Netflix announced November of 2014 their plans to adapt Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” The beloved children’s book series will be transformed into eight episodes set to air on the streaming service January 13, 2017.

Neil Patrick Harris was cast as the primary antagonist, Count Olaf, to play alongside Joan Cusack, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes, K. Todd Freeman, Aasif Mandvi, and Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket.

Since production began, the series has been kept tightly under wraps, until today. Neil Patrick Harris took to Twitter and dropped a teaser trailer that finally gives a glimpse into what the series will look like. 

LUKE CAGE (8 out of 10) Created by Cheo Hodari Coker; Based on the comic book ‘Luke Cage’ by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, John Romita Sr.; Starring Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Erik LaRay Harvey, Rosario Dawson, Alfre Woodard; Hour-long drama streaming all 13 episodes on Netflix now

 “Luke Cage” is the most authentic character of all of the heroes in the Marvel Netflix Originals so far.

For all of the excitement that mounts as each of Marvel’s Netflix Original series premiere, one would assume that eventually the hype will outweigh the reality. There is a similar feeling among fans and critics when a new Marvel movie is announced. So far, the teams of creatives involved in bringing these beloved comic book characters to life have yet to disappoint. With Marvel’s latest Netflix series, “Luke Cage,” they continue their trend of success but do not again reach the pinnacle that was Marvel’s “Jessica Jones.”

That isn’t to say that the series has many faults, but it does have enough missteps to give us pause and consider that balancing thirteen episodes of high action and drama through the lens of a super-hero is not an easy task. Add in the fact that this series, like “Jessica Jones” before it, continues the proud comic book tradition of being socially relevant to our current cultural events and the job only increases in difficulty.

“Luke Cage” is the most authentic character of all of the heroes in the Marvel Netflix Originals so far. Cage himself, is the most relatable character of the three primary heroes to date. His struggles are fantastical but the world around him is very much the one that many in the minority communities in America live in. The people just want to live their lives but gang violence and police misconduct are daily realities that cannot be escaped. “Luke Cage” bravely tackles issues that can cause political arguments but it does so in a responsible and entertaining way.

The series knows that its job is entertainment and does not preach, but anyone watching it should easily grasp what the hyperbolic violence is actually commenting on. Luke Cage has to get a new hoodie several times through the 13 episodes because it becomes riddled in bullet holes. Sometimes he’s shot by the criminals trying to profit off of suffering in Harlem and at other times he is shot at by police officers, even while he shields other police officers from the deadly fire of their comrades.

Luke Cage is a reluctant hero in Harlem, as he is hiding from his past, events both mysterious and those revealed in “Jessica Jones.” He is forced into taking action by both his moral compass and his mentor figure in Harlem, the barber and former criminal Henry “Pops” Hunter. Pops runs the neutral area in Harlem, a local barber shop, a place refers to as Switzerland.

Pops is concerned with the location and fate of some of the wayward neighborhood boys he’s tried to turn into upstanding citizens. He knows about Luke’s hidden powers and forces Luke into looking for one of the boys. Pops had previously helped Cage when he first arrived in Harlem, help offered in exchange for a favor down the road, and Pops decides it’s time to collect. It’s at this point that Luke is forced into direct confrontation with the criminal and the police authority elements of Harlem. The catch of course being that he’s unwittingly slept with one of the police officers, Misty Knight, and he’s been dish washing at a club owned by one of Harlem’s most notorious criminals, Cottonmouth. All at once, Luke finds himself the fulcrum around which bends the lever of power in Harlem.

The first half of the series follows Luke on his investigative journey. Some tragedy occurs and Luke decides it’s his responsibility, because he has the power, to take out the criminal organization of Cottonmouth’s. This puts him in the sights of the law enforcement, especially Misty Knight. He carefully minds his identity because of his hidden past (though not carefully enough, get a mask, man). At this point, the show seems to move away from direct social commentary and shift villains in an all too obvious plot.

Cottonmouth is by far, the superior character, but he isn’t the big boss from out of town, Diamondback. Diamondback relies on the show informing us that he’s the big baddie and there isn’t much of the character development that Cottonmouth received for us to really appreciate just how awful Diamond back is. While the remainder of the series plays out, there are scenes where Diamondback is shown to be sadistic and cruel, but only after he’s introduced. It really steals from the urgency felt in the early episodes and slows the series to a crawl through the end. This amounts to one of the few major missteps the show runners make.

