Netflix's GLOW is a hit not just for wrestling fans!

My excitement for GLOW began the second I knew of its existence. The women’s wrestling scene has been off the scale in the last few years. But, the story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling is one that needed to be told. 

Based on the promotion of the same name, the original Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling ran from 1986 to 1989. Most of the cast were actresses looking to break into the entertainment world. GLOW tells the story of those women who joined the promotion and although their character names are not used, some do have the same "gimmicks".

Alison Brie plays the title role of Ruth Wilder a struggling actress who is failing to land serious roles. Ruth is aware that only men get that kind of job and thus she sabotages one of her auditions by reading for the male lead.

As the series goes on and Ruth joins GLOW, you begin to learn more about her including a sexcapade she’s recently endeavoured in. Without giving too much away, it does not end well for her.

Ruth is supposed to be unlikable, we the viewers are meant to hate her and in the wrestling world, she would be known as a heel. So that's exactly what she becomes for the television show after some less than favourable conversations with the director Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron) who later begins to accept Ruth.

Similar to Sam Sylvia, you eventually start to warm towards Ruth and realise that she isn't all that bad or at least not the 'monster' she's initially presented as. The word monster is used loosely, I don't wish to spoil it for any of you by using the term she's actually described as.

Every heel needs someone to face off with, someone good that they can battle it out against and no doubt loses to, they’re known as the babyface. For Ruth, that is Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin). Again without giving too much away, the pair have a history which makes their in-ring confrontations feel very real, something actual wrestling promotions strive for. 

The other women who are part of GLOW each have their own side-story and work towards one goal of getting GLOW off the ground. For example, although she isn't one of the main characters, Rhonda Richardson (Kate Nash) has one of the more prominent stories in the serious revolving around her developing relationship that started after she joined GLOW. 

With each episode only lasting between thirty to thirty-eight minutes each, the series is a breeze to get through, especially for anyone who has prior knowledge about wrestling. But, for anyone worried they won't be able to keep up with the lingo or don't understand exactly how it all works, don't worry! Episode five titled "Debbie Does Something" explains all you need to know about the storytelling that goes on beyond the chokeholds and bodyslams, including a nod to anyone who perhaps views wrestling as "silly". 

For those of us who do know some things about wrestling, there's also some subtle nods our way too. The biggest of which is the gym the women train in, it's named "Chavo's Boxing Gym". The person who trained all of the actresses to be able to wrestle for the scenes in GLOW is Chavo Guerrero. Or a scene that stars former WWE superstar Carlito who portrays one-half of a tag-team is seen eating an apple, a nod to his character in the wrestling world. There's even some shade towards the current WWE superstar Bayley in one episode that caught me off guard. 

Who knows, maybe in a future season we could see a guest role from Bayley and she can lock up with Ruth or Debbie. This is totally a hint and request all in one. 

GLOW does not shy away from the very real problems that hindered the original series it is based on either. During the documentary about the original Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, there's a joke about how cheap the production was, something that is highlighted in the Netflix version as their sound system is just one of the women playing a keyboard.

There are also multiple scenes filled with politically incorrect lines by specific characters, again, something that the original promotion did on purpose to offend people and get them interested in the show. The Netflix version does do a good job of highlighting how the television world has racist tendencies towards people of colour, including a scene where the head of the network informs Sam they can't show people portraying Klu Klux Klan members, but they're okay with two of the black characters portraying negative stereotypes of African Americans.

They also highlight how fans who deem wrestling to be "real" can often react towards certain characters in a manner that would be deemed offensive, even if that character being displayed is, in fact, racist and a negative stereotype about a collective group of people. 

This ten episode series is strong on the feminism front, has a diverse cast and dissects issues within the television world both during the eighties when it is set and still today. GLOW is much more than just a show about wrestling, it highlights many different struggles within the world whether it's chasing your dream, finding your family or overcoming stereotypes to make it work for you. 

I think GLOW has the potential to open people's minds towards the world of wrestling or at the very least help change some opinions about what women are capable, as it is unfortunate we still live in a time where people view female athletes or just women in general as inferior to men. A predominantly female series has worked previously for Jenji Kohen with Orange is the New Black, and this could end up being another hit series. 

So, whether you're a fan of wrestling or you just enjoy watching badass women on your television screen, GLOW is definitely for you. Go into it open minded, who knows, you may finish it as a fan. 

REVIEW: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season 1, Episode 1 "Kimmy Goes Outside"

This is yet another series that I was practically forced to watch by a friend of mine, yet I'm so glad that I decided to listen to them and do it.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is an endearing, charming and awkward piece of television. You're viewing a woman who from the outside would be considered an adult, yet her personality and characteristics are still that of a child.

