S01.E11: 11th Hour

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The participants near the finish of their days in jail as pressure builds in each pod.

[Brooklynista]

I hope Muhammad Ali comes to visit Yaz this episode.  Is she the only one who hasn't had a visit?  Rob has been in solitary and I don't believe you can receive visitors when you're on punishment.  Not that anybody would admit to being concerned about his wacky ass well being.

[rainsmom]

I actually developed some respect for Barbra in this episode. Good for her for taking control in the pod instead of just complaining that something should be done, and good for her for giving the sheriff a long list of what's wrong with his jail. Like he asked for. Even though he is going to ignore Every Damn Thing.

The sheriff is SUCH an ass. He is convinced that this program was for the benefit of the participants who were all on the edge of becoming criminal masterminds. Or serial killers. He's delusional.

It cracks me up that Tami is staying longer beause everyone thinks she's a mole, BUT will a day or two matter in the scheme of things? Will they say, "Hey, she stayed two days after making weird statements. We must have been mistaken!" Who CARES if people think she's a mole if she's gone?

[ZoloftBlob]

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Will they say, "Hey, she stayed two days after making weird statements. We must have been mistaken!" Who CARES if people think she's a mole if she's gone?

Because they already were prepping new moles to go in and or already planted new moles. The show is already processing season two.

[Andromeda]

Barbra impressed me this episode. I think she might make a good corrections officer. I disagree with her mother about trying to convince her to be happy as a stay-at-home mom (her mother said she hoped jail would prove to her how good she had it and that she should settle for what she has). Barbra got pregnant so young; naturally she feels she missed out on adventures as a young 20-something, not to mention having a career.

I don't quite get why letting Tami out would convince them she was a mole, or not convince them. Seems irrelevant to me, I must be missing something.

[TeapotWakeen]

Quote

I don't quite get why letting Tami out would convince them she was a mole, or not convince them. Seems irrelevant to me, I must be missing something.

Yes, you're missing something: The.Drama.The.Asshattery! If she went out on time, the whole experiement would be ruined! Like {whatever fake drama point they used -- fake court call, hospital visit, covering the camera with a towel, blah-blah-blah}.  In other words, you're missing the point of DRAMA!!

All that being said, it was a good episode. No Robert!!! Barbra finds a backbone, Tami cries, little Yaz/Maryum/daughter of some famous guy, Isaiah perhaps even listened to Zak....

[placate]

There's like two episodes left.  Maryum is going to get out and see her family and Tami will continue to go insane in F-pod.  Zac is very good at being an inmate so he'll be in for the last episode.  I think Maryum is going to be let out and go to her exit interview and be all like, wtf that bitch Tami was a part of the program?  They're going to show Barbra's reunion with her family and Isaiah's.

Zac didn't intervene in the fight but I hope the guard is okay.  Barbra was spot on with her observation that the inmates run the entire place.  As much as the unmedicated schizo that beat Jeff up was, the fact that the person handing out pills to the females was flirting with them instead of watching them take their pills was also disturbing.

[Whimsy]

5 hours ago, placate said:

Zac didn't intervene in the fight but I hope the guard is okay.  Barbra was spot on with her observation that the inmates run the entire place.  As much as the unmedicated schizo that beat Jeff up was, the fact that the person handing out pills to the females was flirting with them instead of watching them take their pills was also disturbing.

I was so stressed out and concerned for that guard at the end!  Until I remember that this show is stupid.  I'm sure he's fine.  Any other situation and I would genuinely be concerned for him.

Barbra was spot on, but two things I concluded after that: 1) They won't do a single thing about her recommendations and 2) I still can't see her as a corrections officer. She'll want to be all of the inmates friends. 

Did they show us that the pill dispensary officer was flirting instead of watching the women and I missed it?  I don't always pay FULL attention while watching TV.  If not, they really should have! 

[Raynedon]

6 hours ago, Andromeda said:

I don't quite get why letting Tami out would convince them she was a mole, or not convince them. Seems irrelevant to me, I must be missing something.

I think for the people who were already suspicious of Tami, the fact that she'd be pulled out so soon after they voiced their distrust of her, it would be confirmation to <I>them</I> that she was a mole.  They might think that Tami was pulled out because it wasn't safe for her there anymore.  If the Sheriff was planning to put more participants into the jail it would set them up for even more scrutiny by the inmates and staff.  The jail environment, confinement/incarceration, is a breeding ground for distrust and paranoia.  Their imaginations run wild, they gossip, and before you know it the place is in chaos or someone is hurt. 

