In the first episode, Sarah Manning, a sharp-tongued street-smart Brit in Canada, is standing on a train platform when she see a woman who looks exactly like her step in front of an oncoming train and kill herself. Shocked and horrified, Sarah grabs the woman's wallet so she can find out who she was and runs off. The mystery woman's ID identifies her as Beth Childs, and Sarah sees from her photo that she was absolutely identical to Sarah. An orphan brought up in foster care, Sarah doesn't know of any genetic family members, but the temptation to take advantage of the situation is great.
Sarah assumes Beth's identity, with the goal of cleaning out her bank account to help her out of the difficult situation she is in. She discovers that Beth was a police officer, and taking on her identity gets more and more complicated. She meets Beth's boyfriend, Paul, and her partner, Art. She also meets other women who are identical to her, one at a time. Each one is unique in hairstyle, clothing, and other aspects of outward appearance, but they are clearly identical. In fact, Sarah soon learns they are clones.
I don't want to give away any more of the plot because there are surprises around every corner in this fast-paced thriller, but it keeps you guessing...and watching. Tatiana Maslany is absolutely amazing as Sarah - and all of the other clones! - juggling multiple roles, looks, accents and more in a way that seems impossible. There is Allison, the high-energy suburban mom; Cosina, the dredlocked scientist; evil Rachel; and Helena (possibly our favorite), the wild-eyed Ukrainian who will protect her "sestras"at all costs. The clones gradually meet each other and band together, trying to get to the bottom of the convoluted mystery of who they are and where they came from. One of the best scenes in the show is a clone dinner party at the end of season 3 when they are all in the same room together - awesome.
Supporting Tatiana in her multiple roles are other excellent actors. Our hands-down favorite is Jordan Gavaris as Sarah's snarky, flamboyantly gay foster-brother, Felix, who provides a lot of laughs on the show and often wears just an apron over his naked body when working on a piece of art. Kevin Hanchard is intense and concerned as Beth's cop partner, Art. Maria Doyle Kennedy plays Sarah and Felix's caring foster mom, Siobhan, who knows a bit about Sarah's mysterious beginnings. Another of our favorites is Kristian Bruun as Donnie, Allison's husband - those two are fabulous together, especially in later seasons. And little Skyler Wexler is absolutely adorable as Kira, Sarah's beloved daughter.
The excellent acting, wholly unique plot full of surprises, non-stop action, and complex ever-growing mysteries make this an outstanding show in every respect. It is incredibly addictive. Watch the first episode of the first season, and I guarantee you will want to watch them all! Just writing about it makes me want to watch the latest episode (but we promised to wait for our college son to come home after exams later this week).
Orphan Black is produced by BBC America and filmed in Canada. Here in the US, it is available On Demand through cable (season four currently airing). Amazon Prime has the first five seasons of Orphan Black available to subscribers for free (that alone is worth the fee!).
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