By Jillian A. Bogater
At the very least, the new Logo series "Bad Girls" offers truth in advertising.
The British show is based in a prison full of girls (err, women) and the writing is simply bad.
Based on one preview episode, it's hard to gauge the strength or direction of the plotline. But if the pilot is any indication of the remainder of the series, viewers are in store for stereotypical women's prison drama (all dressed in un-stereotypically stylish clothing), girl-on-girl sexual tension and the predictable predatory male official seducing vulnerable inmates.
The show opens with a flashy nightclub-like review, spliced with scenes of a woman screaming in pain. Soon after opening credits are done rolling, it becomes clear it is a group of women prisoners rehearsing for a fashion show (what?!?), while another prisoner has a miscarriage in her cell.
Soon after, the girls from the cellblock stage an uprising to protest the lack of medical care, and the fashion show is canceled.
Next, meet Governor Helen Stewart, the new warden with a heart. She wants a job that makes a difference; really, she's not part of the oppressive system she represents, she seems to beg. As she sees the system growing out of control, she decides to buddy up with prisoner Nikki (billed as a "compassionate lesbian") to restore order.
Senior Prison Officer Jim Fenner notches up the sleaze factor, as he exchanges favors for sex with inmates Shell and Rachel. Surely this is a serious problem in prison systems around the world, but cliche overshadows originality in this story arc.
Maybe something was lost in translation as the show made its transit from that side of the big pond. Or it could be the pilot got off to a shaky start, and subsequent episodes will add some meat to the series.
Perhaps "Bad Girls" has an opportunity to fill a kitsch market. So bad that it's good.
Time will tell.
"Bad Girls"
Premieres 10 p.m. Feb. 1
Logo