[Raynedon]

16 minutes ago, GenL said:

I was so stressed out and concerned for that guard at the end!  Until I remember that this show is stupid.  I'm sure he's fine.  Any other situation and I would genuinely be concerned for him.

Whatever problem the CO was having with the inmate, was legit and if he was hurt, which was a very real possibility, it wasn't staged for the show.  Some of the interactions between inmates and inmates and staff, while they might look stupid, actually happen in jails around the country every day.  Jail is hell for the staff as well as the inmates. 

This sheriff, as well as the show itself, have taken hits for the content and concept, but it is what it is.  They can't change what the cameras capture.  It is what jails everywhere are dealing with varying, depending on the area's economics and the impact drugs have on their population.  I don't think we'd see much of a difference in inmate behavior or jail problems no matter which county jail they did this experiment in.   

[Mamarazzi]

For me, this way by far the best episode. Their faces when Barbra had her list were priceless. I loved her for that.

Who else was it that suggested they offer the inmates classes or something to do with themselves during the day? Was that Barbra's mom? Anyway, the Sheriff's blew her off, so I suspect they'll do the same about Barbra's suggestions. Although I'm sure the med guy is going to be talked to.

I so wanted Zac to find that cell phone, but oh the irony when it buzzed in front of the guard. I hope the guard is okay. It's seems a bit irresponsible to have just one guard go in at night looking for the phone. I'm assuming that's what the guard was there for, but maybe I misunderstood.

I really want to see Zac and Isaiah find out they were both in the program. Same with Yaz with Tami & Barbra.

[Quilt Fairy]

Wow, full props to Barbra for telling the Sheriff and Deputy Scottie that the inmates run the jail! Did you see the look on their faces when she said that?  Priceless.

And of course the inmates run it. What else would you expect when you take 3 or 4 dozen people and drop them in a big room with nothing to do except wait for the next chow call and make up mischief? You hardly ever see the guards. They shouldn't call them pods, they should call them pits.

[Whimsy]

1 hour ago, rayndon said:

Whatever problem the CO was having with the inmate, was legit and if he was hurt, which was a very real possibility, it wasn't staged for the show.  Some of the interactions between inmates and inmates and staff, while they might look stupid, actually happen in jails around the country every day.  Jail is hell for the staff as well as the inmates. 

This sheriff, as well as the show itself, have taken hits for the content and concept, but it is what it is.  They can't change what the cameras capture.  It is what jails everywhere are dealing with varying, depending on the area's economics and the impact drugs have on their population.  I don't think we'd see much of a difference in inmate behavior or jail problems no matter which county jail they did this experiment in.   

I totally understand that, it's just every time I get stressed out over something that is shown as coming in the next episode it turns out to be nothing.  I am still concerned about the safety of all corrections officers, I just suspect that it'll turn out to not be as bad as the preview is suggesting based on previous experience with this show.  I am not one of the viewers on here that thinks the whole show is staged.  I believe a lot of it, but the editing to ramp up drama when it turns out to be nothing is what I was commenting on.

 

2 hours ago, rayndon said:

I think for the people who were already suspicious of Tami, the fact that she'd be pulled out so soon after they voiced their distrust of her, it would be confirmation to <I>them</I> that she was a mole.  They might think that Tami was pulled out because it wasn't safe for her there anymore.  If the Sheriff was planning to put more participants into the jail it would set them up for even more scrutiny by the inmates and staff.  The jail environment, confinement/incarceration, is a breeding ground for distrust and paranoia.  Their imaginations run wild, they gossip, and before you know it the place is in chaos or someone is hurt. 

Except, footage was shown of her saying "you'll understand in 2 months" which, to me, says that she was spouting off those ridiculous statements from the beginning but they only showed it in this episode.  So, I really don't believe it was so soon after she said it.  There is no reason they couldn't have released Tami first from this program as I am sure inmates are leaving daily so the exact date of her release would not cause, or squelch, any suspicions of her being a mole.

 

ETA:  I just now realized I quoted two of your posts, @rayndon.  I swear I'm not singling you out, lol!

[ZoloftBlob]

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Who else was it that suggested they offer the inmates classes or something to do with themselves during the day?

I respect Barbra and Barbra's mom intent with this suggestion but it's unrealistic and here's why. The inmates are *constantly* churning through the jail and while some are staying for lengthy periods of time, some are out in 60 days or less. The reality is that classes cost money and inmates churning in and out makes it a safety issue for the instructors. It also gives inmates more opportunities to obtain contraband and to do illegal stuff.

