The New A League Of Their Own Prime Series Honors the LGBTQ Community with beautiful and touching female relationships throughout.
The new A League Of Their series starts a bit slow, but after a couple of episodes, it picks up, and once you begin growing close to the characters in your heart, you realize this is one special series Prime has put out.
The new A League Of Their series on Amazon Prime honors the LGBTQ community.
I am now A-sexual after two marriages and raising three children of my own, along with two step-daughters for some time. I’ve been a “part” of the LGBTQ community for decades as a friend and supporter. I went through a short period four years ago believing I might be Bi-sexual, but after a short-lived relationship that went nowhere, I realized I was just lonely, and wanted love from anyone, at that time.
Fast forward four years, and I am completely single and celibate. I’ve come to love who I am and what I represent finally. No one needs to prove to anyone what they stand for. But society forces us to do so, or we get judged for being introverted or non-social as if they are character flaws. Well, they aren’t.
I am proud to be a member of the LGBTQ community.
As I got through the first few episodes of A League Of Their Own on Prime, I realized this show was going full throttle supporting the community and showing how endearing and lovely relationships of any type are. They did well to make them look natural.
As the show progresses, the focus on the women’s growing relationships builds. They become more evident until we experience a disturbing scene where the police raid their “underground” bar. I cried heavily.
The wonders of love shine in each relationship between some women on the “Peaches.” The dialogue and direction were very careful in taking them seriously, showing us how being kind, understanding, a good listener, and calm makes for meaningful solid friendships and lovers.
By the final episode, I was endeared by each character. Each one captured me with unique personalities, precious qualities, and great acting. What I thought might be a dull or half-hazard-done series trying to copy a movie turned out to be one of the best shows I’ve watched.
I fell in love with each one of them. Rosie O’Donnell gives a spectacular small performance in two episodes that I believe should renew her acting career. Rosie played the man in her relationship with a short 40s pepper and salt male hairstyle in a fancy suit. She looks handsome and has lost a lot of weight. looked healthy, and her acting was superb as it always is. I hope she starts working regularly again and is already working on a leading role in something else.
I have much respect for Prime, the writer, and the director for Producing this special show and representing the LGBTQ community respectfully, and truthfully, without fear. It is time for the world to change and it actually is. Just love each other.
Why is that so hard? Even I’ve been learning what real love and goodness in your heart and soul are. Some are born this way naturally, and others’ childhoods may have stolen that from some of us, but if you don’t allow yourself to change, grow, and improve every day, with small goals, can you possibly be the best you can be?
The authenticity of A League Of Their Own is solid.
My next concern for the series, before watching, was how much of the film would slip into the series, if it would expand the story and give us deeper characters, and honestly represent what Women’s Major League Baseball was like in the early to mid-1940s.
It’s nice to see some films turned into streaming series. I was concerned it might be too much like the movie, A League Of Their Own with Geena Davis, or if it would follow the story somewhat, that they might not add more depth to it, with much more important storylines, and way more baseball.
The team who created the series with Prime streaming went all out in expanding the storyline, developing real characters that were more down to Earth than some of the stars in the first film, and eventually after two or three episodes of team building, there was plenty of baseball action, and excellent filming, as well. Some scenes had to use CGI, I believe, to get the shots they did between the pitchers and catchers.
Therefore, if you are looking for a truly authentic baseball film with a spectacular script, scenes that I hope affect you deeply if you are normally an empath, fit with well-placed comical moments and lines, and endearing female characters, then you can’t be disappointed by this fine assembly of actors. I never thought, well gee, this person doesn’t quite fit this role right. It was excellently cast, and it seems they undertook painstaking casting to get just the right performers.
The male actors were just as fine and added that extra misogyny that ran rampant in that era. It’s not overdone, other than bar raid, and it’s handled mainly with kid’s gloves so as not to make it a huge part of the storyline. Certainly, the treatment of the women, the rules, the training to be “proper ladies”, etc., were there, and important to the series. However, the Director handled each scene carefully.
The Cast of A League Of Their Own On Prime Is Preciously Memorable.
Again, the men were cast well, and played their roles to a capital “T”, with all of their “i’s” dotted. This series is all about the women of the Peaches team, their dealings with each other, family members, friends, coworkers, baseball owners, managers, and coaches, as well as relationships, love, and the challenges of life, which had to include the very difficult odds against being a Lesbian in those days, and of course, baseball, baseball, baseball.
Even if you aren’t a big sports fan, or not at all, and there is a lot of it, anyone who watches who is averse to the additional stories, won’t help but be endeared by this incredible cast of fine-tuned Hollywood ladies.
I believe I learned more about women, who they are, how to speak to and be courteous of them, and more importantly where and how I’d made mistakes and said things that were never helpful to anyone, especially in my marriages. I learned that there is so much more to a woman than many of us men realize, and it meant quite a bit to me and has already taken effect on my personality and demeanor in good ways.
I can’t cover every character/actor, but I’ll fill you in on some of my favorites in the cast.
