A sexy cocktail, a love letter to a city, feminist art to all – that’s “Lady Pochoir”.

The German short movie, which had its premiere last week in Cologne, tells the story of Yv (Nadine Rennack), a bike courier in Cologne. By night, she becomes Lady Pochoir (“Stencil”) and wields stencils and spray paint to decorate the dreary walls of her city. When her tags catch the eye of an art publisher, the straight-laced careerist Lexy (Verena Zimmermann), sparks start to fly. Yv’s life is about to become as big an adventure as her nighttime forays – if only she can stay one step ahead of Sascha (Vanessa Jung), the annoying policewoman who’s taken more interest in her than is strictly needed…

Here’s the trailer:

Want to see more? (Trust me, you DO want to see more!)

Here you go:

Sexy, isn’t it? I for one can’t wait to see the entire movie. Luckily, audiences both in Germany and the U.S. will get that chance soon, as the movie will be shown on the International Queer Film Festival (Lesbisch Schwule Filmtage) in October in Hamburg and the Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival in November.

Oh, and in case you know a little about German soap operas, or at least about “Verbotene Liebe”, and are thinking that some of the faces look familiar to you: Verena Zimmermann is currently playing Nico von Lahnstein on “VL”, and Vanessa Jung used to play Nico’s half-sister Jana Brandner. Yes, it’s a small world, and when it comes to actors and actresses in Cologne, it seems to be even smaller…

To get more information on the movie, the cast and the crew you should check out the movie’s official homepage and/or facebook page.

Until March 5th, participants of AfterEllen’s latest survey can enter up to 10 names of characters they think made an impact, changed the perception of lesbian and bi women by the media and/or audiences, or just moved them in a significant way.

So, here is my list. I listed them in chronological order, which means that the ones in the top spots are not necessarily my favorites, and vice versa. I think you could say that I like them all equally – well, except for one.

Idgie Threadgoode, “Fried Green Tomatoes” (1991)

Ever wondered why “bee_charmer” is such a popular user name on lesbian message boards and websites? It is because of her: Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson). Even though the producers tried hard to “de-gay” the storyline, it was obvious even without knowing the book by Fannie Flagg which the movie was based on that Idgie was “one of us”, and that her relationship with Ruth was more than just friendship. Passionate, stubborn, loyal and kindhearted as she was, she charmed not only the bees and Ruth, but also movie audiences, and made “Fried Green Tomatoes” one of the most popular lesbian movies of all times.

Ellen Morgan, “Ellen” (1997/1998)

It if it weren’t for Ellen DeGeneres and her quirky yet loveable alter ego Ellen Morgan, I would probably still try to tell myself that I just have not found the right man yet. That’s why, if I had to pick only one, she would be my choice for all-time favorite lesbian character.

Tara Maclay, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1999 – 2002)

Gentle and sweet, yet strong and feisty when it mattered, Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) was so much more than just Willow Rosenberg’s girlfriend. When she was shot by Warren, my heart broke, and it took a while before I could forgive Joss Whedon. (Alright, to be honest, as brilliant as he is, I’m still a little mad at him.)

Willow Rosenberg, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1999 – 2003)

She went from nerd to powerful witch to “I’m going to skin people alive and destroy the world because I don’t know how to deal with my girlfriend’s death” and managed to return from it. If there was ever a strong female character with an interesting character arc, it was Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan).

Rosalie Butzke, “Berlin, Berlin” (German TV show; 2002/2003)

Rosalie, oh Rosalie. Even though she only appeared in the very first of five seasons of one of the best German TV shows ever, she is still my favorite character. Rosalie Butzke (Sandra Borgmann) was the first “real” lesbian character I came across on German TV. She had a big mouth, but an equally big heart and would do everything for her friends. Her sexuality was never questioned, nor was it ever a big deal, except for a hilarious verbal exchange she had with main character Lolle when they first met. (They kept calling each other “dyke” and “country bumpkin”, respectively.) After she left, the show just wasn’t the same anymore.

