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Post by azzajones on Jul 18, 2017 7:36:27 GMT
Baffled there's no thread for this show, with its final season currently airing. This season definitely feels like the culmination of everything from the previous seasons and that it's all coming to a head now
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 18, 2017 10:17:27 GMT
There really is no other actress on TV at the moment doing what Tatiana is doing in Orphan Black. I know it’s been said time and time again, but it bears repeating: When watching Tatiana in the show, one must remind themselves that they are not watching multiple actresses on screen, but in fact *one* person playing multiple roles. Sure, other shows have done something sort of similar where they’ve had an actor/actress play a couple of different roles, but I don’t think anyone before has brought to life such fully-realized characters as Tatiana has (and so many of them too). The sheer time it must take to shoot all her scenes, the mental states she must have to switch between for each character, and overall exhaustion she must feel is pretty mind-boggling.
What bothers me is those people who say that what she does in the show isn’t that impressive, that the characters she’s portraying are all just “stereotypes” or whatever. Firstly, what shows these days don’t have some sort of ‘stereotypical’ character? Even the ‘complex’ types of characters are usually something that’s been done before (eg. The genius a-hole type, who is a jerk to everyone, has some sort of addiction, but it’s all forgiven because they know practically everything). There are shows that if they had just *one* of the characters Tatiana plays in Orphan Black, that character would be the standout. So the fact that this show has so many standout characters is quite impressive already.
Then there’s the rather important fact that Tatiana is playing ALL of these characters. She makes up over half the cast of the show. She has to get into the mental state for each, switching between so many characters back and forth, and trying to keep all that straight is a feat all on its own. I’ve never seen her slip up on the show, where I thought “No, that’s doesn’t seem quite like that character. I think she’s playing one character a bit too much like another.” – she fully becomes each and every one of them, there’s never a wrong character beat to be seen.
Adding to these^ already massively impressive performances is the extra layer of her playing characters pretending to be other characters (also played by her). This requires even more in-depth performances, where she shows just enough ‘off’ about a character who’s pretending to be another one that it makes it believable. I mean, multiple times throughout the show in the earlier seasons, I totally didn’t see the reveals coming of when we’d learn a character was actually another one playing a role. Tatiana brings so much nuance to each and every performance, I don’t know how anyone can be so dismissive.
I think the show and Tatiana herself have ‘spoiled’ TV for so many people, that they now come to ‘expect’ what is actually a very complicated process and take it for granted. Once the show finishes, I wonder if those certain people who appear unimpressed (or just act that way) will one day be longing for someone on Tatiana’s level acting-wise, as I think it will be a while before another show comes along with an actress capable of doing what she has so brilliantly done for so long now.
Without a doubt, Tatiana Maslany deserves every win, accolade and ounce of praise that she receives. She’s one in a million, for sure.
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Post by azzajones on Jul 19, 2017 9:00:17 GMT
Without a doubt, Tatiana Maslany deserves every win, accolade and ounce of praise that she receives. She’s one in a million, for sure. Too right. Gotta admit one thing about the show I found too hard to swallow was Delphine's... conversion
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 20, 2017 1:28:45 GMT
Gotta admit one thing about the show I found too hard to swallow was Delphine's... conversion
**slightly spoilery for Orphan Black for those who haven't seen up to at least episode 2 of Season 5 as yet**
Yeah, I was never really a fan of Delphine. There were other ‘side characters’ that I enjoyed much more. Most surprising was Donnie becoming an actual valuable member of the gang. His interactions with Alison in the early seasons were definitely amusing, but he’s actually been given some ‘depth/substance’ as the series has gone on. I especially like any scenes between him and Helena.
Helena just makes everything better. I always loved how she referred to Paul as ‘Dirty Paul’. I also loved that time she ate the talking scorpion, Pupok (voiced by Tatiana Maslany herself – as if she doesn’t do enough already, she even managed to voice a scorpion and made it great).
I know some people aren’t fond of Sarah, but I still like her. She’s definitely felt like the ‘lead’ character this whole time, despite the many other characters surrounding her sometimes seeming like they might ‘outshine’ her. I know Sarah’s made some questionable decisions, but I’m still on her side (not so fond of Kira this season, though. She never really annoyed me too much before, but this season she has).
I'm glad Rachel's still around. She's a fun 'villain'. I'd so hoped she'd survive after the pencil incident so we could get to see her sporting an eyepatch - which we did (though, sadly, her wielding a sword at the same time didn't happen).
I’m glad we’ve gotten some comedy with the latest episode I saw involving Krystal and the Alison-centric episode earlier – we needed some of the ‘lighter’ moments after the grim/dark stuff.
While I’d never been that invested in the character of M.K. previously, I never disliked her either. However, what happened to her was just so nasty and she deserved much better. I really felt sorry for her.
