Overview
Bad Girls is a prison drama not for the faint-hearted,
but it has drawn a healthy audience at 8.5 million viewers
during its peak. Given its subject matter, the show has
the potential to be fraught with cliché and stereotypical
representations of lesbians in prison, but the
show has managed to portray some very real, and very interesting
characters. It's also dealt with often over-looked issues
like sexuality within a prison setting, relationships between
prison officers/inmates, drugs, suicide, rape and--lets
not forget what the show does best--the corruption of prison
officers, and abuse of power.
The
first episode of season one plunges its viewers straight
into life at fictional Larkhall prison, allowing its characters--inmates
and prison officers--to develop at a natural and realistic
pace. It’s not surprising to learn that Bad Girls
has a very strong list of female characters who take center
stage, forcing the male characters of the show to remain
in the sidelines.
Jim
Fenner (Jack Ellis) is the exception to this rule. An opportunistic
“screw” (Prison officer) who seemly has nine
lives as well as no conscience, Fenner is always involved
in something he shouldn’t be, which makes for shocking
but often funny viewing. From Shell Dockley, Larkhalls's
resident psychotic lifer, to “the two Julies,”
whose adventures and plots are both hilarious and touching
to watch, this is a show of real contrasting and complex
characters.
You
don’t need to look further than episode 2 (the aptly
named "Drug Wars"), where inmate Nikki Wade is
forced to squat over a mirror, completely naked, with the
door wide open, by the dedicated search team, to realize
that this show isn’t afraid of portraying the harsh
reality of prison life. "It must drive you mad not
being able to touch me," Nikki tells the prison guard.
Fortunately
the show isn’t without its humour. Bad Girls
would be nothing without its sharp one-liners and sarcastic
remarks from inmates and officers alike. Sylvia Hollamby
(Helen Fraser) is the cynic in the officer’s mess,
the epitome of the “never listened, never learned”
officer who doesn’t like change and would be happy
if all inmates were locked up 24/7. Her character is tough
and resolved, completely old school, but completely enjoyable
to watch. "There’s about as much chance of Zandra
Plackett coming off the nasty as there is of Cliff Richard
inviting me up to his hotel room for cream cakes and sex,"
Hollamby says in one episode.
Lesbian/Bi
Interest
Bad
Girls is not primarily a lesbian show, but the show
is not without its lesbian, bisexual or just plain confused
characters. To date, Bad Girls has portrayed six
major lesbian relationships throughout seasons 1-6, and,
rather disappointingly, only one major relationship of a
bisexual nature. It seems clear that Bad Girls,
like many other dramas, has made some steps towards greater
visibility for lesbians on prime-time television, but like
the others, seems to forget about bisexual women.
Still,
the utter matter-of-factness of the lesbian content is refreshing
but not surprising given that Bad Girls is conceived,
written, and produced entirely by a gay/lesbian team (Shed
Productions' Maureen Chadwick, Ann McManus, Eileen Gallagher,
and Brian Park).
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