Orange is the New Black

2014 has been yet another fantastic year for television, one that continued the nichification of the medium, with highly specific and underrepresented voices breaking through in every genre. There was a comedy explosion, particularly on cable, with dozens of new series presenting confident first seasons and several returning shows reaching new heights. The dramas didn’t disappoint either, with visionary creators bringing new life to familiar settings and taking greater risks with their returning series, deepening their worlds. Throughout the year, directors and cinematographers brought lush visuals, composers pushed the auditory envelope, and an astonishing number of actors gave fantastic, memorable performances. More than a few shows delivered spectacle on a weekly basis, while others went small, deriving incredible power out of stillness and self-reflection. Some series swept the audience up, week in and week out, and others built subtly, only showing their hand in their season’s final episodes. There truly was too much great television this year for any one person to see it all (95 separate series were nominated by our contributors!), so limiting the discussion to 10 or even 20 series would be ridiculous. Instead, here is Sound on Sight’s list of the 30 best series of what has been another wonderful year for television.

2014 has been yet another fantastic year for television, one that continued the nichification of the medium, with highly specific and underrepresented voices breaking through in every genre. There was a comedy explosion, particularly on cable, with dozens of new series presenting confident first seasons and several returning shows reaching new heights. The dramas didn’t disappoint either, with visionary creators bringing new life to familiar settings and taking greater risks with their returning series, deepening their worlds. Throughout the year, directors and cinematographers brought lush visuals, composers pushed the auditory envelope, and an astonishing number of actors gave fantastic, memorable performances. More than a few shows delivered spectacle on a weekly basis, while others went small, deriving incredible power out of stillness and self-reflection. Some series swept the audience up, week in and week out, and others built subtly, only showing their hand in their season’s final episodes. There truly was too much great television this year for any one person to see it all (95 separate series were nominated by our contributors!), so limiting the discussion to 10 or even 20 series would be ridiculous. Instead, here is Sound on Sight’s list of the 30 best series of what has been another wonderful year for television.

2014 has been yet another fantastic year for television, one that continued the nichification of the medium, with highly specific and underrepresented voices breaking through in every genre. There was a comedy explosion, particularly on cable, with dozens of new series presenting confident first seasons and several returning shows reaching new heights. The dramas didn’t …

Jack Shephard was originally supposed to be played by Michael Keaton, and he was going to die in Lost’s pilot episode. After his death, the first to be killed by the smoke monster (that honor ended up going to the plane’s pilot, played by Greg Grunberg), Kate would take over as the leader and primary …

Part 3 of our listing of the best television episodes of the year to date looks at shows such as Louie and Game of Thrones, along with the individual picks of the contributors.

Emmy nominations were announced this morning and as usual, there were a number of snubs and surprises, which the Internet collectively whined about this morning. Rather than continue to mourn the lack of a nomination for Tatiana Maslany (which I admittedly complained about as well), actual solutions need to be pitched. Sadly, “chain Emmy voters …

HBO’s Game of Thrones is king, leading the 66th Annual Emmy Nominations with 19 in total, including for Outstanding Drama, Outstanding Lead Actor Lena Headey and Supporting Actor Peter Dinklage. Breaking Bad‘s final season is also heading out on a swan song, earning a grand total of 16 nominations, including nods for Outstanding Drama, Outstanding …

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 …

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 7: “Take a Break from Your Values” Written by Nick Jones Directed by Constantine Makris Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant A storm is coming, literally and figuratively… and now we have riot gear. The great thing about this episode is that it finally solidifies the …

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, Season 2, Episode 7: “Comic Sans” Written by Sara Hess Directed by Andrew McCarthy Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant This is a show with a future. Season 3 has already been ordered, and one has to imagine there will be even more after that. As such, a lot …

Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 2: “You Also Have a Pizza” Written by Stephen Falk Directed by Allison Anders Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant “Would the moon do this?” Larry asks Polly as he kisses her, trying to prove to Piper and the world that he carries his own light …

Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 5: “Low Self Esteem City” Written by Nick Jones Directed by Andrew McCarthy Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant This felt mostly like a “the more you know” episode of Orange Is the New Black, which I think is my least favorite type. “The more you …

Orange Is the New Black, Season 2, Episode 4: “A Whole Other Hole” Written by Sian Heder Directed by Phil Abraham Released Friday, June 6 on Netflix Instant In prison stories, or more accurately, any stories about trapped people, there is often that one character who is completely deluded about their situation. They’re going to …

In my last review I called Taystee a “girl,” and although much of the episode focused on her in the present as an adult, I didn’t even think to pause on that small, yet important age distinction. Calling her “woman,” truly, never even entered my mind. So, the question is… why not? I mean, isn’t she well over 18? Isn’t she doing hard time, baring her soul at AA meetings, and winning mock job fairs? What else does a lady need to do to get some respect? But apparently, I was not totally wrong with my oversight after all—that is, at least, if we listen to new, yet experienced inmate, Vee.

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?

5. Orange is the New Black (Netflix) After the much-hyped release House of Cards and return of Arrested Development, Netflix released Orange is the New Black with little fanfare, seemingly unaware of just how great a series they had on their hands. Based on the true story of a white, privileged thirty-something who is sentenced …