For those who have never seen The L Word (count me among them), Strike.TV’s Anyone But Me appears to replicate that same gestalt, though with the high school lesbian set rather than yuppies. (What better way to potentially tap into the txt msg ad mkt?)
Like the characters in its hotter, older predecessor, Vivian and Aster are lipstick lesbians. They’re also teenagers and deeply in love. And at the level of sophistication with which they carry themselves (these kids today…), you’re not inclined to cast aside their amorous inclinations as “experimentation” despite their young age.
Strike.TV is selling the series on writer/executive producer Susan Miller’s creds, which include Thirtysomething (as story editor) and The L Word (as a consulting producer/writer for the first season). She and co-writer/exec. producer Tina Cesa Ward have certainly tapped into the pulse of young, soft-core, lesbian seduction (with a little post-9/11 earnestness mixed in) that makes Anyone But Me undeniably appealing.
Vivian’s dad is a 9/11 firefighter victim with a respiratory sickness, so he and his 16-year-old daughter move to Westchester to live with his sister-in-law (technically ex-sister-in-law) where he can breath (both literally and figuratively) easier. This means that Vivian (the sultry-voiced Rachael Hip-Flores) will be separated from her true love Aster (young seductress Nicole Pacent) by a good 30 to 40 miles.
As Aster’s threat to jump on the commuter train to visit Vivian on her first day of school is nixed, Vivian is escorted to her first class at a fancy private school by a studly fellow student who’s a fledgling comic artist. While the sparks may not yet be flying there, they sure might be with Vivian’s new neighbor, who’s dating the quarterback. Alas, a text tells us the former-NYC lovers will reunite at week’s end, so the plot thickening will have to wait.
This is the kind of short form web content you may well wish to screen in full were a seasonal box-set ever to be released. In the meantime check it out at Strike.TV.
Comments
Hi Michael, thanks for the nice review of ANYONE BUT ME. We really appreciate it. I just want to clarify something you said regarding my TV writing experience. I was on the STAFF of both “The L Word” (as A consulting producer/writer for the first season) and Thirtysomething, as Story Editor — which means that, although most of us on staff only wrote one or two episodes, we were there in the writers’ room every day, conceiving the story arcs, the characters, and contributing to one another’s work – basically helping to create the show. Which is quite different from someone just getting a gig to write one episode. It’s more like being in the trenches. But you do get to have an afternoon break and gorge on the chocolate which overflows in the middle of every conference table in every writer’s room I’ve ever worked in.
Again, thanks.
Thanks for the clarification, Susan! I updated the above accordingly and looking forward to seeing where the series goes.
Awesome show!! I look forward to much more :)
Weak dialogue. Mediocre acting.
This show is really awesome – the fact that the cast are relative unknowns can only be a plus because the writing is absolutely superb.
The cast all take character and deliver 110%.
My favourites would have to be Aster and Vivian although the entire project really captivated me. It’s the little things that count in stories like this and from such little things as the lighting and shots to the music and even the performance of the actors, this show reeled me in from the get-go.
One of the best web series I’ve seen in a long time (and with the best INTRO to Ep.1 that I’ve EVER seen), to Ms Miller and the rest of her fantastic team: KUDOS TO YOU guys, KUDOS TO YOU.
Cass, Melbourne Australia.
- the responsability of tolerance lies with those who have the wider vision. G.Eliot
Can’t help but say this series is sensational.
The actors are so liberating they give u a real sence of there relationships they are all so complex. I absolutly love all the girls.
Yes, i am a man and baring the lesbianism in this series the writers and story lines should get academy awards. I truly believe this is the greatest thing on tv please dont stop.
Big Big Big Fan!
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