The issue of Sharon's sexuality is referenced in little ways throughout the episodes, and Sharon's closeted status is a constant source of humor for the series. Whether it's snarky comments from Jaye (to their mother: "I think Sharon is a closet environmentalist"), their mother's constant attempts to find Sharon a boyfriend (on meeting Beth: "that Beth seems like a sweet girl, I bet she has a boyfriend"), or Beth's weariness with Sharon's herculean efforts to hide their relationship, the show clearly illustrates how much work is involved in being closeted.

"My family assumes I have no life so everything gets dumped on me," Sharon complains to Beth, but Beth won't indulge her self-pity, countering "Well, your family doesn't really know anything about your life, so you can't really blame them." Beth's obvious comfort with her own sexuality--even if it's less easily defined than Sharon's--provides a refreshing contrast to Sharon's unease with being open about her's.

Although the series does not show the women actually kissing (due to restrictions imposed by the network, as co-creator Bryan Fuller explained in this interview), by dealing with subjects like bisexuality and lesbian Republicans, Wonderfalls is actually fairly progressive.

The repeated discussion around Beth's sexuality, and the writers' refusal to either demonize Beth or easily categorize her sexuality, is heady stuff for television, since TV writers almost never touch the subject of bisexuality unless it's a joke about how much it turns straight men on.

And except for Mary McCormack's character on the short-lived series K Street, TV lesbians are almost always portrayed as, or assumed to be, liberals. While there is hardly a huge, underrepresented population of Republican lesbians in America, they certainly do exist and it's helpful to have a series that represents and explores the diversity that exists within the lesbian community--and makes us laugh at the same time.

Finneran and Matchett have good chemistry, and are perfectly cast in their roles. Beth's more laid-back, easy-going personality is a nice complement to Sharon's tense, Type-A personality, and Sharon's relationship with Beth enables us to see the softer side of Sharon, who can come across as brittle and overbearing at times when interacting with her family.

Although it is Jaye's relationships and personal life that is the focus of the show, Sharon is nonetheless one of the primary members of the cast and appears in almost every episode. And while she clearly has flaws, Sharon is a realistic, well-rounded, and sympathetic character--no minor accomplishment considering the only other lesbian characters on primetime network TV this season have storylines that are either boringly and insultingly stereotypical (ER) or non-existent (Two and a Half Men).

It helps that Wonderfalls is also very funny, with at least a few brilliant one-liners in every episode (and often more). Although in early episodes the series' quirkiness can occasionally veer into cheesiness, it gets better and better as the series progresses, eventually--as we see in this week's episode--offering some of the funniest moments on television.

Unfortunately, Wonderfalls has garnered low ratings so far, and this Thursday's episode may be its last chance to prove to Fox that it can find an audience. While it may be tempting for lesbian viewers to overlook this show and its lesbian relationship while The L Word is still on, if we don't help keep Wonderfalls on the air, all we'll have left when The L Word ends in a few weeks are storylines about baby-swapping, pregnancy, and custody battles.

So watch Wonderfalls this Thursday at 9pm on Fox and save one of the few interesting lesbian storylines on primetime TV--or you just might get your own visit from the talking chicken.

Update: The series was canceled, but you can now get all 13 episodes on DVD

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