the not-so-boob tube

after a lazy weekend, we'd settled down to some delicious bowls of chili courtesy of neighbor lady phriedz and the delicious premiere episode of 'the l word' and along came a big surprise.

first, let me divulge that 'the l word' is my most unlikely guilty pleasure...even i can't believe i watch it. lesbians are fine, but it's not like i'm one myself, and their sexual escapades don't hold a lot of interest for me generally. however, lesbians are human, too, and their foibles and fumbles as they try to make it in this crazy world of ours are just as captivating -- and real -- as the young people's struggles on 'laguna beach' or 'the real world.' (that's a joke, btw.)

anyhoo, i got sucked into the lesbalicious world of 'the l word' one sleepless night a couple of years ago, and i've yet to break free of their sticky, sapphic web. bad acting? check. clunky dialogue that makes your ears bleed? double check. hot lesbo action? triple check. hilarious attempts to make vancouver appear as l.a.? check, check, checkity-check. however, there are some genuinely appealing actors on the show (leisha hailey is a particular fave) and they occasionally rise above it all and deliver impressive performances, despite it all. and strangely enough, novelist a.m. homes and playwright adam rapp are both producers, showing that hollywood is indeed still in the 'strange bedfellows' business.

so, imagine my surprise and delight when an old friend of mine showed up on the show last night. i screamed and choked on my chili as my old friend donita (a woman) appeared as richard, a transgendered man leading a support group for transgendered people. the opening of her scene was shot in wide angle from far away, but i immediately knew the voice, intoning "i didn't fit into the dyke community and i wasn't accepted as a man, either" or something like that. then they pulled in for the close-up, and there was donita -- now 'dj,' according to the credits. i was tickled pink, literally! dj, if you're out there, shout out to your long-lost friend, hmmmkay?

btw, i wasn't as shocked as i might've been as dj was well on her way to himdom the last time i saw her, thanksgiving 97, i believe, when she came and spent the holiday with me in san francisco. the last time i saw her, she was heading for the airport dressed in a sailor suit with fake chest hair glued on. so yeah, that wasn't really a plot twist for me.

because of the cheese-a-riffic experience that 'the l word' already provided, we were primed for more cheese. first, 'you're the one that i want,' a reality show setting out to pick a new sandy and danny for yet another new production of 'grease' on broadway. seriously, i think it may have been the worst thing i've ever seen. and i'm hooked.

not content to stop with the gouda wedge that was 'you're the one that i want,' we decided to tackle 'the apprentice l.a.,' except for the mister, who had had enough cheese for one evening and left to avoid any further symptoms of lactose intolerance.

now, we knew that a friend of ours is being prominently featured on the show, but little did we know that said friend would show up in the 'coming next week' teaser at the end. i'm hoarse from screaming 'i know that person!' at the tv, but i feel as if i should make a new year's resolution to watch more tv if i want to keep in touch with friends, see what i mean?