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Orange is the new Black (Netflix) (1 Viewer)

mattCR

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Original series by the team that brought out Weeds. I'm surprised by how good this is. Just picked through the first two episodes, great start.
 

Hanson

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My wife and I have been marathoning this show (we're in the middle of episode 8) and if you liked Weeds, it has a similar sensibility and wit about it. I really like how the show takes its time to introduce its sprawling cast via flashbacks, which sometimes dramatize how they ended up in prison and sometimes illuminate the motivations and personalities of the cast.

It's still one of those "Nice White Lady" shows, but the pacing is very nice and there's never a dull moment. The 52-60 minute runtime gives it a lot of room to breathe and develop. The entire cast is great, although I'm on the fence about Kate Mulgrew's Russian accent. Not sure if she did it for the role or not, but Capt Janeway is quite beefy here. I almost didn't recognize her at first. Weeds fans will recognize Jack Stehlin, who's one of the best things about the show.
 

mattCR

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Just finished a marathon and finished season one. Really enjoyed this a lot. Truly unique. A mx of Oz and comedy. Truly unique.
 

Hanson

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It started off good, but man, it finished like Secretariat. It's just sooo good -- the characters are uniformly excellent, the performances are top notch, and while it helped that they got Jenji Cohan, it's shocking that this first wave of Netflix original series is as stellar as it is. Easily a top ten show. Can't wait for the second season.
 

mattCR

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I thought the finale was excellent and plausible way to setup an extended series if they wantSent from my Nokia 920 using Tapatalk
 

Joe_H

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I haven't finished the season yet, getting close though. I'm definitely really enjoying it, but the title sequence is so obnoxious and goes on way too long.

I watched it once and have had to skip ahead every time since.
 

Patrick Sun

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Finally finished the season. I liked "House of Cards" more than this show, which I found to be just okay. But I did like the season 1 ending scene, that just needed to be done.
 

EricSchulz

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Just caught the first two episodes on DVD. Almost tempted to get my free month of Netflix renewal going to check out the rest!
 

Aaron Silverman

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About to finish season one. . .this show is surprisingly entertaining! It reminds me of Dexter in the way its focus is less on plot lines than on observing wacky characters' wacky interactions. :)
 

EricSchulz

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I absolutely loved this show. It actually was the reason I subscribed to Netflix after a several year break. Can't wait for season three on June 13th!
 

Tina_H_V

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EricSchulz said:
I absolutely loved this show. It actually was the reason I subscribed to Netflix after a several year break. Can't wait for season three on June 13th!

Way to be about it Eric!!! Yes, this is one of my all-time favorite shows already!!!! Not only do I already have S1 on BD, but I will be picking up S2 for me and my mother on May 19th!!!!


And as fo rS3...that rolls right on into my birthday weekend!!!! How approbational is that!!!???? :) :wub: :banana:
 

MatM

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Of course, the perfect light hearted alternative to the far to manly OZ (my all time favorite prison series). One of the best series on these days.
 

Tino

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Wife and I are binging the series now. Up to ro 11 season 1. We both LOVE it. Can't believe I avoided it for so long.
 

The Drifter

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With the forthcoming S07 of OITNB being the last season, I wanted to post my review of S06 (that I wrote up last year).

The series is great - I've been watching since around 2014, and like the mixture of drama & humor. Though a lot may disagree with me, I felt last year's S06 was the darkest & possibly strongest season - so far.

-It was interesting to see Mackenzie Phillips (Barbara) on the series, since I remember her most from her very early roles in American Graffiti (1973) & More American Graffiti (1978), when she was just a kid/teen. I was never a fan of the ODAAT sit-com, so haven't seen her in much else over the years. She has definitely aged (as we all have), but is still recognizable.

-The move to another prison/cell-block was interesting, since it "shook things up" with the existing characters, introduced quite a few new characters/situations, and introduced the established characters to a completely different power structure than they had been used to in the other cell-block(s).

-The season also featured three of the meanest/most vicious characters to ever be featured on the show, i.e. Madison/Badison, Barbara, and Carol.

Badison is, essentially, a mean-spirited big bully. She started out being a victim on the outside, but the flash-back when she set the other girl on fire (after pretending to be her friend) so that she could "get in" with the other popular girls at the juvenile facility was cowardly & underhanded; even though this may have been somewhat unintentional, she was still at fault here.

Barbara & Carol are the two most evil characters to ever be featured on the show. Though many of the other women on this series had been convicted of drug offenses and/or theft, etc. - the fact that these two murdered their little sister due to jealousy was heinous & reprehensible. And, they obviously never regretted what they had done.

Based on everything I've heard/read about prison, these three characters are good examples of the types of people who do well behind bars. Obviously, none of them could function in regular society due to their sociopathic tendencies. But, in a prison setting - where the worst, most brutal people end up being "top dogs", these three thrived.

-I also found Dominga "Daddy" to be interesting as well. Though she initially came across as a real hard-@$$ - and was to a great extent - her "softer side" came through re: her love affair/relationship with Daya. I would have liked to find out more about why she was in prison, however. Obviously, her pimping on the outside was illegal - but, did she just get caught for that - or, was she also imprisoned for covering up the unintentional death of one of her girls (as seen in the flash-back)?!

-Re: the "riot/gang fight that didn't happen", I liked how this was prevented from occurring by Maria Ruiz strongly encouraging the guard to have thetwo kickball teams "pick sides". Very clever way of avoiding a fight/bloodshed. This could have gone either way, however...

-Not at all surprised that Barbara & Carol killed each other when the prison riot didn't happen - good riddance. Since their hatred toward Frida couldn't culminate in their killing her (due to the circumstances), their hatred was redirected towards each other - and 30 years of resentment/hatred/petty bickering boiled over. It was funny that the "Classifieds/Glass of Ice" story that each claimed happened to them didn't even occur to either of them, but to one of their fellow waitresses at the restaurant - again, classic sociopathic, narcissistic liars.

-I found it realistic that Taystee Jefferson was convicted of the death of Piscatella (who actually died at the hands of the other guards, during the riot in S05). Though she didn't do this, the evidence against her was unfortunately strong. The way I see it, the only possible chance she had was if her friend Cindy testified in her defense & stated what actually happened. But, since Cindy was dissuaded from doing this (by her legal counsel), I don't see that Taystee had a chance whatsoever. And, yes - this wasn't at all fair - but you hear stories like this happening everyday. And, if she hadn't been convicted that would have taken away from the realism on the show.

-I won't miss Piper at all. By the time her storyline was "resolved" by the end of this season, I was glad to see the character go. I doubt she'll go back to prison, though stranger things have happened.

-It was sad to see Blanca - who thought she was being released to her boyfriend - end up getting put into the new Immigration detention facilities that PolyCon had set up at the end of the season.
 

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