Orphan Black
When I launched this blog, the series finale of Orphan Black was about to air. Why would I pick a show that's ending for the beginning of a new blog?
Because it's that good.
If you've been watching the show, there is no reason to review the finale. Most everyone I talked to was happy with the story's conclusion. If you haven't been watching it, you are in for a treat.
I discovered Orphan Black the night it premiered. The commercials aired during an episode of Doctor Who on BBC America. In that ad, you saw a woman watch "herself" commit suicide. That is to say, it wasn't her, it was a woman who could be her twin, but it was someone she didn't know.
That was all the hook I needed to check out the first episode. The first episode hooked me for five seasons.
Sarah Manning lives with her foster brother, Felix. She also has a young child, Kira, who lives with Sarah's foster mother, Mrs. S., who doesn't want to let Sarah see her until she cleans up her act. Sarah has been making a living on the street, and she has problems with the wrong people.
To answer the question, what would you do if you see yourself commit suicide by jumping in front of a train, you would steal "your" bag for the money. Then go to the apartment and see what you can steal and fence. The problem occurs when your dead "twin" turns out to be a cop, who is being investigated for discharging her weapon and killing someone, and her partner is now following you to see if "you" are okay.
Sarah is forced to impersonate Beth for a time until she can extricate herself from the situation. Before she can, she finds out that she's more than just a "twin". There are a bunch of them, clones, genetically, but all having different personalities. And some with different nationalities. (As it is, Sarah is the one with the British accent.)
How many clones are there? Watch and see. There is a core group of three, at the start: Beth, the deceased cop; Alison, suburban mom (of adopted children); and Cosima, college student/future scientist. They tell Sarah that there are more that they're trying to contact. But they have to be careful, because they're all being monitored, including Beth. Sarah seems to be the one that got away.
Oh, and then there's someone out there trying to kill them.
What makes are this astonishing is that Tatiana Maslany plays all of these parts, sometimes several in the same scene. And you can tell them each apart by her acting, not just their wigs. There's a scene early in the series where Alison has to impersonate Sarah, good enough to fool the other characters without letting us forget that it's Alison trying pretending to be Sarah. Ms. Maslany may be a great actress, but "Alison" is not, although she's good enough to fool everyone ... except Kira.
Maslany was great enough actor to get nominated to two Emmy Awards, winning the second one. (And she's eligible for one more.)
Other highlights is Matt Frewer, who will forever be Max Headroom to me along with other roles, as Dr. Aldous Leekie, from the Dyad Institute, at the center of the cloning, as well as being the face of the Neolution movement, a sort of "neo-evolution" fad where people can use biotech to alter their bodies. Why get a tattoo when you can have a tail?
Who is behind this? Why did they make the clones? What comes from all the information gathered by the monitors? And just how many clones are there?
The series will explore all of those questions. You'll be introduced to many more clones that you may love or hate, who may live or die, and Maslany will play every member of the Clone Club. Watch long enough, and you'll have a favorite one.
And then look up a cast photo online, and you'll wonder where everyone else is.
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