Reboots can be hard to sell. However, Prime Video’s A League of Their Own is a show I want you all to watch. It’s not perfect – I’ll touch on its main issue, the plot, later – but last weekend I got to experience the best modern streaming experience with the new series.
I went into the weekend intent on making more progress in For All Mankind. But, after seeing a positive tweet or two about A League of Their Own (and being familiar enough with the original movie), I thought I should give it a shot.
After that, the pilot’s watching turned into occasional binge watching. In less than 24 hours, I went from being annoyed with not having their own league on the home screen to watching all eight hours of the show’s first season.
So why would their league need your waiting list? Let me explain – and I’ll start by declaring that anyone who loves Netflix’s GLOW will probably love a league of their own.
It’s a story about women working as a team, facing obstacles in a male-driven society, where the cast is full of energy and the script is clever. I may still be annoyed that Netflix canceled GLOW, but maybe this show hit one so A League of Their Own could blast a few hits off the proverbial pitch.
The first episode of A League of Their Own is the best pilot ever
Feel the excitement, like your first day at summer camp.
Almost immediately, the first episode of A League of their own grabbed me. Abby Jacobson (who stars as Carson Shaw, and co-creator of this series) tops it off with a solid suit: being disoriented and awkward. Her character hastily runs to the train, completely rude.
Before she can make it, she meets some old friends who are confused by her behavior, and quickly talks behind her back about how her bra is exposed. If period costumes weren’t enough for focus, this last part is a huge nod that we’re no longer in 2022. 1943 is a lot different.
Once in the big city, A League of Their Own begins building its roster of other women trying to join the teams as the demand for the men’s war effort drains the major leagues.
Immediately, Carson finds two charismatic, ambitious players: Greta (Darcy Cardin) and Joe (Melani Field), who start making fun of her at every opportunity. These aren’t the A League of Their Own stars you might remember from the classic movie, but since I don’t have strong ties to that cinematic plot? I wasn’t even upset.
And with every new cast member I met, I kept thinking, “Yeah, I’d have fun getting to know these guys.” They all dress off each other perfectly, like smiling blonde Maybelle (Molly Ephraim) and Lupee (Roberta Colindries), the brimming jug. And just a small dose of no-BS Kelly (Jesse McCready) and hypochondriac Shirley (Kate Berlant) teased that these women won’t always get along. And when Estée (Priscilla Delgado) is prolific isn’t she the only Spanish-speaking experience? Feel the excitement, like your first day at summer camp.
Most importantly, we meet a free-wheeling shooter named Max (Shanty Adams) and her best friend Clans (Gbemisola Ecomelo). Max just wants to play baseball with these new teams being formed, but they’re black and that’s still a problem for some – despite how society was supposed to change.
And that’s just one of the ways A League of Their Own’s Abby Jacobson evolved from the movie that preceded it. Because by the end of Episode One, you learn that the Rockford Peaches have closed off lesbian women on their team, and that makes A League of Their Own that much more interesting.
Yes, they must develop a league of their own
So, I’m going to get this out of the way now. A league of their own, as you may have heard, is doing battle off the field, with the very recent convention of blasting review. as such comma (Opens in a new tab) It explains, that the reviews section of the show’s page on Prime Video has a bunch of people unhappy with the fact that “baseball is taking a back seat to all the other ‘messages’ this show is trying to send you” while another wrote “I really don’t care who you like, I just wanted to see women represented playing sports. Now I’ve switched to who’s gay and straight.”
Not to go into full debate, but the last comment has a clear contradiction: some people just want to see the forms of representation that interest them.
But, to be realistic, let’s all admit that gay people, and people of color, are not a contemporary invention. That their existence and their stories are not some modern Ponzi schemes to make more money through various token works. To properly tell the history of women in sports, you have to tell their history All Women, and not hiding women of color in small roles (which the original movie did, with a black woman throwing a ball in front of Dottie, Geena Davis’ character).
A League of Their Own not only tells the story of women of color in the field, but also explains how lesbian women live off the field. How the opinions of society in this era have transformed their lives into criminal behaviour. And the display is the best for that. The emotional power of the viewer in the underground gay tape is so strong that I couldn’t help but tear up (and then cry ugly later).
Let’s all admit that gay people and people of color are not a contemporary invention.
Yes, watching this show may open many minds to an experience that they had no idea there was. But with the scenes and A League of their Own-Writ-Large already in action, it’s not hard to see Max’s story — as well as those of the closed players — totally worthwhile.
The only problem is a league of their own
As much as I love Max’s story, A League of Their Own can sometimes feel zigzagging and vacillating a lot between its story and what’s going on with Carson, Greta, Joe, and the rest of the Peaches.
The quest for Peaches to actually win the games runs parallel to Max’s work to be taken seriously as a pitcher. And something about how the show jumps back and forth between them seems almost paradoxical at times. It’s not bad enough to be annoying, but it’s a Season 1 bug that needs to be fixed.
Root, root, root their own league
During the seven seasons that followed the beloved first inning, I couldn’t quite put up a nickname for them. I was supposed to watch the prey, but I left it for another time. I also wanted to make the new Ninja Turtle video game a spin. But a league of their own kept me hooked.
And so I’m writing this to try and make sure everyone gives them a chance. In a sea of lifeless reboots and contests of a questionable nature, Abbi Jacobson and her team have created one that has a chance of going strong for several seasons. I just hope the boos will drown in the reviews section by viewers. And so far — a league of their own has ended the finalist’s 42-day reign at the top of the Prime Video TV charts — Peaches seem to have a chance.
[ad_2]