Although I will be sad to see the show end (and especially the fact that it means I won’t be getting my weekly dose of Tatiana Maslany – at least not for a while anyway), I’m also kind of relieved/glad that the show’s ending while it’s still decent and not unwatchable (unlike lots of other shows). Still, I think it’ll be some time before I find a show as special as this one.
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Post by azzajones on Jul 20, 2017 4:27:24 GMT
To be clear, by conversion I mean Delphine hopping into bed with Cosima, despite her saying she'd never done anything with a woman before - that never made much sense to me, perhaps I'm old fashioned.
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Post by pk9 on Jul 20, 2017 6:29:43 GMT
Delphine slept with Cosima because Leekie told her to. After being intimate with Cosima, she discovered an aspect of her sexuality that she had never considered.
Here is a video from a popular YouTuber talking openly and honestly about her own sexuality:
I think she's in a very similar spot on the spectrum as Delphine. It's not unrealistic at all.
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Post by azzajones on Jul 24, 2017 5:36:13 GMT
That video didn't convince me, I don't think Leekie specifically told Delphine to sleep with Cosima, just to monitor her - although sleeping with their subject appears to be what monitors do.
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Post by aliciarose26 on Aug 6, 2017 23:29:12 GMT
Unpopular opinion (maybe, I know of one or two people offline who have even heard of it) I don't like Orphan Black.
I give the idea of the show 4 stars. However, I deduct 3 stars and give them to Dollhouse. The same actress playing different roles? Dollhouse did it first. I leave OB one star for attempting to have said actress play those roles against each other.
Tatiana Maslany's acting skills are NOT up to snuff for this. She originated in improv acting, and it shows. Each character she plays is completely over the top. Loud sighs abound! She cannot do accents, and this is a major detraction. One second it will be an attempt at a British accent and then it will sound Australian. A great actress in a multi layered role like can be identified immediately by facial expressions and body language. Tatiana does not do this. If it weren't for the costumes and the makeup I wouldn't believe they were clones; separate people. TBH Tatiana Maslany seems to me she is playing make believe and dress up like we did as kids. I really think she needs to invest some time in acting classes and get some real accent coaching. She DOES have enormous potential, but she isn't there yet. It takes an awful lot of hubris for her to not to have invested in her skills before taking on a role like this. She seems funny. She needs to take on some lighter fare roles first. Saturday Night Live, comedies, and rom-coms would be perfect.
The show itself tries to take itself too seriously. I think it would be a lot better if they focused on entertaining the viewers and less on getting Tatiana awards. They made some pretty glaring errors (science writers who didn't know that clones would not have identical fingerprints due to the fact fingerprints develop in utero?! Seriously?! How is that possible?) And let's not forget "sestras." The Ukrainian plural for "sestra" is "sestry" not sestras. If I know these things they certainly should. Do some research! Mistakes happen in TV shows but this is just lazy.
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Post by hi224 on Aug 7, 2017 16:43:09 GMT
I need to catch up one day as well.
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Post by azzajones on Aug 8, 2017 4:31:04 GMT
I must admit, with this show, I've lost track of the different groups and why each one is opposed to the other
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Post by fantoma on Aug 14, 2017 2:50:12 GMT
It is now over. Can't believe it. I'm gonna miss all the sestras so much. I can't wait until they release the entire series in one DVD boxset. That finale was so emotional & funny at the same time. Goodbye Sarah, Cosima, Alison, Helena, Rachel, and all the others. Truly awesome series!
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Aug 14, 2017 6:53:41 GMT
We got the series final of Orphan Black here last night, and while it might not have been quite what I was expecting, I still appreciated it.
**spoilers below if you haven't watched all of Season 5 yet**
Those expecting a big ‘action-packed’ final may have been disappointed, as the only ‘action’ really was in the beginning with Helena taking out Coady (very satisfying moment, as it had been a long time coming. Also, it showed just how awesome Helena is – as if we needed any further proof - since she managed to kick butt even while giving birth) and Sarah ending P.T. Westmorland (who I’d taken to calling PTDubs in my head), which was another satisfying death.
Speaking of deaths, I was surprised no clones bit the dust (the biggest surprise being Rachel, as I figured she’d be toast. I’d also thought Helena might not have made it), but I was actually grateful that the show didn’t resort to offing characters simply because this was the series final. So many shows do that, and it feels cheap (plus we’d already lost M.K. and Siobhan – that was enough). There wouldn’t have been any chance for anything resembling a ‘happy’ ending if any of the clones had died, same goes for Felix, Art and/or Donnie. After everything they’d all gone through, I’m glad that they all made it through.
