Jane the Virgin

Jane the Virgin is an American serial comedy-drama television series that debuted on The CW on October 13, 2014. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen created by Perla Farías.  On January 11, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season.

Set in the scandalous city of Miami, the series is about the surprising and unforeseen events that take place in the life of Jane Villanueva, a 23 year old, hard-working, religious young Latina woman whose family tradition and vow is to save her virginity until her marriage.  Jane is serious with a detective, her boyfriend of four years, Michael Cordero, Jr., who proposes to Jane. Her dreams of a simple life with her fiancé are shattered when a doctor mistakenly artificially inseminates her during a checkup. And to make matters so much worse, the biological donor is a married man, a former playboy and cancer survivor who is not only the new owner of the hotel where Jane works, but was also her former teenage crush.  This man, Rafael Solano, also happens to be the doctor's brother.  

I like this show because every episode leaves off on a major problem that needs to be resolved in the next episode (cliffhanger).  It leaves me wanting more every time.  Also there is not only the main plot with the main characters, but many sub plots with minor characters that make every minute of the show interesting.  The diversity of the characters on the show make it easy for the audience to identify with at least one character.  There are many different personalities, for example Jane, the goody- two-shoes, honest, faithful virgin, or her mother Xiomara "Xo" Gloriana Villanueva, the outgoing, sexy, singer who, as the result of a one-night stand, became the teenage mother of Jane. 

I think the show is definitely worth watching.  It is funny, romantic, and has a fun twist of both fun and scandal. I believe the show has a lot to offer, and has a plot that leaves a lot to work with.  

Skins: UK vs. US

There are so many reasons why the British series Skins is so innovative and entertaining. It is a show that breaks barriers and explores taboo subjects such as sex, drugs, and mental illness in adolescents. It is a teen drama that focuses on different “generations” of students that are all struggling with the hardships of life. Upon the shows success in the United Kingdom, and seeing the large U.S. audience that it had attracted, it was soon adapted into an American series. Unfortunately it was ineffective and failed before the end of its first season. For some reason, it did not capture audiences like its U.K. predecessor.

I believe that the reason the show failed in the United States was because of the censorship and an aversion to nudity that we have in this country. If our television industry was more open and honest about sexuality and other taboo subjects, then the show might not have been such a failure. Another reason that it was not a success was because the American series tried so hard to be almost identical to the U.K. series. The first few scenes of the U.S. pilot were almost word for word and shot for shot to the original series. Due to this lack of originality and creativity, along with the censorship issues, the show was dumbed down and did not translate well, especially to those who had been long time fans of the British series.

            There were other aspects of the American series that I found interesting. Because of their need to be so similar to the original, it was strange to me when I found out some of the character changes I made. For one thing, I thought it was interesting that they changed the gay male character in the British version to a lesbian cheerleader in the U.S. series. I am not sure what their reasoning behind this was, but my theory was that this was a way to bring more sex appeal to the show and entrap a male audience. If this is the case, it is yet another reason why I dislike the American series.

            The United Kingdom version of Skins was groundbreaking. Although it definitely may have crossed the line to some in multiple instances, it was a show that teens could watch and not feel as though they were being babied. It treated its audience like adults, which I think is one of the main reasons that it developed such a following. Skins is a great show and one that I definitely recommend. I will say that like most of the shows I watch, it is an acquired taste, but if you are into something different, I would totally check this out.

Orange is the New Black

"Orange is the New Black" is a Netflix original series based on Piper Kerman's memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison.  The show follows Piper Chapman, who is sent to prison for carrying drug money for her ex-girlfriend many years ago.  Piper acknowledges her fault and tries to keep an open, positive mind in the facility.  But by the end of season 1, the injustice and severity of the prison causes Piper to snap, leaving the audience with an excellent cliff hanger.

The show's initial success has set high standards for the upcoming season.  It's anticipated that season 2 will have even more drama and will introduce new characters.  Lori Petty was added to the cast, although there are no details on her role.  In fact, OITNB has barely released any details about the second season.  According to Jason Biggs (Larry Bloom), this season will be "better than the first."

The show presents the audience with a multitude of different cultures, lifestyles, and women. Each character comes with a unique and realistic backstory, and being in a prison allows the audience to see the characters in their rawest form.  Creator Jenji Kohan truly outdid himself with this series.  I personally can't wait for season 2 to finally be released.

House of Cards Kills

After listening to Arturo's such positive comments about the brand new Netflix series "House of Cards", I decided I'd give the first episode a try and see if they held true. 12 episodes later... I concurred that Arturo was right.

House of Cards proved to be a very intelligently written political drama that kept you on the edge of your seat throughout. It was extremely difficult to stop watching once I got started, with the ending of each episode leaving you on even more of a cliffhanger than the last. In addition to the excellent storytelling, the acting was absolutely superb. Kevin Spacey delivers an immaculate performance as Francis Underwood, the ruthless Majority Whip whose hellbent on scheming his way to the Presidency, and not letting anyone get in his way. However he still doesn't outshine his co-stars, with Robin Wright, Kate Mara, and Corey Stoll bringing their A game as well.

This is the second original series Netflix has put out, and this one really knocked it out of the park. Whether or not the show is a success hinges on how many of Netflix's subscribers decided to watch the show and keep watching once they got started. Netflix hasn't released any numbers yet, but the hope is that releasing an entire season all at once will keep viewers hooked given the accessibility of the next episode, as opposed to releasing each one weekly. Essentially, Netflix hopes their original series inspires the "binge watching" in which many customers end up using the service for (especially college students). After my experience, I have no doubt that it will.

Copper

I am a lover of television from 'across the pond.' Some of my favorite 'programmes' includes Sherlock, Doctor Who, Skins, Misfits, Torchwood, Downton Abbey, Merlin, and much more. The newest show that I have decided to watch is BBC America's first original scripted series called Copper. Copper is a period drama that follows an Irish-immigrant detective in New York City during the American Civil War in 1864.

Detective Kevin Corcoran, the lead actor played by Tom Weston-Jones, tries to bring peace to the 'Five Points,' a neighborhood notorious for being plagued with disease and crime. He is skilled in the science of deduction (much like Sherlock) and carries swift justice to those who have wronged the city or someone he loves. In the first episode of the show, which is unfortunately the only one I've been able to see since I only started the series last night, Detective Corcoran displays a father-like affection for a girl from the streets named Annie. She is one of the young girls that has been corrupted by the Five Points and has had to resort to pleasuring men for a living although she does not look more than twelve years old. The detective uses his skills of deduction, and the help of his friends, to find out who has murdered and raped Annie's twin sister post-mortem. Although he tracks down the killer, the man responsible for her death was a wealthy and powerful man in society so he was not punished in the slightest and another man, who learned that he was going to die very soon anyway, volunteered to take his place at the gallows. Detective Corcoran is frustrated with this outcome and the murderer's wife has even asked for Annie's sister to be avenged. I am curious as to how this will play out.
Besides having an intriguing story, Copper has great cinematography and art direction. I throughly enjoyed that the show was mostly shot with a shallow depth of field. I actually commend the focus puller for a job well done. This person clearly knew the blocking of the scenes and could predict movement, took the emotional tones of the scene into account, and excelled in difficult rack focusing situations. This element definitely helped advance the story. And of course the costumes, set decoration, and props were also spot on for that time period. It was beautiful to watch.
I am excited to continue watching this series. I am thrilled that it has been renewed for a second season. Although BBC America isn't available to most viewers unless they have a subscription, the series premiere brought in 1.8 million viewers, the highest-rated series premiere and highest-rated drama series for the channel. I can't wait to watch more!