by Cookie N Screen
Netflix have truly hit their stride with original television series. So they may have gone wayward with the dismal Hemlock Grove but they have struck gold, or well, orange with this show. Orange Is The New Black has accumulated a diverse and vibrant audience, hitting every target with every episode (a rarity for any series.) Showcasing behind the bars of a women’s correctional facility and based on true to life memoirs of Piper Kerman sentenced to a year due to trafficking drug money for her then girlfriend (who is in the same prison.)
And it all begins with one of the best title sequences of all time.
Netflix have truly hit their stride with original television series. So they may have gone wayward with the dismal Hemlock Grove but they have struck gold, or well, orange with this show. Orange Is The New Black has accumulated a diverse and vibrant audience, hitting every target with every episode (a rarity for any series.) Showcasing behind the bars of a women’s correctional facility and based on true to life memoirs of Piper Kerman sentenced to a year due to trafficking drug money for her then girlfriend (who is in the same prison.)
And it all begins with one of the best title sequences of all time.
Created by Weeds genius Jenji Kohan and directed by Jodie Foster (yes, that Jodie Foster,) the season premiere of Orange is The New Black is an outstanding and enthralling piece of television to throw you back into the world of jumpsuits and handcuffs. It’s a month later and Piper has been in solitary confinement for the attack of Pennsatucky. Not knowing whether or not she killed her victim, her days of staring at (and painting) the walls are disturbed when she is hustled onto a plane to Chicago. Not knowing why, she has to brace herself for a whole new selection of inmates and one old face.
If you are fans of the wickedly smart show then you are going to flail. If you have never seen the show before, you are still going to flail, then go back and recap over season one, flailing some more. Orange is the New Black’s season opener is well crafted, hysterical and provoking. Its ingenuity coming from the witty dialogue and the depth of characters. Bellowing with the ferocity of women behind bars, this season has tongues as rapid and sharp as the season before, adding some poetry to the mix too. It’s a new setting but it smarts of the familiar cleverness and hilarity that season one seduced us with.
If you are fans of the wickedly smart show then you are going to flail. If you have never seen the show before, you are still going to flail, then go back and recap over season one, flailing some more. Orange is the New Black’s season opener is well crafted, hysterical and provoking. Its ingenuity coming from the witty dialogue and the depth of characters. Bellowing with the ferocity of women behind bars, this season has tongues as rapid and sharp as the season before, adding some poetry to the mix too. It’s a new setting but it smarts of the familiar cleverness and hilarity that season one seduced us with.
The entire opening episode has a large focus on Piper. Luckily for us, Taylor Schilling is enigmatic as our heroine (or could it be, anti-heroine now?) Not only are we treated to flashbacks of her family life, the lies that made her and the lines she tried to toe but it is now entwined with a character who is flawed in her desperation to do the right thing. Piper toys with her conscious and her relations with people around her, unwittingly piling more pressure onto her fiancé Larry and trying to tackle her feelings for Alex. Schilling does it effortlessly, showing her strength as an actress and the ability to make her be utterly real. An added plus is her chemistry with Laura Prepon, who plays Alex. Their trepidatious relationship is anchored by this heart and together it flows seamlessly on the screen. Magnificent acting with some terrific characters to unearth one of the many centrical relationships to the show.
There are a whole heap of new characters here, from the loveable to the insane. While we will return to the likes of Crazy Eyes, Red and Taystee, the focus on a new shark pool to navigate showcases Piper in this naïve and demanding new setting that is frankly, riveting. Although it will be a shame for these newbies to be skirted over as Piper returns home to Litchfield, New York, Kohan and Foster have created one of the most phenomenal season openings. It is full of comedy, drama and the end will have you wailing “no” for a very long time. Orange Is The New Black is definitely orange is the new back...
There are a whole heap of new characters here, from the loveable to the insane. While we will return to the likes of Crazy Eyes, Red and Taystee, the focus on a new shark pool to navigate showcases Piper in this naïve and demanding new setting that is frankly, riveting. Although it will be a shame for these newbies to be skirted over as Piper returns home to Litchfield, New York, Kohan and Foster have created one of the most phenomenal season openings. It is full of comedy, drama and the end will have you wailing “no” for a very long time. Orange Is The New Black is definitely orange is the new back...
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