The bright note that pulls the show up from the sluggishness is Rosario Dawson’s Night Nurse character Claire Temple. Her chemistry with Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter, is wonderful. It will have new audiences rooting for there to be some dark, hot beverages in both of the character’s futures. Of course, the characters of Claire and Misty have their confrontations as Misty digs in her detective heals against Claire’s more pragmatic sensibilities. Misty certainly wants justice but can’t see past the illusions the villains have put in front of her. Luke Cage just can’t seem to catch a break as he has Harlem’s criminal element framing him for crimes he could have committed, but certainly would not.

The unsung villain in all of this though, has to be the evolution of Mariah Dillard through the helping hands of the truly cringe-worthy (in the best kind of way) personality of Hernan “Shades” Alvarez. Their story is certainly set up for a season 2 of the series, and despite it clashing with the urgency of the first half of the series, Shades and Mariah are utterly detestable villains. Both actors who play those roles are terrific, but I believe the edge for worst villain of the entire series has to go to Shades.

As the series comes to a close there are more references to police officer shootings of unarmed black men in America. The bullet hole ridden hoodies of Luke Cage’s turn from a national embarrassment to a sign of pride for the local Harlem sub-culture. The score plays us through the entire journey in what may be the most well composed score of any modern television series. The song, “Bulletproof Love” by Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad featuring Method Man, is a triumph that caps a score that is just as much of a character as the ones being portrayed by actors on screen. If there is any question in the excellence of this series because of its slight missteps, the score quickly eliminates those.

In the end, we get a wonderful character journey that may be sluggish at times, but is successful in the strength of the acting and score. The story itself isn’t bogged down in the social awareness that it brings to unfamiliar audiences, but the clichés it lets itself fall into do work against it being proclaimed the best superhero series on Netflix. That’s perfectly fine though, because it is still a successful series. Even more of a reason to watch and enjoy “Luke Cage” is because it does a much better job of setting itself up for a second season than the first season of “Jessica Jones” or the last two of “Daredevil” did.

The first trailer for Marvel’s upcoming Netflix series “Iron Fist” that hasn’t been all teaser has arrived over the weekend. It’s nice that the New York Comic Con is in the October because we get wonderful pop-culture updates as early trick-or-treats. In the case of the “Iron Fist” trailer, it’s all treats. It’s very clear that the Defenders are on everyone’s minds and Marvel isn’t going to let us forget as the trailer mentions the arrival of the final Defender even before the heroes have created the team itself. 

The rest of the trailer is martial arts delights peppered with villains and Danny Rand’s glowing Iron Fist. I know I’m not the only fan to pump my fist in glee when Danny Rand (played by Finn Jones) appears bare chested and tattooed with Shou-Lao the Dragon. I just hope we get to see a fight with the undying dragon in the mystical realm of K’un L’un. What we definitely get to see is the return of Madame Gao, last seen in “Daredevil”. We were teased with the Steel Serpent emblem of Davos in season 1 of “Daredevil”. Its placement was all over Madame Gao’s illegal activities, so it’s safe to assume fans are in for some martial arts showdowns with Iron Fist’s arch nemesis Davos next Spring. The Trick part of this early Halloween gift from NYCC is that fans now have to be patient in the face of the anticipation this trailer creates. Netflix will premiere the full season of Marvel’s “Iron Fist” March 17, 2017. 

The music that drives the next big Marvel Netflix franchise, “Luke Cage”, is a critical part of the street level hero storytelling. In the trailer, Method Man admits to anticipating a “Luke Cage” series since his childhood. The politics of hip-hop and the messages of justice and inequality will be a wonderful soundtrack to a hero who believes in the same but may have a hard time fighting for what he believes in. Music Supervisor Adrian Younge says that each episode was treated like an album. That’s good news for binge viewers because they’re in for a visual and auditory treat. ‘Luke Cage’ premieres in full on Netflix September 30^th, 2016. 

