D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
enjoyed the first ep a lot. will watch the rest.
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Orange is the New Black - Season 1 on Netflix - Every sentence is a story
- Thread starter Cornballer
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The Culture Vulture
Member
I hated the trailer and planned on passing on this (or Hemlock Groving as it should be known) now you have me interested.
terribletwo
Member
You should definitely watch this. Its pretty much the exact opposite of Hemlock Grove, where it seemed like HG was keeping the interesting stuff for next season, ONB frontloads the drama
e: by the third episode it occurs to me that this show is structured like Lost except things actually matter
Good show. Liked how it fleshed out the major characters with flashbacks
.
Chickening episode was funny.
But fuck that season finale. If Neftlix hadn't preemptively renewed it for a second season I'd be very pissed off right now.
(and the one time where it had a character tell her jail-able offense without use of a flashback was a powerful moment)
Chickening episode was funny.
But fuck that season finale. If Neftlix hadn't preemptively renewed it for a second season I'd be very pissed off right now.
Looks pretty cool, will watch.
And Pablo Schreiber is in this? Funny story about him. In 2007 I was on holiday in Barcelona and one night I was sitting in this very cheap-looking Italian restaurant. At the table next to me there was a man boasting to some American girls that he was in Barcelona shooting a movie with Woody Allen. Turns out the guy sitting next to me was Pablo Schreiber and that the movie he was talking about was Vicki Christina Barcelona.
And Pablo Schreiber is in this? Funny story about him. In 2007 I was on holiday in Barcelona and one night I was sitting in this very cheap-looking Italian restaurant. At the table next to me there was a man boasting to some American girls that he was in Barcelona shooting a movie with Woody Allen. Turns out the guy sitting next to me was Pablo Schreiber and that the movie he was talking about was Vicki Christina Barcelona.
Cornballer
Member
A few more reviews trickling in:
- Salon.com: The awesome, original Orange Is the New Black
- Washington Post: Netflixs Orange Is the New Black: Brilliance behind bars
- Daily Beast: Youve Gotta Binge on the New Netflix Series Orange Is the New Black
A few brief interviews over at Examiner.com:
- Laverne Cox on the 'wonderful microcosm of women' on 'Orange is the New Black'
- Laura Prepon previews her 'complex' drug smuggler on 'Orange is the New Black'
- Kate Mulgrew on her complicated mix of love & power on 'Orange is the New Black'
- Salon.com: The awesome, original Orange Is the New Black
- Washington Post: Netflixs Orange Is the New Black: Brilliance behind bars
- Daily Beast: Youve Gotta Binge on the New Netflix Series Orange Is the New Black
A few brief interviews over at Examiner.com:
- Laverne Cox on the 'wonderful microcosm of women' on 'Orange is the New Black'
- Laura Prepon previews her 'complex' drug smuggler on 'Orange is the New Black'
- Kate Mulgrew on her complicated mix of love & power on 'Orange is the New Black'
Fortinbras
Member
Crazy Eyes is hilarious.
Cornballer
Member
ThLunarian
Member
I strongly dislike the "spoilers are fair game" policy in these Netflix series threads. I think they severely stifle discussion early on because people don't want to come in. People are reluctant to start a separate thread with spoilers because 1) the concept seems inefficient, 2) they are intimidated by the high-quality OP in the official thread, and 3) interest in the show seems artificially low in the first place because people don't want to enter the original thread.
I'm sorry, but it's insane to come in here and be at a high risk of having the season finale spoiled on the day that the series is released.
Personally I liked the 1 month wait time in the House of Cards thread, but if that's too long, then at least give it a week or so.
/rant
I'm five episodes in and am captivated. A Star Trek reference was mentioned in here and I guess I missed it; can someone fill me in?
I'm sorry, but it's insane to come in here and be at a high risk of having the season finale spoiled on the day that the series is released.
Personally I liked the 1 month wait time in the House of Cards thread, but if that's too long, then at least give it a week or so.
/rant
I'm five episodes in and am captivated. A Star Trek reference was mentioned in here and I guess I missed it; can someone fill me in?
Cornballer
Member
Fair enough - you make some good points. Keep in mind that we had numerous people in the House of Cards thread complaining about the tags for the first month. This is an ongoing conversation that we need to have as a community, and I appreciate the feedback.
I can see the dilemma. Regular TV threads have a spoiler fair game policy after an episode airs. Unfortunately I don't think that really works for Netflix shows because not everyone can binge 13 episodes in one day. I think, minimum, first weekend should be spoiler tagged, but first week is also a good choice.
My 2 cents anyway.
My 2 cents anyway.
