fandom through the ages - bad girls
It took sweet nuisance buying the VHS boxset for me to watch this series. She held me prisoner on my own couch and forced me to watch the first episode. I then went out and got the boxset for myself and watched the entire first season in one nights viewing.
Not my usual series to get obsessed with at all. There was no spaceships or telepaths or swords for a start, and I very rarely watched British drama anyway. I guess it was the gritty nature, the character dynamics and storylines - some plausible, some not - that drew me in. The humour of the two Julies brewing alcohol in the potting shed, the ingenuity by Yvonne of forming a gospel choir to drive the prison officers crazy and get their open visits re-instated, the frightening but mutually beneficial relationship between Shell and principal officer Fenner, the heartbreak of Denny being re-united with her alcoholic mother Jesse after she was taken into care as a child, the devastation of the wrongly imprisoned Monica being seperated from her son Spencer. But it was the growing relationship between prison lifer Nikki Wade and wing governor Helen Stewart that hooked me... no surprise there then.
I loved the way that they saw the potential in one another; Helen saw the respected ring leader that she needed to get onside and Nikki saw a 'screw' that actually gave a damn about the welfare of the prisoners. It was only a matter of time before the path of true love took its course; there was just the matter of Niki's girlfriend, Helen's fiance and the prison bars to get rid of. With the girlfriend moved firmly into the ex category midway through the first season and the fiance dispatched by the finale only the prison bars remained to be dealt with in the second season. If there was anyone that could pull off a prison break it was Nikki Wade, and she did. In the season two finale she escaped from HMP Larkhall and showed up on Helen's doorstep, spent the night with her and then broke back into the prison before the end of the season three premiere. Genius.
It was nice to finally watch a lesbian relationship; not the implication of Susan and Talia, not the subtext of Xena and Gabrielle, but an honest, truthful portrayal of a lesbian relationship. We knew Nikki was gay from the start; she was in a long term relationship with another woman, who she had killed to protect. Helen was straight and engaged but her infatuation with Nikki led to a struggle with her sexuality that lasted for three years. They flirted, they kissed, they groped, they ended up in bed together. They broke up and made up several times. And even in the worst of times were still there for each other when no one else would be.
Though it was sad that both Mandana Jones and Simone Lahbib decided to leave the series after three seasons, at least Nikki and Helen got their happy ending. During their last year at Larkhall the pressure had become too great and Helen had ended the relationship; while Helen fled to the waiting arms of Doctor Tom, Nikki had found comfort with another inmate, Caroline. Helen had Caroline transferred, not because she was jealous but because she feared for Nikki's safety when the rest of the wing learned that Caroline was a phedophile. Then as Nikki's appeal draws closer Helen is forced to resign when Fenner threatens to expose the affair in order to save his own arse. Not wanting to jeopardise Nikki's chance at freedom she quits but Fenner can't resist telling Tom about the relationship. Realising that Helen had risked everything to be with Nikki Tom breaks things off, forcing Helen to deal with her sexuality and the depth of her feelings for Nikki. The final few minutes saw Helen and Nikki reunited and ready to start a new life together.
It was music videos that I turned to first as a creative outlet to my obsession. 'Right Kind of Wrong' was a Helen and Nikki tribute, this was followed by very rough cuts of 'I Will Survive' and 'You Gotta Be' as ensemble pieces, but only the first one was posted to the internet. In 2006 someone contacted me, told me how much they had loved 'Right Kind of Wrong' and would it make more... it was all the incentive I needed. I re-aquainted myself with the series and 'Crash and Burn' went into production followed by several others and culminating with 'All The Things She Said'.
Every now and again I like to revisit the series. The Julies are still hysterical, Yvonne is still cool, Shell is still a bitch, Fenner is still an arse and Helen and Nikki are still one of my favourite couples of all time.
...
Some favourites:
Fan Fiction (unfortunately a lot of my favourites are no longer easily available, but here are the titles anyway)
~Classic~
Coming Up Lillies by Kat
Forever Desting by Tracey
Inside Out by Bella
Time Out by Susan
Without You by Anna (aka Innocent)
~Alternate Universe~
An Affair by Innocent
Love and Money by Allie
Private Investigations by Bella
What If by Filbertfox
Music Videos
And Then We Kiss: www.youtube.com/watch
Too Lost In You: www.youtube.com/watch
Bring Me To Life: www.youtube.com/watch
Hero: www.youtube.com/watch
My Music Videos
All The Things She Said: www.youtube.com/watch
Crash and Burn: www.youtube.com/watch
Right Kind Of Wrong: www.youtube.com/watch
Goodbye To You: www.youtube.com/watch
I Will Survive (Ensemble): www.youtube.com/watch
...
