I used to watch this religiously- it was one of the first Fox shows, and at the time, a new broadcast network was such a novelty, that I gave everything on it precedence over the other broadcast outlets. If I were a Nielsen family, I'm sure Fox would have been appreciative- but as it was, the people who controlled the Nielsen box stayed away from the Women in Prison in droves.
WiP was an attempt to create a sitcom with unique and fun character interaction; shows like M*A*S*H and Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi all were premier examples of this kind of dynamic. I can't fault WiP's producers and actresses for trying, but the show never got off the ground.
All of the characters were cliched; there was the tough old butch, the fresh young innocent, the tarty prostitute, the no-nonsense guard. The dialogue never rose above the quality of, say, a syndicated sitcom like She's the Sheriff, and production values made this look like it was filmed in a gymnasium with paperboard tubes for prison bars.
Nice try, though.
