My wife and I just recently got caught up on the television show "Orphan Black". The show is absolutely phenomenal. They do action, suspense, drama and even a little comedy to perfection. There is some of the best action sequences I've ever seen on TV on the show. Car chases, shootouts, fights, every action thing you could want, they deliver. The show is also very quiet in their suspense. That's how I like my suspense. Quiet moments that build and deliver. It's perfect. Even the few moments of comedy are gold. Every time they throw a joke in there, or even a whole scene based on comedy, it works.
Fans already know how good of a show "Orphan Black" is. It's currently airing it's fourth season on BBC America, they're only two episodes in, with the third coming this Thursday. But, my blog today will focus on how great of an actress and the many, many roles that Tatiana Maslany plays and portrays on "Orphan Black". Everyone on the show is wonderful, but Maslany does all the heavy lifting, and then some. She is a powerhouse, and she should be so much more well known than she actually is. In fact, I only knew her as the doctor that played Tom Haverford's girlfriend for a couple of episodes on "Parks and Rec" before I started watching "Orphan Black". She is incredible on the show.
So, as most of you know, if you watch the show, it's all about clones. There's a lot of science talk and romance talk and all the stuff I mentioned before, but the bare bones of the show deals with all these clones. And they are all played by Maslany. In the very first episode, we meet Sarah Manning. She is kind of a street punk that steals from people. She's basically a petty thief. Then, one night she sees a lady step in front of a train and take her own life. This is all shocking to her, but what is more shocking, after she takes her wallet, the lady who just committed suicide looks exactly like her. We go down a rabbit hole from here for the next three seasons. We meet so many other clones throughout the course of each season. There's Sarah Manning, the aforementioned petty thief and mom. Clones are not supposed to be able to bear children, but she did. She is an anomaly in the world this show has created. It's pretty cool that she is the "indestructible" one. She is also the most simple, but in a good way, looking one. She is what Maslany would be, if she were English, minus the stealing. Manning is my favorite clone. But, we also get a housewife in Canada named Alison. She is bored and tired and fed up with her husband and suburban lifestyle, until she finds out that she is a clone. She also looks like a housewife. She has very sharp bangs and dresses like a mom. Lots of sweaters and pleated pants. But, Alison also has a drinking problem and she is a pill dealer. Alison comes on strong at first, but you grow to really like her in the middle of season two. Alison is my wife's favorite. Then there's the dread head, glasses wearing scientist, Cosima. She is the most down to Earth one. She is cool and hip and very well read and incredibly smart. She helps all her "sisters" understand what is going on and why they are clones. She is also very sick and needs to find help anyway possible. Cosima is the clone that I would hang out with and want to be friends with. She is very, very cool. And then there's Helena. She is the Russian bad ass of the crew. She is a stone cold murderer, but she might be the most sympathetic character of all the clones. She had a miserable childhood. She has brutally murdered hundreds of people. Sarah, spoiler alert, tried to kill her in season one. She gets caught up in a weird religion that's a mix of Mormon and Catholic. She gets thrown in a war prison. I mean, Helena has it rough. But, she is a fighter and she fights for the ones she truly loves. She grows to love her "sestras" and she becomes a huge part of the show and a pretty big deal in seasons two and three. Helena has seen and been through some pretty gruesome things, but she is an excellent character. Sarah is my favorite, but Helena is the best clone, and it's not even close. There have been some other clones as well. There's the leader of DYAD, the science company that controls the clones, Rachel. She is pretty mean, but she also has to deal with some rough stuff. There's another German/Russian clone that gets shot when she and Sarah are trying to escape. There's a ditsy spa worker named Crystal they introduced in season three. And I'm sure there's many more to come.
Sarah, Cosima, Alison and Helena are the main ones, with a decent amount of Rachel thrown in there. And, they are all played by Maslany. I cannot imagine how tough that must be. She has to know different dialects. She has to walk and carry herself differently with each character. She has to give each clone their own persona. She has to memorize the most lines. She has to spend more time in make up than anyone else on the show. She has to spend the most time filming. And she is absolutely fantastic at doing all of this. She is just an absolute treasure and this show lets her showcase her incredible talent. It is no surprise that I enjoy strong female leads and "Orphan Black" is right up there with Furiosa in "Mad Max: Fury Road". Maslany, much like Theron, is the driving force and everything revolves around her. I love it. One of the best things about all the clones she plays, they all look similar, but they are all extremely different. That's a testament to how well Maslany does all of these roles.
I love "Orphan Black" and I love Maslany's acting on the show. Like I said before, everyone on the show is great, but they all pale in comparison to the absolute top notch work from Tatiana Maslany. It's a powerhouse role. Everyone should watch "Orphan Black" and be amazed at the great work Maslany and everyone involved does.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His love of female action heroes started when his three older brothers forced him to watch Aliens on repeat for days. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.
