The ironic themes and strategies of the Soap Opera Series continue in this postmodern tale of artistic and sexual crises in Southern California. Boredom and alienation, the banality of fantasies and reality, and the need for idealized romance afflict the cliche-driven characters that wander through the Yonemotos' narrative representation of the L.A. art scene. The pervasive cultural malaise is seen as conditioned behavior — conscious psychological manipulation by the mass media. Against this dominant media ideology, the central figure of the artist Norman, played by Norman Yonemoto, makes art to "expose the derivative nature of the romantic ideal" and "promote the examination of our personal contexts."