At only ten episodes, the first season of Orphan Black was short by North American standards. BBC America should note that we're used to 23-episode seasons on this side of the pond, not British-style eight-part series which are over after a few months of air-time, leaving viewers wondering where the rest of the show went. However, the white-knuckle ride which Orphan Black took viewers on during its abbreviated run bundled enough material together for a full season, and leaves viewers gripping their seats.
Orphan Black follows the story of a small-time hustler (i.e., a street criminal) named Sarah Manning, who abruptly (and bloodily) discovers that she is one of many: while her unique personality is her own, her physical body is one of many copies turned out as part of a very grand (and very illegal) experiment in human cloning — rolled off of an assembly line like a new car, visually indistinguishable from the rest. Sarah's unexpected encounter brings her into contact with a loose-knit group of her fellow clones — each of whom has become aware of each other, and are trying to gather information on where they come from, what game they are part of, and who else is aware of them. Watched by, and occasionally forced into interacting with, informants of the unnamed organisation which spawned and studies the clones, Sarah is also confronted with agents of an even more shadowy organisation: one formed by anti-cloning terrorists whose activities make the clones' lives even more dangerous — like, a-sniper-might-blow-you-away-without-warning dangerous.
The acting is — and I do not exaggerate here — exceptional. Lead actor Tatiana Maslany became a woman of many faces within a few episodes as she portrayed the clones: one a suburban soccer mom as mentally-unbalanced as only suburbanites can be; another a driven scientist; another a fashionista, panicked at her discovery; another driven insane by her upbringing in a Christian convent (which isn't a stretch. Having been to Catholic school, I completely understand where that clone was coming from). Maslany made the act of jumping between these diverse roles appear effortless — a task made more Herculean by storylines which see clones passing themselves off as each other in order to keep their endeavours afloat (you teenagers who've fantasized about cloning a spare one of yourself to write your exams have no idea what applications a doppelgänger could be used for by adult with child-custody issues). Maslany's ability to pull this off this well was a display of shocking levels of talent (and leads viewers to wonder if she won't suffer from split personalities before the series' run ends). The supporting actors are no slouches either — ranging from seasoned small-screen veterans to relative newcomers, most of them appear to be keeping pace with Maslany (which is no small feat), and are a credit to Canada's actors' community.
Taking cues from thrillers such as Lost, Children Of Men, The International, and 24, Orphan Black uses fear of the unknown and sudden plot twists to great effect, presents characters who never know who to trust, tells stories in which those characters' actions in the heat of a moment can have far-reaching implications for each other, and introduces mid-episode developments that make viewers' hearts skip beats (but, fortunately never stop — which would make it tricky to maintain an audience through the course of a season). Sarah's journey throughout the first season is riddled with twists and turns as she uncovers individual pieces of the massive jigsaw puzzle which the truth has been cut into (and in the process becomes scarred for life by the sight of "herself" dying, as if she'd vividly fantasized about successfully committing a particularly brutal suicide). The team behind the show don't shy away from revealing seemingly benign supporting characters as active players in the shell game which the clones are caught in (plenty of "HIM! HE'S WORKING FOR THEM?!" moments are had), nor from teasing the audience by having characters begin to reveal startling new information moments before an undetected assassin strikes (the latter often enhanced by the ability which the clones have to pose as each other). However, unlike 24, which was as notorious for its too-fast pacing as it was acclaimed for its excellent writing and production, Orphan Black's pacing is quick enough to deliver the story in a rapid-fire manner, but not enough that audiences will feel like they're being dragged along too quickly to understand events (seriously, 24, I walked away from some of your episodes with the same P.T.S.D. symptoms that Jack Bauer was suffering from) — so watching Orphan Black is fun without being exhausting for viewers.
The first season is highly recommended. Have a look among your preferred sources to see about watching it.
~ STEELCAVER
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