Image Credits: Book Cereal
I started watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix a couple of months ago. Okay, I’ll admit it — this show was one of the main reasons why I ever signed up for Netflix to begin with. I was intrigued after hearing so much about it from everyone else. I knew it must be good. But more than that I wanted to see Madeline Brewer who plays the role of Tricia Miller. Maddie and I went to school together years ago in Pitman, NJ. I didn’t know her very well at the time, but I always knew she was talented. She was frequently cast in school plays and I remember seeing her perform in a talent show once. I was excited to see her in her first big role, and she definitely didn’t disappoint.
Image Credits: IMDB
I really loved the Netflix series and watched the whole first season within a week or two. I couldn’t get enough. However, the show raised many questions for me and there were a few things that I had trouble believing. Some of my biggest doubts were over Piper and Alex ending up in the same prison together, drugs and sex being so common in prison, an inmate dying of a drug overdose in prison, and a guard impregnating one of the inmates. I loved watching it all unfold on tv though. The drama is what made the show so intriguing. You have to keep watching because you have to see what’s going to happen next.
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After I finished watching the entire first season I knew I had to get a copy of the book that the show was based on. I had so many questions and I wanted to see how the book would address them and what “really happened”. I was surprised by how different the book turned out to be. I’m usually one of those kinds of people that loves the book and hates the movie (or in this case the show), but here I’m able to appreciate both the book and the show despite their major differences. Both are excellent in their own rights and worthy of praise.
To those of you who have yet to read the book (and don’t mind a few spoilers) I made a list of what I felt were the top 5 biggest differences between the Orange is the New Black movie and the book.
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1. Alex/Nora Never Went to Danbury With Piper On the show her name is Alex and she’s one of the main reasons why Piper is in jail. She is Piper’s ex-girlfriend and is doing time with Piper after being sentenced for drug smuggling. She is one of the main characters on the show and the show frequently focuses on her past and current relationship with Piper. It calls for a lot of drama and is good tv. However, in the book her name is Nora and she’s absent until the very end. She never goes to Danbury with Piper. When Piper is called into trial in Chicago to testify against another drug smuggler in the same case she is met with Nora. Nora has to testify as well and is doing time in a different facility. They talk very little. Piper is very angry at her and frequently expresses her desire and threats to drown her in a toilet. However, Piper also reflects on how she wants to forgive Nora and move on with her life.
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2. Piper And Larry’s Relationship/Faithfulness Sure, Piper starts off being extremely faithful to Larry in the beginning of the Netflix series and he shows support by visiting her frequently, but as time goes on, Piper begins to question her sexuality and become less than faithful towards Larry. She has sex with Alex and is unsure of whether to stay with Larry until Larry finds out about her unfaithfulness and leaves her. This isn’t the case at all in the novel, probably due to the fact that Alex/Nora is not in the same facility as Piper and doesn’t make an appearance until the end. Piper doesn’t seem that interested in lesbian sex or any of her other inmates in the novel. She stays with Larry and Larry faithfully visits her even when she is on trial in Chicago. They ended up getting married as planned after Piper was released.
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3. Pennstatucky Isn’t Really a Religious Nut In the beginning of the Netflix series Piper and Pennstatucy got along fine. I wouldn’t say they were best friends, but they were at least acquaintances. Somewhere around the middle of the first season Pennstatucky came out as a religious nut freak who tried to use her powers to heal the other inmates. When Piper started to go back to being a lesbian with Alex Pennstatucky was completely intolerant of it, telling a guard about her “outrageous” behavior which landed Piper a stint in SHU. Things definitely didn’t get much better between the two of them as the first season ended with Piper beating the hell out of her. However, in the novel Piper and Pennstatucky remain pretty good friends and little is said about Pennstatucky’s religious beliefs.
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4. Nobody Dies Of A Drug Overdose Who can forget the dramatic episode 10 of season 1 of Orange is the New Black? Tricia Miller’s biggest problem is a heavy addiction to drugs. During her prison sentence she goes into withdrawal once, and later overdoses on drugs that were smuggled in by one of the guards leading to her untimely death. I was right to be skeptical of this. Tricia doesn’t really exist in the novel. There are some references to younger inmates which resemble similarities and a few mentions of weed and other drugs being snucked into the prison. However, drugs don’t seem to be as big of a problem as the show makes it seem and no one died from a drug overdose.
Image Credits: TVTome.com
5. Bennet Doesn’t Impregnant Anyone I always rooted for Bennet and Daya. They seemed like such a cute couple and you almost felt bad about their forbidden romance. When it was announced that Daya was pregnant with Bennet’s baby, everything wa really shaken up a bit. Not only was the relationship threatened, but so was Bennet’s job. How could the prison cover this up or live this one down?
Fortunately, in the book this never actually happened. Piper did mention that prison relationships between inmates and guards do occur and she even briefly talked about a guard who almost got caught having sex in a bathroom with an inmate (similar to how Pornstache got caught having sex with Daya in a closet). The guard that is supposed to resemble Bennet in the book flirts with Piper by calling her by her first name whereas everyone else in prison calls her by her last name, Kerman. Piper doesn’t respond to his flirting and they never have a romantic relationship. No other relationships between guards and inmates were documented.
If you’ve read the book and seen the show feel free to let me know what I missed and what your thoughts are!
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