It is a classic guilty pleasure. Frankie / Elanor / Shane from the L word played by Ruta Gedmintas only has to bat her predatory eyelashes to seemingly straight women and they're whipping their knickers off for her; completely forgetting they are attracted to men and have never behaved in such a sluttish way at the office / in a morgue / on the street before.
Shockingly Frankie is a photographer. A cliche lesbian job that allows her to photograph attractive women who suddenly pounce on her at any given chance. So strong is her sapphic, mesmerising charisma that I'm surprised she ever leaves the house through fear of a stampede of women racing down the streets after her. When Frankie isn't sleeping with whatever randomer is in her radius she is hanging out with her friends in various cafes and bars in Glasgow or harassing her ex girlfriend Cat.
Cat is an architect who needs to create a blueprint to to construct volume in her incredibly flat hair. In fact this show is shamelessly stereotypical in having lesbians with slick hair and butch jobs. There's Cat the Flat, Sam the police officer and the un-memorably named electrician... who my girlfriend claims has "rapists hair". The only women with any volume are the ditzy yet loveable Tess and her TV presenting bi-sexual, short lived lover Lou.
While this group of women were suspicious of one another, cheating on one another and getting their hearts ripped out by one another there was also the bewildering side story of Frankie's past. Apparently her Uncle's her Dad and her Mum was involved in a stabbing or glassing which got her covered in blood and then some other family members died including the original Frankie who was taken over by Elanor who was given the name Frankie. Confused? So is everyone else! Not only is it confusing but also a big waste of time, giving nothing to the TV series.
Another element of confusion was how Frankie and Cat ever got together in the first place. I know they met at school and were best mates but they're just so incredibly different it makes you wonder what they ever had in common. In the final episode Cat and Frankie finally get it on (didn't see that coming from 100 miles away) and the series ends with Cat torn between her best friend and the new woman in her life. Cat is definitely more suited to dull, reliable Sam but I must admit given the choice between the two I would pick the sultry, floppy fringed Frankie any day.
Lip Service is undoubtably filled with faults. It is brimming with predictability, cliche's and unrealistic storylines. It also tries too hard to be gritty and cool for the masses with it's drug story lines and explicit sex scenes but all the same it is one of the few TV series made for lesbian women and it is no worse than the mighty L Word before it. Roll on series 2!