Cornballer
Member
- Collider: Natasha Lyonne Talks Netflix Series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, Why Women Will Respond to the Show, the Future of TV, and More
That's reasonable. Thanks for chiming in.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
I remarked earlier on Twitter, but I'll say it in here. There's a prize called the Humanitas Prize which is awarded to works of film or television which promote human dignity. It's something I pay attention to because in contrast to the Emmys or whatever, I think it actually means something and represents what television should aspire to. Previous film winners include Good Will Hunting, Dead Man Walking. Previous TV winners include Angels in America, The West Wing (which I think won after submitting the capital punishment episode from the first season which, I think, remains the best discussion of capital punishment in media history), House (which I think won for the season 6 finale where House deals with someone trapped under rubble who eventually dies), etc.
Anyway, this show is the perfect candidate for it, and if they submit S1E3 they should and hopefully will win, it's the clearest example of the values that the prize embodies I've ever seen. The depth and nuance with which they navigate being transgendered period is admirable, but adding the dimension of having a transgendered woman of colour in prison is really something. I think it does a wonderful job of showing the abuse all prisoners are subjugated to, the gendered dimension of male guards in female prisons, and the varying ways in which women respond to a transgendered woman.
The best scenes of all were the scenes in flashback, though. Showing how she transitioned, the varying ways that it impacted her relationships--with her son, with her wife, with her former coworkers. It shows that transition is a challenge for both the person going through it and those around them. And it also shows that even with tolerance and patience there are still difficulties associated with it. Watching a woman tell her former husband, now wife, who is imprisoned... "I supported you because I thought at least you'd be there for our son, at his baseball game, even if you're wearing a dress. That'd make you a better man than my father was to me. But now you're in here. Do your time, get out, get your shit together, and man up"... man, that's chilling stuff. And I understand that Laverne Cox, the actress playing the role, is herself transgendered; this marks to my recollection the first time I've seen a transgendered actor in a mainstream role in a drama. Kudos.
The series as a whole has a great understanding of race as well, I have to add that. Prison is a very racialized space anyway, but this show especially seems to understand that. The distinction between the Haitian character (if the actress isn't Haitian, her accent is sublime!) and the African-American characters shows that the show isn't content to just write off women as "black" or "white". I feel like the racial bona fides in the show justify the use of the title which might have come off as crass and racially unaware if written by less deft hands.
I haven't read the source material to know how much work the written word is doing versus the adaptation in the show, but really well executed all around. Frankly I'm surprised that Kohan had it in her--Weeds was a generally thoughtful show from beginning to end (and although the later scenes suffered in terms of the quality of the episodes as television, I think they generally retained a strong conscience and awareness of human issues... right up to the finale which aired a year or two too soon as some sort of bizarre but socially aware near-future sci fi) but it's not on this level.
I'd also add that I think just about everyone in the cast is well cast and acting above and beyond the call of duty. Michael Harney seems to capture the exhaustion and frustration with the system that comes with being a prison counselor; Pablo Schriber as the kind of repulsive, abusive fuckup guard that depending on our feelings about punishment we hope is either kept far away from or close to the prisoners; Uzo Aduba (who I've never seen before) playing a simple but crazy lifer; Jason Biggs working very hard with the limited material and time he's given, playing just the right balance of aloof/unaffected and understanding/empathetic; and many others. Oh and Kate Mulgrew in a not-quite camp performance playing a low-class high-maintenance trashy Russian immigrant cook inmate den mother. Mulgrew's performance evokes some notes of her earlier work in the under-recognized Black Donnellys--and her hair, she looks crazy.
The scene in the pilot or second episode where Biggs wrestles with whether or not to watch Mad Men while his wife in prison made me chuckle if only because I've written before about Netflix-cheating, and it's clearly an actual thing that people need to talk about. Adding prison as the reason why she can't watch is superb.
Finally, I love that all the women wear costumes that don't quite fit and look terrible. It's a good way of making clear that this is supposed to be prison, not fantasyland. It also allows for a surprising number of shots dealing with how the women compensate having lost their access to makeup.
On the note of makeup, I think I caught some paid product placement for Nivea when Piper gets her commissary money and buys gifts for friends--can I just say that product placement is obviously a fact of life. And I'm not going to be able to get rid of it, obviously. And this wasn't particularly excessive. In fact, it may not have been paid product placement. But it reminds me of something I've thought for a while--if Netflix wants to do prestige drama, they should consider adopting an HBO-style no paid product placement policy. House of Cards was pretty abhorrent for this (hilariously people focused in on Apple, which was not paid and did not demand specific placement, but not some of the far more gross examples). AMC is basically an infomercial network ("perverted" is the only word I have for the extended car pornography shots in Breaking Bad). Showtime has Nurse Jackie as a pitchwoman for cereal and Spotify. There comes a time where you shit or get off the pot--and if you take creative freedom seriously, that means freeing your creatives from the binds of dealing with this shit. I hope the Nivea thing wasn't paid and I hope the rest of the show avoids this.
