Orphan Black is a mystery sci-fi drama series about clones. Actually, it’s kind of a hard show to describe without giving away spoilers. The description from IMBD is “A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.” but after watching it, I feel like this description doesn’t really… do it. You kinda have to watch it to understand.
At a recent Burger Event I attended (I like that I can say I attend Burger Events as if they are a cool hip thing to do) we got to talking about TV shows. I used to love watching TV shows, especially American dramas. I had a routine that every night before sleeping I would watch one or two episodes of something, and then obviously make my way through whole series. For this, I normally waited for a show to finish an entire season or something before starting it. Since I started camming however I stopped watching stuff before going to bed (mainly too tired) so I’m totally behind on what’s happening. A friend of mine mentioned Orphan Black.
I love all things sci-fi and I had seen the name crop up a couple of times. As you all know this week i’ve been insanely ill, unable to do much besides cough and sleep and cough some more. Being bed bound I managed to watch the entire two seasons of the show this week. A huge TV binge. That’s actually a compliment to the show, because it means it was good enough that I wanted to keep watching. Sometimes I get bored when I try to binge watch something, but Orphan Black was able to keep me hooked for all 20 episodes.
Good points:
It has a fairly original plot. Sort of. Clones haven’t really been done in a long time, and certainly not as the main plot device. It’s also interesting because the show keeps the whole thing very mysterious. Two seasons in and we still don’t really know where the clones came from, for what purpose they were made and why they’re being killed off. Ok, so some parts are explained. Sort of. But I like the vagueness, it makes it seem more realistic. A huge scientific operation that has been compartmentalised would be very hard to piece together as an outsider without access to higher ranking officials. Throw in extremist characters and you have a lot of wild cards too.
The characters are all very likeable. Tatiana Maslany has done an amazing feat of acting, playing all of her clone characters (5 main characters) and being able to truly distinguish them as different characters. It’s more than just costume, hair and make-up! The clones themselves have little tropes, “punk rocker” “soccer mom” “science geek” for example. However their characters aren’t purely those labels, they are all fairly relatable to and all completely realistic. And of course there’s the gay foster brother “Felix” played by Jordan Gavaris who works as a wonderfully sassy side-kick. You’ve also got the good-cop, bad-cop combo, and also a super hot but suspicious boyfriend to boot. Oh and the super cute daughter.
Bad points:
The show overall feels very light hearted, even though people are getting killed off left-right and centre. I’d like to have some more serious moments, some real tragedy or emotionally devastating scenes. I don’t know if that makes me a bad person or not, there have been serious scenes but overall it hasn’t felt scary dark despite the actual content (like the scenes on the farm). For instance, the whole atmosphere of the show never changes, despite the plot taking darker twists as it progresses. Maybe it’s just me that thinks like that though, I can see how changing it too much would be a bad thing also.
Nothing really gets explained. Really. New characters are introduced and everything is mysterious (since the genre is mystery) but it can be frustrating trying to keep up with all the characters and wondering where this is all going. I think the problem i have with this is because there’s a vagueness to how long the show will last. When you get a good show like this, it’s easy to see it lasting for lots of seasons, but I really hope the writer have a definite ending in mind.
Overall Verdict:
Yes. Watch it. I’ve tried really hard not to put any spoilers in. Overall I’d say this is an easy show to watch, if you like sci-fi and drama and mystery and just fun characters. Also if you like eye candy. There’s a lot of good points. I wouldn’t say it’s on my list of favourite shows ever, but I’m certainly looking forward to season 3 which is happening next year. It’s got a great plot, the actors do a good job, and the characters are loveable. I feel like I might have been a bit harsh, considering I was mostly watching it whilst ill. Most importantly though, go watch it so we can talk about it. I hate having no one to talk about it with!!