Orphan Black

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Season 1
Season #: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 533 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 462 out of 533
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 533
  3. Negative: 52 out of 533
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User Reviews

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  1. macksfield
    Mar 25, 2017
    0
    Tatiana is quite talented. Fyi...I've only watched the first series. Writers are creative and the show keeps your interest. Lots of action and interesting story line. However, the writers and producer spent lots of time painting Christians as whack-os. You know "extreme bible believers". They also attempt to make it seem normal for men trying to have sex with men. And then there's theTatiana is quite talented. Fyi...I've only watched the first series. Writers are creative and the show keeps your interest. Lots of action and interesting story line. However, the writers and producer spent lots of time painting Christians as whack-os. You know "extreme bible believers". They also attempt to make it seem normal for men trying to have sex with men. And then there's the whole feminine man and masculine woman thing going on. Its like these writers sit in a room and work to take every normal aspect of life and turn it upside down. Its a shame, lots of talent, interesting plot but so many negatives directed towards what the majority of the population considers norm.… Expand
  2. daslickster
    Dec 15, 2013
    1
    So dumbed down, my 5 year old could watch it! Tatiana Maslany's accent coach should be summarily sacked. Yes, there is a World of difference (literally) between a 'working-class' London accent and an Australian one (which she flips in and out of randomly, with some added Welsh for kicks no-doubt). The German accent is even worse, is that Swedish? Her 'clone' sisters have all theSo dumbed down, my 5 year old could watch it! Tatiana Maslany's accent coach should be summarily sacked. Yes, there is a World of difference (literally) between a 'working-class' London accent and an Australian one (which she flips in and out of randomly, with some added Welsh for kicks no-doubt). The German accent is even worse, is that Swedish? Her 'clone' sisters have all the personalities of a dried 1D cornflake, with the worst kind of stereotypes on display. Yes the characters are different, but in the most banal-cookie-cutout of ways. The biggest problem here is that Maslany is way-way out of her depth. It needed someone much older, that could play younger.

    If we really are going to a remake a pseudo 'The Boys From Brazil' with a dab of 'X-Files' then at least do with some sort of integrity and focus please! X-Files has separate sub-genres for a reason. In fact, if you get Chris Carter to write/produce and then Claire Danes to star, you'd be onto a winner......a Geek can dream.

    The first series veers, sometimes unintentionally, between 'farcical' and 'ridiculous'. The humour doesn't help at all in fact only seeks to cover up the dramatic deficits.

    The series doesn't have any strong Creative Direction. This is probably symptomatic of uninspired & 'democratic' producing. Normally most 'good' series have a through-line with a about four main alternate Directors for the first season, this has six, and a couple of lead writers with varying staff writers (this has seven lead writers). This would explain why the writing is generally mediocre to substandard, but there are strong hints that it's being pulled in many different directions at once. In essence that's the problem. Too many Chef's and not enough Cooks.

    There is a 'seed' of a good idea here, but it's stamped on (many times over) turned to mush & then recycled. Frankly I am shocked that the BBC had anything to do with this mediocrity (when compared to the likes of previous fare ie: Rome or even Copper, to name but a few)

    To summarise: If you like drip-feed, insipid, undemanding 'entertainment' (and I use that work lightly) then this is your bag. If you want to use any of your mental apparatus, have seen X-Files and in fact watched any intelligent Thrillers or Sci-fi in your lifetime, then forget-about-it.    … Expand
  3. Raven25
    May 3, 2015
    0
    A typical example of the 'new standard' which conflates artistic merit with discussion about 'social issues'. The issues discussed are completely one sided radical feminist ones. The straight male characters are portrayed as one dimensional wallflowers or incompetent buffoons while women are portrayed as strong, independent leaders with complex lives and issues. I have no problem withA typical example of the 'new standard' which conflates artistic merit with discussion about 'social issues'. The issues discussed are completely one sided radical feminist ones. The straight male characters are portrayed as one dimensional wallflowers or incompetent buffoons while women are portrayed as strong, independent leaders with complex lives and issues. I have no problem with feminist TV shows (see my review of Masters of Sex season 2), just completely unbalanced debates which shove a political agenda down everyone's throats like this one.

    The plot is transparent and is clearly being used as a vehicle to drive what should have stayed a (poorly conceived and unbalanced) gender studies essay. To anyone who is not already a radical feminist - don't bother with this show. It is preaching to the converted. To anyone who still believes that exploring social issues does not enhance a work's artistic merit - this is a waste of time as it is all that it does.

    To those who I haven't convinced - take for example relatively undisputed works full of artistic merit - William Shakespeare's plays, Rembrandt's paintings, JS Bach's music - conducting a feminist analysis of these may tell you an awful lot about women's roles and status 500 years ago. But it will tell you nothing about how beautiful the works are as pieces of art.

