Finally, a lesbian character portrayed on a show with a host of substance to back it up! Think CSI: Miami meets the humor of Sex and the City and you’ll run the course of identifying the brand-new Boston-based TNT masterpiece labeled Rizzoli & Isles. The 60-minute drama stars former Law & Order sexpot Angie Harmon as the captivating Detective Jane Rizzoli and former NCIS star Sasha Alexander as her enticing sidekick Dr. Maura Isles. Mix in a little bit of The Sopranos (a la Lorraine Bracco) and guest stars like Antonio Sabato Jr., Donnie Wahlberg, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Deborah Stewart, and Brenda Strong and you’ve got yourself a kick-ass cast for season one.
The episode that aired last night was titled “I Kissed a Girl.” The moniker alone made me tune in but what happened in the next 60 minutes is what led me to set my DVR for a “season pass.” The episode began with Rizzoli and Isles looking as hot as a summer day in scorching Atlanta during an opening scene at a yoga class (where everyone was perfectly toned).
The ladies looked so enticing that you’d almost overlook the fact that Antonio Sabato Jr. was behind them in the scene looking all cute “and stuff.” Back to the ladies…downward facing dog….really short shorts and ab-baring little shirts..
The premise of “I Kissed a Girl” centered on a disturbing storyline involving guest star and Desperate Housewives’ actress Brenda Strong. When a murder occurs outside of a popular lesbian bar, Rizzoli & Isles first conclude that it was a hate crime before focusing their efforts on other possibilities. LGBT-friendly dialogue is then showcased in a respectable manner that The Real L Word should observe.
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The interrogation begins with the victim’s spouse (Brenda Strong) wherein she emotionally tells Rizzoli that the Commonwealth recognized their marriage and that she was unable to get in contact with the authorities regarding her wife’s whereabouts the night before. A quick exchange occurs and non-gay viewers have a moment to be educated on the acronym “LGBT.” Specifically, the lesbian audience gets a peek into actually recognizing themselves on-screen when a wedding photo of the two ladies is shown. HALLELUJAH Rizzoli & Isles! (I may have actually shouted something like that while watching this scene unfold).
Continuing their investigation, Rizzoli pulls into her office the leader of an anti-gay funded group called Sons & Daughters of Adam. Wearing an American Flag pin, suit and tie, the “offended” subject under question states, “I think it’s interesting that they send a female and an African American to interview me about a homosexual murder.” Well, let’s not leave anyone out now, shall we? As Rizzoli stands up to end the conversation, the aforementioned possible KKK leader (just throwing it out there) tells Rizzoli with a lamented sigh, “I will pray for you.” She replies with “No thank you, I’ll do it myself.”
Rizzoli is awkwardly not attracted to the extremely irresistible -- if you’re into that kind of thing -- Jorge (Antonio Sabato Jr.) in the few scenes that follow. At one point Rizzoli actually tells Isles, “Maybe I should be a lesbian” and “I would be the guy.” The semi-straight-but-we-still-think-she’s-really-gay Rizzoli distracts from the Jorge-infused attention by throwing herself right back into the hate crime investigation and turning up at a boxing facility to arrest another subject.
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(continued)The interrogation ends abruptly when Isles visits the office to tell Rizzoli that the murderer is actually a woman.
Killed with a dildo? Well, it appears to be possible when Isles explains that the sweat found on the victim is from that of another woman and that a “phallus object” was used (a.k.a. a dildo). Enter witty banter between the two ladies here. This newly-uncovered evidence makes Rizzoli and Isles to start considering the thought that the crime may have not resulted from hate, but rather, love (or lust). Rizzoli and her team begin scrounging around the internet in an effort to get familiar with the IP addresses found on the victim’s computer when the light bulb idea arises to have Rizzoli work undercover as a lesbian in the gay bar where the victim fell prey.
Next scene: discussion of labels “femme, butch, lipstick, chapstick, sporty.” Isles is forced to check a box and cannot seem to figure out which one to choose. The two detectives sitting beside her offer the suggestion to pick “butch” because they recalled Rizzoli in many compromising positions where she had to break a few…people. Isles fights the urge and replies with “No, no, no, no, no. She is my friend. I am not putting butch. I am putting sporty.” Ultimately, Isles chooses the same description as the victim previously chose since the resemblance to Rizzoli was uncanny. She chose “lipstick lesbian.” Do you agree? Which label would you have chosen for Rizzoli?
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Rizzoli and Isles wake up in the morning light together in bed…but nothing happened.
Unfortunately. The two ladies are still fully-clothed, but the sexual tension – at least from Rizzoli’s angle – is palatable.
Rizzoli opens her laptop and checks her email to find at least 10 emails from….Jorge! She responds to the unfavorable male attention by telling Isles, “What you think of as a great guy is an average woman. If I ever wanted someone to walk the dog with me and talk about my feelings, I’d be gay.”
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The next sequence of events feature the undercover Rizzoli in the lesbian bar she visited at the top of the hour. By her side playing the hostess with the mostess is the outrageously attractive, but very straight, Isles.
When Isles leans in to ask Rizzoli if she would like anything to drink, Rizzoli can’t help but quickly glance down her tight, low-cut shirt. Adding to the lesbian tension in the scenes is the sleek and sexy bartender who throws a very direct pass Rizzoli’s way (she resists, but tells her that if she ever wants adventure, she’ll look her up).
When DNA tests on the drinking glasses come back without a firm trace on the killer the next day, the plot begins to thicken into a delectable sauce stirred by none other than the victim’s widow. Collecting on her wage and word to the bartender to look her up for adventure, Rizzoli visits the same lesbian bar and the bartender steals a kiss on the neck. Rizzoli uses this newfound evidence against the accomplice (a.k.a. the bartender) when she coerces her to agree to wear a wire and nail the widow (not in that way, keep it clean!). The unsuspecting widow puts everything on the line not realizing that she is being bugged and then Rizzoli saunters into the scene to nab her; A classic case of Bonnie & Clyde (minus the Clyde) at its best.
Rizzoli & Isles handled the subjects of LGBT life in last night’s episode in a way that was both respectable and commendable. The integrity of this show is incandescent and admirable. We need more responsible LGBT storylines like “I Kissed a Girl”. Bravo, Rizzoli!
Read more of Sarah's stories here.
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