Get hyped for Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders and more Jessica Jones and Daredevil. Netflix and Marvel unleashed a deluge of spectacular trailers this weekend at SDCC (San Diego Comic Con). We’ve put them all in one convenient location where you can watch them over and over again. After you’re through watching them for the fifth or sixth time, be sure to let us know which show you’re the most excited for down in the comments below, in a Twitter tweet, or over on our Facebook page.

Marvel’s Luke Cage

Marvel’s Iron Fist

Marvel’s The Defenders

Marvel and Netflix Sizzle Reel

‘Stranger Things’ (10 out of 10) Created by Matt and Ross Duffer; Starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Natalia Dyer; Streaming on Netflix

If you identify as a geek that grew up in the 1980’s, and you haven’t watched the Netflix series “Stranger Things” by now, then you really should get on that. In fact, make sure you watch it before you read this, because I’m taking a deep dive into some very spoiler-soaked territory with this one.

Even if you haven’t watched the show, it’s a safe bet that you know how it has sought (and succeeded) to capture some very specific vibes that are hardwired into the central nervous system of 80’s pop culture enthusiasts. There’s a little Hooper, a little Carpenter (John, not Karen), and just the right amount of “Hey you gu-uys!”

Rather than gush about how pretty much everything about this show resonated with me—right down to the decision to play New Order’s “Elegia” during a gut-wrenching funeral scene—we’re going take a look at the show’s homages to some timeless relics of the 1980’s, and how “Stranger Things” managed to weave them into its own frightfully good story.

Stephen Spielberg

It’s clear that Matt and Ross Duffer have a diversified portfolio of cultural influences from the 1980’s, but the work of Stephen Spielberg appears to be most prevalent. Few directors have the ability to capture Spielberg’s magical mixture of wonder, fear and heart, and it’s clear that the Duffers wanted “Stranger Things” to be a creature of that laboratory.

The most obvious nod to this vibe would have to be Richard Donner’s “The Goonies,” which was co-written by Spielberg. In “Stranger Things” our protagonists are a group of resourceful outcasts that just so happen to be endlessly watchable. Like the 1985 film, each member of the “Stranger Things” crew is a thoughtfully drawn out character, and a big part of the show’s success hinges on the great chemistry that they have together. Also like “Goonies,” the show’s casting directors have assembled some of the greatest actors without driver’s licenses that we’ve seen in recent memory. Most notably would have to be Eleven aka Elle, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Her ability to evoke an emotional spectrum that ranges from hysterical fear to unbridled rage with only a smattering of dialogue was definitely something special. Which is not to say that her A/V clubbing, Dungeons and Dragons-playing nerd posse wasn’t pulling their weight. Not since “E.T.” have we had so much fun watching a group of bike-riding geeks outwit shady government agents—along with scary-ass, interdimensional monsters. I love Mike Wheeler’s (Finn Wolfhard) unflinching leadership skills, I love how Lucas Sinclair’s (Caleb McLaughlin) sense of friendship triumphs over his cynicism, I love Dustin Henderson’s (Gaten Matarazzo) level-headed perspective, and I love Will Byers’s (Noah Schnapp) resourcefulness in the face of interdimensional kidnapping.

One of Spielberg’s few forays into the world of horror was co-writing Tobe Hooper’s classic “Poltergeist,” a film which scared the bejeezus out of us despite its PG rating. The scenes where Joyce (Winona Ryder) communicates with Will through various clusters of Christmas lights captures the same feels that “Poltergeist” gave us when Diane Freeling first makes contact with Carol Anne through the static of the living room TV. Props to Ryder for making me get all misty-eyed as she embraces a tangle of wires and light bulbs.

Slasher Flicks

In addition to the Upside Down, “Stranger Things” gives us a look into yet another bizarre, alternate dimension: That of the bored teenager in a small town. It’s a world that we primarily see through the eyes of Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Mike’s older sister. When we first meet her, it’s obvious that her character is a reference to a strong line of straight-laced-but-not-too-straight-laced horror film heroines. Aside from the peculiar events that are happening in her town, her main concern is the fact that she’s landed a superhot boyfriend named Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), along with the pressures of fitting in with the cool kids. Dopey teenagers are a staple in pretty much any horror film that came out of the 1980’s, and the pool party at Steve’s house is a well-conceived homage to everything from “Friday the 13^th” to “The Slumberparty Massacre”

This scene does a ton to move the story forward. Not only does it offer up one of the show’s creepiest moments as Nancy’s BFF Barb Holland (Shannon Purser) gets kidnapped by a monster, but it serves as the catalyst for Nancy to meet Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton). It also gives us a close look at Steve’s world, and makes us both happy and scared for Nancy as she starts to fit in with them.