Lucy Diamond, “D.E.B.S.” (2004)

An alleged super-villain who turns out to be a regular – very sexy, but still regular –  girl, Lucy Diamond (Jordana Brewster) got her heart broken once too often and is now too scared to even go on a blind date. But all that changes when Lucy meets Amy and falls in love with her. Lucy is willing to do everything to win Amy over – even give up crime.

Bette Porter, „The L Word“ (2004-2009)

Strong and powerful on the surface, Bette (Jennifer Beals) tried to keep everything – and everyone – under control and failed miserably. She cheated on both Tina and Jodi, she had an affair with a student, and she even went as far as kidnapping her daughter during a custody battle she had with Tina. There were times when she made it very difficult for viewers to like her, and there were times when her own vulnerability became so obvious that it was hard not to feel sympathetic for her. (Plus, just thinking about her in one of her power suits makes me drool.)

Carla von Lahnstein, “Verbotene Liebe” (2003 -* )

For six years, Carla Sophia Gräfin von Lahnstein (Claudia Hiersche) had to endure whatever spine-crawling ideas the writers of German soap opera „Verbotene Liebe“ came up with, but she always managed to retain her dignity. Her girlfriend died in her arms; she was forced into marrying a man by her father; her wife’s ex-husband took hostages at their wedding; while she was pregnant, her wife fell in love with the sperm-donor; and all the while her brother Ansgar made intrigues and even managed to get her arrested and locked up. Even though she once went astray and cheated on her wife, Carla went through all of this with her head held high. Furthermore, she never once questioned her sexuality and, after being outed by her brother, she was out and proud. Carla deserves every bit of happiness she seems to have finally found with Stella. May they live happily ever after.

(* Because Claudia Hiersche has not officially left the show, I did not include an end date.)

Arizona Robbins, “Grey’s Anatomy” (2009 – )

A pediatric surgeon with rolls under her shoes and authority issues – judging from that description, it would seem unlikely that Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) is one of the most mature characters on Grey’s Anatomy. But when it comes to her work or her girlfriend Callie, people do well to take Arizona seriously.  She stands up for her little patients, and she stood up for Callie when her father came to try and “pray away the gay”. She is not flawless, of course, and even lied to Callie once when she thought that she could not handle a situation, but she tries hard to be a “good man in a storm” and the best person – and girlfriend – she can be.

Those are my nine nominees, and there is room for one more on the list. Any suggestions who I should add? And who are your nominees?

k.d. lang performs “Hallelujah”

The 2010 Winter Olympics were kicked off with a big, yet moderate opening ceremony last Friday. Among the artists who were chosen to perform at the event were popular Canadian singers Nelly Furtado and Sarah McLachlan, but one of the most notable performances was the one by out singer k.d. lang, who moved the audience in the BC Place stadium and two billion TV viewers from all over the world with her powerful interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.

A video of the performance is available online (h/t @SpiritedMuse for the link), but unfortunately only on the NBC website, where it is restricted to viewers within the United States. Videos that were uploaded to YouTube and other websites had to be taken down by request of the International Olympic Committee.

But of course, the Winter Olympics are not (only) about performances at the opening ceremony, but about sports. If you are interested in skiing, biathlon, figure skating and the like and want to know which women you might want to look for, AfterEllen has put together a list of out females athletes who will be competing in Vancouver.

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Don’t you just love it when you are given the chance to get a glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes of one of your favourite TV shows? Well, even if you don’t, you might still be interested in “The L Word Book”. During her six years on the show, actress Jennifer Beals kept a photographic journal of the cast and crew which she is now making available to the fans as well. The book does not only include 400 never-before-seen photos, but also other things like bits of scripts, callsheets and production memos.

“The L Word Book” can now be ordered from the official website, lwordbook.com. The proceeds from the book will go to several different charities.

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Even though the program schedule of German TV channel ARD was dominated by coverage of the Winter Olympics this week, it does not mean that its serial lesbians got a chance to take a breather.