That said, Barbra is absolutely right that the inmates are running the show - the very fact that the podboss openly and loudly ASKS FOR THE CONTRABAND brought in on the food trays tells me that there's a huge supervision problem here. So does the whole "no one ever sleeps and no one is required to be in their own cell at lights out and there's NO COs in the pod ever" issue. And this is all in the uncrowded, everyone has their own bed in a cell pod.

Meanwhile, for all his "I'm a Marine! I am here to do a JOB" talk - it amuses me beyond belief that Zac has found out NOTHING about the drugs and can't find the cell phone. I do worry about the guard but really, Sheriff Idiot and Deputy Dumbass are the ones who sent in ONE guard on night patrol with apparently utterly no supervision. (FYI this is a problem, Sheriff Idiot, more of one than making sure Isiah agrees he hates jail).

I genuinely think Tami is staying longer in jail merely to fuck with Tami as she gives good breakdowns. I think this is all about show production and nothing to do with the potential guard corruption. Tami's only contribution to the "find the drugs" mission was to take the GIANT hint from the pod boss that the contraband comes in on the food trays.

Did planting any of these people in jail lead to any revelations for Sheriff Idiot and Deputy Dumbass that weren't blindingly obvious from day one?

[Chewy101]

Barbra continues to be delusional. I was hoping someone would throw a cup at her head when she said they all needed to get along. She still thinks it's summer camp. But at least the edit is finally showing them ALL snipping at one another instead of just Tami.

The cellphone drama was so stupid. There are cameras everywhere, you morons.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Chewy101

[Brooklynista]

24 minutes ago, Chewy101 said:

Barbra continues to be delusional. I was hoping someone would throw a cup at her head when she said they all needed to get along. She still thinks it's summer camp. But at least the edit is finally showing them ALL snipping at one another instead of just Tami.

Pod Boss. Barbra truly called herself a pod boss!  Girl if you don't sit your ass down somewhere.

I fell in love with Barbra's bunkmate informing Tami that she was the same kind of annoyance she was constantly complaining about.  Do you not see the ridiculousness of walking into someone else's cell loudly yammering about someone being in your own cell loudly yammering?

Edited May 13, 2016 by Brooklynista

[candall]

1 hour ago, ZoloftBlob said:

I genuinely think Tami is staying longer in jail merely to fuck with Tami as she gives good breakdowns. I think this is all about show production and nothing to do with the potential guard corruption.

Agree.  Nothin' but mean.  Everyone has seen shows where something happened and the person "planted" in prison couldn't get out--that would have to be a weird little thing nibbling at the edge of your stressed out, sleep deprived mind.

 

I thought Barbra's kumbaya pep talk was laughable, but she did an admirable job telling the sheriff how much the pod would benefit from some fucking STRUCTURE.  (I don't believe we need to be issuing her a uniform, however.)

 

Isaiah!  Good for you, if you really have the sense to get yourself back to your mom's house.  You are just not ready to be out in the big bad world yet.

Edited May 13, 2016 by candall

[Primetimer]

And other not-quite-burning questions as America's favorite ersatz jailbirds near the end of their time.

View the full article

[Chewy101]

Barbra spends a month eating junk and whining about it, then she gets out and eats more junk. I would be diving head first into some broccoli and vitamin C.

On 5/13/2016 at 0:43 PM, Brooklynista said:

I fell in love with Barbra's bunkmate informing Tami that she was the same kind of annoyance she was constantly complaining about.  Do you not see the ridiculousness of walking into someone else's cell loudly yammering about someone being in your own cell loudly yammering?

LOL. So true. I would lose my mind in there. The only thing more annoying than that pod is maybe a slumber party for 10 year olds.

I resent Barbra getting the good edit in the end. Her husband did not sound thrilled she got out and was coming home. So weird. She would make a lousy corrections officer, and it just shows how stupid the sheriff is to think just because she said inmates need to make their beds that she could ever be qualified to run a pod.

If a guard is really getting beaten up up there, where is the camera footage? Yet another thing they just made up. Zac is so monotone he can barely say his lines in any way that is convincing.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Chewy101

[kassa]

I agree that they can't really do "classes" but they could probably run some educational tv programs or something.  In both the male and female pods there appeared to be a lot of readers -- obviously book sales make income for the commissary.  One inmate in particular probably had 10 paperbacks in his bunk -- made me wonder if they're allowed to leave them for the others when they go.  Unlike food, that sort of thing would pile up over time, so maybe not.  

