Move aside, House of Cards. There's a new reigning champ in the Netflix world. Jenji Kohan's follow up to Weeds called Orange is the New Black has earned the designation of being the strongest television debut of the year. The series about an upper class woman Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) whose life is derailed by a prison sentence for a drug mule crime committed in her wilder (lesbian) youth. It features strong, multi-layered female characters, a solid dramatization of the source material and one of the best ensembles from any medium in 2013.
Nathaniel will touch on the series more soon but here are some things I, Beau, enjoyed about it as well as some 'room for improvement' items from its first season. [more...]
MVP
Oh hell, who knows? One episode, you swear by Natasha Lyonne. The next, you can't imagine the series without Kate Mulgrew's 'Red'. Laura Prepon brings her A-Game to what could easily be an unsympathetic character, and all the while Taylor Schilling navigates the treacherous waters of headlining this thing like a skilled pro. I'd written her off for doing the Ayn Rand dance and playing second fiddle to Zac Efron's transition to leading man status in The Lucky One, but she proves her worth easily here.
Best Line
'This ain't 'The Help,' bitch. But you will eat my shit."
- Tastee.
Best Episode
1.3 "Lesbian Request Denied"
Piper & Crazy Eyes in "Orange is the New Black"
In which Crazy Eyes, (a fantastic turn from Uzo Aduba) adopts Piper as her jail wife. Their unique relationship coupled with the backstory focus on the transgendered inmate Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox) and her actual wife, as they navigate through Burset's choice to embrace herself as a woman, made this an appealing, quick and wholly empathetic look at the characters. The facility and its inmates took immediate shape.
Worst Episode
1.13 "Can't Fix Crazy"
In which tryouts for the interminable Christmas pagent take up far too much of an episode that needed tightening. There's also a plot turn involving Red and Mendoza that felt inorganic and forced. The cliffhanger is magnificent, as Piper becomes the beast we've waited for and saw her developing into, but the drama that preceded it felt hackneyed and false. (Even Larry and Vause's climactic meeting lacked fireworks.) Certain moments were appealing but on the whole, it was the episode with the most fat.
Room For Improvement
I don't mean to hate on Jason Biggs. I really don't. His role as the stabilizor and safety net for Piper is a requisite one, but there's nothing inherently appealing about him in this part. It's an example of miscasting as Larry has to be someone you find a goofy, sexy appeal in. It's a role tailor-made for someone like a Paul Rudd or a Jason Segel, performers whose work is infused with a curious personality-driven charisma. When it comes down to a choice between Larry and Vause, present vs past, security vs. sensuality, I don't feel any dilemma; one is vastly more appealing than the other. This is not entirely Biggs' fault since it's easily the strongest work he's done onscreen but his American Pie persona is one he's not managed to rid himself of, and it does him a disservice as he moves to the next stage of his career.
Have you watched any episodes yet? Without spoilers for those who haven't yet watched the full season, tell us your thoughts on the series: how did the plot turns work for you? who would you call the MVP? Do you think this series will mirror Jenji's former success with Weeds or does it already have an expiration date? Give me your thoughts, lovelies. I can't wait to hear them.