On “Verbotene Liebe”, Carla and Stella said goodbye to family and friends to set off for the next stage of their journey together – marriage. Tuesday’s episode brought not only the two-week-long guest appearance by actresses Claudia Hiersche (“Carla”) and Anne Wis (“Stella”) to an end, but most likely the storyline itself. There has been no official confirmation that there will be no further guest appearances, but judging from the send-off they got and also from the fact that their names disappeared from the cast list on the official website this week as well, it seems more and more unlikely that they will return any time soon, if at all.

Goodbye, “Starla”: Actresses Claudia Hiersche (left) and Anne Wis

With Carla and Stella gone, it is time for Kerstin and Juliette on “Marienhof” to hurry up a little and finally get involved in order to prevent a void of lesbian couples on German soaps. (By the way, have the fans agreed on a name by now? Is it “Keriette” or “Kerstiette”?)

Unfortunately, Kerstin is still fighting her attraction to Juliette and is trying to prove to Juliette, the world and most of all herself that she is still in love with Raul and wants to be with him. Of course, Juliette is hurt by Kerstin’s behaviour, and it gets more and more difficult for them to work together, until the tensions finally become unbearable and they get into a bitter quarrel at the bakery…

Speaking of “Marienhof”, the girls of “Back Dat” will soon be joined by another lesbian. According to the official website, out singer Lucy Diakovska of the German band “No Angels” has just filmed two guest appearances, which will air in April and May, respectively. She will play a photographer who comes to the bakery to take pictures of Juliette and her chocolates.

Lucy Diakovska (left) with Maike von Bremen, who plays Juliette
(Picture: Das Erste)

While Carla and Stella are and Juliette and Kerstin will (hopefully) soon be happy together, things are not looking good for the lesbians on the German “Lindenstraße” and the British teenage drama “Skins”. On “Lindenstraße”, Steffi is still determined to open a chocolate shop. In order to get the money she needs, she starts to work for a drug dealer. When Tanja finds out about it, they get into a fight. Over in Bristol, the relationship of teenagers Emily and Naomi is on the rocks as Emily is unable to cope with the fact that Naomi cheated on her. (You can find recaps of the “Naomily” storyline both on AfterEllen and eurOut.)

And in the U.S., it looks like Callie and Arizona (“Grey’s Anatomy”) will soon not be the only lesbian couple on American network TV anymore. As AfterEllen reports, there will be a lesbian storyline on “Desperate Housewives”, starting this Sunday.

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“The Kids Are Alright”, the new movie by “High Art” director Lisa Cholodenko, won the Teddy Award 2010 for “Best Feature Film” at the Berlin International Film Festival. The movie is about a lesbian couple, played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, whose life gets complicated when their teenage children track down their biological father (Mark Ruffalo). You can read more about the award and the other lesbian movies in the competition over on eurOut.

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A tip for German readers: The current issue of German magazine “Gala” has an article about Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi in which their marriage is being described as one of the happiest in Hollywood. Though the article about “Hollywoods Power Duo” is not very informative and they even get some facts wrong, the pictures alone make it worth to take a look and maybe even buy it.

That’s it for this week. As always, let me know what you think in the comments.

Carla and Stella are at the Lahnstein offices. Carla closes the door to her office behind her and tells Stella that now, all there is left for her to do is to return the key. Arm and arm, they walk down the hallway to the reception desk where Carla leaves the key card.

Stella wonders whether it is difficult for Carla to leave her work at the Holding behind, but Carla replies that she is feeling relieved, as for the last years, her work has mostly been about keeping Ansgar in check.

Stella then asks about Königsbrunn, where Carla grew up. Carla admits that she is going to miss it, but says that they can always return once they get tired of travelling. She takes Stella’s hand and leads her to the elevator.

While they are waiting for the elevator, they talk about Maria. Stella once again tries to convince Carla to talk to her, but Carla refuses to. They enter the elevator, and Carla says that there are things that she rather wants to focus on now. She hugs Stella and reminds her of their plans to get married, that they are going to be on a plane to Toronto the next day, and that the Niagara Falls and Honeymoon City are waiting for them. In between her words, Carla starts to kiss Stella, while the elevator doors are closing.