Stephen King

It’s clear that the Duffer Brothers have a profound love for the horror genre as it existed in the Reagan era, and the books of Stephen King definitely contributed to that snapshot. Even though we see a character reading a Stephen King book, and someone mentions him by name, Uncle Stevie’s influence on “Stranger Things” is a bit more subtextual. Eleven’s telekinetic powers made me think of “Carrie” and “Firestarter,” and a group of pre-adolescents ad odds with cosmic terror sounds an awful lot like “It.” King is also a sucker for small towns beset with paranormal problems, and Hawkins, Indiana has the look and feel of a place born inside his devious mind.

Alien

When we first visit the Upside Down, a twisted, slime-covered version of our reality, it’s hard not to think of our first visit to planet LV-426 in Ridley Scott’s film “Alien.” The interdimensional being has some very Giger-esque characteristics, including a multi-mandibled jaw wide enough to hug just about anyone’s face. It also shares the Xenomorph’s affinity for cocooning its prey inside of nasty, chitinous shells and using their chests as incubators of evil.

That Soundtrack Tho!

Before we get to the solid list of 80’s pop that “Stranger Things” has now injected with eerie double meanings, we must talk about the ominous score that Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein created. Two seconds into the show’s opening credits, and it’s the music that tells you that you’re watching some 80’s horror. There’s an obvious reference to John Carpenter’s musical style, but, like the rest of the show, it’s only there to showcase some true artistic talent.

I’ve already mentioned the perfect timing of “Elegia,” but “Stranger Things” has made me see “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash, “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner, and “Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Hart in a different way. All three of these songs were placed with enough deliberation and thought to charge them with foreshadowing and double meanings. I also fully support the use of “Africa” by Toto as a makeout song—for personal reasons.

Conclusion

The reason “Stranger Things” works so well is because of the reverence with which it treats its source material. Rather than assemble a pastiche of references that smack us over the head with how culturally knowledgeable the creators are (I’m looking at you, “Goldbergs”), “Stranger Things” treats them like a natural resource. Even if you’re not a genuine 80’s geek, “Stranger Things” tells a fascinating story, gives great actors like Winona Ryder and David Harbour some fantastic characters to work with, and manages to scare us while working its way into our hearts. 

This article was written by Rachel Jensen for Big Shiny Robot! You can find her on twitter @supermochella

“Orange is the New Black” Season 4 (10 out of 10) Created by Jenji Kohan; Starring Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning, Michael Harney, Lori Petty, Kate Mulgrew, Uzo Aduba, Dascha Polanco, Samira Wiley; Streaming June 17, 2016 on Netflix

Deep Breath. Season 4, wow. If you did not finish watching Season Four of OITNB, stop reading right now and get to that. You’ve had a whole week, that’s only about 13 hours of your time. By the time I reached the last four episodes I was on the hook, and I would lose sleep and sanity on a work night to finish the season. My love of Netflix is unbound for the fact that I can binge watch a new season in under a week, but that is a bittersweet love since I now have to wait an entire year to see this finale to  play out. You have been warned, so prepare for huge spoilers ahead.

Season 3 finished up beautifully with the ladies escaping Litchfield Prison through a series of blunders that led them all to an idyllic afternoon at the lake and a taste of freedom. The original prison staff had walked out due to the corporate takeover of the facility and the loss of their benefits. A repair crew left a gap in the prison fence that the ladies could escape through to the lake. Chapman’s Aussie love (played by Ruby Rose) had just been shipped off to Max, leaving Piper feeling invincible. Everything looked like it was going well for everyone, except for Alex Vause, who was right all along about a hit man being sent to the prison to kill her; and remember that this is how the season is beginning. From there, strap in, get some comfy pants on, maybe come packing with Gatorade and snacks, because you aren’t moving from your couch for the next thirteen and a half hours.

