Orphan Black

Given the inconsistency of Orphan Black season three, it was easy to fear last week’s moving installment would be a blip in an otherwise unremarkable season. Thankfully, “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” builds on the strengths of its predecessor, continuing its character-based approach and efforts to tie as many threads as possible into the central narrative of the season, Project Castor’s conflict with Sarah and the rest of Clone Club.

After four episodes bogged down with disparate strands and far more plot than character, “Scarred by Many Past Frustrations” pares down the narrative and in doing so, delivers by far the best episode of season three. It’s no coincidence this upsurge in energy comes the week Alison, Donnie, and their new drug business stay on the bench; with the exception of Cosima’s C storyline, every scene contributes directly to the main thrust of the season and by the end of the episode, even the most seemingly superfluous corners of the show—again, besides Hendrix Pharmaceuticals—gain relevance.

Orphan Black, Season 3, Episode 3, “Formalized, Complex, and Costly” Written by Chris Roberts Directed by John Fawcett Season 3, Episode 4, “Newer Elements of Our Defense” Written by Russ Cochrane Directed by Chris Grismer Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on BBC America Four episodes in, Orphan Black season three is struggling. Sarah at last …

The season two finale of Orphan Black took a big risk in introducing male clones, theoretically opening up the world and giving star Tatiana Maslany a slightly lessened load moving forward. Maslany’s towering performance has made the series must watch television, for genre fans at the very least, and the prospect of watching another actor explore and embody multiple personas should be exciting. Unfortunately despite a few interesting developments, “The Weight of this Combination” is ultimately disappointing thanks to its mishandling of Project Castor and Ari Millen’s reintroduction to the series as a far more prominent figure.

Your long winter of discontent is almost over, Clone Club. It’s time to stop binge-eating your feels away while watching Cophine videos on loop, let some sunlight in, and get ready for the third season of Orphan Black, which premieres on April 18. To help get you in the mood, BBC America has released a …

Television history is littered with the bodies of ill-advised spin-offs. Their corpses, copies of reviews and overnights crumpled in their clawed little hands, defile the memories of the successful shows that spawned them and serve as cautionary tales for every writer tempted to go to the same well twice. However, every once in a while, …

There are plenty of interesting new series to be on the lookout for, but many TV fans will be most excited about the return of some of television’s best offerings. Here are Chief TV Editor Kate Kulzick and Managing TV Editor Deepayan Sengupta’s picks for the most exciting (currently scheduled) midseason returns of 2015. Banshee …

While many may still be reeling from Tatiana Maslany’s recent Emmy snub, fans of BBC America’s Orphan Black have something to get excited about as the show makes the jump from the small screen to the pages of comics. In a recent press release, IDW has announced that the show will be coming to comic …

Part 2 of our listing of the best television episodes of the year to date looks at individuals outings of shows such as Bob’s Burgers and Fargo.

It’s been a strong, if scattered sophomore season for Orphan Black thus far, with the series doubling down on character while it addresses some of its lingering problems, chief among them the lack of a compelling antagonist. Despite the introduction of Michelle Forbes as the vaguely ominous Marion Bowles, this still remains an issue for the show two episodes after Leekie’s death. Donnie’s accidental homicide was a step in the right direction (Leekie was never a particularly successful villain), but the series seems unwilling to commit to Rachel as their Big Bad and it hasn’t put in enough time to make any other character a legitimate threat.

Rachel learns a potentially game-changing fact about her infertility from her father as Cosima’s condition worsens, while Art and Felix deal with the entrance of a new clone into the fray in a compelling episode.

Well then. Looks like the writers shared this critic’s concerns about Leekie as a viable villain. This week’s Pulp Fiction-inspired conclusion may be a bit pat and predictable, but it resolves the show’s Leekie problem while moving Donnie in a new and promising direction (and making fabulous use of “Love Is All Around”). Alison’s relationship with her monitor husband has been a confusing blind spot for the show for most of its run—do they care for each other or has Donnie been playing Alison from the start? The show has tried to have it both ways and while the answer given this week is far more interesting than Paul-and-Beth-take-two, it requires some selective forgetfulness from the audience.