The next day, Maria is in the kitchen of Königsbrunn to oversee the preparations for Carla and Stella’s farewell dinner. Stella comes into the kitchen to say goodbye to her former colleagues. When she realizes that Maria makes every effort to have Carla’s favourite dishes prepared, she tells Maria that Carla is not willing to talk to her, no matter what. Maria says that she knows that, but that she still wants to do that for Carla because it is all she can do. She asks Stella not to tell Carla about this, and Stella agrees.

Later, Carla and Stella are in the dining room with Elisabeth, Carla’s uncle Ludwig, his children Tristan, Helena and Rebecca and his daughter-in-law Lydia.

Stella reminds Carla that it is time to go. Carla tells her family that they actually make it difficult for her to say goodbye, and praises the delicious meal. Stella says that somebody tried very hard. She looks over to Maria, who is hiding behind the door to watch the scene, but Maria motions to her not to say anything. Instead, Stella praises the cook. Carla says that she will going to miss her, but also her family. She looks at them nostalgically, then takes Stella’s hand.

Outside of the castle, Elisabeth says goodbye to Sophia, whom Stella is carrying in her arms. While Stella places the little girl in the car, Elisabeth hands Carla the family’s farewell gift, a video that includes messages from every family member. She starts to cry and hugs Carla and tells her that her family will be thinking of her.

One by one, Ludwig, Lydia, Helena, Tristan and Rebecca say goodbye to Carla and Stella. Before getting into the car, Carla looks up to the castle and sees Maria standing at a window. Maria waves goodbye to her, but Carla looks away and gets into the back seat of the car, next to Sophia. In the car, Stella and Carla once again wave goodbye to Carla’s family, until the car takes them away to start their new adventure: marriage.

THE END

With this episode, the guest appearance by Claudia Hiersche (“Carla”) and Anne Wis (“Stella”) draws to an end. As of now, it is unknown when the next guest appearance will be, or if there is going to be one at all. Judging from the send-off the characters got this time as compared with last time, it looks like they might be gone for a while – maybe even forever.

If you need something to ease the wrench, you could take a look at this beautiful video with scenes from the final episode, which was created by Song2519:

Thanks Song2519, and once again thank you so much to all of you who kept coming back to read my recaps, and who even left so wonderful comments.

This week: Portia is on the cover of The Advocate, Ellen has a “royal” fan, Armani makes some American moms nervous, and Cathy and Jill ask for our help.

“The Great de Rossi”: Out actress Portia de Rossi is on the cover of the March issue of “The Advocate”. In the interview, she opens up about her career, her marriage with Ellen, and how she suddenly became an activist for marriage equality.

Before you read the interview and see the amazing pictures over on advocate.com, why don’t you work up an appetite by watching this behind-the scenes video of the photo shoot with Portia.

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Speaking of the DeGeneRossi family: Portia was not the only one who was interviewed lately. CBS news anchor Katie Couric visited Ellen on the set of her talk show and talked to her about connecting with her audience, becoming vegan, and of course her marriage with Portia. You can watch the entire interview on YT, or watch parts of it and read about the rest on AfterEllen.

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As if being married to a hot and smart blonde, who happened to top AfterEllen’s Hot 100 list last year, having a enourmously succesful talk show and being the new judge on American Idol was not enough, Ellen also has a “royal” fan.

Also in the March issue of the Advocate, Academy Award winner and former “Queen” Helen Mirren gushes over Ellen. Asked who she would pick to play her love interest if she ever played a lesbian role again, she answered:

” I would just want a wonderful actress, gay or straight, but I certainly wouldn’t say no to Ellen DeGeneres. I’m such a huge fan of hers and I’ve loved her from a distance for such a long time, so it was quite a moment for me this year to do her show, stand on her set, and see her right there in front of me.”

(Picture: ellen.warnerbros.com)

We are so with you on that, Your Majesty!

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Melissa Etheridge’s new album won’t be released before April, but you can already listen to the title track “Fearless Love” on her official website, and there is also some behind-the-scenes footage of the video shoot for “Fearless Love”. Unfortunately, the song is not available in the German iTunes store yet.