Now we’re already starting with the spoilers. Yes, there will be some tears this season. You’ll want to cheer, laugh, bawl your eyes out, and probably punch your TV or streaming device. Lolly, Litchfield’s paranoid schizophrenic conspiracy theorist, goes to grab Alex during the exodus through the fence. Fortunately, she stumbles upon Alex nearly being murdered by the C.O. who was sent to kill her. Lolly to the rescue, stomps him to death. She just killed a guard to save Alex’s life in the most violent act, surprisingly, we’ve seen in a drama about women in prison. Because of the walkout and prisoner escape, this sets the stage for the perfect murder and cover up. Now we’re off to a bang. Soon, we’ll see Alex and Lolly, with the help of the prison murder-matron, dismember and bury him in the garden. That’s right, they kill a guy (well, Lolly just stunned him and Alex had to mercy kill him, which was really hard to watch), then they dismember him with garden tools, and plant the prison tomatoes over him.

Season 4 begins to weave in multiple social elements, specifically the issue of privatized prisons. The inmates are rounded up by Maximum’s riot guards, one of whom will stay and make Litchfield really unpleasant: Piscatella. The wrangled-up women return to the prison to meet with dozens of new inmates, because of the privatization the population of Litchfield has now nearly doubled. The new inmates are overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a large gang of Dominicans forming to fight for control over the prison, led by a hardened-up Maria. When Maria tries to corner the underground dirty panty market to flex her power, Piper flexes back by developing a gang task force. As adorably misguided as Piper always has been and always will be, she also inadvertently sets up a prison white power gang. To top that off, celebrity Judy King is now a prisoner at Litchfield, and will be given the royal treatment (ala Martha Stewart) to the chagrin and sometimes delight of the prisoners. OK, so we’ve got new inmates, racial tension, blatant inequality, a lack of regulation, and lack of resources. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, MCC for starters. I had to remind myself at least several times an episode ‘this is really what is happening, this is really this ridiculous’. From the slop we were introduced to in the cafeteria last season, real issues facing privatized prisons pop up at every corner. Overpopulation results in a sad, but funny, tampon shortage for one. Add to that the walkout of the guards, and how to bring in a new staff that is willing to be paid just slightly more than minimum wage with zero benefits. Our sometimes hero and sometimes failure, Joe Caputo, joins forces with the dim-witted, eager-beaver Linda from Purchasing, who reminds me of the know-it-all teacher’s pet that only gets A’s because she wears low-cut tops. I can’t mince words on how much I absolutely hated Linda. Caputo is a pretty decent guy, and I’m rooting for him the whole time to make the right decision, but Linda? I really want to see Linda get smacked down from her high horse with a hefty dose of reality. In a moment of weakness, Caputo pays Figueroa a visit, and I was actually happy to see her in the place of Linda.

Caputo is eager to suggest that Litchfield hire veterans who are already trained and disciplined. Linda agrees with him for absolutely all the wrong reasons that pin-point not only what is wrong with our system, but how society treats veterans as a whole. Somehow, Litchfield manages to hire a handful of sociopaths with conduct unbecoming of any soldier. The new guards harass and assault the inmates, play juvenile games, and drink on the job. This is the point where things take a very, very dark turn. New CO Humphrey ‘Humps’ is probably going to be the most hated character in the whole series, and there are a lot of hated characters to choose from. At first I thought he’d be another jovial guard like Luschek, but this guy makes Pornstache look like a friendly neighborhood babysitter. He is a sadist that mentally tortures inmates for his own pleasure. At one point, even forcing inmates to fight each other because he’s bored. This leads to the breakdown of several characters’ psyche, including Crazy Eyes. Anyone with a heart cannot possibly watch the rest of Crazy Eyes’ back story without having it break. To see her completely break down due to her fragile mental state being pushed to the limits by Humps is cruel. Sadly, this is the reality for many prisoners who never received the help they needed on the outside.