Not my usual series to get obsessed with at all. There was no spaceships or telepaths or swords for a start, and I very rarely watched British drama anyway. I guess it was the gritty nature, the character dynamics and storylines - some plausible, some not - that drew me in. The humour of the two Julies brewing alcohol in the potting shed, the ingenuity by Yvonne of forming a gospel choir to drive the prison officers crazy and get their open visits re-instated, the frightening but mutually beneficial relationship between Shell and principal officer Fenner, the heartbreak of Denny being re-united with her alcoholic mother Jesse after she was taken into care as a child, the devastation of the wrongly imprisoned Monica being seperated from her son Spencer. But it was the growing relationship between prison lifer Nikki Wade and wing governor Helen Stewart that hooked me... no surprise there then.
I loved the way that they saw the potential in one another; Helen saw the respected ring leader that she needed to get onside and Nikki saw a 'screw' that actually gave a damn about the welfare of the prisoners. It was only a matter of time before the path of true love took its course; there was just the matter of Niki's girlfriend, Helen's fiance and the prison bars to get rid of. With the girlfriend moved firmly into the ex category midway through the first season and the fiance dispatched by the finale only the prison bars remained to be dealt with in the second season. If there was anyone that could pull off a prison break it was Nikki Wade, and she did. In the season two finale she escaped from HMP Larkhall and showed up on Helen's doorstep, spent the night with her and then broke back into the prison before the end of the season three premiere. Genius.
It was nice to finally watch a lesbian relationship; not the implication of Susan and Talia, not the subtext of Xena and Gabrielle, but an honest, truthful portrayal of a lesbian relationship. We knew Nikki was gay from the start; she was in a long term relationship with another woman, who she had killed to protect. Helen was straight and engaged but her infatuation with Nikki led to a struggle with her sexuality that lasted for three years. They flirted, they kissed, they groped, they ended up in bed together. They broke up and made up several times. And even in the worst of times were still there for each other when no one else would be.
Though it was sad that both Mandana Jones and Simone Lahbib decided to leave the series after three seasons, at least Nikki and Helen got their happy ending. During their last year at Larkhall the pressure had become too great and Helen had ended the relationship; while Helen fled to the waiting arms of Doctor Tom, Nikki had found comfort with another inmate, Caroline. Helen had Caroline transferred, not because she was jealous but because she feared for Nikki's safety when the rest of the wing learned that Caroline was a phedophile. Then as Nikki's appeal draws closer Helen is forced to resign when Fenner threatens to expose the affair in order to save his own arse. Not wanting to jeopardise Nikki's chance at freedom she quits but Fenner can't resist telling Tom about the relationship. Realising that Helen had risked everything to be with Nikki Tom breaks things off, forcing Helen to deal with her sexuality and the depth of her feelings for Nikki. The final few minutes saw Helen and Nikki reunited and ready to start a new life together.
It was music videos that I turned to first as a creative outlet to my obsession. 'Right Kind of Wrong' was a Helen and Nikki tribute, this was followed by very rough cuts of 'I Will Survive' and 'You Gotta Be' as ensemble pieces, but only the first one was posted to the internet. In 2006 someone contacted me, told me how much they had loved 'Right Kind of Wrong' and would it make more... it was all the incentive I needed. I re-aquainted myself with the series and 'Crash and Burn' went into production followed by several others and culminating with 'All The Things She Said'.
Every now and again I like to revisit the series. The Julies are still hysterical, Yvonne is still cool, Shell is still a bitch, Fenner is still an arse and Helen and Nikki are still one of my favourite couples of all time.
...
Some favourites:
Fan Fiction (unfortunately a lot of my favourites are no longer easily available, but here are the titles anyway)
~Classic~
Coming Up Lillies by Kat
Forever Desting by Tracey
Inside Out by Bella
Time Out by Susan
Without You by Anna (aka Innocent)
~Alternate Universe~
An Affair by Innocent
Love and Money by Allie
Private Investigations by Bella
What If by Filbertfox
Music Videos
And Then We Kiss: www.youtube.com/watch
Too Lost In You: www.youtube.com/watch
Bring Me To Life: www.youtube.com/watch
Hero: www.youtube.com/watch
My Music Videos
All The Things She Said: www.youtube.com/watch
Crash and Burn: www.youtube.com/watch
Right Kind Of Wrong: www.youtube.com/watch
Goodbye To You: www.youtube.com/watch
I Will Survive (Ensemble): www.youtube.com/watch
...