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Valentine’s Day is coming up, time to “Share The Love”. At least that is what the fashion label Armani Exchange thought and started an ad campaign that features three couples: a straight couple, a lesbian couple and a gay couple.

Way too much love for a conservative group called OneMillionMoms, who called the ad “soft porn” and wants the ads to be removed from Armani stores. I don’t know about you, but I think that there is a fair chance that the posters will in fact be removed – on Monday.

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All over international TV screens and computer monitors, serial lesbians were alive and kicking this week.

On “Verbotene Liebe”, Carla and Stella are ready to leave again, but first Carla surprised Stella with a romantic proposal. (Read the recap here.)

After their initial problems, Kerstin and Juliette started to get along much better on the latest episodes of “Marienhof”. A recap is in the works, but you can already watch just how good they got along here (with English subtitles) and here, and how much closer they are going to grow here:

Steffi on Lindenstraße and Kristin on KDD both had to decide whether to do something illegal. (A short recap is in the works as well.)

On Grey’s Anatomy, Arizona and Callie decided to play Cupid for Bailey, urging her to go out with another doctor, while on Venice, after finally putting her foot down and asking Gina to not call her anymore, Ani met the beautiful Lara.

And finally: Check out the first episode of this new web series called “The Real Girl’s Guide to Everything Else”. Here is how it is described on the official website:

“A journalist, nearly dropped by her agent because her work is too smart, political, lesbian and feminist, goes undercover as a glitter-wearing, shoe-obsessed, Cosmo-drinking straight girl.”

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Actresses Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono (“Out at the Wedding”) announced this week that they intend to travel to London for the screening of their movie “And Then Came Lola” (a lesbian version of the German hit “Lola rennt”) at the London Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in March. They would love to travel to two more European cities, and they ask their fans for help.

Cathy DeBuono (left) and Jill Bennett

By the way, if you haven’t yet, make sure to watch their hilarious web series “We Have To Stop Now”.

That’s it for this week. If you think that I have forgotten something, let me know in the comments. Enjoy watching the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and don’t forget that Sunday is Valentine’s Day!

Carla (Claudia Hiersche, left) surprises Stella (Anne Wis)

Monday, February 8, 2010 (3555)

No Stella & Carla scenes.

Stella meets Olli at the No Limits. She tells him that she and Carla are planning to continue their “round-the-world” trip very soon, and that for the next stop, she would like to travel to the Niagara Falls.

Olli pours out his heart to Stella about his relationship problems with Christian. She tries to cheer him up and gives him a magazine with advice for a happy relationship. Olli is sceptical at first, but decides to give it a try.

Olli (Jo Weil) seeks relationship advice from Stella

Meanwhile, Carla and Elisabeth officially introduce Ludwig as the new CEO of the Lahnstein Holding to the press.

Carla and her uncle, Ludwig von Lahnstein (Krystian Martinek)

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 (3556)

Carla is relieved that Ludwig’s introduction as the new CEO of the Holding went well. She again assures him that she does not regret her decision to ask him to run the family business and that he and Elisabeth will make a great team

Stella is in the kitchen of Königsbrunn, defending a cake that the cook gave her against Christian’s big appetite. When she explains to him that the cake is for Carla, Sophia and her, he wonders when they are planning to eat it, as Carla is at the office and will probably have to stay there for a while to catch up with business.

Instead of waiting for Carla, he suggests that they should eat the cake right away, and reaches for it. Stella manages to bring the cake to safety, and tries to convince Christian – and probably also herself – that Carla only went to work to take care of the handover of the Lahnstein Holding to Ludwig.

Meanwhile, Carla, Elisabeth and Charlie are at Schneider’s and talk about Carla’s plans for the future. Charlie tells her that they will miss Stella and her, and Elisabeth once more tries to convince Carla to stay, but Carla stands her ground. She explains to them that she always wanted to travel, and that now is the right time because she will not be able to do that anymore once Sophia is older and has to go to school.