Ellie Kemper pulls off a fantastic job at capturing the heartwarming innocence of our main character Kimmy Schmidt yet also displays her underlying intelligence and wit as you get to know her.

After being trapped inside of a bunker for 15 years by a crazy reverend who lied about the world coming to an end, Kimmy and three other women are rescued by armed police.

You’re immediately treated to the kind of humour this show is all about as Kimmy declares that its fire monsters coming into the bunker, rather than someone coming to save them. There’s also a news crew televising the rescue outside with the headline “WHITE WOMEN FOUND” and underneath it in much smaller writing “Hispanic woman also found”.

Poking fun at the very real imbalance on how crimes are portrayed in the news is something I failed to laugh at on the first watch, but after binge-watching the entire show, it completely fits with how the character of Donna Maria Nuñez (Sol Miranda) is portrayed and is rather showing they're aware of the issue not making it just another joke. Speaking of Donna Maria, she’s become one of my favourites based on just the flashback scenes, she pretends to not know English to get out of certain horrible tasks in the bunker and makes fun of the other three women in Spanish, which none of them can understand.

Something else I originally wasn't keen on is the show opening or main title sequence. Most shows use a catchy theme song you can easily remember yet instead Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt uses a heavily autotuned remix of a character’s news interview, something that was popular on YouTube once upon a time. However, I now enjoy it and find myself singing along to it.

The "mole" women make an appearance on The Today Show to discuss their time in the bunker including how they ended up there, it's revealed that Gretchen Chalker (Lauren Adams) joined the cult willingly, something that comes up in a future episode. As the other women discuss their future plans, Kimmy realises she doesn't want to return to her life she had prior to the bunker and decides to stay in New York to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

A problem everyone faces every now and then of not knowing who they are or what they want to be, there’s just the added dramatic life event of Kimmy missing half of her life. It’s quite surprising how upbeat and confident our protagonist is despite the difficulties she has already faced, she's so certain that not going back to Durnsville, her hometown will solve the lost feeling she has.

Kimmy Schmidt is far from the victim you would assume she is and she doesn't want you to think she is, Kimmy wants to be more than just a mole woman.

Although Kimmy is an amazing character, you’d be wrong to think that she is the “star” of the show, that belongs to Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess). Titus at first comes across as the stereotypical chasing Hollywood actor who is actually getting nowhere in life, but he is far more than that. Titus is the main provider of comedic lines, Kimmy’s eventual best and sometimes only friend and someone easy to relate to for a number of different reasons. But, his most likeable trait is his confident exterior. Despite Titus really feeling like someone who is lost in the world similar to Kimmy, he only lets you know about it when he wants to and that is rare.

After some exploring around New York which included Kimmy setting a horse “free” from a carriage and proclaiming in the middle of a store that she’s having candy for dinner, she stops a young child from stealing, little does she realise who that child is.

It’s not realistic to sleep in the middle of a city you don’t know so in the first grown-up act of the episode, Kimmy looks for an apartment and meets Lillian Kaushtupper (Carol Kane) who at first offers her drugs. Kimmy and Titus finally meet although the latter of the two isn’t so pleased about it as he was unaware Lillian placed the advertisement on his apartment. Kimmy is rejected by Titus at first as she doesn’t have a job, so that’s her next mission.

Lillian: But don't wear that yellow sweater because the Crips will think you're in the Banana Boys. It's a new gang. There weren't any good colours left.

Kimmy once again bumps into the thieving child as she attempts to gain employment in a candy shop and chases him out of there before he could take anything and before she could get a job. Despite the young child repeatedly shouting stranger danger, absolutely no one in the street where they react as if he’s in trouble and Kimmy decides to take him home rather than let him steal from elsewhere.

This child, Buckley Voorhees (Tanner Flood) turns out to be more important than you’d first think. His mother is Jacqueline Voorhees (Jane Krakowski) who is a rich socialite that mistakes Kimmy for her dog masseuse. Jacqueline is filled with hilarious moments throughout this show as she often only cares about her own needs and disregards anything that is going on with the various other characters and forces them to only pay attention to her and her problems.

Kimmy mistakenly believes Jacqueline is being kept inside of her home unwillingly and asks her if she needs help, to which Jacqueline confuses with Kimmy offering to work for her as a nanny resulting in her giving Kimmy a job. All is somehow right.

