Orphan Black: An Army of Me
And now, a Zen koan: does a television series pass the Bechdel test when 90 percent of the female characters are played by the same actor?
As my bio says, I’m not an early adopter; I like to wait until shows are off the air and binge-watch one season after another. Occasionally; however, I stumble upon a movie or show at the peak or protopeak of its popularity and feel what everyone else feels: the exhilaration of not knowing what’s going to happen next.
A friend recommended Orphan Black to me on the strength of lead actress Tatiana Maslany. This friend had previously encouraged me to watch Deadwood, so I trusted his judgement. We watched the entire first season not long after it aired, so I still consider this “getting in at the ground floor.” I’m happy to report my friend has good taste, and I recommend Orphan Black to everyone when the subject comes around to what new television series to watch.
I went into Orphan Black cold, which I feel is the best way to watch this particular series, so I’ll provide a spoiler-free synopsis here: Tatiana Maslany plays con artist Sarah Manning, who has an adopted foster-brother Felix (Jordan Gavaris), daughter Kira, and a whole lot of personal baggage. Sarah’s life is turned upside-down when she watches a woman who looks exactly like her commit suicide. Ever the opportunist, Sarah tries to steal the woman’s identity, and gets caught up in a vast conspiracy that includes government cover ups, top-secret scientific projects, several Star Trek extras (Matt Frewer and Michelle Forbes among them), and multiple characters, all played by Tatiana Maslany.
Like looking into a mirror.
I’ll say this: Maslany’s performance is light years ahead of any comedic actor playing multiple roles (looking at you, Eddie Murphy). Orphan Black is no Nutty Professor. It’s much closer to Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse, another high-concept sci-fi show where the main female lead was required to put on various personas throughout the run of the series. Hats off also to the series’ editing department: the scenes where Maslany interacts with her lookalikes are seamless. Maslany plays each of the lookalikes differently, and between the different wigs, accents, clothes, and mannerisms, one forgets that these characters are all played by the same person.
I like my sci-fi cutting edge, and Orphan Black delivers there as well. Its plot is a natural extension of today’s available technology. What happens when people of dubious ethical values decide to use said technology in questionable ways? Nothing about the series feels unrealistic; the show stays grounded in today’s moral and ethical dilemmas in a very real way.
Orphan Black is shown in the US on BBC America and has just wrapped up its second season, which means you’ve got time to binge-watch all 20 episodes before Season 3 starts up.
tl;drs
Blank is a blanker version of blank: Orphan Black is what happens when everyone at a Halloween party bought their costumes from the same last-minute outlet mall.
Screen credits over/under: Under. The series’ creators are very much in the driver’s seat. Bonus: Series co-creator John Fawcett wrote 2005’s The Dark, featuring one of Sean Bean’s rare performances where (Spoiler!) his character doesn’t die by the end of the movie.
Recommended if you like: Dollhouse, or similar high-concept sci-fi shows.
Better than I expected: The series does a masterful job of doling out just the right amount of information to keep me watching and guessing about what’s going to happen next.
Worse than I hoped: There is a bit of an eye-rolling gimmick in Season 1. I won’t spoil it, but you should notice when you see it
Orphan Black would work better as a(n): I wouldn’t change a thing about the series so far. Plot, pacing, and characterization have all been spot-on
Verdict: Watch it. Try not to read too many spoilers; this show works best if you go in cold.