Melanie Field as Joe Deluca (3rd Base) – Melanie is the most endearing character for me. She carried a tough exterior in the role but shined through that toughness with a heart of gold. I loved Melanie’s acting and ability to make me feel emotions deeply. She played her role with lots of depth and meaning. Every time she was on screen, my attention stuck to her no matter who was talking, because of her great expressions, and the truth in her character’s personality. I give Melanie an A+
Chante Adams as Maxine (Pitcher) – Chante is superb as “Max.” Max takes on racism, bigotry, and hate so graciously, yet with bold, silent confrontation as she waited out the entire series for her chance to show off what she can do on a mound. I cheered Max on through the whole series, even getting a bit annoyed that she was not getting to follow her dream and wasn’t being picked up by any teams. However, like myself at times in my entertainment career, she gives up her fight and settles for less than what she deserves. But as you expect to see in her personality, she is stronger than I ever was, by continuing to live her life the best she can and keeping that dream in the back of her mind. Eventually, we get to see Maxine live her dream, and the smile on Chante’s face is incredibly precious and powerful. Also, Chante has to hide her sexuality, and that adds extra depth to her role. Chante Adams has a big future in Hollywood ahead of her. I expect to see her doing some incredible work. I’d love to see her do a film with Denzel Washington. They’d be amazing together. Melanie gets an A
D’Arcy Carden as Greta Gill – It took me a couple of episodes to decide how I felt about the role of Greta Gill and D’arcy Carden. I’m not sure why. I can’t explain it to you, but I just wasn’t sure I liked her. Now I have to laugh at that. By the third episode, I was completely engaged in her character and bought right into her engaging and solid performance. D’Arcy is an excellent actress, and I’d even dare to say she must have stage experience. She is always on, no matter whether she is among the team or the main focus of a scene. Greta Gill is a strong woman, who takes no crap, and has a great ability to make things work for her and others with calm and caring words and passionate love and kindness. I love Greta Gill and am now a big D’Arcy Carden fan. She reminds me of a very close cast member from my tour of “Golden Musicals of Broadway” in Europe, circa 1990/1991. I look forward to her next series or work. Carden is a solid A+
Kelly McCormack as Jess – Kelly McCormack was fantastic! If you want to talk about a total transformation to play a character, this is one of the best in the series. Kelly plays a tough and scrappy woman, with a masculine flair. We don’t see her involved in a female relationship. But, Kelly’s performance will turn heads in Hollywood, and I expect she will be working a lot after this. I could see Kelly playing the lead in a thriller/action film easily. Her interaction with team members is important and she offers another power player on the Rockford Peaches. Kelly gets an A
Roberta Colindrez as Mita (Pitcher) – I’m not sure I can come up with the right words to describe Roberta Colindrez’s perfect representation of Mita. She was probably my second favorite character. I know, I’ve picked two supporting characters as my favs, but it is what it is. Another very powerful actor. Her portrayal was so real, I felt like she was just being her true self, but if you research Roberta, she is nothing like Mita, meaning she knows how to study and develop her character, well. She plays a Mexican woman who is promoted as a Spanish pitcher by team owners, so as not to upset the crowds who were in an age of hate and bigotry toward Mexicans. Oh, wait, that hasn’t changed in nearly 80 years. Imagine that. We’ve been anti-Mexican in America for that long, and it continues. So, I was thrilled to see Roberta play this role. I hope another season is coming, and that she gets to be who her character is, in it. I have to give Roberta an A+
Abbi Jacobson as Carson Shaw (Catcher – Geena Davis role in the movie) – Carson was the main character in the film, and she still is in the series. Abbi Jacobson is nothing like Geena Davis, however, so don’t expect a replica of the movie character. Abbi was another actor whom I needed to get used to appreciating her. I’m still on the fence, but I can’t deny that she is a good actress, and she plays Carson Shaw quite endearingly. You will come to have feelings for Carson, as you follow her first female relationship, although she has a husband back home. Abbi does a fine job playing a sexually confused married woman, who falls in love with Greta Gill as they build their relationship throughout each episode. Eventually, Carson takes over the management of the team, while also being the catcher, and she reveals a much more tough side with leadership skills. Jackson gets a B+
Other honorable mentions for their performances include:
Molly Ephraim as Maybelle Fox
Nick Offerman as Casey “Dove” Porter – the Peaches temporary manager
Priscilla Delgado as Izzy
Gbemisola Ikumelo as Clance
Dale Dickey as Beverly – the ladies’ etiquette and ethics supervisor.
Too Many Great Things To Cover
I wish I could spend more time here covering more of the series, but A League Of Their Own on Prime is filled with so many great things, including superior writing, concise direction, and pinpoint performances that I could go on forever. If you don’t struggle with being a bigot or racist, you will love the series. It is perfectly timed in an ever-progressing democracy in America. It is representative of what we are going through, again, in a country that is supposed to be free, and non-restrictive. I think there will be some award nominations for the series. I hope you enjoy it.
Here are the current ratings, according to Google.
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