Friday, August 23, 2013

Orange is the New Black

I totally jumped on the bandwagon and watched the first season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix.  I've kind of been bingeing on TV lately, knowing that my grad school classes are starting way.too.soon.

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The show is about a young WASP from NYC who has to spend a year in women's prison for a crime she committed in her younger, wilder years.  Piper is plunged into a strange, new world, filled with women who have fascinating, and often heartbreaking, pasts.

I liked the season, and the finale's cliffhanger makes me super impatient for next year's new season.  Even Duke is hooked, watching all the episodes when he can.  It's the kind of series that would only work on a network like HBO.  Between this, House of Cards, and the new season of Arrested Development, Netflix has really redeemed itself in my eyes.  There was a time where I felt they were flailing, but their original content does not disappoint.

As for the characters, there are so many that I like!  Laura Prepon is fantastic as Alex's ex-girlfriend.  Kate Mulgrew, who I used to watch on Star Trek, plays Red, one of my favorite characters.  I also love transgender actress Laverne Cox's portrayal of Sophia.  There's tons of drama, lots of laughs, and a huge cast that leaves you wanting every backstory.  The show does a lot of storytelling via flashbacks, which gives you context for the way each of the women are presented.

The only characters I don't really like?  Piper and her fiance Larry.  I feel like everyone else is perfectly imperfect, yet these two are over-privileged whiners.  Maybe that's how they're supposed to be portrayed.  I expected to empathize most with Piper.  But in the end I found that I could feel for even the most crazy, larger than life characters more than I could Piper or Larry.  I just don't care for them at all.

Also, this may be one of the best quotes ever from the show.  You gotta watch it to understand.

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6 comments:

  1. I started to watch the show too! I have watched 8 episodes so far and can't wait to see the rest! It is so fantastic!

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    1. It's a great show! Very raw and funny and dramatic all at once.

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  2. This show is perfect! We hated Larry the entire season. My feelings for Piper kind of rollercoastered the whole time. LIke I have never really related to her or felt sorry for her but in that one episode when she's just like "fuck it i'm a bad person and i deserve to be here and i am not special" then that is the most i ever liked her.

    i think every character is so flawless though. also, did you know: "Laverne Cox has a twin brother, musician M. Lamar, who appeared on Cox's TV show "Orange is the New Black" in a flashback as the pre-gender transition version of her character, Sophia."

    THE MORE YOU KNOW

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    1. OMG seriously I had no idea about Laverne's twin brother. I thought it was just fantastice makeup and prosthetics. WOW!

      And Piper may be growing on me since her revelation. She's definitely losing it a little and that is making her true self come out.

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  3. So good! At first I was all, "Gratuitous boobies and lesbians!" But it calmed down after the first episode. I think Tastee is my favorite.

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    1. Tastee is great. I love her friendship with Poussey.

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