Speaking of mental health, you might think Crazy Eyes has been neglected by society, but we also get to know the back story of Lolly Whitehead and Sam Healy. Two characters in opposite roles in the prison, and a similar heart-wrenching tale of paranoid schizophrenia. Lolly has a psychotic break after killing Aydin, Kubra’s hit man. It’s not the killing that breaks her, it’s her paranoia about the drones in the garden. The drones are real, but her conspiracy theories are not. I, for one, am happy that they didn’t take the route of killing her character off, but watching what ultimately happens to Lolly had me in tears. She confesses to the killing, and no one believes her. Healy instead makes her his pet project, to somehow atone for not being able to help his own mother who had a similar mental illness. This explains Healy’s own backwards attitudes toward helping people and his thoughts on women in general. He’s unable to help her, and realizes that he’s made a terrible mistake when the body is recovered from the garden. Prepare yourself for a long stretch of sobbing at that point. Her confusion and betrayal of being hauled off to psych tore me to pieces.

But wait! It’s not just Lolly, Healy, and Crazy Eyes that are suffering. Sophia Burset has wasted away in the SHU, ahem, “protective custody”, since her assault in season three. Her wife is still trying to prove she’s in there to win a lawsuit to get her out. She might actually be the inmate in the worst shape after all is said and done, and that’s including Chapman’s swastika branding. Holy effing crap, OITNB. It’s like you’ve been setting up this powder keg all along and this is now the season that everything just blows up in front of us. If anything is made crystal clear, it is the line between the haves and the have-nots, Burcet being a huge example of how little the honest protection a trans woman is regarded in Litchfield.

At this point, everyone is fed up for their own reasons. The racial tension, the drug peddling, and the inequality and special treatment given to Judy King. No one is safe in prison, no one is allowed to be human any longer. One woman stands out as a defiant instigator, and it’s one of the women you’d least expect. Blanca, who has shown in her flashbacks, can only take so much before she revolts. It will be interesting to see what she actually did to earn her ticket into prison, because I don’t think that having an affair with the gardener to piss off the old lady you live with is a punitive offense. Her simple act of literally standing her ground somehow unites everyone, even the black girls, latinas, and skin-heads. When hard-ass Piscatella pushes Red just a little bit too far, the girls protest peacefully. Then, the whole powder keg makes another explosion. In the aftermath, the meekest guard somehow uses excessive force against the most passive and gentle inmate. I can’t even say her name in reference to what happens, I think I am still in shock and a certain degree of mourning. It’s legitimately hard to watch and take in. I think the impact for that scene is that it’s painfully real- we’ve been watching the news around the country, we know what’s really going on. If we didn’t already have empathy and have a face to a name with Sandra Bland or Freddie Gray, we do now with Poussey. It’s a shame that it takes a fictionalized character to really hammer home that feeling, but if you weren’t paying attention, this was not unintentional. It’s still one of the toughest moments in any show I’ve seen to watch a character as tough as Taystee crumple onto the ground crying next to her dead best friend. If you didn’t have to pause the show to cry again at this point, you have no heart.

Now what? Every character is tested this season. Every character has a chance to make a good decision, a bad decision, or the right decision. Caputo made a good decision to turn his back on MCC and not throw his only gentle-hearted CO under the bus, but in doing so he betrayed the women he swore to protect. As season four ends in a standoff at gun point, I just kept thinking, ‘how the hell did it come to this?’ I’m sure Caputo, MCC, and everyone watching Litchfield will be thinking the same thing when we catch back up to them in the continuation. Where season 1 ended with the beat down to end all beat downs between Chapman and Pennsatucky, season 2 ended with the escape of terminally-ill Miss Rosa, and season 3 ended in smiles at the lake- season 4 offers no answers, no resolution, and no closure.