In the 2012-2013 television season, a little-buzzed-about show made its series premiere on BBC America, on the heels of science fiction juggernaut Doctor Who. That show was Orphan Black, and over the course of its first ten episodes, it firmly formed its own identity, emerging from the shadows of all the other series in its …

After the previous two episode’s pulse-pounding intensity and emotional rawness, “To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings” could easily feel slight. While we get action, it’s comparatively toned down, and for the most part, our heroes spend the episode peril-free. However, this episode works well as a breather, offering the audience an emotional respite before the undoubtedly charged push to the finale. Along with a few positive, adorable scenes between Sarah and Helena (whose time together this season has been fraught with drama, to say the very least), we see forward movement on each front, checking in with Alison, progressing Cosima’s treatment, and refocusing the central struggle on Leekie and the Neolutionists.

All season long, Orphan Black has focused on character moments and the tremendous and personal stakes for each of our leads. This week, the show hits that home even further as it, for the first time, threatens the heart of the series. We like Kira- she’s an adorable little moppet who’s smart enough to ward off the cops and intuitive enough to see through the clones’ impersonations. We like the Mrs. S, particularly when she’s getting her badass on, we like Art, and we definitely like Cal, but honestly, any one of these characters could go if the story demanded it. They’re entertaining, well-written, and ultimately, disposable. The one who isn’t, at least at this point, is Felix and this week, Rachel crosses a line when she goes after him.

Orphan Black has had a solid second season so far, bringing interesting new developments for most of the characters (and enough fun with Alison to make up for her somewhat lackluster arc). This week, things kick up a notch, with more action and suspense and serious legwork done to prop up the less successful corners of the show. A key element of what works here is the focus of the episode- unlike in previous weeks, “Governed as It Were by Chance” is very much the Sarah show. We spend memorable moments with the other clones, but Sarah is our throughline, digging into the mysteries of Mrs. S and pulling the audience along for the ride.

Orphan Black picks up this week right where the previous episode left off and builds momentum as it goes. While there’s plenty of new mythology here, what makes the series continue to shine is the character-based approach it takes to these new developments. We open with a less-than-refreshed Sarah and Felix on the lam with Kira, roughing it in the country in their truck, but rather than dive in immediately with schemes or a reminder of the various threats against them, we get a full scene of the two reacting to last week’s revelation of Mrs. S’s utter badassdom.

Orphan Black came back running, literally, last week and episode two continues this momentum with another strong episode. The season one-ending decisions by Alison and Sarah to sign, and not sign, their deals, respectively, remain less of a limiting factor than many may have guessed, though that surely can’t last much longer. With Alison on to Donnie, she’s likely to begin acting out again. Having signed her rights away, how much space will The Dyad Institute give her before they intervene? Tatiana Maslany continues to shine particularly bright as Alison and her desperation at the end of the episode is palpable, and incredibly affecting.

Orphan Black is back, and before diving into an analysis of the season premiere, it feels right to take a moment to enjoy that statement. This series exploded onto genre fans’ radar last year, putting together a fantastic first season that embraced its heightened world while grounding itself with relatable, recognizable characters and one hell of a central performance from Tatiana Maslany. It was one of this reviewer’s picks for the best TV shows of the first half of 2013, it stood out as having one of the best episodes of all of 2013, and at the end of the year, the SoS writers collectively voted it the #15 TV series of 2013, among incredibly heavy competition. Orphan Black season one was fresh, exciting, and perhaps most importantly, it was fun. Thankfully, if this premiere is any indication, we’re in for more of the same in season two.

17. American Horror Story (FX- tie) With the climactic final four episodes of Asylum and the entertaining first nine of Coven, American Horror Story has had a diverse year, to say the least. Asylum wrapped up its exploration of health care, religion, and power and Coven dove in head-first with looks at gender roles, aging, …

The beginning of the year had a wealth of TV riches, a trend that continued through the spring. Here’s part two of Kate Kulzick, Simon Howell, Ricky D, and Randy Dankievitch’s list of 2013’s best TV episodes.

On Friday, the convention kicked into full gear, with more people in attendance than the previous two days and the start of the big ticket programming in Hall H (The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones). Many of those following the TV programming at the Con opted for Ballroom 20, with Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. among …

2013 is only halfway done, but there’s a fair chance that, in a television context, it might well be looked back upon as the year any and all accepted rules of “quality television” became utterly meaningless and the promise of great things arrived in all shapes and sizes, from all directions. Consider Netflix’s House of …