watching

i am not proud to say that i consumed the entire season of Orange is the New Black, one of the latest offerings from Netflix, over the course of about 5 days. based on the memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, written by Piper Kerman, the show is written by Jenji Kohan, creator of Weeds. at first i thought it might be a re-imagining of Weeds: WASP enititled white woman gets embroiled in illegal dealings and goes to prison without facing too many consequences (if you remember, on Weeds Nancy goes to prison, but remains relatively unscathed and only returns with a lesbian lover), but - thankfully - it is not.

Orange is the New Black is in polar opposite to Weeds partially because the protaganist is in trouble, remains in trouble, and has nothing but consequences to pay. it is also compelling in it's storytelling. the audience is given snippets of the characters lives before they ended up in prison. most episodes are structured around a particular inmate, giving you barely a glimpse of this complicated life, leaving you anxious to learn more. the main characters stories are told in the same way, and you never form a complete snapshot of the characters, even by the end of the season. hole up with it for a weekend, and let me know your thoughts.