OINB is the first Netflix-produced show that I barreled
through, feeling like I needed to watch each next episode as soon as I finished
the last. Sure, I like House of Cards, but
I'm okay taking my time with it, and the less said about the return of Arrested
Development probably the better, though it is getting moderately more
entertaining now that I'm about five episodes in. And I haven't even tried
Hemlock Grove yet. But OINB was much more compelling from episode one, and is
easily the best new show on TV this season.
The two shows it makes me think about most -- not in
relation to the content, necessarily -- are Sons of Anarchy and The Wire. SoA
because of the deep-dive look into a subculture, in this case women's prison,
that doesn't get much attention and/or is easily stereotyped. And The Wire
because, while not nearly as intense and novelistic as that masterwork, OINB
pays attention to its (mutltiracial) characters and lets them feed the story, allowing them to
breathe and become, in nearly every case, more fully rounded. Even minor
characters, like Crazy Eyes, who falls into the "oh, that psycho bitch"
trope in early episodes, is given multiple reveals and scenes that let you know
there's more to her story than what you're initially shown.
(I'm sure I'm also reminded of The Wire because of the presence of Pablo Schreiber-- a Seattlite even! and brother to Leiv, who knew? -- the low-rent Ben Affleck himself, one Nicky Sbotka from The Wire's (amazing) season 2.)
The other great thing is that, obviously, the majority of
the roles are played by women. I can't remember -- has there ever been? -- the
last time this many women had speaking parts in a show. And not only that, but
the diversity of characters and opinions and ages that are given airtime. And
while men are present and in positions of power, the show is much more about
the culture that has been created in this closed-off prison universe than it
is about these women's relationships with the opposite sex. There's no need to
even turn to the Bechdel test here.
Part of the freedom that having it on Netflix offers is,
again, the chance for the thing to just slow down and tell whatever story it or
its characters wants to tell. Sure, the throughline is the journey of the Piper
character and how going to prison upends her life and how that ripples out to
affect everyone in her vicinity, but because it's set in a prison -- a place
where people have somewhat ill-defined jobs and roles but not like a workplace
comedy or an ER or something like that -- there's a lot of just hanging out and
talking.
That said, it's a far from perfect endeavor. There's a joke
-- or at least the punchline to a joke -- repeated by a number of characters
that's not in the least bit funny (and not just because I'm sensitive to the use
of "retarded" as part of it) that's come up a few too many times. And
is it in Jason Biggs' contract that he has to masturbate onscreen? 'Cause I
don't really ever need to see that again. And there are times when some of the
characterization changes just for the sake of plots, especially in the last
minutes of the finale. For all the attention that's obviously been paid to the
ladies on the inside of the prison, both Larry and Piper's parents -- and
especially Piper's mother -- are pretty horrible old/rich/Jew/WASP stereotypes.
Though the one major scene given to Piper's mother evincing that stereotype is
used to good effect in order to demonstrate what seems to be the theme of the
show, which is that these women, these people, are us but for the grace of
whatever higher power you might believe in.
And good on Netflix for greenlighting season 2 even before
this aired -- they obviously knew they had something good on their hands, and
viewership has apparently been through the roof. So yay. Hope season 2 comes
along quickly.
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| Tastee's my favorite! |
*if only because Game of Thrones, Parks and Rec, Parenthood, Breaking Bad and Justified aren't on the air right now. But it's in good company with those shows, no doubt.
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