Top of the Lake is pretty interesting as well, but really hasn't gotten enough attention (I blame it being on Sundance, but Rectify seems to have gotten a niche).
Anyway, this show is the perfect candidate for it, and if they submit S1E3 they should and hopefully will win, it's the clearest example of the values that the prize embodies I've ever seen. The depth and nuance with which they navigate being transgendered period is admirable, but adding the dimension of having a transgendered woman of colour in prison is really something. I think it does a wonderful job of showing the abuse all prisoners are subjugated to, the gendered dimension of male guards in female prisons, and the varying ways in which women respond to a transgendered woman.
The best scenes of all were the scenes in flashback, though. Showing how she transitioned, the varying ways that it impacted her relationships--with her son, with her wife, with her former coworkers. It shows that transition is a challenge for both the person going through it and those around them. And it also shows that even with tolerance and patience there are still difficulties associated with it. Watching a woman tell her former husband, now wife, who is imprisoned... "I supported you because I thought at least you'd be there for our son, at his baseball game, even if you're wearing a dress. That'd make you a better man than my father was to me. But now you're in here. Do your time, get out, get your shit together, and man up"... man, that's chilling stuff. And I understand that Laverne Cox, the actress playing the role, is herself transgendered; this marks to my recollection the first time I've seen a transgendered actor in a mainstream role in a drama. Kudos.
The series as a whole has a great understanding of race as well, I have to add that. Prison is a very racialized space anyway, but this show especially seems to understand that. The distinction between the Haitian character (if the actress isn't Haitian, her accent is sublime!) and the African-American characters shows that the show isn't content to just write off women as "black" or "white". I feel like the racial bona fides in the show justify the use of the title which might have come off as crass and racially unaware if written by less deft hands.
I haven't read the source material to know how much work the written word is doing versus the adaptation in the show, but really well executed all around. Frankly I'm surprised that Kohan had it in her--Weeds was a generally thoughtful show from beginning to end (and although the later scenes suffered in terms of the quality of the episodes as television, I think they generally retained a strong conscience and awareness of human issues... right up to the finale which aired a year or two too soon as some sort of bizarre but socially aware near-future sci fi) but it's not on this level.
I'd also add that I think just about everyone in the cast is well cast and acting above and beyond the call of duty. Michael Harney seems to capture the exhaustion and frustration with the system that comes with being a prison counselor; Pablo Schriber as the kind of repulsive, abusive fuckup guard that depending on our feelings about punishment we hope is either kept far away from or close to the prisoners; Uzo Aduba (who I've never seen before) playing a simple but crazy lifer; Jason Biggs working very hard with the limited material and time he's given, playing just the right balance of aloof/unaffected and understanding/empathetic; and many others. Oh and Kate Mulgrew in a not-quite camp performance playing a low-class high-maintenance trashy Russian immigrant cook inmate den mother. Mulgrew's performance evokes some notes of her earlier work in the under-recognized Black Donnellys--and her hair, she looks crazy.
The scene in the pilot or second episode where Biggs wrestles with whether or not to watch Mad Men while his wife in prison made me chuckle if only because I've written before about Netflix-cheating, and it's clearly an actual thing that people need to talk about. Adding prison as the reason why she can't watch is superb.
Finally, I love that all the women wear costumes that don't quite fit and look terrible. It's a good way of making clear that this is supposed to be prison, not fantasyland. It also allows for a surprising number of shots dealing with how the women compensate having lost their access to makeup.
On the note of makeup, I think I caught some paid product placement for Nivea when Piper gets her commissary money and buys gifts for friends--can I just say that product placement is obviously a fact of life. And I'm not going to be able to get rid of it, obviously. And this wasn't particularly excessive. In fact, it may not have been paid product placement. But it reminds me of something I've thought for a while--if Netflix wants to do prestige drama, they should consider adopting an HBO-style no paid product placement policy. House of Cards was pretty abhorrent for this (hilariously people focused in on Apple, which was not paid and did not demand specific placement, but not some of the far more gross examples). AMC is basically an infomercial network ("perverted" is the only word I have for the extended car pornography shots in Breaking Bad). Showtime has Nurse Jackie as a pitchwoman for cereal and Spotify. There comes a time where you shit or get off the pot--and if you take creative freedom seriously, that means freeing your creatives from the binds of dealing with this shit. I hope the Nivea thing wasn't paid and I hope the rest of the show avoids this.
