The third show I’m writing about this week is another I’ve only recently started. Orange is the New Black is my first NetFlix Original series and it’s a blast.
Based on the memoir of writer Piper Kerman, the show details the prison life of an upper middle class New York WASP (renamed Piper Chapman) who is jailed for smuggling drug money for a lesbian girlfriend ten years earlier.
The show is frank and funny about matters of race and sexuality, and it features more complex female characters per square foot than any show I’ve ever seen. It is always funny, sometimes poignant and ultimately big-hearted.
It even features a fabulous supporting performance by Jason Biggs as Piper’s fiancé. Any show that can deliver that unexpected treat is worthy in my book.
The show’s opening theme song, ‘You’ve Got Time,’ was written specifically for the series by Regina Spektor. It has proved quite polarizing among the show’s fans. Some binge-watchers don’t relish hearing its thrash for a full minute before each episode.
I love it, particularly paired with extreme close-ups of the women prisoners’ faces as it is in the opening montage.
Trapped, trapped, trapped ’till the cage is full
The cage is full
Stay awake
In the dark, count mistakes
The light was off but now it’s on
Searching the ground for a bitter song
The sun is out, the day is new
And everyone is waiting, waiting on you
And you’ve got time
And you’ve got time
Think of all the roads
Think of all their crossings
Taking steps is easy
Standing still is hard
Remember all their faces
Remember all their voices
Everything is different
The second time around
The animals, the animals
Trapped, trapped, trapped ’till the cage is full
The cage is full
Stay awake
In the dark, count mistakes
The light was off but now it’s on
Searching the ground for a bitter song
The sun is out, the day is new
And everyone is waiting, waiting on you
And you’ve got time
And you’ve got time
And you’ve got time
Meet Me In Montauk 
We are polarized in our own household as I have no need to repeatedly see the opening while Amy loves it. I don’t feel anybody needs to be shown that close up, and certainly not repeatedly.😄 but we both love the show and need to see the last few episodes at some point hopefully soon.
Sorry we haven’t watched this yet, hope to catch up some time in the future; great song.
The show is a big hit in our house and we are eagerly awaiting the next season. Laura had a quiz to see which character we are most like and apparently she is crazy Eyes and I am Piper. Hmmmmm… I find the opening song/images interesting, riveting and repelling all at the same time. I love the show though.
This theme song did what a great theme song should do – immediately set the tone for the series. I love it and never want to fast forward through or mute it. I find it so poignant and powerful, just like the show. And, yes, Clay more complex female characters per foot than any show around (though Friday Night Lights came close, especially given what a testosterone driven show it was! 🙂