Back at her office, Carla’s is working on her computer when she realizes that she is late for an appointment. She calls Stella, who is waiting for her at the No Limits together with Nathalie and Matthias, and explains that she is going to be late. Stella is annoyed when she hears that Carla is still at the office, and urges her girlfriend to hurry up.

When Carla finally arrives at the No Limits, she sits down next to Stella and starts to explain why she was late. With a serious look, she says that there is something that they have to do before they can continue travelling the world. Then she hands Stella a red envelope and asks her to open it.

While Stella opens the envelope, Carla can barely refrain from grinning. In the envelope, Stella finds plane tickets to Toronto and a reservation for a hotel suite at the Niagara Falls. With a big smile, Carla says that she she knows that Stella always wanted to get married there, and that is what they are going to do now. Stella is overjoyed, and they hug and kiss.

Carla (Claudia Hiersche, left) is happy that she can soon start a new life with Stella (Anne Wis)

Monday, February 1, 2010 (3551)

Carla, Stella and Elisabeth are still in the hall. After letting go of Carla and welcoming Stella as well, Elisabeth asks for Sophia. Carla and Stella pretend to be shocked for a moment for having forgotten about Sophia, then Carla smilingly tells Elisabeth that Sophia is outside with Justus, the butler.

Carla asks for her uncle Ludwig. Elisabeth explains to her that Ludwig is on a business trip to Zurich but will be back the next day. She then wants to tell Carla about Maria’s deceit, but is interrupted by Ansgar and Maria, who enter the hall.

Upon seeing Carla, Ansgar of course cannot stop himself from making a snarky comment about her return. Carla ignores him and goes over to say hello to Maria, whom she hugs and calls “mother”. When noticing Maria’s apparent uneasiness, Carla becomes suspicious and asks what is going on. Maria asks to speak with Carla in private, but Elisabeth intervenes, saying that she wants to make sure that Carla learns the whole truth. Both Carla and Stella look confused.

Carla and Maria go into the living room, followed by Elisabeth. Maria again tries to get rid of Elisabeth, who insists on staying. Maria starts off by saying that she is sorry and never wanted to hurt Carla, then confesses to Carla that she is not Carla’s mother Francesca, but her younger sister Maria. She tries to apologize to Carla and explains to her that all she wanted was to have her own family.

Carla is shocked, and asks about the DNA test. Elisabeth explains to her that the test was fake. Carla wants to know whether her brothers Leonard, Constantin and Ansgar already know that Maria is not their mother. Elisabeth tells her that they do, and that Ansgar was actually the first to find out. Carla wonders why he did not say anything, then realizes that Ansgar used his knowledge to gain power over the Lahnstein Holding.

To up the ante, Elisabeth then also reveals to Carla that Ansgar actually is Maria’s biological son from a brief affair she had with Carla’s father Johannes. All those news are too hard to handle for Carla. She leaves the living room, but not before stating that her whole family is just sick.

Later, Stella finds Carla in the administrator’s office. She apologizes to Carla for having forgotten the time while catching up with her former colleagues among the castle’s staff, who told her that Elisabeth had taken over her job as the castle’s administrators for a while, and also about Ansgar’s wife Tanja. Stella assumes that that was what Maria wanted to speak with Carla about. When Stella refers to Maria as Carla’s mother, Carla explains to her that Maria is not her mother.

Stella wants to comfort Carla, but Carla explains to her that she will not break out in tears because of Maria, as Maria is not worth it. Stella tells Carla that she does not have to pretend to be strong in front of her and takes Carla in her arms.

Carla enjoys Stella’s embrace for a moment, then lets go of her and assures her that she is fine. She then goes to to look after Sophia, leaving a worried-looking Stella alone in her former office.

The next day, Carla is back in her office at the Lahnstein Holding, apparently catching up with the latest business developments. Ansgar comes into her office and, in a sarcastic tone, offers his support, saying that she might need it because of all the shocking news she has to deal with. Carla retorts that at least one of the revelations was good news, which is that Ansgar is not really her brother.

