Sci-Fi Orphan Black (2013)

Azhria Lilu

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Title: Orphan Black

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

First aired: 2013-03-30

Creator: John Fawcett, Graeme Manson

Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, Josh Vokey, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Ari Millen, Kevin Hanchard, Kristian Bruun

Overview: A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.
Orphan Black (2013)

 
New series Orphan Black airs on 30th March on BBC America - the show started life as a creepy conversation between the executive producer Graeme Manson and the co-creator John Fawcett - John commented to Graeme "Wouldn't it be cool if you were standing on a train station and you looked across the tracks and saw yourself, and in that moment your eyes met, and then yourself stepped in front of a train and committed suicide?"

(Not sure awesome is what I'd call that, but never mind. . .)

Ten years later, and they had a whole TV show where this scenario happens to Sarah (played by Tatiana maslany). She decides to slip into her life and empty the bank account of the deceased lookalike. That's when she discovers that they are actually clones, and that there may be more of them. . .
 
I will likely record this on the DVR to check it out but am torn a bit about it. From the commercials airing here in the US I sort of get the impression that, as a 42-year-old male, I am not the targeted demographic.

 
The first two episodes have aired and so far I neither like or dislike it which is generally a bad thing for me. The basic premise is sound... a woman assumes the identity of another woman who looks exactly like and accidentally discovers that there are many versions of her spread out across the globe. Not bad but after just two episodes having the actress play each of the different versions of herself is becoming a bit gimmicky because each one is a stereotype. Oh, look... there is the soccer mom version. Oh, look... there is the punk rock German version. Oh, look... there is the hipster geek version. When they interact with each other it becomes even more annoying.

As a straight drama I think it would be a decent show but with it leaning toward the big mystery of the clones I found myself tuning out a bit because of how distracting the stereotype versions are. While I'll leave it on the DVR schedule I suspect I won't notice when it stops recording one day.

A note to parents... this is not a show for kids. In the first episode alone there were drugs, violence, and an explicit sex scene.
 
Orphan Black has been renewed by BBC America for a second season of 10 episodes. Following the first seasons finale on June 1, 2013, the second season will premiere in 2014.
 
Having watched this show, I can attest to it's awesomeness.
I have to admit, having watched the entire first season the show started being enjoyable. I still have an issue with such a young looking actress as some of the characters (the actual actress is older than she looks), and I think that was part of my initial feedback after the first two episodes above, but getting past that the show isn't bad. The brother, in the role of comedic relief, has absolutely some of the best lines in the show.
 
Regarding the latest episode, "Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things", my prediction is that Donnie's little accident will end up bringing him and Allison back together now that they both have a little secret.

Oh, and the scene with Sarah playing Allison playing Donnie was actually pretty funny.

And I still stand by one of my earlier comments, the brother is one of the best things about the show.
 
Tony? Tony?! They show has picked up enough momentum that they don't need the gimmicks.
Regarding the latest episode, "Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things", my prediction is that Donnie's little accident will end up bringing him and Allison back together now that they both have a little secret.
Based on next weeks preview I think I can say it was a good prediction. :D
 
Just announced, Orphan Black has been renewed for a 10-episode third season that will air in 2015.

Yep... it's only July and no new episodes until next year. :(
 
I have seen the show, but could not pick up what it was about except that the women were clones. I have seen my clones, too... one time as a child and another time as an adult. Neither time was I able to talk to them.
Why was the term "Black" in ORPHAN BLACK? Is she Black?:cool::cool:
Although cloning is not mentioned on my website, here is my website, MINDBOGGLER.
MINDBOGGLER
 
The third season of Orphan Black will premiere April 18 at 10PM.

I did not know that AMC Networks, just a few months ago, bought out control of BBC America which airs Orphan Black here in the US. Now that AMC is in charge of BBCA they are planning on premiering Orphan Black S3 on all of the AMC channels at the same time! That means at 10PM on the April 18th you'll be able to find the show on BBC America, AMC, SundanceTV, IFC, and WEtv.

Thinking back to the end of S2, with the discovery of the other set of clones, I thought of the Weird Al Yankovic "I Think I'm A Clone Now". Turns out somebody else had the same thought. :D

 
TV – Orphan Black, season 3 (2015)

I discovered quite by chance that BBC has been showing the third season of the Canadian SF thriller Orphan Black. Curiously, they launched it by putting all ten episodes up on the BBC iPlayer - the internet-based service normally used for storing, for one month, programmes already broadcast, for the benefit of those who missed them. They followed this up by showing the episodes on BBC3 in the middle of the night, without any publicity. Fortunately, our internet connection has at last improved to the point at which we can watch video without constant buffering, so we've been catching up with the series.

To refresh the memory – from my previous blog comments:

Sarah Manning (played by Tatiana Maslany) is a young woman who is down on her luck when she meets her double, who turns out to be genetically identical. When her double dies, Sarah takes over her life. Then she meets another double, and another…. This is a constantly intriguing and frequently amusing drama as the doubles try to figure out their history while being faced with an acute danger – someone is trying to kill them. By the end of the first season, it becomes clear that being hunted is only one of their problems; they are also under covert observation and their future hangs by a thread. Maslany has great fun playing the various, and very varied, doubles and the constantly evolving plot gripped my attention from the start, with one unexpected twist after another.

The second season has the story of the assorted group of clones continuing as they struggle to discover how to respond to the various threats facing them, not least a lethal genetic illness. What makes this so entertaining is that, while it certainly isn't a comedy, there is enough humour in it to balance the drama.

The third season continues directly from the previous one, with the emergence of a second line of clones – this time men (all played by Ari Millen) – providing more complications for the band of "sisters" as they try to find a way out of their multiple problems, with competing organisations taking an uncomfortably close interest in them. The drama is as good as ever, as is Maslany whose performance has rightly won awards. Her pony-tailed Alison still makes me smile every time she appears – a wonderful portrayal of an obsessively conventional suburban "soccer mom" who develops criminal tendencies. As the tension increases in the first few episodes of this season, the dark humour which previously added to the entertainment is scaled down, although the seventh episode switches mood and returns to the original form, with a lot of laugh-out-loud scenes (mostly involving Alison, naturally).

The finale sees the core of the mystery of the sisters' origins revealed and some problems solved – but others still lie ahead. Fortunately, another ten-episode season is on the way. Overall, the result is a multi-layered, constantly developing and gripping plot which puts Orphan Black among the very best SF series.


(This entry is cross-posted from my science-fiction & fantasy blog.)
 
Season 4 of Orphan Black will premiere on BBC America on April 14, 2016, at 10PM.

Here's the new trailer....
 
The S4 ender is tonight and with it comes some unhappy news -- there'll be a fifth season of Orphan Black but it'll be it's last. :( S5 is slated for 10 episodes to air in 2017.
 
Tatiana Maslany has won an Emmy this year for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work in Orphan Black.
 
TV show information provided by The Movie Database
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