Top of the Lake is pretty interesting as well, but really hasn't gotten enough attention (I blame it being on Sundance, but Rectify seems to have gotten a niche).
Fantastical
Death Prophet
Gonna watch a couple of episodes today. You guys have definitely gotten my interest.
I think that's because Top of the Lake was a miniseries, actually. I don't know why that is, but we seem to be less inclined to praise one off miniseries.
I finally can start watching Orange is the New Black this weekend!
The junkie comes into the kitchen and starts talking about how she was her sidekick/right-hand man type of spiel and she mentions she was her Spock. Red retorts something about not understanding what she was talking about. Just a quick funny moment.
I didn't find Top of the Lake all that great actually. It was great for the first 3 episodes, then quickly fizzles out and all the revelations are lame and poorly handled. Great performance from Elisabeth Moss, at least when her accent wasn't slipping.
So far, I definitely think Orange is on the level of Weeds S1-3 (which were frankly amazing television). It's good to see that all Jenji Kohan needed was a new series instead of beating Nancy further and further into the ground. Great performances all around so far, though I do think Prepon is the weakest link, as she always tends to be. Still it's the best she's ever done.
So far, I definitely think Orange is on the level of Weeds S1-3 (which were frankly amazing television). It's good to see that all Jenji Kohan needed was a new series instead of beating Nancy further and further into the ground. Great performances all around so far, though I do think Prepon is the weakest link, as she always tends to be. Still it's the best she's ever done.
Uno Venova
Banned
Yeah I'm marathoning this today, I'm loving this show 4 episodes in.
Yael Stone is gorgeous in this by the way, even in prison clothes.
Yael Stone is gorgeous in this by the way, even in prison clothes.
Cornballer
Member
Mustainium
Banned
Just finished watching the first three episodes, and very much enjoyed them. I'll will definitely try to finish up the season during the weekend.
Also, the inmate Piper first meets driving the prison van in the first episode is a qt3.14, more of her please.
Also, the inmate Piper first meets driving the prison van in the first episode is a qt3.14, more of her please.
Tokubetsu
Member
I'm only on ep 5 or 6 but my thoughts via an IM I sent to a friend:
The screwdriver episode was driving me mad and how she blew up on Claudette. I get she's new but it seemed forced and she's coming across as a huge bitch. She's still being coddled in prison. Everyone else is suffering from very real consequences and all she's really had to suffer so far is being starved out.
I'm continuing mainly for everyone else's story at this point.
I know its a comedy and needs to be a bit light but I still don't believe this girl has learned anything. Even her ex-girlfriend whom they painted as some horrible person in the first few episodes seems like a better human being to me at this point.
EDIT: Friend says the Weeds main character was like this also. Never got into the show myself.
The screwdriver episode was driving me mad and how she blew up on Claudette. I get she's new but it seemed forced and she's coming across as a huge bitch. She's still being coddled in prison. Everyone else is suffering from very real consequences and all she's really had to suffer so far is being starved out.
I'm continuing mainly for everyone else's story at this point.
I know its a comedy and needs to be a bit light but I still don't believe this girl has learned anything. Even her ex-girlfriend whom they painted as some horrible person in the first few episodes seems like a better human being to me at this point.
EDIT: Friend says the Weeds main character was like this also. Never got into the show myself.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
The intro is way too long. Holy shit, Netflix understand your medium better.
Holy shit this...I just watched it for the first time. I was digging it starting out and then I was like...well this is indulgent, and then it kept going.
Really enjoy the series so far but one thing that kind of irks me (yet sometimes alieviates the heavy out of a scene) is when things go a bit camp. Having Oz as the go to when people were explaining the show set my expectations a little high but when you watch something like the chicken episode that whole thought process kind of goes out the window. Other than that though the show has been pretty good and really does a good job making the characters feel some what real. I hope they kind of reel in the cheap silly concepts as I feel the characters they have can carry the funny all their own and increase the drama more.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Just finished the season, and I honestly think it was fucking great! This really needs to get extended to a second season.
It already has.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
The "No touching!" joke was so obvious but I still chuckled. 
SteveWinwood
Member
This show is great.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
On the fourth episode. Wow this is good. I don't get one thing though. Did Burnet's son turn her in? He had her wallet so I wasn't sure if that's what I was supposed to take from that.
She wouldn't go serve time for a pair of stolen sneakers would she? Seems a little excessive.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
Well they could have found out that she stole the cards a number of ways, right?
Also the characters in the show are fantastic.
Oh right. Maybe we'll find out later for sure.
Skinny Pete
Banned
Watched first ep. Really enjoyed it. Netflix is 2 for 3 in new programs so far.
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