In a condescending tone, Ansgar then asks whether her trip with Stella – who he refers to as Carla’s “service mouse” – was so boring that Carla needed to go back to work, but Carla chooses to ignore him. Before Ansgar leaves her alone, her warns her to keep an eye on their uncle Ludiwg, who – in Ansgar’s opinion – tries to establish himself in the Lahnstein Holding.

When Ludwig returns to the castle, he receives a phone call from Carla, who asks him to meet her for lunch at Schneider’s. Ludwig then meets Maria, and they talk about Carla’s response to the revelation that Maria is not her mother. Maria thinks that Carla and her brothers will never forgive her, but Ludwig encourages her to keep trying to explain her behaviour to them.

At Schneider’s, Carla and Elisabeth are waiting for Ludwig at the bar. Elisabeth asks Carla whether she remembers her uncle Ludwig. Carla tells her that she does not, but that Ludwig’s voice on the phone sounded somehow familiar to her.

Ludwig arrives at Schneider’s. Carla greets him with a hug. Ludwig tells her that he is happy to meet her, but that their getting to know each other will have to wait for a moment. He looks over to the door, where Maria is standing. Carla turns away, but Maria approaches her and tries to talk to her.

When Maria touches Carla, Carla loses her temper and slaps Maria in the face. Then she turns around and starts to cry.

Elisabeth (Martina Servatius) welcomes Carla (Claudia Hiersche) and Stella (Anne Wis)

Last November, Carla & Stella left Königsbrunn to go on a “round-the-world” trip. A lot has happened since then:

Elisabeth temporarily took over Stella’s job as the castle adminstrator so she could have an eye on Maria and Ansgar, but that did not stop them from drugging Ansgar’s wife Tanja, who almost died und is now in a coma.

Carla’s cousins Helena and Tristan von Lahnstein and Helena’s now-boyfriend Andi Fritzsche traveled to South America to look for Ludwig von Lahnstein, Helena and Tristan’s father and the brother of Carla’s father Johannes. They found him in a local prison and managed to get him released. When they returned to Königsbrunn, Ludwig saw Maria and – not knowing that she was claiming to be Francesca von Lahnstein – revealed that she in fact was Maria di Balbi, Francesca’s younger sister.

Elisabeth took advantage of Ludwig’s return and his revelation about Maria and reclaimed her position both in the family as Johannes von Lahnstein’s widow and in the Lahnstein Holding, thus disempowering Ansgar. She hoped to win Ludwig’s support, but they soon clashed because of their different opinions on Johannes, who Ludwig is mad at because Johannes did not help Ludwig when their father disinherited him.

All the while, Elisabeth had been trying to reach Carla to tell her about the latest developments, but she could not get a hold of her and assumed that she was still in Burma, the latest stop on her and Stella’s trip (on which, by the way, they apparently also took Sophia, Carla’s daugther, even though they were not shown leaving with her). Not being able to talk to Carla made Elisabeth feel even more isolated and lonely.

Which brings us to today’s episode. After a fragile reconciliation with Ludwig and another unpleasant encounter with Ansgar and Maria, Elisabeth is in the entrance hall and on her way upstairs when she hears that the front door is being opened. She turns around and, much to her surprise, sees Stella. Stella smiles at Elisabeth, than turns to look at Carla, who is entering behind her. Elisabeth is relieved and overjoyed to see Carla and goes over to hug her. In Carla’s arms, she tells her again how happy she is that Carla is back and starts to cry.

You can watch today’s episode on the show’s official website. There is also a video of THE scene, with the scene with Maria and Ansgar leading up to it, already available on YouTube.

As the titles indicate, articles in these categories will be about lesbians on TV shows and web series – lesbian characters and the actresses who play(ed) them, lesbian actresses, and of course the characters and actresses who we wish were lesbians.

The “Serial Lesbians” posts will be in English and mostly include recaps and short descriptions of storylines on German TV and web series for all Non-German-speaking readers. For news on and recaps of TV and web series from other parts of the world, there will be German posts in the “Lesben in Serie” categorie.

But now, let’s move on to the first dose of lesbian goodness (or not) from German TV. This week, “Serial Lesbians” includes, among other things, recaps of the (potential) new lesbian romances on Marienhof and Lindenstraße, which provide us with a new, surprising lesbian cliché: Apparently, it is all about chocolate.

