This is my fourth rewrite and probably my last. After season 1 of the reboot, I mused about giving it 5 or 6 stars and ended up with 7 because despite its many flaws, I couldn't turn away. Season 2 does nothing to address those flaws and only amplifies them.
At the heart of the issue is the truly dismal writing and recycled plots. What I mean by the latter is that every episode feels like the last -- lovers hook up for a 45 minute relationship, go their separate ways, and move on to someone else in the circle. A long term relationship is maybe two episodes. The sex is furtive, clawing, and frantic Passion quickly turns to disillusionment. Couples mate and run. There's virtually no romance or tenderness to be found.
Many user reviews criticize the acting and justifiably so. Leisha Haley (Alice) is the only actor who seems comfortable in her role in both seasons. In season 2, Kate Moernig (Shane) starts to mature and surprisingly, so does Leo Sheng (Micah). As for the rest of the cast, Jennifer Beals looks like she knows how badly her character is written and and can't help turning Bette into a self-caricature. Jacqueline Toboni, insufferable as Finley, is completely over the top and slides further downhill as the episodes progress.
Shane and Micah are the only ones who show the remotest sign of character growth. Given that that the story is set in LA, you'd think that someone would be seeing a therapist. And what's with the cinematography? In contrast to the original, the dark interiors make GenQ seem like film noir without the noir.
Edited excerpts from my review of January, 2020, which followed Season 1:
1. Nice to see several of our favorite characters return to reprise their roles from the original.
2. Let's face it -- GenQ is a soap set in an atypical milieu. It's not that far from the original in its absurd story lines, it's just that the original had more finesse and imagination. It was also educational in the way it presented the nuances of lesbian culture.
3. Unlike most of the lesbian and gay couples I know, there are no long-term, stable relationships shown here.
4. There are some truly annoying characters -- mainly Finley (Jacqueline Toboni) and Jose (Freddy Miyares), the latter now thankfully gone.
5. As for the acting, a lot of it seemed under-rehearsed or perhaps the product of one or two takes. I have to blame the directors for many of the cringe-worthy performances or for settling for whatever the actors gave them, but it could have been questionable casting.
How many more experienced actors didn't audition or turned down parts because of the graphic sexuality (mainly in Season 1) -- deep kisses, gratuitous nude scenes, and mucho faux sex. In the original, Jennifer Beals (Bette) was never exposed past her underwear or she discreetly covered her breasts when she was shown naked in bed with a lover (true, too, of Marlee Matlin, Cybill Shepherd, Jane Lynch, and other A-listers). Clearly she had enough star power to draw her own lines, while newcomers had to accept what they were offered -- well, it's better than waiting tables forever.
I really don't have a problem with sex scenes, graphic or not, but they need to make sense in the context of the story. There was something about the graphic sexuality in the original L-Word that seemed more right, especially in the early Jenny Schecter story line when she's finding her voice as a writer and exploring her sexuality.
6. As the risk of beating this to death, much of the dialogue has real issues. When I can sit on the couch and practically mouth the next lines word-for-word before the characters speak them, then something's wrong. Many of the conflicts between the couples were so cliched and devoid of logic, that I had to fast forward to the next scene.
This also refers back to my criticism of the directors. A good director knows how to motivate their actors, even when a scene is poorly written, or knows when to send the script back for a rewrite. Granted there must have been time and budget constraints, but the script should be polished before shooting begins and the writers need to be on hand to make revisions when it's clear that something isn't working.
7. The music truly sucks. The background music, the soppy ballads, and the opening and closing credit tunes all suck. Where's BETTY when we need them?
Finally, what is it about Showtime, the HBO wannabe, that keeps their dramas from realizing their full potential. Unlike HBO ("The Sopranos," "The Wire"), AMC ("Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul"), Amazon ("Mrs. Maisel," "Fleabag"), and FX ("Fargo"), among others, Showtime's series are always straining for the top shelf, but never quite reaching it. After watching episodes of "Dexter," "Shameless," and "Ray Donovan," I came a way with a feeling that they're drawing on a pool of B-list writers or that the showrunners (here, Marya-Lewis Ryan) keep underestimating the audience. GenQ feels like its been dumbed down for the lowest common denominator.
Is it a cultural thing at Showtime's executive level? Granted, HBO has had it's share of turkeys (Alan Ball's awful "Here and Now" and the unwatchable "Hello Ladies"), but when they're good, they're very, very good.
Compared to the disappointing Season 1, Season 2 was on such a downward spiral that it was barely watchable. I kept hoping for redemption, but it never came. If there's a Season 3, I won't be there.
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