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The women, other than the lavishly attired Grace, generally walk around in baby tees and thongs, though Van does swim topless. There are even a few, albeit very brief, lesbian sex scenes. Van and her girlfriend, Tina (Rena Riffel), have a hot encounter in the basement, Neighbor Amber (Zara Taylor) gets it on with deejay Chrissy (Michaela Mann) at a party, and in one not-sure-it's-really-happening scene, Grace appears to be having sex with Van.

The producers and writers of the show have missed quite a natural opportunity for more lesbian content. One of the components of Tresum, Grace's faith, is that after the birth of a girl child, the mother is to kill the father. Presumably there would be quite a few “widows” running around Dante's Cove who could be hooking up with each other. Perhaps in season two…

Overall the first season of Dante's Cove is amusingly campy, Tracy Scoggins is great as an over-the-top, screeching, demonish diva, and the predominantly femme women are cute. But the acting is, um, dreadful, and other than the Queer as Folk-esque theme song with the topical refrain “dying to be with you,” the techno music used in Dante's Cove is dull and uninspired.

Though the premise of Dante's Cove might evoke memories of Dark Shadows, Charmed, Buffy, and Melrose Place, the production values here are decidedly lower, and it shows. The hospital scenes in particular were laughingly bad because of the insipid sets and lack of background color (read, people).

We don't know quite enough about any of the characters to care about them. The show's website provides back stories for many of the characters, but other than Kevin, who ran away from an abusive home, and Toby, who had a high school crush on fellow Hotel Dante resident – and presumably straight – Adam (Steve Amell), we don't learn about the characters' stories from watching the episodes.

The two-disk DVD set's special feature is a “making of” program. The actors give a fairly detailed synopsis of the show, while the openly gay director Sam Irvin discusses the setting, the concept, and his pleasure at helming a show where being gay is not the subject, it's just a given.

And that, of course, is one of the positive things about Dante's Cove. Everyone's sexuality is matter-of-factly presented, and other than the soapish drama of supposedly straight Adam's jealousy of Kevin, now that Adam's not the center of Toby's universe any more, it's never an issue.

From the sneak peeks on the DVD and a glimpse at the show's website, season two looks more promising for lesbian viewers. The character of Van is going to become a Tresum apprentice, so she'll be spending more time with Grace. Thea Gill (Lindsay on Queer as Folk) has been added to the cast, some of the actors have been replaced, and more women are listed as regular characters.

With its slightly convoluted and complicated plot, viewing season one may be a necessity to enjoying season two fully. Go in with your eyes open and a refreshing beverage in hand, and you'll make it through just fine.

Get Dante's Cove at amazon.com

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