It's hard to believe that Bad Girls is now over 20 years old as it has aged surprisingly well.
Set in a tough intercity women's prison, it's the penal version of Upstairs Downstairs but instead of the toffs and the servants, it's the Guards and the inmates, each have there own storylines yet each intertwine and crossover too.
The characters can sometimes come across as a bit cliche at times, Shell Dockley the psychopathic lifer and top dog on G Wing, Rachel Hicks the scared kid banged up amongst hardened crims, when perhaps a softer punishment could have sufficed. Zandra Plackett the Posh girl who's ruined her life with drugs, Danny Blood the bully from the streets, the two Julies, the tarts with hearts and Nikki Wade, the misunderstood But generally kindhearted lesbian, jailed for life for defending her partner from a crooked cop trying to rape her.
The prison officers are no less cliche, Jim Fenner, the abusive and corrupt sex predator who sees all the women in his charge as his own personal target, Sylvia Hollomby, the unwavering matron type who's lack of empathy and kindness toward the prisoners makes her very unpopular, Dominic Mcallister, the handsome young prison officer who genuinely cares about his charges and really wants to make a difference in their lives, Lorna Rose, a no less committed Officer but one who's appalling lack of judgement proves to be her downfall.
The only truly fleshed out prison officer is the character of Helen Stewart, the university trained Wing Governor who's ideological sometimes softer approach to running a prison which she had learned on paper, seems very naive and impractical when faced with The real thing.
Extra depth is added of course when the hitherto heterosexual Miss Stewart finds herself becoming attracted and eventually falling in love with Nikki Wade forcing her to reexamine, not only her sexuality but her entire moral code.
In fact it is this journey that forms the backbone of the first three series.
It was such an engaging storyline that when the characters of Helen and Nikki left the series at the end of season 3 the show seemed to lose its very heart and a huge portion of its audience. Including myself!
You do learn to genuinely care about the characters over time as their Tragic backstories become clear and you care also for some of the more sympathetic guards trying to do a difficult job under difficult curcumstances.
I would definitely recommend seasons 1-3 but leave it to yourselves whether you wish to continue through seasons 4-8.
Set in a tough intercity women's prison, it's the penal version of Upstairs Downstairs but instead of the toffs and the servants, it's the Guards and the inmates, each have there own storylines yet each intertwine and crossover too.
The characters can sometimes come across as a bit cliche at times, Shell Dockley the psychopathic lifer and top dog on G Wing, Rachel Hicks the scared kid banged up amongst hardened crims, when perhaps a softer punishment could have sufficed. Zandra Plackett the Posh girl who's ruined her life with drugs, Danny Blood the bully from the streets, the two Julies, the tarts with hearts and Nikki Wade, the misunderstood But generally kindhearted lesbian, jailed for life for defending her partner from a crooked cop trying to rape her.
The prison officers are no less cliche, Jim Fenner, the abusive and corrupt sex predator who sees all the women in his charge as his own personal target, Sylvia Hollomby, the unwavering matron type who's lack of empathy and kindness toward the prisoners makes her very unpopular, Dominic Mcallister, the handsome young prison officer who genuinely cares about his charges and really wants to make a difference in their lives, Lorna Rose, a no less committed Officer but one who's appalling lack of judgement proves to be her downfall.
The only truly fleshed out prison officer is the character of Helen Stewart, the university trained Wing Governor who's ideological sometimes softer approach to running a prison which she had learned on paper, seems very naive and impractical when faced with The real thing.
Extra depth is added of course when the hitherto heterosexual Miss Stewart finds herself becoming attracted and eventually falling in love with Nikki Wade forcing her to reexamine, not only her sexuality but her entire moral code.
In fact it is this journey that forms the backbone of the first three series.
It was such an engaging storyline that when the characters of Helen and Nikki left the series at the end of season 3 the show seemed to lose its very heart and a huge portion of its audience. Including myself!
You do learn to genuinely care about the characters over time as their Tragic backstories become clear and you care also for some of the more sympathetic guards trying to do a difficult job under difficult curcumstances.
I would definitely recommend seasons 1-3 but leave it to yourselves whether you wish to continue through seasons 4-8.