If we ever complained that there are not enough lesbian characters on German TV, it sure does not seem that way at the beginning of 2010.

At the moment, there are three shows that feature lesbian characters and even lesbian romance. Add to that the return of Carla and Stella on “Verbotene Liebe” and the first teaser of the new German web series Emma Stahl, and January and February almost feel like “Lesbian Weeks” in Germany.

Marienhof (ARD)

There’s a new lesbian in Marienhof!

At least that is what the previews for upcoming episodes of the German soap opera suggest. It would not be the first lesbian or lesbian couple on “Marienhof”: Back in the 1990s, the on-again, off-again relationship of bisexual Andrea and lesbian Billi kept lesbian audiences at the edge of their seats.

Andrea (Leonore Capell, left) and Billi (Katja Keller)

Now, it looks like there’s a new lesbian romance looming on the horizon. Here is what happened so far:

A few weeks ago, the character of Juliette was introduced when resident heartthrob Carlos literally ran into her in his bar “Daily’s”. Carlos is fascinated by the mysterious French woman. When he learns that Juliette makes her own chocolates, he suggests that she should sell them at “Back Dat”, the bakery run by Kerstin, the girlfriend of Carlos’ brother Raul.

Kerstin is not overly excited by this idea, especially when she finds out that Carlos only made the suggestion because he is interested in Juliette. She is worried about the feelings of Carlos’ ex-girlfriend Heidi, who also works at the bakery.

Juliette (Maike von Bremen, left) lets Heidi (Verena Mörtel) and Kerstin (Maike Billitis) try some of her chocolates

Kerstin ultimately changes her mind after trying some of Juliette’s chocolates together with Raul and both of them are so turned on by the apparent eroticizing effect of the chocolates that they end up in bed together. She soon regrets her decision, though, when she realizes that Juliette is more of an artist than a business woman. She shows up late, gives away chocolates for free, and even refuses to sell a certain kind of chocolate to a customer as she thinks that it is not the right one for him, giving him a different one instead.

Kerstin calls Juliette out on her unprofessional behaviour, but much to her surprise, the customer returns to the shop and buys more of the chocolates Juliette gave him. Juliette takes this opportunity to teach Kerstin some more about the art of making chocolates and especially how to combine various flavours and spices, and Kerstin starts to see Juliette differently.

Juliette tries to give Kerstin an understanding of her art

As Juliette and Kerstin suddenly get along much better, Heidi gets jealous and angry at Juliette, who she thinks is just loopy and arrogant. Heidi eventually asks Kerstin to choose between her an Juliette. Juliette tries to talk to Heidi, but to make matters worse, Carlos joins them and hits on Juliette right before Heidi’s eyes. Still, Juliette eventually manages to convince Heidi that she is not arrogant and as out of touch with reality as she might seem, and moreover, that she is not interested in Carlos.

Coming up:

Kerstin and Heidi start to speculate whether Juliette might be a lesbian. Kerstin soon realizes that she has fallen in love with Juliette, and they even kiss, but – of course – Kerstin cannot admit her feelings to herself or anyone else and pretends that she still wants to be with Raul. Juliette gets more and more annoyed by Kerstin’s behaviour, until they end up having a bitter quarrel…

Kerstin and Juliette give in to their feelings and kiss

Go here for Bioschokolade’s German recaps of the storyline so far, and/or check out rheimasfreak2′s compilations of Juliette & Kerstin scenes on YouTube.

Pictures: Das Erste

Carla and Stella will finally return to “Verbotene Liebe” next Thursday. In the meantime, why not take a look at this beautiful video made by Song2519, a reader of this blog and an avid “Starla” fan. Thanks so much, Song2519!

And here’s a preview picture of the two of them together – Carla and Stella are back, yay!

Official caption: “Carla (Claudia Hiersche) vehemently rejects Stella’s (Anne Wis) suggestion to appoint [Carla's uncle] Ludwig as CEO of the Lahnstein Holding”