In this episode, many of the main characters are introduced to the audience. Bette and Tina are partners trying to have a baby. Bette is a flat character, meaning she conforms to the social norms of a lesbian. She is slightly masculine while still having her feminine side, and she is the “bread winner.” Tina is also a flat character. She is the one who will conceive the child and is slightly more girly than Bette. Alice is another flat character. She is the bi-sexual member of group of friends. Alice is known to be confused which coincides with the preconceived notion of a bi-sexual woman. Shane, on the other hand, is a round character. She is the typical “butchy” lesbian, however she has a past that keeps her from fitting into the social norm. Shane has been with both men and women, yet the preconceived notion of “butchy” lesbians is that they have never been with a man. Dana is a flat character because she is a lesbian tennis player that cannot come out due to sponsors. This goes along with the idea that it is difficult for pro-athletes to come out. Tim, is the only important male character introduced in this episode. He is a flat character. Tim is the typical man, he loves women, is turned on by lesbians, has cheated on his girlfriend, handy, and strong. His girlfriend Jenny is a round character. She is straight but yet is enticed by the lesbians she comes in contact with. Marina is also a flat character. Marina, is a seductive lesbian that has a thing for the straight girl. These are the main characters that episode one introduced.
Within this episode, there were a few causal relations. For example, Jenny sees Shane and a girl having sex in the neighbor’s pool, this causes her to become interested in women. Another example is that since the first sperm did not work for Bette and Tina, Alice suggest that they throw a party so that Bette and Tina could talk to the eligible men in the area.
Temporal relations are also seen in this episode. This episode is ordered syntagmatically. Each event naturally leads to the next event. There are no flash forwards or flash backs in this episode. The episode is all about Bette and Tina trying to have a baby. It begins with Tina telling Bette that she is ovulating, they then go to their donor and receive the sperm, then they go to the doctor to get inseminated, they find out the sperm is dying, they tell their friends, then they throw a party to find another donor, they find one, he turns them down after finding out he cannot have sex with Tina, they tell their friends. The entire episode is syntagmatic like this example.
The intended audience is controversial. The target audience includes, lesbians, bi-sexual women, straight men, and straight women. Lesbian and bi-sexual women can relate to this show and learn about life from this episode. Straight men are reached by the sex scenes, men are turned on by lesbian sex. Straight women may like this show because it explains why they are straight and can give them insight if they have every questioned their sexuality.
The moral conveyed in this episode is that you can conquer anything as long as you have a good group of friends. All of the issues the characters face are resolved during lunch with the group of friends. They all help each other with the issues they are facing. For example, Tina and Bette are having trouble conceiving, therefore, Alice suggests they have a party and all of the friends show up to the party to support Bette and Tina.
It's a pretty broad set of generalizations about why people would like it. Also use more plain language that syntagmatic. Otherwise, good.
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