be even sorer tomorrow, dear, from all that riding.
* Rose Rollins and Jennifer Beals have the best laughs. So infectious.
* I *like totally* didn't know The North Face created such palatial tents or I would have actually gone on a camping trip before. This of course hinges on there being a socket in the tent to plug in a hairdryer, in which case I would consider roaming the wilderness.

And finally: I wanted to illustrate this post with a pic of Nikki's pretty buttocks in all their strap-on lusciousness, but I thought that would be rather NSFW. I'm sure that you will be able to find the image somewhere in cyberspace to satisfy your wicked curiosity.