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Orange is the New Black
| April 14th, 2014 at 3:26:59 PM permalink | |
| AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18210 | Jumped into my first Netflix original series this weekend. "Orange is the New Black." Supposedly at least loosely based on a true story. Not a bad show for binge watching. A little heavy on the lesbian angle, more than Oz showed with the prage scenes. Otherwise mostly well written with good, complex characters. The central two characters are a very street-stupid WASP female and her Jewish fiancee. Clearly her naive side is exaggerated because nobody could be as dumb, though the older I get I think maybe not. She self-surrendered and had read a book before on survival before she went in (smart) but told other cons she did (stupid.) The best part is seeing her wake up to the reality that prison is broken down on racial lines, even in club-fed; and the can't-give-a-rats-tail attitude of the COs and administration. Anyone else watching? The President is a fink. |
| April 14th, 2014 at 6:03:46 PM permalink | |
| reno Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 58 Posts: 1384 |
Orange is a good show. Lots of lesbian sex, though. I enjoyed House of Cards even more (another Netflix original). AZ- I think you might like House of Cards if for no other reason than that the main character (portrayed by Kevin Spacey) is a sleazy power-hungry jerk and a Democrat. :) |
| April 14th, 2014 at 6:11:32 PM permalink | |
| AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18210 |
HoC is on my list, was actually going to watch it first but stumbled on OiTNB first. Binge watching more than one show at once kind of defeats the purpose to me :-) I will say Netflix makes me miss cable less and less every day. The President is a fink. |
| April 14th, 2014 at 6:14:30 PM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 |
Saw HofC and Lilyhammer twice already, really good stuff. The 2nd season of Lily has 10 times the budget of the first, but season 1 is good too. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| April 15th, 2014 at 12:51:15 AM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 | Holy crap, AZ. Watch H of C, for gods sake. I just saw the first 3 eps of Orange and I'm dismayed. Strong female characters and loser, douchebag, dumbass males. There is not a single strong male character in this thing so far. Run don't walk to H of C, before it's too late.. You won't regret it. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| April 15th, 2014 at 2:48:31 AM permalink | |
| AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18210 |
Made it to the cliffhanger, OitNB is a bit of classic tragedy hidden in a prison show that is half comedy. Besides, I hate Piper so much I love to root against her. HoC is next on the binge watch list. The President is a fink. |
| April 15th, 2014 at 6:02:38 AM permalink | |
| zippyboy Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 2 Posts: 665 | I wanted to like HoC when it first came on last year, because I like Spacey. I gave it about 2-3 episodes and stopped. I don't remember why, maybe the pacing, the dialog, or the fact that characters would just break character and talk to the camera from time to time was off-putting. I stopped watching Orange too after a single episode. There's just too many other good shows to watch to put up with shows that don't work for some reason. |
| April 15th, 2014 at 8:14:11 AM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 |
Is there anybody in O that's likable? Piper is a vacuous spoiled brat, her fiance is a moron. Are female prisons really full of leering, almost panting male guards? Every male in the prison has obvious problems, don't they screen out the perverts when they do the hiring? The Laura Prepon character is hard to take, I usually like her, but she's totally weird in this, I don't like her at all. I'll watch one more episode and see if it gets better, but you're right, the main character is so yucky that there isn't much incentive to go on. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| April 15th, 2014 at 12:44:34 PM permalink | |
| Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 | Something that's odd is, they never talk about what they did to get in prison, or how long their sentence is. I've read a few articles by men who've been in a fed low security prison and they say all they talked about was how they don't deserve to be there and when they were getting out. The women on this show never discuss any of that, it's like they're all going to be there forever and have totally accepted it. They also watch a lot of TV in prison and I have yet to even see one yet. And why is Piper the only good looking inmate. They got every old and ugly women actor they could find for this. They even uglied up Laura Prepon by giving her dark heavy eyebrows and uggo black frame glasses to wear. At least we got to see her naked in the first ep, is there more of that, I hope. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
| April 15th, 2014 at 3:05:03 PM permalink | |
| AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18210 |
It probably doesn't advance the plot much, they are showing the crimes flashback-style but more drawn out than they did in "Oz." to even see one yet. And why is Piper the only good looking inmate. They got every old and ugly women actor they could find for this. They even uglied up Laura Prepon by giving her dark heavy eyebrows and uggo black frame glasses to wear. At least we got to see her naked in the first ep, is there more of that, I hope. They do some more TV, and they keep up the nudity. Remember, Laura is supposed to be a predator who preys on needy, confused, younger girls. The heavy eyebrows and glasses kind of make an authoritative look. They have her just good looking enough that you would nail her after a few beers but annoying enough that as soon as she talks to you all of your interest in her is gone. The show is a classic tragedy. A main and supporting charachter placed totally out of their element and they fail at virtually every step. Take when Piper is put in the hole. Her boyfriend then calls everybody in the prison administration to complain. Now even you and I know that if someone you care about is in prison the last thing you do is threaten their captors. But he calls up and down the chain of command. She is no better, in fact even worse. Not even in the can a week and she gets back into a lesbian affair because she just can't take it at Ladies Club Fed. And she is a total phony. Is it just me that she comes off as the kind of person who would tell a starving guy she cannot help him because McDonald's is the only place open and they have a bad record on the environment? But now where the classic tragedy comes in. As the season goes on, Piper gets dragged into the "Fishbowl" of prison life and politics. She learns too late in the game that the administration does not care about the prisoners. She learns that anything you say gets back, and unlike the real world there is nowhere to run. In the end what passes for her life falls to pieces in an afternoon. My prediction is that she is going to get a lot more time for nearly killing Pennsatucky. She can claim self-defense but it will not wash. Her boyfriend will not be filling her commissary. She will have to hustle to survive. She will not know how to do this. New season next month! The President is a fink. |