Not a Barbra fan, but I loved that she clearly laid out the jail's shortcomings.  Yes, as much as the guys in charge tried to leverage the exit interviews as the personal growth stories of the participants, they AND we were sold this project on the basis of you wanting to know what was wrong.  She gave you what you [said you] wanted.  

Just watching the footage of the women's  COs showed that they were less than authoritative.  The meds dispenser reveal was interesting... as was her assertion that she won't be surprised if one of the inmates gets pregnant. A hundred defense attorneys' started salivating at that.

The men's pods seemed to at least nominally respect the lights out/quiet time at night rules.  Not sure why that officer went into that room alone, and don't quite buy that it was to look for the phone -- wonder if he was responding to quite a different incident at a totally different time and got attacked then.  If he had gone in, say, to respond to an inmate saying he was sick or something, going in alone might not have been that bad a thing (probably not wise or good procedure, but not completely asinine as conducting a middle of the night search and seizure on the pod boss by yourself).  Or maybe he thought his backup was right behind him but he stopped to chat with the ladies.

Another thing -- Tami got the whole "institutionalized" term backwards.  It doesn't mean that you can't stand being in jail another minute -- it means you can't live any other way!  

Edited May 13, 2016 by kassa

[Irritable]

Why is Isaiah's mom listed on his phone by her first name, and why did he call her "baby"?  Maybe I shouldn't have watched this right after watching Bates Motel, but that just seemed weird.

[Barlowe]

5 hours ago, GenL said:

Except, footage was shown of her saying "you'll understand in 2 months" which, to me, says that she was spouting off those ridiculous statements from the beginning but they only showed it in this episode.  So, I really don't believe it was so soon after she said it.  There is no reason they couldn't have released Tami first from this program as I am sure inmates are leaving daily so the exact date of her release would not cause, or squelch, any suspicions of her being a mole.

 

I assumed she meant that in two months when the series aired they would understand, not that as soon as the experiment was done everyone would understand.

[Lion18]

I believe Isaiah had one foot into crossing the line into really being put in jail and this was the option given to him. Sheriff idiot said something to that effect

it also seems each participant was " told" to act a certain way- as a character

i think the whole Barba speech in jail was a set up but she did a good job writing down the facts about jail

hopefully the exit interviews are longer and more valuable than what we see

hope there's a reunion show

[LAgator77]

I kinda wonder if DiAundre doesn't purposely get sent to jail so he can have sex with men. There's obviously quite a lot that's not right with him and I can't imagine his prospects on the outside are that great. I did have a hearty laugh when he assured the other inmate he was "clean." Yikes. 

[Madding crowd]

Zac wasn't able to look into the drug situation with any success because to do so could have got him arrested and charged. In real life, undercover cops are going to be around drugs, buying drugs etc because that is part of their job, but they don't get arrested for those things. If Zac were to try to get close to drugs, he could be caught and charged. It doesn't seem like the Sheriff wanted any real intel from these participants. He wanted validation that he is running the jail so strongly that none of these people want to come back.

Since none of them are criminals to begin with, the whole scared straight thing falls flat. And since there are cameras everywhere, simply watching them would yield some results. I still don't like Barbra but I don't blame her for ordering a pizza rather than looking for broccoli. After being in jail for two months, I would want to reward myself. It is also likely she had a limited take-out menu to order from too.

I started out really liking the show because I thought I could learn something (my husband is a police officer and started out as a correctional officer), but so much of this seem staged or just useless. I did learn that jail is horribly boring and I can see why people get into fights, smuggle in contraband and will do anything to just get through time.

[TeapotWakeen]

I literally laughed out loud at Barbra's "shut up, kids" hand-motion when she was lecturing the women's pod. I thought that was going to start a fight, for real. Someone made the duckbill motion at me? probably get their hand smacked.  (edited later, hahaha, I should have read the story first, glad this was not just me saying OhHELLno)

I sincerely hope there is more to the "debriefing" than we see. I hope Sheriff Dumbass continues the facade after they get out, just so they feel like their time in was worth something.

Edited May 14, 2016 by TeapotWakeen
read story, then post, doofus.

[morriss]

That  Barbra is a real mess.  First, she thought she was the "hammer" of the jail  (slang for pod boss),  next she was an expert on the american penal system (her stack of notes for the sheriff) , and finally when released she acted like she just finished serving 20 years in San Quentin. 

As for her becoming a corrections officer, I doubt she could  stop crying long enough to do the job.

The only good participants were Zac and Maryum.

I am not going to waste my time watching season 2. 

