Customer Reviews

Bad Girls - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm an American who has been in a BBC programming mood lately. Bad Girls was actually recommended to me by Amazon UK after purchasing a few other series.

I wasn't sure what to expect and went in basically knowing nothing about it, except that it was very popular in the UK and a few of the actresses up for parts in Footballers' Wives were initially looking to get into Bad Girls.

Once I popped in the dvd, I was hooked. In one day, I watched ALL of season one. Yes, it is *that* good! Yes, there are lesbians, but the nice thing is that the programme is MUCH deeper than that, and the viewer can actually gain insight into the characters. Sexuality is not the premise for this show.

If you enter the show with certain preconceived notions, you will be surprised. Everyone has a story and it is not as simple as a shag here or there, as Oz was. This is not nearly as dark as Oz, but well written, nonetheless.

The interviews with the cast are a nice bonus as well.

Now if I could only wait the two weeks for my seasons 2 & 3 of Bad Girls to show up from the UK.

For those who are unaware, there are many US dvd players which can play Region 2 (UK) dvds. While Season 2 and later is not yet released in the US, it is available through Amazon.co.uk and they DO ship to the States!

Those who have read my reviews know that I'm not just a harsh critic...I can be down-right vicious.

However...when I love something I really unleash with the praise.

This series is absolutely one of the best television shows ever produced for British and God knows American television. It never talks down to the viewer and keeps you riveted with the intelligent relationships and drama.

People say OZ was the best prison show ever...I politely disagree.

Bad Girls is one of the most intelligent and provacative shows ever produced.

Buy it, you won't be sorry.

PS- They actually treat a lesbian relationship with dignity! Go figure.

I bought this set as a blind buy - I had never heard of the series before. I can not stress enough how great a show this is. The acting is first rate; the storytelling top notch; and characterization some of the best I've seen. Not to give anything away, but there is a character ("Shell" Dockley)that makes Tony Soprano seem like Mother Teresa. If you enjoy topnotch drama please give this series a try. I liked it so much that I bought the rest of the series (six season out so far) from Amazon.co.uk along with a region free DVD Player to watch it with. Again pick this up you will not be disapointed.

One Saturday night I started channel surfing and happened to stop on BBC America. I checked the info guide and laughed when I read the synopsis of a show called Bad Girls. There was nothing else on so why not watch a women's prison drama. It was Series 1 episode 3. BBC America was rerunning the first 5 episodes that night so after episode 3 finished I stayed tuned for episode 4 and 5 and I was hooked. BBC America was running the first 5 episodes again on Sunday and I tuned in for episode 1 and 2 that I missed the night before.

After that I hit the internet to find out about this British series that I had never heard of before and found out that in the UK Series 7 was currently running. That's when I checked Amazon.com to see if I could purchase the Series because I couldn't wait to get my fix.

I found that only Series 1 is available in the US. That's when I checked out Amazon.co.uk and found that Series 1-6 is available. I went ahead and purchased Series 1-3 and then also purchased a Region free/code free DVD player to watch them.

I have now finished viewing Series 1-3 and all I can say is that Bad Girls is entertainment at its very best! The acting is superb, the storylines captivating, the dialogue fresh with some of the best lines ever. The drama is riveting with character's that are complex and fascinating.

If you are tired of the one dimensional characters, stale storylines, boring dialogue, and mediocre drama of American television then I highly recommend this Series. You will not be disappointed!

BEWARE: Bad Girls is absolutely addictive....just finished purchasing Series 3-6.

I love this series. The bummer is that in the United States the only DVD we can purchase is Season 1 and it doesn't even have the extras that the BBC version has with outtakes and interviews. But this is a wonderful series and once you watch this you will be hooked! Great story lines, interesting characters- A DVD that you will watch over and over again. This is better than most TV series that America has come up with.

This is one of the best brit series I've seen since "Upstairs, Downstairs" so many years ago. And it actually has some things in common with that venerable high-class 'soap.' Great storytelling and fascinating characters on both sides of the prison bars that you come to care about as if they are very real people indeed.

