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ONE SEASON WONDERS: Women in Prison

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted on season or less. Today I am looking at 1980s flop Women in Prison!

WOMEN IN PRISON













Programming Details:
October 11, 1987 - February 20, 1988
13 episodes
FOX

Starring: Julia Campbell, Blake Clark, C.C.H Pounder, Peggy Cass, Antoinette Byron, Denny Dillon and Wendie Jo Sperber
Created by: Katherine Green, Michael G. Moye & Ron Leavitt

Plot: Women in Prison is set in a cell block of Bass Women's Prison in Wisconsin. Newest inmate Vicki Springer (Campbell) was framed by her husband and gets to know the other inmates, murderer Dawn (Pounder), prostitute Bonnie (Byron), the much older Eve (Cass) and Pam (Sperber), who was arrested for computer fraud. They all contend with guard Meg (Dillon) and assistant warden Clint (Clark). Oh yeah, and it's a comedy!

Brief Pilot Review:
Long before Orange is the New Black, there was Women in Prison, a very early FOX entry. It won't surprise you that a show set in a women's prison in the late 1980s had a healthy dose of misogyny. There were definitely some cringey moments like Vicki's concern about gay women in prison and her interview to be a secretary. That being said, there was a decent amount of camaraderie between the women on the show and a couple good line deliveries here and there. Julia Campbell is a pretty strong presence and carries the show well in the lead role as the wide-eyed innocent trying to find her way through the rough and tumble prison. Her performance is certainly heightened but it works for this type of sitcom. 

Another strong performance comes from C.C.H. Pounder, who is a good foil to Campbell and also a strong presence. A lot of attention was given to those two characters though so some of the others weren't developed very much in the pilot episode. I really expected this pilot to be a complete disaster, totally bawdy and outdated. But once it got past the few moments listed above, it was actually a pretty good "sisterhood" comedy at a time when those were few and far between.

What Went Wrong:
Women in Prison launched just a few months after the FOX network launched. Back then, they had Married... With Children and 21 Jump Street and that was about it. The pro of being on a newly launched network (or streamer in today's world) is that there is more tolerance for low ratings. The con is that it's extremely hard to breakout when the network isn't breaking out yet. Women in Prison fell victim to the latter. It was airing on a newly launched Saturday night for the network alongside a bunch of forgettable shows (Mr. President, Second Chance and The New Adventures of Beans Baxter. Ever heard of them? Probably not). 

It lasted just 13 episodes before being cancelled. Many of the actresses have found steady work in the years since and of course the women in prison premise finally got its time to shine with the breakout Netflix hit Orange is the New Black. Like Women in Prison, it was an early show for its respective network/streamer but in this case, it helped to put its platform on the map.

Tomorrow: A look at the fifth and final season of Rhoda!
Next Wednesday: A look at 1990s flop The Louie Show!
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