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Lena Dunham mocks the idea of being a voice to a generation, but there's no question she's captured something ineffably of the moment in her sitcom Girls. Dunham writes and directs most episodes and stars as Hannah, a smart but self-flagellating writer floundering in the urban wilds of New York City. Both an homage and a counterpoint to Sex in the City, Girls has its own quartet: Hannah, who's just been financially cut off by her parents; Marnie (Allison Williams), lovely but uptight, who's bored by her too devoted boyfriend Charlie (Christopher Abbott); Jessa (Jemima Kirke), a transplant from England who keeps her true feelings hidden under a cool surface; and Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet), a hapless chatterbox who's ashamed that she's still a virgin. All of these girls, grappling with adult life, can be funny, irritating, embarrassing, and richly sympathetic--sometimes at the same time. Girls doesn't tackle themes per episode; instead, it's a series of moments, vividly observed and often joltingly funny social interaction and sexual relationships (some graphically depicted, with all the freedom that cable television allows). Dunham doesn't explain everything all at once, but gives only glimpses into the characters in each episode. At first, Hannah's relationship with Adam (Adam Driver) seems horribly one-sided, but by the end of the 10-episode season, the picture changes completely (and going back to watch previous episodes with new eyes is rewarding). While Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshanna may suffer from the neurotic self-absorption of twentysomethings, Dunham and her cocreators do not; everyone in Girls is multidimensional, including parents and men on the periphery (Charlie's friend Ray, played by Alex Karpovsky, grows from some jerk to one of the more intriguing characters on the show). It's rare that comedy and compassion are so well-balanced. Like a microscope, Girls focuses on a tiny sliver of the world, but within that sliver lies abundant life. The Complete First Season also has an abundance of extra features, including auditions, deleted scenes, commentary tracks, interviews with the cast, and a revealing and lively conversation between Dunham and producer Judd Apatow. --Bret Fetzer
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