Not only is this series a 'best-kept secret' on this side of the Atlantic...I thought I was always up on brit tv thanks to PBS, etc. but I had never heard of this series until quite recently and it's been running for almost 8 years! ...also virtually unknown over here is one of the best british actresses I've seen lately, the divine Simone Lahbib. An actress of rare nuance and sensuality who makes the admirable and, at times, maddening Helen Stewart one of the most fascinating and complex characters I've ever enjoyed watching in any series. Who knew a scottish accent could be so sexy?

Lahbib and the superb Mandana Jones as lifer Nikki Wade who is serving time for killing the corrupt copper who was trying to sexually assault her girlfriend have a chemistry together that transcends most working relationships and borders on telepathic. They make sparks. This is one of the most romantic, despite its setting, and angsty, because of its setting, love stories ever filmed for tv. Such a welcome alternative to the sheer silly weirdness into which "The L Word" has descended.

The Love Story is the Heart of the first 3 seasons (I had to send to the UK for series 2 & 3 and get a region-free dvd player in order to watch...and I wanted to see it that badly...and it was bloody well worth it) but the other reviewer is correct, all the characters and storylines are fascinating and the acting uniformly superb across the board. I heard of this series, finally, and wanted to watch because of the lesbian love story, but everything else about it engaged my attention and emotions as well.

Jack Ellis as Jim Fenner is one of the great screen villains.

With a title like "Bad Girls" in this day and age I expected sleaze, like the Aussie soap about women in prison from several years back, but instead I got an insightful, down-to-earth, well-written, beautifully acted program, especially in the stellar first two, less melodramatic, seasons.

And, again, the luscious Lahbib is worth watching in anything.

This is an outstanding series -- one of the best I've ever seen on tv. It's gritty, tragic, and sometimes funny. The characters are well-drawn and the acting is top-notch. This series makes obvious how palid most North American tv really is. I can hardly wait until they release the rest of the series in North America. Get this series...you won't be disappointed.

I have to admit when I first caught a glimpse of this show on BBC America I thought... Women in prison? This is going to be bad. But I found quite the opposite. And while my favorite story line is the one between Nikki and Helen. Overall all the women and yes even Fenner, the down right evil male prison officer, keep you coming back and wanting more. Every storyline that takes place and there are quite a few, is interesting. My only disappointment with this DVD collection is that for some reason they didn't include the extras that are included in the Uncut UK version. I know the series is in its seventh season in the UK and maybe they thought some of the extras would not be revelant but I still think they should have at least included the outtakes. But if you can't have the UK version pick this one up, this series is so worth it. Trust me, you will be watching it over and over again.

I stumbled across this show on Logo, wasn't terribly intrigued, but decided to give it a try. It turned out to be so well-acted and well-written that I recorded season one during a day-long marathon and watched them all. I loved it so much that I couldn't watch any other TV shows for two weeks--I had no interest at all. I immediately went online and watched through Season 3. No other show has lived up to Bad Girls. It was like meeting my true love. A silly comparison, perhaps, but I've never before seen a lesbian relationship on television this well-developed.

There is something so emotionally accurate about Helen and Nikki that I'm astounded. Before coming out, there were times in my life when I felt like Helen--confused and in denial. Later, I was in situations much more like that of Nikki. My personal circumstances were certainly very different, but the core emotions are captured so well on screen that I found some scenes hard to watch (although I rewound them repeatedly). Potting shed, anyone? :)

For those who have struggled with their sexuality, it's a revelation and affirmation to realize that we are both Helen and Nikki. In loving their characters, you can find love for yourself.

I'm researching region-free DVD players as I type. I have to own these, and I think you'll want to watch them, too.

Feeding my mind lately with BBC television series, I gave this one a try expecting the worst with title, but got a shock at how seriously brilliant this series is. If you're watching to catch some women getting it on, you're truly missing what makes this show so great: the storylines, the storylines, the storylines. One of the best moments, for me, is when the women in G block get guitars and try to learn "Kumbaya" to annoy the screws in order they get their open visits back - after having them taken away for overt drug use reported in a local paper. I have found my new crack and can't wait until the next seasons become available in America.