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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

ORPHAN BLACK Season Two

Blu-ray Review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS: 435 minutes (10 episodes on two discs), featurettes, deleted scenes, Cloneversation special

VIDEO:  1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen) 1080p High Definition

AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

 

STUDIO: BBC/ BBC America/ Temple Street Productions/ Bell Media

RELEASE DATE: 7-15-2014

 

DISC 1- NATURE UNDER CONSTRAINT AND VEXED/ GOVERNED BY SOUND REASON AND TRUE RELIGION/ MINGLING ITS OWN NATURE WITH IT/ GOVERNED AS IT WERE BY CHANCE/ IPSA SCIENTIA POTESTAS EST


DISC 2- TO HOUND NATURE IN HER WANDERINGS/KNOWLEDGE OF CAUSES, AND SECRET MOTION OF THINGS/ VARIABLE AND FULL OF PERTURBATION/ THINGS WHICH HAVE NEVER YET BEEN DONE/ BY MEANS WHICH HAVE NEVER YET BEEN TRIED

ORPHAN BLACK season 2 starts with Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) hunting for her missing daughter, but her tactics leads to friction between her and the Dyade Corporation who want to control and recreate the clones (with Sarah being one of the few clones who can have children).   Sarah is one of many clones including homemaker Allison, brilliant lesbian scientist Cosima, the deadly and unbalanced Helena (who is actually Sarah’s twin), and the cold Rachel (who works for Dyade).   On the other end of things is a religious cult who believe the clones are against God, but their sect decides to kidnap Helena because they want to spread the unique genetic diversity that she has (since she can also give birth to children).   Meanwhile, Cosima learns her clock is ticking down as she is one of the latest clones to suffer from a genetic defect (that has already claimed the lives of two other clones) and she works against time to find a cure (that is in the most unexpected of places).  Sarah learns more about her past while reconnecting with her daughter’s father as her tactics (and search for the past) puts many of the clones and those Sarah loves in danger.  

 

Season 2 is an amazing season as it provides plenty of twists and moments in what I say is one of the best cult TV shows currently being made (with a third season to air on BBC America in spring of 2015).  Tatiana Maslany effortlessly manages to play several different unique clones in what has become something that the Emmys keep snubbing (as they are more concerned by nominating and awarding the bets hyped shows). 

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

DISC 1-

THE CLONVERSATION Special- hosted by Wil Wheaton and featuring the creators and many of the cast members of ORPHAN BLACK in addition to celebrity fans Orlando Bloom and Will Patton

 

DISC 2-

CLONE CLUB INSIDERS: SARAH, COSIMA, ALISON, GRAEME & JOHN, THE REAL COSIMA, and TAIANA’S DOUBLE (Katherine Alexandre) were originally made for BBC America and these quick featurettes are worth checking out as much as the longer behind-the-scenes featurettes

 

 

BEHIND THE SCENES featurettes (38 minutes):

SCRIPT TO SCREEN- learn how they transform an episode from script to screen

HAIR & MAKEUP- hear from the people who do the hair and makeup for Tatiana Maslany as she portrays the different clones (and the different looks they come with)

THE 2-CLONE SMACKDOWN- go behind-the-scenes as they create the scene between two clones (Sarah and Rachel) using Taitana Maslany, her double, and special effects to get a seamless scene for one of the episodes

THE 4-CLONE DANCE PARTY- behind-the-scenes on how they created the four clone dance party which required planning and two days to film in a scene that mostly works (but is flawed only from special effects that could have used more work to make it totally seamless as a few moments you can tell they’re using special effects).

 

Three deleted scenes (with Allison and her husband Donnie) from the season finale with introduction and afterward by the show’s creators as they explain how the scenes were cut for pacing in what was already a jam packed finale.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS: The second season of ORPHAN BLACK makes me love the show as much as the first season I quickly fell in love with after I watched the first episode.  I can’t wait to see what twists they bring for season 3 and what new clones Tatiana might play (like the trans-clone of season 2).   ORPHAN BLACK deserves to be watched as it delivers great emotional story with several star  performances by one actress as several characters.

 

This review is ©7-25-2014 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments-to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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