[Pandora]

On 5/13/2016 at 11:06 AM, Mamarazzi said:

Although I'm sure the med guy is going to be talked to.

I'm thinking Sheriff Dingleberry needs fewer cameras on his inmates---apparently nobody is watching them anyhow---and more on his prison staff. Both med guys seem lax, remember the crazy dude who went off his meds and attacked Jeff? Inmates of both sexes seem to be palming their pills with no problem.

[candall]

I'm pretty sure no organization, even a penal system, can bring criminal charges against someone for actions which have not been deemed illegal by legislation.  You can impose your own intra-agency sanctions, up to a point--e.g. solitary confinement, docked pay, no dessert!--but all that talk about "breaking the law" for smoking nicotine in toilet paper, etc. is just swagger.

 

Also, If they can't afford to have CO's stationed in every pod and they're going to rely on cameras, then FFS get those cameras up everywhere.  It's crazy the inmates can take their beatdowns and blowjobs into a little "private area" or that they're allowed to string up a privacy curtain in their cells.

And on the subject of privacy, has there been any footage at all of the shower or toilet facilities?  I'd think that would be a hyoooge part of the "scared straight" element, if that's one of the goals.

[Raynedon]

Barbra spends a month eating junk and whining about it, then she gets out and eats more junk. I would be diving head first into some broccoli and vitamin C.

  On 5/13/2016 at 1:43 PM, Brooklynista said:

I fell in love with Barbra's bunkmate informing Tami that she was the same kind of annoyance she was constantly complaining about.  Do you not see the ridiculousness of walking into someone else's cell loudly yammering about someone being in your own cell loudly yammering?

LOL. So true. I would lose my mind in there. The only thing more annoying than that pod is maybe a slumber party for 10 year olds.

I reset Barbra getting the good edit in the end. Her husband did not sound thrilled she got out and was coming home. So weird. She would make a lousy corrections officer, and it just shows how stupid the sheriff is to think just because she said inmates need to make their beds that she could ever be qualified to run a pod.

If a guard is really getting beaten up up there, where is the camera footage? Yet another thing they just made up. Zac is so monotone he can barely say his lines in any way that is convincing.

Made up? The guard getting beat up will be shown in the next episode - what they were able to catch, anyway since it looked like it took place behind the privacy towel hanging in the cell. There aren't any cameras in the individual cells, so there's not much they can capture.

[Brooklynista]

I don't see how the privacy curtains are not an immediate violation. If the jail is that short staffed, there should be an effort to eliminate as many blind spots as possible.  

That's the thing that keeps me from believing this is "real".  Every fight we've been privy to has magically happened behind these curtains All we see are wildly swinging arms. No landed punches.  A CO goes in a cell alone? After lights out? With no backup at the ready? Yeah, no. A CO would at least tell his/her partner manning the cameras to be on alert for any incident.

 Not even Doughboy's attack wasn't clearly seen. I see more physical contact on an episode of Housewives.  If you want me to believe this is "reality", I'm going to need to see some true gladiator fighting.

 

Or maybe I'm just desensitized. 

[Chewy101]

I guess it's possible the fights are intentionally happening where there isn't a camera, but I swear we have seen a LOT of cell footage by cameras on the inside.  Every time an inmate threatens to go after one of the "plants", they are on camera in their cell when they are talking about it.

[RedheadZombie]

Was Zac yanking at his tank top some sort of signal to the cameras?  Seems to me the only thing these people care about and respond to quickly is a towel thrown over a camera. 

[candall]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 1:25 PM, Chewy101 said:

I guess it's possible the fights are intentionally happening where there isn't a camera, but I swear we have seen a LOT of cell footage by cameras on the inside.  Every time an inmate threatens to go after one of the "plants", they are on camera in their cell when they are talking about it.

Yeah, I've seen enough grainy eagle-eye views of the bunkbeds to last me awhile.  The area of choice for clandestine activity seems to be inside that one doorway on the far right at the back of the pod.  What is that, the showers?

Hey, intrepid C.O. staff!  How about a camera back there in the beatdown zip code?!

[Quilt Fairy]

I've posted a review of the sneak peek of the finale in the First Looks thread. It contains spoilers.

[Chewy101]

On 5/18/2016 at 3:53 AM, RedheadZombie said:

Was Zac yanking at his tank top some sort of signal to the cameras?  Seems to me the only thing these people care about and respond to quickly is a towel thrown over a camera. 

Which makes me laugh. They obviously don't watch the cameras any other time.

[Chewy101]

Now that I have seen the next episode, I can still say yes, the fights were made up