Season four is some of the most intense viewing I have ever binged watched. The last four episodes is akin to the OITNB version of the Red Wedding. There is so much going on that if you blink, you’ll miss it. Your heart will break over and over again for Lolly, Healy, and Crazy Eyes for their depiction of mental illness. You will watch Ramos break her flirty minx persona and finally crack under pressure, then literally have to deal with the aftermath of a sociopath who made her eat a live mouse at gun point. The elements of rape and surviving sexual assault are on brutal display with Pennsatucky, Charlie, and Big Boo. Nicky and Red do the dance of dependency and co-dependency when Nicky breaks her sobriety yet again, (however, three lesbians smoking crack in a tiny cornfield was definitely one of the funniest scenes of the season). Race relations, equality, and real raw humanity permeate everything in the season. The love and redemption between SoSo and Poussey is remarkable, which only makes the ending even more depressing. So when that last episode is finished, and you’re done cheering, screaming, and crying, take a deep breath, don’t forget to start blinking again, and join the rest of us in the long wait until season five. It’s going to be a hard year waiting for the next one, and I applaud everyone involved in creating OITNB for making one of the best damn seasons of the best damn show, ever. 

What a time to be alive. This year, “Civil War” came to the big screen, and it was amazing. The X-Men battled Apocalypse, and it was – well it was pretty OK. It was cool. I mean like not the best but far from the worst. I waited 21 years for a “Preacher” series, and the one that aired May 22 did not disappoint. There’s another Star Wars movie this year. The Empire dude and the LEGO dudes are making a different Star Wars movie. Ghostbusters. Independence Day sequel (not even remotely ashamed of how excited I am for that). Jessica and Matt and Luke, oh my! Until today, I would have told you that there was no possible way for me to be more excited about being a nerd in 2016. That’s totally true. By May 31, not quite half way through the year, I thought the universe had exhausted its annual awesomeness allotment.

And then Netflix announced they’re doing a G.L.O.W. series. BUT WAIT. It gets even better. Two of the creative minds behind “Homeland” and “Orange is the New Black” will be showrunning and executive producing with Jenji Kohan, creator of “Orange is the New Black.”

I’ll pause while you pace furiously while fanning yourself because you totally have the vapors. Or maybe you need to call someone and shriek the news in their ear. Before you do, however, please note that this will be a scripted show, not actual lady rasslin’. Er, OK, scripted differently than actual lady rasslin’.

Raise your hand if you are old enough to remember G.L.O.W. Every Saturday night I tuned in. My parents played cards with another couple and we were allowed to watch SNL because nobody knew we prooooobably shouldn’t have been watching SNL. The hour before? G.L.O.W. The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. And it was glorious.

For those who didn’t raise their hands: “The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling” was a one hour show that featured skits, songs, and a whole lot of rasslin’ (to call it “wrestling implies you take it seriously). Kind of like “Hee Haw” only not as professional. The show filmed in Vegas, and ran for four years in what is arguably the greatest fashion era know to man – the mid to late 80’s. The giant hair was matched only by the epic kitsch. And the single greatest part of the show? When the ladies would rap their own intros before entering the ring, all atop the exact same beat. You can watch all 14 cringe-worthy minutes of the first season’s raps here, because God bless the internet.

There was Big Bad Mama, who looked like an abomination borne of John Waters and the Insane Clown Posse. Or maybe their mother, had they shared a womb. There were about four “Farmer’s Daughters” over the years, and same for the Belles and the Headhunters. Dementia carried a doll and stared blankly and eerily at her opponents. She kind of did the Mankind thing way before Mankind did the thing. I don’t even want to think about the erotic fiction that has been dedicated to Little Fiji and Mountain Fiji.

The new show will mostly focus on one character, an actress who sees the wrestling as a final effort to live out her dreams. I am so hopeful that the show will be able to use all the characters I so fondly remember. Except maybe leave Palestina out. That one was pretty racist.

Pictures of the ladies are shockingly sparse on the internet. And just a thought – if you have any G.L.O.W. memorabilia, you are about to be very popular on eBay.

This review was written by Rachel Jensen for Big Shiny Robot, you can find her on Twitter @supermochella

(9.5 out of 10) Created by Tina Fey, and Robert Carlock; Starring Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Carol Kane, Lauren Adams, Sara Chase; Streaming now on Netflix.

I can’t believe I survived waiting a whole year for Season 2 to drop on Netflix. This is the kind of neurotic feel-good comedy I need more of in my life, and much to my delight, I ate up all thirteen episodes in a three-night span. You wouldn’t be reading a review of Season 2 if you hadn’t already watched season 1, but just in case, spoiler alerts abound (and go watch Season 1 cheese on crackers, you’re a year behind). I was a little bit obsessed with this show before, and now my huge fan-crush on both Kimmy, and creator Tina Fey, has exploded.