    In conclusion, this TV show only derives appeal to a limited (and rather already brainwashed) audience for reasons only to do with discussion of social issues. As I do not award points for that (and if I did, I wouldn't award many as they are badly discussed), and this show has no other artistic redeeming qualities, I award it zero score.    … Expand
  4. Sisyphus
    May 22, 2013
    2
    Orphan black is a show where characters constantly break character and say lot of things like:
    “Were you followed?”
    “Do you have any idea who these people are?” “You have no idea what is really going on, do you?” “I don’t want to be a part of this” This is to create tension and suspense, how sinister…how very sinister indeed. Writing in poor, characters are given motivations which    Orphan black is a show where characters constantly break character and say lot of things like:
    “Were you followed?”
    “Do you have any idea who these people are?”
    “You have no idea what is really going on, do you?”
    “I don’t want to be a part of this”
    This is to create tension and suspense, how sinister…how very sinister indeed.
    Writing in poor, characters are given motivations which are convoluted. I mean if you found out that there are half a dozen individuals in the world who are your exact replica, the normal human response would be to find out what the hell is going on, that ought to be motivation enough, not in this show. There are smart Directors and then there are Bad Directors, smart ones know what to let the Audience see and the parts that you can and must skip over. For instance, let’s say that somebody is shot in a car, now unless you are really anal about such things you might not wonder too much about what happened to all the blood (when you see the Heroin drive the same car later). An intelligent Director would know how not to let that thought enter the head of a viewer. Here’s what a Dumb Director would do, he’ll show the Heroin break into a car wash in the middle of the night, use all the equipment, get the car waxed and expect the viewer not to bat an eyelid. Care to venture a guess what kind of a Director made Orphan Black?
    Oh Yes, the acting is bad too.
    Having said all that, if you are fan of shows like Fringe, Alias & Other shows on the lines of what J.J Abrams does I hate them, barring early Seasons of Lost you are going to like Orphan Black.    … Expand
  5. donelson
    Jul 6, 2013
    1
    The only way to watch this series is to keep in your mind that it is a kind of British farce comedy. The writers are all over the place, swerving from disaster to mayhem to stupidity to comedy and back. The two leads are fine, especially Tatiana Maslany who has real dramatic and comedic talents. Direction and production are adequate, but the arrogance of the writers insults theThe only way to watch this series is to keep in your mind that it is a kind of British farce comedy. The writers are all over the place, swerving from disaster to mayhem to stupidity to comedy and back. The two leads are fine, especially Tatiana Maslany who has real dramatic and comedic talents. Direction and production are adequate, but the arrogance of the writers insults the intelligence of viewers. Crap, really.… Expand
  6. Kemersonb
    Feb 7, 2017
    0
    As a gay man i find the homo sex scenes offensive. This show is representing gays in a negative way and it should be cancelled. Dont waste your time watching.
  7. Bo33y
    May 8, 2013
    3
    Waste of time, excluding that your a young girl CHAV Maybe then you might enjoy this chic flic and resolve those issues by the end of this series. Bleh, government conspiracy through cloning, so the idenity of some wannabe criminal dealer mother can get her rocks off. Badly acted, produced you would have expected this to be anywhere else but the BBC. Burrowing heavily on idea's fromWaste of time, excluding that your a young girl CHAV Maybe then you might enjoy this chic flic and resolve those issues by the end of this series. Bleh, government conspiracy through cloning, so the idenity of some wannabe criminal dealer mother can get her rocks off. Badly acted, produced you would have expected this to be anywhere else but the BBC. Burrowing heavily on idea's from other good TV resulting in this preteen'der series. I won't be continuing this from the pilot it has no interest.… Expand
  8. RickBell
    Apr 16, 2016
    1
    Disappointed with the season 4 premiers. Boring rehash of old stories and lack of imagination. Guess they ran out of ideas. No one wants more detail of old episodes they already watched. So stupid. These folks have been spoiled by the attention the first three seasons afforded them and they're getting lazy now.
  9. Broyax
    May 26, 2023
    1
    Par certains côtés, cette série a un ton relativement réaliste : elle est fort bien réalisée et son ambiance policière thriller comploteuse (mais que-quoi-qui sont-ils, qu’allons-nous faire, ma famille de clones et moi ?!…) semble intéressante…

    En vérité, on y croirait presque à ces conneries clo(w)nesques si par ailleurs tout le reste ne ressemblait pas hélas à une putain de «    Par certains côtés, cette série a un ton relativement réaliste : elle est fort bien réalisée et son ambiance policière thriller comploteuse (mais que-quoi-qui sont-ils, qu’allons-nous faire, ma famille de clones et moi ?!…) semble intéressante…

    En vérité, on y croirait presque à ces conneries clo(w)nesques si par ailleurs tout le reste ne ressemblait pas hélas à une putain de « situation comedy » à deux balles, une série branchouille mékouillekikoolol avec par exemple ce personnage tout droit sorti de la cage aux folles !

    Orphan Black malgré la belle Tatiana Maslany est décidément trop neuneu, trop superficiel et caricatural pour être crédible plus de deux épisodes et demi, voire un peu plus, peut-être. Mais j’ai perdu le compte depuis le temps où j’ai tenté de visionner cette… série de merde !    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best TV Season of 2013
20
#20 Most Discussed TV Season of 2013
14
#14 Most Shared TV Season of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Jeff Jensen
    May 15, 2013
    100
    Slowly, a smartly constructed epic is taking shape.
    Read full review
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Tirdad Derakhshani
    Apr 1, 2013
    80
    [A] gritty, visceral, and emotionally engaging thriller.
    Read full review
  3. RedEye
    Reviewed by: Curt Wagner
    Apr 1, 2013
    88
    As Sarah makes one shocking discovery after another, Orphan Black weaves an increasingly intricate, suspenseful tale.
    Read full review
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