Jamie Babbit

The later seasons after the showrunner's departure being generally weaker (and in one of TV history's more surprising character developments, gradually turning formerly adorable Rory's character into an entitled, callous and rather unlikable person) is the only reason this is not a five star show. And I'm still hovering at 4.7-4.8 and could really be rounding it either way. Heartfelt, sweet, and oh so funny, this is everything a light-hearted family drama should be.

In a clever move, the producers of The L Word use season five to revisit the origins of their own creation. After Jenny (Mia Kirshner) sets out to direct the silver-screen edition of her novel, Lez Girls, she enters a parallel world populated by actors playing thinly-veiled versions of the central cast (in a typical Jenny move, she sleeps with the star who portrays "Jesse"). This post-modern plotline brings newcomers up to speed, while offering early-adapters new perspectives on the past.

A promising comedy that goes awry all too early, But I'm a Cheerleader concerns a misunderstood high school kid (Natasha Lyonne) whose parents send her to a harsh, homosexual-rehabilitation camp despite a lack of evidence that she's gay. Ruled with an iron fist by a fascist counselor (Cathy Moriarty), the clinic only drives Lyonne's character toward an attraction to a rebellious tomboy (Clea DuVall), though screenwriter Brian Wayne Peterson and director Jamie Babbit are curiously intent on show more keeping the two apart and depriving the audience of other comic possibilities. Meanwhile, hoary clichés abound: prancing boys, butch gays, lipstick lesbians. Despite a fine cast full of young talent, and cameo appearances by Julie Delpy and RuPaul Charles, this attempt to skewer a present-day trend in "curing" homosexuals of their sexual preferences is flattened by stereotypes and unimaginative thinking. --Tom Keogh show less

Three neighbors try to make a true crime podcast.

2/4 (Indifferent)

I don't understand why this is boring. There's always something big happening, but it never seems to matter.

(Nov. 2021)