Season 2 drops us off a few months after the finale for season one concluded. Kimmy is back in New York after getting the Reverend locked up, Jacqueline has absconded with a police car back to her family’s home on the Reservation, and Tituss and Lilian are keeping things eccentric. More of the characters’ back stories get screen time right from the get go. Things shake up really fast with the revelation that Tituss was not only married over a decade ago, but to a woman scorned. In this season we still get to see Tituss’ boisterous and flamboyant actions, and also his soft side when he finds, and fights like hell against, true love. This was absolutely the highlight of the season for me, and I ‘awwd’ at the screen more times than I feel comfortable with saying.

Jaqueline has a rougher go at things. After losing almost everything in her divorce, she tries to reconnect with her family and her Sioux roots, which both fail miserably. She takes baby steps and begins a journey on realizing what a completely selfish trophy wife she had really been, and that she can be worth much more than that. Jane Krakowski is absolutely endearing as a clueless blonde learning how to live like ‘normal’ people do in the city. Not to mention, the relationship between Jacqueline and her best frenemy Deirdre is wickedly delicious. The typical vapid socialite is turned upside down in some of the best off the cuff remarks I have heard in comedy.

 I laughed and I literally screamed for joy throughout every episode.

Lillian has slightly more of a main focus in Season 2, which I appreciate being such a huge Carol Kane fan. She’s off in her own mismatched neon-colored world in which she has made it her mission to keep hipsters out of her perfectly weird neighborhood. Several amazing sight gags and one liners come out of her paranoia and determination to save her crime-riddled, crumbling street. Most minor characters from Season 1 also come back for more, including Dong, Xanthippe, and the other Mole Women.

Kimmy is front and center in midst of people who might actually be crazier than she is. Tender-hearted Kimmy is always willing to help others out, and now that she’s no longer employed by the former Mrs. Voorhees, it comes at a great sacrifice. She’s starting to learn about the cause of most of her issues with help from a very drunk, and highly educated, Uber passenger named Andrea (played by Tina Fey). Through Kimmy, the central themes of trauma, friendship, and self-discovery make her story so much more than a typical fish-out-of-water comedy. Really big topics are tackled head on by Kimmy and her cohorts. I applaud Fey for never shying away from addressing issues within the LGBT community, racism, PTSD, and more than a slight smattering of in-your-face psychology. You’re laughing the whole time, but each episode deals with some really heavy shit.

It’s good, smart humor no matter who you are: man, woman, or Robert Durst.

On the surface, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” might seem like a feel-good chick sitcom. Despite the wonderful feminist plot-line this is on par with Fey’s past project “30 Rock:” It’s good, smart humor no matter who you are: man, woman, or Robert Durst. I particularly liked the many subtle running gags that reminded me of all the reasons I had fallen in love with my last comedy addiction, “Arrested Development.” Yes, it’s that good. Netflix does rate it a 14+, so even though Kimmy uses some familiar non-swears, and her child-like innocence might seem on par with pre-teens, most of the jokes are very adult in nature, and the situations are not what you would see in the horrible reboot of “Full House.”

I have nothing but really amazing things to say about this season. I waited a year, and I was not disappointed. I laughed and I literally screamed for joy throughout every episode. These characters feel real and the writing is so on point that you can’t help but get sucked in. This is definitely something you will binge watch, and that is actually its only downfall; thirteen episodes seems like far too few for such a great show, and it’s maddening having to wait to see what will happen next. Netflix, you’re on a roll with this one, just make these seasons roll out a little bit sooner! 

The intensity heats up thanks to Netflix because, from the look of the most recent trailers, Marvel has another hit season of television in store for everyone. The first season of “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones” were fantastic and they were both renewed for second seasons. The entire Netflix Marvel line isn’t out yet as “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist” are still in production. Season 2 of Daredevil will have to hold fans over during the wait. As long as they keep making them though, fans will be sure to continue binge watching them while they wait for more. Marvel’s “Daredevil” season 2 streams in full on Netflix this March 18th.

And, in case you missed part one of the “Daredevil” season 2 trailer, view the amazing Punisher sequences below.