I also didn’t mind that the final seemed to be ‘winding down’ with things after Helena gave birth (so many series finals seem ‘rushed’ and forget to have important character moments, and this is one area where the show has always shined - in having those important character moments). Speaking of Helena giving birth – that was one of the best scenes in the final, I thought. It’s easy to forget something as ‘simple’ as filming a birthing scene with three people involved is all the more technical when one of those people isn’t even actually there, that Tatiana was filming herself deliver a baby with help from...herself. I don’t think many other shows (or movies) would have such a scene. It’s good that Art played an important role, and I was happy that his last scene was with Helena and the children he helped deliver.
My other favourite scene was between Sarah, Alison, Cosima and Helena, when they were all sitting around in the yard and helping Sarah not feel so bad about herself. Again, such a scene would probably be taken for granted by a lot of viewers, but that it seemed so ‘normal’ and ‘ordinary’ just shows how skilled everyone is at making these scenes work. The fact that it’s one person four times doesn’t even occur when watching. Tatiana’s always made each of these characters feel like a complete person, with little quirks and mannerisms – even the way Helena would looked up at Sarah made her seem like a completely different entity. I enjoyed the humour in this scene (Helena talking about her kids eating sand), but it really was all about these characters being there for each other.
Felix didn’t get much to do in the episode (or the season, really), but I’m glad he shared a final scene with Rachel. As ‘bad’ as she could be, I always kind of still ‘liked’ her in a way, so I was glad she survived and even helped out Clone Club in the end.
I think some people take this show and what it managed to achieve for granted. The same goes for Tatiana Maslany and everything she did in the show. The casting for this show was spot-on for pretty much all the other characters who supported the clones, but Tatiana herself was a one-in-a-million find. She deserves all the praise and accolades she gets...and then some. I’ll miss these characters, but I’m glad the show didn’t drag on until it became unwatchable (like so many shows do). I think it’ll be quite some time before such a show as this comes along again. To me, it was something really special. Thank you to Orphan Black and everyone involved with the show...but especially to Tatiana Maslany.
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Post by azzajones on Aug 14, 2017 23:13:45 GMT
I felt that ending dragged a bit much, I think the episode need some more action during the first half before shifting to the 'happy ever after' scenes. Nonetheless a satisfying finale that wrap up things pretty nicely.
This season had Stephen McHattie playing a character that was a fraud (i.e a fake), hmmm that reminds me of something:
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Post by movieliker on Aug 30, 2018 19:02:18 GMT
I watched for a while. But lost interest in characters that have no morals, ethics or respect for the law.
Don't watch anymore.
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Post by azzajones on Sept 2, 2018 6:13:51 GMT
Considering the show ended over a year ago, nobody is watching it anymore. Although, it'll be discovered by new audiences in the decades to come.
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Post by azzajones on Sept 15, 2018 6:55:40 GMT
This is a pleasant surprise Tatiana Maslany has been nominated in the 'Lead Actress in a Drama Series' category for the 2018 Emmys. A bit odd considering the show ended over 12 months ago.
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Post by azzajones on Sept 18, 2018 7:20:13 GMT
Alas Tatiana lost the Emmy to Claire Foy for The Crown.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Sept 18, 2018 7:40:00 GMT
As happy as I would've been to see Tatiana Maslany win for Orphan Black again, I was equally happy to find out that Claire Foy had won for The Crown (especially considering it was her last season of the show). I thought it was a well-deserved win for her.
But I'm glad that Tatiana did get at least one Emmy win (back in 2016) before the show was over.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2018 5:53:58 GMT
As happy as I would've been to see Tatiana Maslany win for Orphan Black again, I was equally happy to find out that Claire Foy had won for The Crown (especially considering it was her last season of the show). I thought it was a well-deserved win for her. But I'm glad that Tatiana did get at least one Emmy win (back in 2016) before the show was over. I was honestly surprised to hear Tatiana was up for an award for 'Orphan Black' again 'cause the show finished over a year ago and I didn't think she would get nominated again after that. It just goes to show the network made a mistake cancelling it and I would have liked 'Orphan Black' to have at least lasted for 7 seasons. Sadly since then we hardly see Tatiana in anything and somebody should really cast her as Cassie Hack in a 'Hack/Slash' movie. I think she could really pull off that role or an adult Raven in a 'Raven: Daughter of Darkness' movie.
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Post by petrolino on Aug 28, 2020 18:40:14 GMT
I'm currently watching this show so I need to be careful what I read until I reach the finish. I bought the box-set some time ago because the premise appealed to me. Then I kept putting off starting it till the time felt right. Too often I feel I've invested a great deal of time in a tv show only to see the writing fall off a cliff by the second series
So far, this show is just awesome. Top 3 of the decade for me, easily, based upon what I've seen, and I'm really looking forward to reaching the story's conclusion. Love the rock 'n' roll sensibility and subtle cultural references. Tatiana Maslany's complex work in this show is without equal and she keeps raising the stakes from episode to episode.
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