I may have stated earlier that Titus is the star of the show, which I still stand by, but Jacqueline has the greatest introduction as you immediately know a tonne about her from just two minutes of her being on screen. She asks Kimmy to braid her horses’ hair, asks if she wants a water and when Kimmy says no, rather than placing it back in the fridge she throws it in the trash and then leaves Kimmy in her home unattended as she sleeps. This one scene sums up everything you need to know about Jacqueline and the kind of traits she possesses.

Kimmy returns to Titus and Lillian to tell them she has a job, Titus agrees that she can move in but only because Lillian threatened to have him removed from the apartment. Kimmy immediately causes Titus to raise an eyebrow at her as she asks if his Iron Man suit is a real robot, measures out her new room based on the body sizes of her fellow mole women and gets a little too excited over a window. The room she’s staying in is tiny and no one would get excited about it other than Kimmy Schmidt.

Titus believes Kimmy has a secret but just as she’s about to tell him that she spent most of her life inside of a bunker, he cuts her off after she tells him she’s from Indiana, declaring that’s why she’s basic. He’s quite lucky in a sense that Kimmy has zero clue how the world works as he then scams her into believing that they both owe Lillian two months rent plus the upcoming month and a security deposit. He tries to get money for his lamp too but unfortunately, Kimmy knows what a bulb is and notices there isn’t one in it. 

Our two main protagonists have only been together for a few brief moments and yet already you can feel that they’re going to end up friends even if they are paired together for reasons that aren’t exactly positive.

Kimmy and Titus head out to celebrate but also because Kimmy offered to pay. Titus should have really known better than to take a white woman who he has already called basic to a club where she is going to no doubt dance very awkwardly. Kimmy is offered drugs for the second time but mistakes “molly” for a doll.

The backpack that Kimmy has kept her money in throughout the episode is clutching onto her shoulders like there’s no tomorrow until she sets it down on the ground and it’s stolen leaving both her and Titus without any money.

After searching for the backpack thief all night, Kimmy is late for work the next day and as I’m sure you can guess based on the description I gave earlier of Jacqueline, she fires her on the spot.

Kimmy tells Titus about the stolen backpack but also lets slip about the reverend who held her captive in the bunker, and then word vomit hits and the entire story is out. Titus is naturally concerned about having to live with a mole woman and asks her to pack up her items and leave the apartment as New York isn’t for her.

If you thought the secrets stopped there, you’re wrong. Titus tells Kimmy that his name is not, in fact, Titus and that it’s Ronald Wilkerson explaining to her that he is originally from Chickasaw County, Mississippi. He changed his name upon moving to New York and auditioned for The Lion King on Broadway twenty times in fifteen years being rejected every time as he “couldn’t pass for a straight giraffe”.

Titus: I am very scared to ask you this.

Kimmy: Yes, there was weird sex stuff in the bunker.

Titus: Let me finish.

Despite his initial exterior being one similar to Jacqueline in that they only care about themselves, Titus willingly hands Kimmy the money back she had given him for rent so she can return home, even though that means he will be kicked out and thus homeless. This side of Titus doesn’t often come up but his caring nature towards Kimmy is one that is always meaningful.

As Kimmy is about the head back to Durnsville, she has a flashback to the bunker after seeing a rat in a trash can. The flashback reminds her of when the reverend had previously told the women in the bunker that all life outside of it had died, but Kimmy knew that wasn’t true as she had found a rat. The reverend tells Kimmy he will break her but she tells him that he won’t, leading her to realise she can’t leave New York.

Running through Times Square, Kimmy heads straight for Titus who is in his Iron Man suit to tell him she isn’t giving up and that she won’t let him do it either. In her first of many inspirational speeches, Kimmy vows to pay the rent, get her job back and kiss a boy, while she tells Titus he will sing at the Grammys with Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, both of whom are no longer alive. The pair sing “Circle of Life” together which no one can hear due to the traffic. ]

And that’s it for episode one of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

It isn’t explored or rather a focal point in this episode but Kimmy displays a variety of character traits that fit with someone who has been exposed to a horrific event in their life. While in the club with Titus she assaults a man trying to flirt with her, a security guard and later gets angry at the blinds in her room for not working. This trait contradicts her upbeat manner and is somewhat used as a hint that perhaps she is harbouring some feelings that she hasn’t realised she has.

The comedic timing of every character even if it’s just a certain facial expression is perfect. I had reservations at first about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt but it’s a series that has such a heartwarming feeling to it you can’t help but be drawn into the antics Kimmy and Titus get themselves into. By far one of my favourite Netflix shows and it should be one of yours too.