Orphan Black Season One

Review by Noah Cannon, Web Contributor

Note: Mild spoilers below. The less you know about Orphan Black before getting addicted, the better.

Sarah Manning is standing on a train platform in Toronto when she witnesses a woman kill herself by jumping in front of an oncoming train. The catch: the suicidal woman looks exactly like Sarah. Thus begins Orphan Black, BBC America’s mind-bending sci-fi gem that has captured the internet zeitgeist and been the subject of binge-watching by TV fanatics around the world. The last month has seen the little television show that could, which averaged less than half a million viewers in its first season, evolve into a word-of-mouth juggernaut. Every day brings with it a slew of new blog posts, interviews, and magazine articles about Orphan Black and its shape-shifting star Tatiana Maslany.

While it’s difficult to explain Orphan Black’s allure without spoiling some of the plot details, suffice it to say that Maslany’s grassroots awards campaign is entirely justified. Over the course of ten episodes, Maslany plays seven different characters, each with its own distinct personality, mannerisms, physicality, dialect, and even nationality. That Maslany is captivating as all seven characters individually is impressive; that she often plays two or three in one scene and has palpable chemistry with herself is nothing short of mind-boggling. Her perky Canadian housewife on the verge Allison is worlds away from her mellow American PhD student Cosima, who is in turn markedly different from British street urchin Sarah, and so on. If Tatiana Maslany isn’t one of the names called on Emmy nomination morning, the internet outcry will be understandably deafening.

But Maslany would be, in a sense, all dressed up with nowhere to go were it not for Orphan Black’s masterful creative oversight. Led by creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett, the writers and directors of Orphan Black have created a mythos so taut and detailed that it moves from episode to episode like clockwork, each gear and cog fitting perfectly into place. Filmed in Canada, the visual world constructed by cinematographer Aaron Morton and art director Kim Karon is one of beautifully oversaturated colors and gritty urban locales that more recall Gotham City than Toronto. And costume designer Laurie Drew and makeup artist Stephen Lynch are as responsible for Maslany’s transformations as the actress herself.

Maslany is being rightfully heaped with praise for her work, but Orphan Black is more than a one person show. It’s often said that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in heels. Similarly, the supporting cast of Orphan Black are crucial to selling the multiple roles of the lead actress. As Sarah’s flamboyant foster brother Felix, Jordan Gavaris builds believable rapport not only with Sarah, but also with Maslany’s other incarnations. Maria Doyle Kennedy (most recently seen as the meddlesome wife of Mr Bates on Downton Abbey) brilliantly walks the ominous line between maternal and distrusting as Mrs S, foster mother to Felix and Sarah.

If you haven’t yet heard of Orphan Black, you must not have been on the internet for the past few weeks. But take my word for it: jump on the bandwagon now and get sucked in by this genius piece of television. As far as shows to binge watch this summer, I can’t think of a better recommendation. Tatiana Maslany is a name you’ll be hearing even more in the future, and this is the role – or rather, these are the roles – that will define her career.”