While it initially drew a large audience as a DVD rental and streaming service for programming created by others, over the past few years, Netflix has made numerous forays into original content. This has taken the form of both brand new shows, such as Orange is the New Black and Bojack Horseman, as well as …
Anime, like comic books and video games, has often found itself on the absolute fringe of nerd culture. When someone isn’t into anime, it’s almost impossible to get them to give it a try with an open mind–and that’s really too bad, because they’re depriving themselves of some really spectacular stuff like Attack on Titan.
Netflix has acquired the rights to the popular young adult novels A Series of Unfortunate Events to turn into a live-action series. While this seems surprising to fans of the stories, this is a win-win for the studios involved. Netflix is looking to round out its original programming, from kid-friendly animation Turbo Flash to adults-only Orange …
Does Netflix have Eric Cartman’s AWESOME-O working in their studios? You remember; he was the lovable robot who could invent Adam Sandler movies out of thin air, like “Adam Sandler falls in love with a Golden Retriever” or “Adam Sandler is stranded on an island and falls in love with a coconut.” If so, that …
Deadline reported Monday night that The Weinstein Company has sealed a deal to release Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, the sequel to Ang Lee’s Oscar-nominated martial arts masterpiece, via Netflix, making it the popular streaming service’s first ever exclusive feature film. This is huge news for a company already in the midst of …
Week in Review rounds up the best of the rest of film and TV news hitting the web this week. Check out the rest of the SOS Blog for more news updates. When Tommy Wiseau, the director of self-proclaimed masterpiece The Room (i.e. one of the best worst cult movies ever made), isn’t touring around …
Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 13: “We Have Manners. We Are Polite.” Written by Jenji Kohan Directed by Contantine Makris Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant “Bad seed,” “insane,” “psycho,” “the real evil”—these are just some of the ways in which Vee is referred to this episode. Strangely, it is a …
Shortly after announcing she would be ending her talk show Chelsea Lately on E!, Chelsea Handler announced a deal with Netflix to produce a new talk show. Deadline reported last Thursday that Handler’s new show would begin in 2016 and would include a traditional format of Handler’s topical commentary and guest interviews, but no details …
Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 12: “It Was the Change” Written by Sara Hess Directed by Phil Abraham Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant Super Storm Wanda came and went, and with it seemingly any chance for this season to climax satisfactorily or live up to its promise. A blackout in …
Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 10: “Little Mustachioed Shit” Written by Sian Heder Directed by Jennifer Getzinger Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant How do you get what you want when the game is rigged? When the power is all out of your hands? “System work you, you got to find …
Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 9: “40 OZ of Furlough” Written by Lauren Morelli Directed by S.J. Clarkson Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant In the very first episode, Yoga Jones gives a piece of advice to Piper that was a major set-up for the series as a whole. She said …
Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 8: “Appropriately Sized Pots” Written by Alex Regnery & Hartley Voss Directed by Daisy Von Scherler Mayer Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant And so the work of the ants continues to pay off. We haven’t hit any kind of critical mass yet as far as …
Orange is the New Black’s new season has a very strong first half, depicting the cascade of different lives in Litchfield prison while still maintaining the light balance that makes the show easy to consume in a binge sitting. The second half, however, begins to falter around the ninth episode, due to the tired ‘snake in the grass’ plot line that has been too present in prison dramas in the past. Fortunately, the series ends with a flash of excitement that leaves the audience eager for the third season.
Although the anti-hero television dramas of the past have been almost consistently compelling, there is a tendency for it to be nothing but a boy’s club that girls aren’t allowed into. Orange is the New Black, however, is a breath of fresh air for viewers who are looking for someone to say, “Girls can do bad too.” With its dark themes of heartbreak, death, violence, crime and isolation, it remains palatable because of its funny coating and cast of three-dimensional, interesting characters.
A little whiplash never hurt anyone when it comes to entertainment, but it’s hard not to knock this episode down a few pegs after the delicious intensity that was “Thirsty Bird.” Though, if we needed some downtime, Taystee is a perfect character to spend it with, especially as a first-time flashbacker, and the exciting prospect of getting to spend even more time with her down the road. In contrast to Piper, who courts controversy, Taystee is just simply likeable to everyone, even before we heard her story about waking up at a construction site with barbecue sauce on her breasts. Both her prison story and flashback story, by being totally sincere, play to that likeability strength, and give us a buoy for an episode that spends its entire time setting up little plotlines for the season, and basically reminding us who the characters are and where we left them.
Orange is the New Black’s title is probably the least compelling thing about the accomplished series. It springs to mind a kind of petulant rebelliousness, a hip “girl power” type of show that, however easily it could fall into being with its premise, consistently rises above being with its powerful, careful storytelling, laugh-out-loud humor, and three-dimensional characters. Still, the title is by no means empty, and actually rings out as strangely meaningful in this, its second season premiere. After all, what does happen when orange is the new black? Or, in other words, what happens when what we think is basic is absolutely no longer the case?
Last May with the announcement of Bruno Dumont’s television debut, I wrote an article outlining accessibility issues when it comes to International television. With television becoming as increasingly artistically rich medium, demands for accessibility to international content is in greater demand. Certain shows have broken the threshold, most obviously those from the UK that found …
Hey You Geeks!! This marks the return of the Hey You Geeks column, a weekly deconstruction of the best and sometimes worst that geek culture has to offer. A companion to the Hey You Geeks podcast, each week, the column will examine the news and rumors of the previous week with opinions, predictions and new …
Once upon a time, it may very well have been possible to see all of the great television that aired in North America in a calendar year. For most of us, that time is over. From the ever-growing list of networks supplying quality programming to the advent of digital content providers smuggling in new and …
With the recent release of House of Cards and Hemlock Grove, Netflix has established serious interest in the original programming market. Amazon, another major player in online streaming services with Prime Instant Video, has made the first major step to follow suit. Late last week, 16 pilots were made available for free streaming on Amazon – 8 comedies and 6 children’s series.
Just hours ago, Pope Benedict XVI spent his final moments as Pontiff. His famous Twitter page, @Pontifex now simply reads “Sede Vacante,” or empty seat. Being the first Pope to resign in some 600 years, Benedict XVI leaves the over 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world leaderless until the conclusion of the upcoming Papal …
House of Cards, Season 1, Episodes 7-8: “Chapter 7”, “Chapter 8” Written by Kate Barnow (1.07) and Beau Willimon (1.07, 1.08) Directed by Charles McDougall Season 1, Episode 9: “Chapter 9” Written by Beau Willimon and Rick Cleveland Directed by James Foley Season 1, Episodes 10-11: “Chapter 10”, “Chapter 11” Written by Sarah Treem (1.10) …
In a move that may mark the beginnings of a notable turning point of the TV industry and its evolution online as more and more audiences flock to the internet for its viewing pleasures, Netflix has announced that new original series Lilyhammer will premiere February 6th, 2012. Lilyhammer follows star Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos) …