Ginger Telly Man: Orange is the New Black

A new original show from Netflix, all 13 episodes dropped on July 11th for this female prison set comedy drama. Firstly I would just like to say I really love what Netflix is doing at the moment, I recently bulk-watched all the new episodes of Arrested Development when they became available on Netflix and I think this concept is changing the way we consume television.

Orange is the New Black is based on the true life memoir of Piper Kerman's (Piper Chapman in the show) year in prison, here played stunningly by Taylor Schilling. She is sent to prison for a 10 year old crime of smuggling drug money for her international drug smuggling lesbian lover Alex (played by "That 70's Show" Laura Prepon). Piper now a straight, engaged to married,  successful business woman must learn how to navigate and accept her new life behind bars for the next 15 months.

There is a lot to like about this show, firstly the cast is top notch and it is very refreshing to see such a primarily female cast portray such well written characters. The show packs an emotional punch and some episodes will have you reaching for those tissues however on the filp-side it is one of the funniest shows in years. This dual emotional roller-coaster is why I keep coming back for more (I am currently only 8 episodes in), one minute I am welling up and the next l am laughing so much I almost pee a little. One of the funniest moments for me is when two of the black inmates begin impersonating rich white women in the run up to an inmates union election, their impression is so spot-on and hilarious I was almost crying with laughter. Another great aspect is how LGBT characters are portrayed in this show, for once we are not the sidekicks, trotted out occasionally to provide comic relief, no in fact LGBT characters make up almost 50% of the cast in this show and make for well written and complex characters. In particular the portrayal of the post-op transgendered Sophia by Laverne Cox is one of the best examples I have ever seen of a portrayal of this type of storyline in television or film and ultimately one of the most heartbreaking.

I could go on, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you all so maybe I'll do a followup post when the second series is about to drop but I will say this, find this show and watch it.

You can thank me afterwards.

GBM

Hello, is anybody out there? Have I been gone too long?

I disappeared. It was a gradual thing, one not planned or expected but something out of my control. This journey I had been on over the last year had all lead to this, the Blog, Social Media immersion, writing for other websites, all so I could shift my career in a different trajectory and it payed off. I got the job I wanted, the dream job, my Social Media job.

Initially I had great intentions, initially I thought I would be able to do it all, work in this online world day-to-day and continue my Blog but slowly the words began to dry up. You've all maybe experienced something similar, a general fatigue, a drought of inspiration but ultimately for me having to work in this online world for a living drained all desire to hang around here in my free time.

Don't get me wrong, I truly did love what I was doing for a living but it's like that scene from Friends, where Rachel is flirting with Carol's OBGYN and he explains why he does not want to have kids. It was exactly like that, I would get home and if I had to see one more Blog post or write one more Facebook post, well I could not bring myself to.

Now a change, I shift again career wise. I move into an area less online focused and I also have one month off with pay. It's is not a half-bad deal and so I come crawling back to this wee Blog of mine. I'm not going to bullshit you, make claims that I am back for good because I really won't know until I start my new job and see if I can strike the correct balance this time around. For now I seem to have found my voice again, found my words and it's a truly wonderful feeling. I think I have a good deal to say and I want to catch up with all my dear Blog friends again. I do apologise for my desertion but it was something that had to be done.

As for GBM I am still unsure what direction to take, to evolve, to stay the same, to delete and start a new, only time will tell but what I do know is right now I am not quite ready yet to say goodbye to this little Blog of mine.

Hello again Blogosphere.

I have missed you.

GBM