Hex (TV series)

Hex (2004-2005) is a British fantasy television series. The plotline concerns the plans of a fallen angel named Azazeal to procreate with human females, and the resistance opposed to him by these women, teenagers, witches and their allies, in a boarding school setting.

One of the series's main characters, Thelma Bates, is a lesbian student whom Azazeal killed in the first episode, who returns as a ghost. Thelma's character, played by Jemima Rooper, is one of the extremely rare portrayals of lesbians in starring roles in genre television, as well as one of the most interesting, in spite of the handicap caused by her being dead, and as such works with and against such stereotypes as the dead lesbian cliché.

Though the series has been billed as a British Buffy, its resemblance to the American TV show is slim. The sexiness, supernatural elements, and school setting are common points, but they are handled very differently. The blonde female lead character with supernatural gifts of the first season, Cassie, was replaced with a different character, Ella, in the second season, and the series falls into a rather more gothic tradition, while also following a more serial, soapy storytelling format, rather than an episodic one. And the British setting conjures up a different type of mythology as well.

From a feminist standpoint, Hex is less than revolutionary, but it is entertaining, and it does provide some fascinating gender-bending and sexually subversive touches in a delicious coating of eye candy, while focusing its narrative on resourceful female characters, making it an immediate cult classic.

External Links

• Hex's Dead Lesbian Supplies Humor, Heart, article at AfterEllen.com
• Wikipedia entry

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